The thought behind this project was that I wanted to do away with lifting the 100m minibore hosereel out of the van 30 times a day due to a bad back. So the only option was to have it fixed in the van, trolleys and backpacks were either too cumbersome or just increasing back problems. Van mount is in my opinion the best way for wfp.
I still wanted the flexibility of a free standing hosereel and security of van ports though, so it got me thinking. After a while I settled for a winch roller from Fairleads and a face mounted roller guide from Redashe/Coxreels to give me this flexibility.
This way I have almost 180 degrees field of work, and I must say it works very well. The only thing you need to do is (only remotely) have the rear of the van facing the house(s). I did a couple of jobs today wich wouldn't at all be ideal for a normal fixed hosereel setup, but it overcome it beautifully, almost as well as a freestanding hosereel.
Two little things though, when you are at an extreme angle, like the one picture shows below, with the hose leading to the garden, you do not have as much pulling power when the hose goes round a couple of corners, or rockery like you see below. In fact, it's almost impossible to get the correct pulling power when you go around many corners at this angle. What I did is I walked back half of the hose, then it reeled in nice and easy. This might be improved, but it's only day one.
Second thing is, that the vertical mounted rollers on the winch roller can be a bit noisy if the hose isn't pressing against it properly, inside the metal rollers it's just plastic bearings, so they rattle a tiny bit if not pressed against fully, if nothing bad though, maybe I can put some WD40 on it.
I also have the ability to still run the hose through a cloth right before the hose reel.
Also, you can see that there is virtually no trip hazard whatsoever, another plus!
I hope this has given some of you an idea on how to tackle this problem.
Make sure that when you fit the winch roller, that it's fixed to something sturdy, preferably metal, it is
heavy.
I will fit a Y piece and valve after my DIs, so I can still use the van ports if needed, the pipe clips hold the reel, but you can take it out with a bith of a pull.
ps. before anyone says my bucket is in the way of the handle, it is! I've only got a Berlingo, and I need a smaller box for my detergents and cloths, so the bucket can go there.
Picture Gallery :http://tinyurl.com/mpw2h4alternatively, use this gallery :
http://tinyurl.com/ln4eqe