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Advice on van and system please.

windeman

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Hi.

Ready to take the plunge and invest in a van and wfp system. I'm in Glasgow so a soft water area. I already employ 2 men 5 days a week working traditional method. I'm planning on continuing that way with existing work and using the new van to take on new work at higher levels and canvass new and existing customers for PVC and conservatory roof jobs. I need advice on van, tank size, pole/hose length for 2 man set up. I'll be operating myself to start with but hopefully will get enough work for 2 men eventually. Have looked at brodex, pure2o, xline, ionic. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Scott.

 
IMHO. 650 liter tank minimum for 2 operators but expect a return to base to top up or have an on board system to fill up on route. We run an 04 plate swb Citroen Relay with 1154kg payload and a 650 liter tank but its a little small with all the accumulated junk added. As a swb it had one of the biggest cargo areas with regard to volume of 7.5cm. The equivalent Transit swb was 6.5cm.

I would prefer to carry 800 liters if the guys are young and energetic.

This means you need a payload of around 1400kgs or more. This would translate into a mwb T330 Transit or better still a T350 lwb Transit.

Saying this most of the action is at the rear doors, so its inclined to become a bit busy when 2 hose reels need to be wound up and poles put away. Having a longer wheel base van won't change that.

Pure Freedom are in Grimsby so might be worth a call. Brodex and Ionic are expensive.

One of the first things you should do is buy a genuine tds meter and confirm the tds of your water supply.

www.daqua.co.uk is a good place to start as you know that they supply a genuine one that will work correctly.

Its only once you have ascertained the true tds of your water that you can make a decision with regard to going r/o or di only. I believe that if you aren't on a water meter, going r/o is still an option to consider, even with soft water.

 
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Go with pure freedom for your system mate, don't pay over the odds just for a 'big name' brand,

Or get a diy system, it's nice and easy

 
Thanks for the advice guys. Jake I'm afraid DIY is out the question. I've never so much as put up a shelf or wired a plug. Great at cleaning windows and gutters all day but too lazy to attempt anything else! Spruce, I've ordered the tds meter so will see what that says. Looked at pure freedom will get in touch with them for a quote once I find a suitable van. Does the payload include driver and passenger? Eg. Would an 800l tank = around 100kg empty plus 800kg water plus 90kg driver, 90kg passenger plus whatever poles, hoses, reels Etc?

Thanks again.

 
Go with pure freedom for your system mate, don't pay over the odds just for a 'big name' brand,
Or get a diy system, it's nice and easy

I think a DIY system becomes a bit more of an issue when you employ staff. Its difficult to prove that a DIY system is fitted professionally if there is an accident and you, as an employer, are being sued by a disgruntled member of staff because you provided equipment that wasn't fit for purpose/safe to use.

I have had van insurance through Aegis for 8 years. This last year I was asked if the system was fitted professionally. I was asked to provide proof that the system was fitted correctly; a copy of the invoice would suffice.

I replied that it was professionally DIY fitted by myself having worked in the trade and that it wasn't highlighted as a problem for the last 7 years with the same insurer. So why is it a problem now?

If I have to make a claim now, I now honestly don't know if this will become an issue or not.

 
Thanks for the advice guys. Jake I'm afraid DIY is out the question. I've never so much as put up a shelf or wired a plug. Great at cleaning windows and gutters all day but too lazy to attempt anything else! Spruce, I've ordered the tds meter so will see what that says. Looked at pure freedom will get in touch with them for a quote once I find a suitable van. Does the payload include driver and passenger? Eg. Would an 800l tank = around 100kg empty plus 800kg water plus 90kg driver, 90kg passenger plus whatever poles, hoses, reels Etc?
Thanks again.
Payload is everything you add to the van. So my van's payload is 1145 kgs. Take out of that 185kgs for 2 operators, fuel in the tank (my tank is 80 liters so when full that's 80kgs less payload,) water tank, water, frame, hose reels, poles, step ladders, ladders, roofrack, towbar etc are all weights that have to be removed from your payload. I recon that I'm pretty close to the limit, if not slightly over each morning I set off.

I have a pair of heavy duty springs on the back, so the van never looks overweight.

 
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this is the reason ive moved into aa 350 lwb transit :) 2 tonne payload so no worries and the big van can take the full 650 litre plus evertyhinh else on its stride

 
Not sure about all vans but I'm pretty sure the payload on my transporter has already taken into account 75kg for a driver and a tank of fuel. This was music to my ears as that saves me about 150kg straight away. So the payload would just need to cover everything in the back plus in your case a passenger.

 
Not sure about all vans but I'm pretty sure the payload on my transporter has already taken into account 75kg for a driver and a tank of fuel. This was music to my ears as that saves me about 150kg straight away. So the payload would just need to cover everything in the back plus in your case a passenger.
The vans that came off the PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) production line had a driver allowance of 75kgs. But the Relays/Boxers where manufactured by Fiat and rebadged and they didn't include a driver allowance. Ford didn't either.

So you could well be right about VW. However it would be worth asking VW to confirm if they include fuel in their kerb weight specs though.

 
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Pure freedom ready made system is you best bet for price/quality I reckon...

I usually run with low fuel, never put more than £15 in the tank, helps with payload

 

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