VAN MOUNT FOR FORD TRANSIT CONNECT SWB.

[Chris Ashurst]

I'm hoping someone on the forum can point me in the right direction regarding a van mount delivery only system for a Ford Transit Connect short wheelbase van.
I started approximately 6 months ago with a Pure Freedom Nano trolley and now looking for a van mount with a 325L - 350L flat tank with an electric hose reel attached to the top of the tank coming out of the side door so it will free up space.
I was in two minds whether to get the 325L Facelift with 3D PowerUp hose reel or the Pure Freedom 350L with reelmaster.
I opted for the Pure Freedom, however when I phoned them apparently one of their engineers said the Ford Connect is too small to have the hose reel attached on top of the tank.
All the advertising blurb regarding these two compact van mounts states how ideal they are for Connects, Berlingos and Caddys and shows pictures of both the reelmaster and the PowerUp hose reels mounted on top of flat tanks coming out of the side door!
Anyone any advice please?

 

[Iron Giant]

I really think the person who you spoke to at Purefreedom doesn't have a clue.

I have a 19 plate berlingo and I have Facelift 425ltr compact system with power up reel, I installed the waterworks security pulley and my hose goes out through the floor from the back of the van all doors closed and locked for security.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

I really think the person who you spoke to at Purefreedom doesn't have a clue.

I have a 19 plate berlingo and I have Facelift 425ltr compact system with power up reel, I installed the waterworks security pulley and my hose goes out through the floor from the back of the van all doors closed and locked for security.

Is your hose reel attached to the top of the 425L tank?

 

[Iron Giant]

Is your hose reel attached to the top of the 425L tank?

Yes, it's factory fitted as standard to the top of the tank

 

[Chris Ashurst]

Yes, it's factory fitted as standard to the top of the tank

The problem with the Ford Connect is the bulkhead comes right out into the back of the van. If I were to get the Facelift 425l with the PowerUp hose reel, the reel would be nowhere near central to the centre of the side sliding door due to the bulkhead. However the 325L Facelift with being a narrower tank will have the reel almost central.
The good thing about the Pure Freedom 350l system is they could attach the reelmaster right over on the left hand side of the tank so it would be in the centre on the door.
The guy at Pure Freedom said they currently have a Ford Connect in and the engineer said the flat tank with the reelmaster attached on top wouldn't fit. Can't understand that as it would only be 1cm higher than your Facelift and PowerUp. In the past it was always a woman you spoke to at Pure Freedom and she was very knowledgeable. Don't fancy spending 3k on Pure Freedom if they unsure whether it will fit, especially with the Facelift and PowerUp being cheaper.
How are you finding your system?
No problems with the PowerUp?
Is it delivery only?

 

[Iron Giant]

The problem with the Ford Connect is the bulkhead comes right out into the back of the van. If I were to get the Facelift 425l with the PowerUp hose reel, the reel would be nowhere near central to the centre of the side sliding door due to the bulkhead. However the 325L Facelift with being a narrower tank will have the reel almost central.
The good thing about the Pure Freedom 350l system is they could attach the reelmaster right over on the left hand side of the tank so it would be in the centre on the door.
The guy at Pure Freedom said they currently have a Ford Connect in and the engineer said the flat tank with the reelmaster attached on top wouldn't fit. Can't understand that as it would only be 1cm higher than your Facelift and PowerUp. In the past it was always a woman you spoke to at Pure Freedom and she was very knowledgeable. Don't fancy spending 3k on Pure Freedom if they unsure whether it will fit, especially with the Facelift and PowerUp being cheaper.
How are you finding your system?
No problems with the PowerUp?
Is it delivery only?

All changed since they got bought out by Window Cleaning Warehouse.

I had a Purefreedom 350ltr upright system and 350ltrs wasn't enough for a days work and I only do 6-7 hours a day so last year when I changed vans I wanted a bigger capacity tank, best option is out of the back doors well cut a hole in the floor and install HD Security pulley.

I had initial teething issues with the Facelift system, firstly it leaked as they hadn't tightened the filter bowl housing on the pump enough so it had a small leak easily sorted of course,

And WCW the Wales depot seemed to be the most helpful and knowledgeable when I was making enquiries.

 

[Iron Giant]

https://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/protecting-van-system-in-cold-temps.37305/page-2 in this thread is the underside of the Facelift which I protected against the risk of freezing as the hose runs underneath the tank from the pump to the reel, so I insulated the void and the floor before I had it installed local to me

 

[Chris Ashurst]

All changed since they got bought out by Window Cleaning Warehouse.

I had a Purefreedom 350ltr upright system and 350ltrs wasn't enough for a days work and I only do 6-7 hours a day so last year when I changed vans I wanted a bigger capacity tank, best option is out of the back doors well cut a hole in the floor and install HD Security pulley.

I had initial teething issues with the Facelift system, firstly it leaked as they hadn't tightened the filter bowl housing on the pump enough so it had a small leak easily sorted of course,

And WCW the Wales depot seemed to be the most helpful and knowledgeable when I was making enquiries.

Thanks for the advice. If I have the reel coming out of the back it would leave me with no room whatsoever if ever I decided to get a gutter vac.
Did you have the reelmaster with the Pure Freedom system?
Which would you personally go for Facelift or Pure Freedom? Pure Freedom do a swivel base for the reelmaster which could be useful.

 

[Iron Giant]

Thanks for the advice. If I have the reel coming out of the back it would leave me with no room whatsoever if ever I decided to get a gutter vac.
Did you have the reelmaster with the Pure Freedom system?
Which would you personally go for Facelift or Pure Freedom? Pure Freedom do a swivel base for the reelmaster which could be useful.

I only do windows, so for me I wasn't bothered about at all about leaving any space,

I didn't have the reel master as it wasn't even been made back then.

I think these days PF try have people's eyes out for what is cheap water tank in a cage, yes it's crash tested but only to 30mph.

Personally I prefer the Facelift system as it works for me and is all integrated.

The system you buy needs to enable you to do it a full days work, whatever a full days work is to you and that's now and in a few years time.

 

[CMcB]

It may be that you prefer working out the side door or having a flat tank, but if it’s just a matter of trying to make the best use of space- an upright 350L tank and an electric reel with the hose coming out the back would leave you with enough room for a gutter vac and other stuff.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

I only do windows, so for me I wasn't bothered about at all about leaving any space,

I didn't have the reel master as it wasn't even been made back then.

I think these days PF try have people's eyes out for what is cheap water tank in a cage, yes it's crash tested but only to 30mph.

Personally I prefer the Facelift system as it works for me and is all integrated.

The system you buy needs to enable you to do it a full days work, whatever a full days work is to you and that's now and in a few years time.

Is yours just a delivery system?
Is it easy enough to just unscrew the lid and dump a few 25 litre drums in if needed?

 

[Iron Giant]

Is yours just a delivery system?
Is it easy enough to just unscrew the lid and dump a few 25 litre drums in if needed?

Yes, delivery only.

Yes, it's easy enough to top up the tank with 25ltr containers, well it is for me as the lid on my system is easily accessible through the side door as I sometimes take one with me for extra water, in your case you'd have to clamber in the back of your van and possibly be down on your knees to be able to transfer water from containers into the tank without a fair amount of spillage.

One thing to add in case you weren't aware you could have the system fitted at Purefreedom but it was around £100-200 more expensive than WCW

 

[Chris Ashurst]

Yes, delivery only.

Yes, it's easy enough to top up the tank with 25ltr containers, well it is for me as the lid on my system is easily accessible through the side door as I sometimes take one with me for extra water, in your case you'd have to clamber in the back of your van and possibly be down on your knees to be able to transfer water from containers into the tank without a fair amount of spillage.

One thing to add in case you weren't aware you could have the system fitted at Purefreedom but it was around £100-200 more expensive than WCW

I've only been going around 5 months and been using the Pure Freedom Nano trolley with 25L drums to basically see if I like the job before splashing out. It'll be another 12 months before I've got a half decent round, but the trolley is already becoming a bit of a pain, especially with having to constantly keep an eye on the water level in the drum so to not let it run too low and also running out of water with only one window left to rinse!
So although I don't really have the customer base to warrant a van mount system, I'm still going ahead as I'm picking new customers up every week.
It's interesting that you only do windows without the usual add ons like gutter cleaning. I wasn't really interested in the gutters until a few customers asked could I do their's.
I was initially in two minds whether to start a window round or just do gutter cleaning. People on the forum said better to start gutter cleaning or carpet cleaning as it yields more profit per job and would be up and running far quicker than a window round. What appealed to me was that with a window round once your round is built there is no need to continue advertising and pushing your business on social media etc like you would need to with other exterior cleaning services.
Some experienced cleaners on the forum are saying the hose reel is better coming out of the side door others say back doors. Would it not be easiest to park level with the customers property and have the hose coming out the side door? Any chance you could send a picture of your setup please?
Thanks

 

[Iron Giant]

With everything the investment has to earn you money back, what I found when using a trolley I was sometimes skimping on water and doing as good job as I could have done compared to using a van mount.

Guttering Wash downs clearences with a vac is good money but spending £1,000 or so on a vac you want to know you can earn your money back.

With hose going out of the side of door ASAP you are pulling the hose out it will be waist height or higher also how many houses are you going to manage in a street with the hose coming out of the side door not many.

When I switched to the Facelift system, I didn't have underfloor rollers installed so I was pulling the hose out of the back with one door open it was pain trying to pull the hose left or right 2 days after my van had been sign written the hose caught it and went straight through the vynil thankfully it was easily sorted, I clean anywhere from 1 detached house up to 16 houses in one street without moving my van.

You will always need to advertise and keep yourself visible, almost 25 years and I'm still advertising, with Facebook updates etc.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

With everything the investment has to earn you money back, what I found when using a trolley I was sometimes skimping on water and doing as good job as I could have done compared to using a van mount.

Guttering Wash downs clearences with a vac is good money but spending £1,000 or so on a vac you want to know you can earn your money back.

With hose going out of the side of door ASAP you are pulling the hose out it will be waist height or higher also how many houses are you going to manage in a street with the hose coming out of the side door not many.

When I switched to the Facelift system, I didn't have underfloor rollers installed so I was pulling the hose out of the back with one door open it was pain trying to pull the hose left or right 2 days after my van had been sign written the hose caught it and went straight through the vynil thankfully it was easily sorted, I clean anywhere from 1 detached house up to 16 houses in one street without moving my van.

You will always need to advertise and keep yourself visible, almost 25 years and I'm still advertising, with Facebook updates etc.

Thanks for the advice

With everything the investment has to earn you money back, what I found when using a trolley I was sometimes skimping on water and doing as good job as I could have done compared to using a van mount.

Guttering Wash downs clearences with a vac is good money but spending £1,000 or so on a vac you want to know you can earn your money back.

With hose going out of the side of door ASAP you are pulling the hose out it will be waist height or higher also how many houses are you going to manage in a street with the hose coming out of the side door not many.

When I switched to the Facelift system, I didn't have underfloor rollers installed so I was pulling the hose out of the back with one door open it was pain trying to pull the hose left or right 2 days after my van had been sign written the hose caught it and went straight through the vynil thankfully it was easily sorted, I clean anywhere from 1 detached house up to 16 houses in one street without moving my van.

You will always need to advertise and keep yourself visible, almost 25 years and I'm still advertising, with Facebook updates etc.

Thanks for this advice much appreciated.
So the reel mounted on the tank out of the side door would be so high it would become a hazard for people tripping over? Whereas out of the back doors the hose would lay on the ground flat and be less of a hazard?
If I were to get the Pure Freedom and reelmaster attached to the swivel base, and had it coming out of the side door would this then give me the option of also coming out of the back doors? Kind of the best of both worlds?

 

[ched999uk]

Thanks for the advice

Thanks for this advice much appreciated.
So the reel mounted on the tank out of the side door would be so high it would become a hazard for people tripping over? Whereas out of the back doors the hose would lay on the ground flat and be less of a hazard?
If I were to get the Pure Freedom and reelmaster attached to the swivel base, and had it coming out of the side door would this then give me the option of also coming out of the back doors? Kind of the best of both worlds?

Just so you are aware, you need to guide the hose back onto the reel to evenly distribute it across the width plus run the hose through a cloth to remove mud, grit etc when reelin it in.
So although a swivel might work, guiding a hose back onto a reel from the back when the hose reel is at the front might be difficult - I haven't tried that so I might be wrong.

The through floor rollers are great for security too as then your van can remain locked while you are away from it.

As for a gutter vac, I built up a customer base just window cleaning, then had a few enquiries about gutters so I bought a little GVS panther and ali poles (ali poles are shorter at 4ft so fit my Partner widthways between tank and bulkhead at floor level), I bought a cheapy action cam and gvs mounts and find the camera very helpful. I also bought the Atom geny so I could do the gutters when convenient for me. I then 'marketed' gutter emptying and gsf cleaning to my customers - I was very surprised, that in 6 weeks my investment was paid for.

Having a fixed hose reel saves quite a bit of time by not having to lift a reel in and out but just because you have as much water as you need on each job, you can focus on the actual cleaning and not worry about the barrel level. Plus no lifting barrels to change/fill.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

Just so you are aware, you need to guide the hose back onto the reel to evenly distribute it across the width plus run the hose through a cloth to remove mud, grit etc when reelin it in.
So although a swivel might work, guiding a hose back onto a reel from the back when the hose reel is at the front might be difficult - I haven't tried that so I might be wrong.

The through floor rollers are great for security too as then your van can remain locked while you are away from it.

As for a gutter vac, I built up a customer base just window cleaning, then had a few enquiries about gutters so I bought a little GVS panther and ali poles (ali poles are shorter at 4ft so fit my Partner widthways between tank and bulkhead at floor level), I bought a cheapy action cam and gvs mounts and find the camera very helpful. I also bought the Atom geny so I could do the gutters when convenient for me. I then 'marketed' gutter emptying and gsf cleaning to my customers - I was very surprised, that in 6 weeks my investment was paid for.

Having a fixed hose reel saves quite a bit of time by not having to lift a reel in and out but just because you have as much water as you need on each job, you can focus on the actual cleaning and not worry about the barrel level. Plus no lifting barrels to change/fill.

Thanks very much for your reply.
I've been in and out to the van constantly with a tape measure trying to suss out what is the best approach with a short wheelbase van and limited space.. I think the neighbours think I've gone mad!
Due to the curvature of the bulkhead in the Ford Transit Connect it takes up valuable space in the rear. I can fit either the Facelift 325L system with PowerUp hose reel attached on top, or the Pure Freedom 350L with reelmaster attached on top coming out of the side door, which would leave me plenty of room for a gutter vac. However, as a member on this forum has kindly pointed out to me the hose would then be at least waist height if not higher coming out of the side door. If I were to have either of these set ups coming out of the back doors they would fit perfectly but would leave absolutely no room whatsoever for anything else. I sold my car to get this 21 plate Transit Connect so it's also my everyday vehicle. So I could do with a little room in the back for carrying everyday stuff like shopping. If the only practical way is to have the hose coming out of the back then I'll have to go with that. I just thought that maybe the Pure Freedom Reelmaster attached onto the swivel base would give the option of coming out of the back doors whenever the side door isn't an option due to it being hazardous?
Due to the van being a SWB, and me having a good reach, I'm thinking / hoping I wouldn't have to lean in too far to guide the hose back onto the reel through the back doors.
Pure Freedom used to have a lady answer the phone who was very helpful and knowledgeable, however she doesn't seem to work there anymore and whoever I speak to on the phone are unable to answer my questions with any confidence. I think maybe it's since Window Cleaning Warehouse took them over.

 

[Ian Lennox]

I've had a Ford Connect 230, 2012, for the last 5 years or so. It's been professionally fitted by Grippa tanks with their 500 litre system. Their electric hose reel is on top of the tank and swivels so I can have the hose come out the side door or rear door. It's a great piece of kit, and I'm selling it. I am buying an 850 litre tank from Grippa Tanks to be installed in a new Ford Custom.
If you or anyone else is interested in buying it then get in touch. I'm not selling the hose reel. For the tank and van - ready to go, I'll be asking £4250.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

All changed since they got bought out by Window Cleaning Warehouse.

I had a Purefreedom 350ltr upright system and 350ltrs wasn't enough for a days work and I only do 6-7 hours a day so last year when I changed vans I wanted a bigger capacity tank, best option is out of the back doors well cut a hole in the floor and install HD Security pulley.

I had initial teething issues with the Facelift system, firstly it leaked as they hadn't tightened the filter bowl housing on the pump enough so it had a small leak easily sorted of course,

And WCW the Wales depot seemed to be the most helpful and knowledgeable when I was making enquiries.

Can you remove the battery and charge it indoors like the battery on the Pure Freedom trolley? Also does the battery that powers the pump also power the hose reel?

 

[Iron Giant]

Can you remove the battery and charge it indoors like the battery on the Pure Freedom trolley? Also does the battery that powers the pump also power the hose reel?

No need to remove the battery, I just leave my charger connected permanently then put an extension in the van, it would be a pain taking off the side panel and taking the battery in the house every evening.

That battery powers everything

 

[spruce]

Can you remove the battery and charge it indoors like the battery on the Pure Freedom trolley? Also does the battery that powers the pump also power the hose reel?

You should never recharge a battery in doors.

My personal opinion is a leisure battery that powers your pump and an electric reel needs to have a cca rating. It's a combo battery that is both a leisure battery and a starter battery.

An electric reel takes a large current draw albeit for a short period of time. A leisure will need to deliver a peak draw of around 25 amps.

Unfortunately, it's neither a perfect leisure battery or starter battery. The combo battery was designed and targeted to caravan users who also want to power a motor mover.