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roofcleaningminneapolismn · Guest

Advice on hose reel locations

guest

roofcleaningminneapolismn wrote:

For those of you that have a cube van or box truck I was wondering what you would recommend for the location of the hose reels. Do you prefer to have them aimed straight out the back or mounted on the wall. If they are mounted on the wall do you prefer them to be on the drivers side so when you pull the hose you are not pulling it around the corner. I have seen from all of the pictures here that on an open trailer they are mounted curb side but, that won't work in an enclosed truck. We are gonna go with the box truck vs. a trailer. Ideally I think it would be nice to back up in the driveway and pull the hoses straight out the back but, I don't want to risk any driveway damage from spills, leaking etc.. As always we appreciate your input.

I have stackables which are at the very end. I simply back up and climb the roof and pull the hose.

roofcleaningminneapolismn · Guest

Just so I understand you. You back into the driveway and the reels are facing the house so that you can pull the hose straight out? I do like that idea. We have just learned over time the less time we spend on the customers driveway the better especially when it's hot outside but, if it's too hot we shouldn't be cleaning roofs anyways. What size and how many tanks do you have onboard? Thanks for the feedback.

Roofie · Guest

I do not have a box truck truck like you mentioned, but pretty much the same concept here applies. I have a 24' enclosed trailer and my hose reels are at the back of my trailer on the curbside of the trailer. What I do is park and walk out with lets say 100' of hose than walk towards the house or whatever it may be your washing down, so your not turning that corner and your hoses aren't rubbing against your rig etc. My reels are stacked as well and I like them set up this way. There really is no perfect set up so to speak, cause your going to roll up on a job sooner or later and wish your reels were this way or that way. Hose reels are such a time saver, so they could be mounted on the roof and they still would be a blessing to have vs. having to roll up your hoses after every job by hand and deal with the tangled mess when you get to the next job. I know you ask the other fellow about his tanks etc. In my rig I have a 525 gal. tank for H2O to supply my machines, a 125 gal. tank for my roof mix, a 35 gal. with fresh water to flush my delavans after I wash a roof with a turn of a ball valve, 4 other 35 gal. tanks for my roof chems. and 3 spray rigs to spray stain :)
So, whatever you decide, make it work for you, pretend your on a job and act like your rolling out your hoses and see how that feels for you. It may seem silly, but your the one going to be using your set up everyday not the ones that think your silly.
And if you do decide to mount your reels on the roof, please... send us all some pics. LOL !!!
Good luck my friend and I know you'll figure this out !

roofcleaningminneapolismn · Guest

Thanks I appreciate the advice and you are exactly right it should be a personal preference because I will have to deal with it every time. I've thought of multiple layouts in the truck and want to make sure I look at every situation to make the best decision I can. I know that there will be those situations where I would want it to be laid out different and if it turns out to be a problem I'll have to readjust. It's gonna take some time to fine tune the machine but, I'm looking forward to it.

I would really like to see some pictures of your rig. Sounds like a nice set up. What is the difference between your 525 gal. H2O tank and 35 gal. fresh water tank?

Baltimore MD Roof Cleaning 410-482-4367 · guest

He uses the 35 for rinsing his rig out, and uses the 525 to supply his pressure washers with water. He can probably run 2 10-13gpm machines off that bad boy. What Pressure washers are you running Roofie??

Baltimore MD Roof Cleaning 410-482-4367 · guest

I had a hose reel on the roof of my old van, lol. I will have to dig out a pic when I get home from Boston this weekend.

roofcleaningminneapolismn · Guest

Baltimore MD Roof Cleaning 410-482-4367 wrote:

I had a hose reel on the roof of my old van, lol. I will have to dig out a pic when I get home from Boston this weekend.

You have to post a pic of that! Funny. Can't wait.

Roofie · Guest

Bill is correct... I use the 35 gallon tank to flush out my Delavans after every roof job and I flush all my 12 volt flowjet pumps out that I run stripper and ox acid through for the restoration biz. I run ( 2 ) 8 gpm cold water machines for wood restoration and I have one 5.5 gpm hot water machine for... well, everyone needs a hot water machine. lol My second rig has 4 gpm machines in that I use also for the wood restoration biz. They have cat pumps and I tell ya, you can't beat cat pumps ! I run those things 10 plus hours a day somedays, and yes, I maintain them like crazy !! I'd put one of those 4 gpm machines up against any 5.5 gpm machines any day of the week. Anyone considering building a machine of their own, think about a cat pump. I built all my machines besides the ho****er machine and I won't ever own anything other than a cat pump. When they say their the pump with 9 lives, they aren't kiddin :)
And by the way... Bill was also right about the 525 gallon tank, I run my machines off that tank. And the reason for the size you may ask is, cause alot of wood restoration jobs I get I have to haul water to perform the stripping process due to shallow wells etc. I will post some pics here soon of my rigs. I been considering putting together a roof rig, not sure if thats a route I wanna take yet, cause my roof set up is in my restoration rig. I would leave that roof rig in place due to all the roofs that need attention out there on log and cedar homes I restore. A roof rig of its own could be put into service when allowing wood to dry after stripping etc. so I would have to pull the wood rig off the site. We shall see... and if I do, you all will be the first to know :)

guest

roofcleaningminneapolismn wrote:

Just so I understand you. You back into the driveway and the reels are facing the house so that you can pull the hose straight out? I do like that idea. We have just learned over time the less time we spend on the customers driveway the better especially when it's hot outside but, if it's too hot we shouldn't be cleaning roofs anyways. What size and how many tanks do you have onboard? Thanks for the feedback.

Yes Sir. I have hose reels right in back next to door. On my trailer unit I have the hose reels on the curb side.

Roof Cleaning Katy Texas (281) 392-2304 · Apr 4, 2010

Roofie wrote:
Hose reels are such a time saver, so they could be mounted on the roof and they still would be a blessing to have vs. having to roll up your hoses after every job by hand and deal with the tangled mess when you get to the next job.

Hose reels are great. The best thing that I ever did was switch to electric hose reels. Push a button with one hand and guide the hose onto the reel with the other. All wound up in less than 2 minutes with no hose tangles.

Roofie · Guest

That would make life so much easier to be able to just push a button and guide your hose back and forth on your reel :) But, I like to work on my pipes as I like to call them and I'm still young :) So, I'll keep cranking for now. But, I'm sure the day will come when I ask you where you got yours. Lol
For sure though, it would be so nice to have that set up when I'm all stetched out on a big restoration job and have 2 or 3 hundred feet of hose around a log structure.

Roof Cleaning Katy Texas (281) 392-2304 · Apr 5, 2010

Roofie wrote:

That would make life so much easier to be able to just push a button and guide your hose back and forth on your reel :) But, I like to work on my pipes as I like to call them and I'm still young :) So, I'll keep cranking for now. But, I'm sure the day will come when I ask you where you got yours. Lol
For sure though, it would be so nice to have that set up when I'm all stetched out on a big restoration job and have 2 or 3 hundred feet of hose around a log structure

I have been doing this for 16 years and I am 55 now. I remember those days. Now I save the energy to earn money with instead of working out... We power wash also and is not uncommon to have 500 hundred feet of house out in a rural area where you have to clean a structure that is far from the road. Did I mention our unit is trailer contained and not portable.

PaulS · May 19, 2010

I'm getting tired of rolling my 200' x 5/8" Kuritec hose by hand. If it's full of solution or water it's nearly impossible to roll up neatly. Do you have to wrestle with getting hose onto a reel? Do you have to drain the hose first?

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