Getting there...all of it

With all the new tools out there that are "must haves" or cleaners diversifying to include 5-6 other services, getting all that stuff to the job is getting tough. I carry a 210 gal waste tank, water softener, rotaries, multiple wands, orbital, etc. and it is getting tough to pack it up without turning into a loaded bear trap when I go to unload. It is hard to look professional when your van turns into a jack in the box when you open the doors.

I tried the box truck early on with a diesel powered Ford E450. It carried everything, but it was tough to park in the residentials (low branches and street parking) and heating it in the winter was tougher parked outside.

I tried the trailer route with a nice tandem axled 6x12 Haulmark with extended height (still busted my head several times getting out of it), but security issues left me unloading it every night and that got old pretty quick. It also made the DOT Nazis decide to guess my weight on a few occassions....if you roll a trailer, keep you business name off of it is my advice.

I haven't tried a Sprinter yet and never owned an extended van, so I don't know if that is answer or not, but what is the "right" approach?

I have done the trailer and now a box van and I feel your pain about the heater but I love the room and will keep it until it just about dies. Then I will go to a one ton extended van. By then there may be some new models at least I hope.

Maybe that is the real problem...living in a region with cold winters. Box truck in warm climates probably works pretty well.

milspec6 wrote:Maybe that is the real problem...living in a region with cold winters.  Box truck in warm climates probably works pretty well.

Not in metropolitan areas, no sir, even with regular cargo van I can barely fit in some underground basement / garages, there's no way I'm going to box trucks, not to mention tight spot parallel park, I would rather getting sprinter van and do a roof mount hose reels before I go to box trucks.
One of our vans is extended cargo van and even with an everest hp 650, 1 portable, couple snail fans, hose reels, chemical racks and a couple wands, I still have plenty of rooms in the middle, I can only imagine if I do roof mount hose reels, I can fit the portable hoses and both wands down under, that will leave me with a LOT more rooms and I can still go to most basements if I have to :-)

A Sprinter van would be my only option beyond a full sized Ford van I'm currently using. For the reasons DP mentioned above, a trailer or box van is just not practical for this area. I'm not even sure a Sprinter would be ideal, maybe more like a trade off between the extra space and the PITA factor.   

But it sure would be nice to have more space so I wasn't always having to unload and load the right equipment for the job.

So, I am not the only one fighting this issue? I agree with you Dp, if I could get all the extra hose out of the van, I would be in good shape. Dragging 300 feet around doesn't leave much room for all the extra stuff.

I have even comntemplated a small cargo trailer just for the hoses. Something like a 4x6 so that it wouldn't even be noticed behind the van and yet still move the hoses outside. Heck, if you designed it right, you could even power wash the hoses as needed without using a hoser tool.

Do you guys not have hose reals capable of holding 300' of hose?

I've always carried 300" hose, and never really considered it my storage problem. More like the problem being all the additional services I've added and equipment needed to do them in the last few years have caused my 'space prob'.

My hose reels are between 250 ft - 300 ft, the 300 ft hose reel is too wide, doesn't leave me much rooms to get in the van to get stuffs but I use that van mainly for carpet and upholstery cleaning only, so that eliminates the need to climb in there unless once in a couple of days to clean the heck out of it.
I wish I can see Duane Oxley's roof mount hose reels in one of the cleaning vans out here, I like the concept but before I see it I just can't gamble $ 300 if it ended up wobbly after a few months of use.

Dodge Ram has a new van out similar to the Sprinter. I'm not sure if its an import from Europe or completely new. It has the PentaStar motor, or a diesel option.

I test drove one. Very nice driving vehicle, and more room than my E350.

I think those are a based on the Fiat vans now that Fiat has purchased Chrysler fully. Another American car company is now a foreign car company....not many left. Makes me long for an old AMC Gremlin again.

I'm knocking the Fiat vans, though, they have been around for a long time and they know how to find cargo space in ways that have never happened in the US. Still, they drive that many miles in Italy either...we shall see how the lighter frame design holds up to pot-holed streets at 25k miles a year.

ODIN wrote:


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Why waste the hose reel on your supply hose? 

Looks like you got plenty of room on the big vac hose reel.



I do like how clean your truck is inside, I'm envious!!   

dp1 wrote:My hose reels are between 250 ft - 300 ft, the 300 ft hose reel is too wide, doesn't leave me much rooms to get in the van to get stuffs but I use that van mainly for carpet and upholstery cleaning only, so that eliminates the need to climb in there unless once in a couple of days to clean the heck out of it.
I wish I can see Duane Oxley's roof mount hose reels in one of the cleaning vans out here, I like the concept but before I see it I just can't gamble $ 300 if it ended up wobbly after a few months of use.

Come to think of it, my hose reel is the tall skinny one which I think it rated for 250'?, but I have bout 300 or so crammed on there.  :albino: 

I like the idea of the roof mount also, and like you said unsure it's going to hold up.......I'm more worried it's going to screw up the roof of the van, that's alot of weight suspended from roof!!   

Why waste the hose reel on your supply hose?

because there is a pressure line reel in-front of the vacuum hose reel