YA;.........o r....NA?

[Ed Valentine]

What are some Pro's and Con's...... using Hose reels .....in your truck?

Pro's:
Holds hoses neatly & securely. Looks professional. A little more organized. Keeps hoses off floor. A definite must at a trade show or showing a perspective buyer as a convincing sales person.

Con's:
Have to unroll hoses on the job & carry in anyways; double duty?. Have to unroll on ground; could get dirty. Have to carry out hose at end of job anyways; then rewind on reel; double duty? Hard to directly pull off reel without scraping corners in house while trying to lay it out going into other rooms, or upstairs; double work & time? Hoses stay cleaner because they do not have to be unwind and fall on the ground.

Conclusion:
Now, I understand that some can not operate without their hose reels, however, For myself, as a contractor (not as a sales person) and having experience with using hose reels, I always preferred not using them in our 11 vans. Seldom does organization slow one down or become a real inconvenience; however, in this case, it really did.

It was a matter of knowing how to roll up hoses at the end of the job(s) so that they could be quickly carried in the next location and laid out properly without harming walls or wood work.

Much faster and more convenient, IME.

Best to all;
Ed Valentine
cross-american corp.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I disagree and agree with you Ed.

I believe they are a "must have" item. A narrow 200ft hose reel takes up 16.5 inches and yet keeps you organized efficient and professional.

I do advocate you carry in the first 50-foot but the rest is pulled from the reel and carried away from the van with an armful at a time but the rest is dragged for the most part. Breakdown is so much easy to store away when you use the reel.

While I don't believe there is a "Right or Wrong" I do believe storing 250-300ft of 2-inch hose is easier with a reel. 1.5 or 2.5 then a reel may not be as important.

 

[Jack Zipper Zerkie]

Hand stacked hoses use less space than hose reels solution hoses not vacuum hoses ,jz.

 

[Brian H]

I disagree with you too Ed.

Our guys pull the vac hose and the solution line off the Butler reels at the same time and drape them around their body. They then kind of twirl there way into the house laying out the hose. It is very fast, efficient and we don't let it touch the ground. Even before corner guards, it wasn't an issue because we don't pull it into the house.

And wrap up is very fast getting both vac and solution line back on the reel. As we roll it on the reel, we are also wiping it down so it's clean for the next job.

 

[Cajun]

I just use electrical reels with the male end out. Unroll going in, reel it up going out. Hang em on hooks in the van.

 

[mirf]

I do that to with that dumb little circle dance.

 

[Shorty]

Depends on how much vac; hose you want to carry in your van which is usually indicated by the work you do and the equipment you have.

A porty user that specialises apartments, small offices, etc; or upholstery cleaning, may only need 80' of hose which is best rolled and stored

A truck-mount user will generally always need much more hose in which case a reel would be more efficient.

I have always previously, had my hoses on reels.

However, my present van which is used mainly for commercial work is set-up for VLM although I do have an efficient porty in there for certain jobs.

In this van, the hoses are rolled and stored on hooks.

Horses for course, so to speak.

 

[GeneMiller]

Pull off 100' of vacuum on my arm and carry that to the door and start dropping. When laid out properly I can just push the button and wind it up. We Always wipe the hose off as its being rolled up. Solution line has the male and is the same basic procedure except it's not electric.

Gene

 

[hogjowl]

Next he 'll be telling us that the New Coke was best.

Just another thing we've know isn't true for the past thirty years.

 

[Shane Deubell]

My gawd in commercial if we park sideways , can spin off 150 ft in about 5 minutes.

Actually that tech is set up before the one rolling in the cimex and filling it up.

 

[mirf]

My gawd in commercial if we park sideways , can spin off 150 ft in about 5 minutes.

Actually that tech is set up before the one rolling in the cimex and filling it up.

Thats true
1: Park Truck reels toward door
2: Prop open door and pull until you are at the end point.

 

[Mike Draper]

Ed has never experienced the Joy and power of owning an AT hose reel.

 

[ruff]

Electric hose reel.
First 175 solution hose attached to vacuum hose.
Faster to take out and set. Faster to get back into van. Attached solution hose does not curl in circles.

Allows for a lot of extra room in back of van. And I carry 325 feet with me at all times.

 

[Dolly Llama]

i'd rather be stung by a wasp in my helmet than run without hose reels

ran w/o reels for a few days once (i forget why)
but recall it was a PITA and real clusterfk

I'm "guessing" the guys that don't use reels, do so for one or more reasons.

1.) can't afford a hose reel
2.)mini van's too small to accommodate one
3.) they run portys
4.) they're part time and/or clueless

..L.T.A.

 

[ruff]

And or all of the above.

You forgot: Not enough oxygen reaching certain body parts.

 

[hogjowl]

Or, they're T-- posters.

 

[Ed Valentine]

OK, guys, don't burn me at the stake on this one! Don't personally care for fire, although Marty likes to play with gasoline as I have been told!=lol

All great comments above however, as I stated in my original thread, every one has different experiences and there is not one set up which may satisfy or meet the requirements of all Operators. (BTW, yes, I have had experience with electric hose reels. And, we would never carry in 100', or 150' of hoses on one arm. Only 50' at a time..)

The name of the game in the end is a set up which (in YHO) will meet the requirements/needs of the Operator. Then, and only then ,would it be the proper set up; Hose Reels; or, not. And that is exactly why we label this thread as an "Opinion"(S).

Thanks again to all comments.