Next-day shipping across the entire UK, including islands, started 3rd August!!
Next-day shipping across the entire UK, including islands, started 3rd August!!
Carrying pure water is the part most guides skip. They’ll tell you all about pole lengths and brush heads, then leave you to work out how you’re actually getting 20 litres of water up to a second-floor window. A water fed pole kit with trolley in the UK solves that problem. But it’s not automatically the right answer for every buyer. Sometimes a tank in the boot does the job just as well, for a lot less money.
This guide compares the three main ways to carry water for a water fed pole: backpack, trolley and tank-in-boot. We’ll look at cost, capacity and which setup actually suits how you work, rather than just how big the kit looks in a photo.
A trolley kit is a pure water tank mounted on a wheeled frame. You fill it, wheel it to the job, and feed the pole from the hose reel attached to the frame.
It sits between two other options. A backpack straps the tank to your body. A tank-in-boot setup just means a container of water in your car, with a hose running out to the pole.
Each method solves the same problem differently. The trolley trades portability for capacity. The backpack trades capacity for freedom of movement. The tank-in-boot skips the extra kit altogether and relies on your car to do the carrying.
The backpack goes wherever you go, no wheeling required, but it holds less water. The trolley carries far more but needs level ground and a bit of manoeuvring between properties.
A tank-in-boot setup is the simplest of the three. There’s no separate carrying frame at all. You just run a hose from a tank sat in the car to the pole. It works well if your car can always park close to the window you’re cleaning.
If you’re still deciding on the basics before comparing carrying options, it’s worth starting out with a water fed pole kit first.
There’s no single winner here. It depends on how far you’re walking and how many windows you’re doing in a day.
A backpack suits quick jobs and tight access. A trolley suits longer rounds where refilling constantly would slow you down.
Backpack units commonly hold a fraction of what a wheeled trolley tank carries. That means more refill stops across a full day’s round.
Weight matters too. A full backpack sits directly on your shoulders and back. Over several hours, that adds up, especially on jobs with a lot of walking between properties.
A trolley tank holds considerably more pure water than a backpack. That matters most on jobs with several properties in a row and no easy access to a tap for refills. The wheels carry the weight instead of your spine. That’s the main physical advantage over a backpack.
A backpack works well for domestic users doing their own house. It also suits window cleaners tackling awkward access points, like side alleys and gated gardens, where wheels can’t easily follow.
A trolley suits window cleaners working a row of houses on foot. Fill once, and work down the street without returning to the van. A window cleaner covering a row of terraced houses on foot often gets more use out of a trolley than someone driving between spaced-out rural properties. In that second case, a tank-in-boot setup avoids the extra unloading step entirely.
A trolley is a fairly simple piece of kit once you strip it back. Tank, wheels, frame and a mount for the hose reel.
You fill the tank with pure water, either from a domestic tap fitted with a filter or from a pre-filled source. Wheel it to the job. Connect the pole’s hose to the reel on the trolley, and you’re working.
The wheels are what set this apart from just carrying a tank by hand. Most trolley tanks are far too heavy to lift comfortably when full. The wheeled frame does the work a backpack strap or bare hands can’t.
A standard water fed pole kit with trolley in the UK typically includes the tank itself, the wheeled frame, a hose reel mount, and connecting hose. Some kits bundle in a filter housing too.
Check the tank capacity before buying. This varies between kits and directly affects how many refills you’ll need on a working day. Also check whether the hose reel is included or sold separately, as this changes the real cost of getting set up.
If you want to understand the reel side of things properly, it’s worth choosing the right hose reel before you commit to a trolley kit.
This is the question most guides skip. A trolley costs more than a simple tank-in-boot setup. Whether that extra cost pays off depends entirely on how you work.
For someone cleaning windows daily across several properties on foot, the answer is usually yes. The time saved not returning to the van, plus the reduced physical strain of not carrying a backpack, adds up over weeks and months.
For occasional domestic use, the answer is often no. If you’re cleaning your own house once a month, a tank-in-boot approach, or even a backpack, will do the job without the extra outlay.
If your car can park within hose reach of every window you’re cleaning, a tank-in-boot setup removes a whole step from the process. No wheeling, no unloading a trolley, just a hose running from the boot.
This suits rural rounds with spaced-out properties, driveways with easy access, and anyone who doesn’t want to store or manoeuvre extra kit. It’s also the cheapest way to get started, since it needs no wheeled frame at all.
A tank-in-boot setup is the cheapest option. You’re buying a tank and a hose, and using a car you already own to do the carrying.
A backpack costs more than a bare tank, because you’re paying for the harness and frame that make it wearable. It suits buyers who need mobility without wheels.
A trolley kit sits at the top of the price range of the three. You’re buying a tank, a wheeled frame, and usually a hose reel mount together as one unit. That extra cost buys more water capacity and less physical strain across a working day.
Paul’s Poles sells trolley kits, backpacks and standalone tanks side by side, so buyers can compare the real cost difference rather than being steered towards the priciest option.
The right mobile water fed system in the UK comes down to how often you’re using it, and how far you’re walking between jobs.
Think about your typical day. If you’re parking once and working down a street on foot, capacity and wheels matter more than portability. If you’re moving the car between every property, a tank-in-boot setup keeps things simple.
For the wider picture on matching accessories to your setup, there’s a full guide to water fed pole accessories worth reading alongside this one. And if you’re weighing up whether a water fed system is right for you at all, it’s worth comparing water fed pole versus traditional window cleaning before you buy anything.
Domestic users cleaning their own home rarely need a trolley. A backpack or a tank-in-boot setup covers most houses without extra spend.
Self-employed window cleaners doing multiple properties a day tend to get the most value from a trolley. The extra water capacity means fewer stops, and the wheels reduce fatigue across a long round.
If you’re setting up as a professional, it’s worth working through an equipment checklist for self-employed window cleaners before deciding on carrying gear specifically. For the full setup, the complete water fed pole system guide covers how the pole, tank and pure water system work together.
Is a trolley kit worth the extra money over a tank in the boot?
For daily professional rounds on foot, generally yes. For occasional domestic use where the car parks close to the job, a tank-in-boot setup usually makes more sense.
What’s the difference between a backpack water fed pole and a trolley system?
A backpack straps the tank to your body and holds less water. A trolley wheels a larger tank alongside you, trading some manoeuvrability for capacity.
How much water can a typical water fed pole trolley carry?
Capacity varies between kits, but a trolley tank generally holds considerably more than a backpack unit. Check the specific tank size before buying, since this affects how many refills a working day needs.
What’s included in a standard water fed pole kit with trolley in the UK?
Most kits include the tank, wheeled frame, hose reel mount and connecting hose. Some include a filter housing. Always check whether the hose reel itself is bundled in or sold separately.
Do self-employed window cleaners need a trolley, or is a backpack enough?
It depends on the round. Cleaners working several properties in a row on foot tend to benefit most from a trolley’s extra capacity. Cleaners with more spaced-out jobs, or lighter daily loads, often manage fine with a backpack.
Can you use a water fed pole trolley without a car, e.g. walking between houses?
Yes. That’s exactly where a trolley earns its keep. It’s built to be wheeled between properties on foot, which is what makes it more useful than a tank-in-boot setup for terraced rounds.
If you’re still deciding between carrying systems, it’s worth reading up on how a pure water system works so you know what the tank is actually feeding into. Once you’ve settled on a setup, browse the trolley kits, backpacks and tanks in the range and get a quote for the one that matches how you actually work.
