Cleaning your coach on the road

Soupy · 01-11-2008, 07:14 AM

What are your thoughts on going to a truck wash(to have your coach washed) while traveling.I keep ours indoors and have only washed and polished myself(I am anal).When traveling I like to get there looking good,I do carry my own cleaning supplies,but cant always find a place that will let me wash it.What do others do. SOUPY

Soupy · 01-11-2008, 07:14 AM

What are your thoughts on going to a truck wash(to have your coach washed) while traveling.I keep ours indoors and have only washed and polished myself(I am anal).When traveling I like to get there looking good,I do carry my own cleaning supplies,but cant always find a place that will let me wash it.What do others do. SOUPY

bruceh · 01-11-2008, 07:29 AM

I tried a truck wash once. It left all sorts of chemicals on the outside of my MH. The stuff was left in the awnings and blew out as I drove home. When I got there, I had a smeary mess on the MH. Took me two days of clean up to get it all off. It also bleached out my entry door handle (black).

The truck wash used high pressure hoses and guys with brushes to wash and rinse. After I left, I noticed a bunch of dirt on the side (awning again) and returned for another rinse.

No more for me.

John_Canfield · 01-11-2008, 08:35 AM

We have used Blue Beacon truck wash about three times and have had real good luck. The biggest problem is the wait - sometimes we have waited for an hour

I would have no problem using them again.

We have stayed in some high-end parks that have a variety of RV services on-call including mobile wash services which we have also used. Some are outrageously priced but some are a real deal. At Buckhorn RV Resort in Kerrville we had the coach washed and waxed for $140 - an outstanding deal

FleetMan · 01-11-2008, 08:52 AM

Many "Coin Car Washes" have an end stall with no roof which is designed for large vehicles and are capable of handling something of motor home size. You just need to locate one which could acomodate you.

FrontRangeRVer · 01-11-2008, 09:58 AM

Make sure you wash the undercarriage.....up here, if you don't wash it after driving on these 20% salt roads, your undercarriage will rust something bad.

Im not sure Blue Beacon will wash your undercarriage, and there have been a few reports about an "acid" solution they use to break up the dirt on your motorhome....

OFF TOPIC and a comment about an above post: Buckhorn RV resort in Kerrville Texas is one of the nicest RV parks we have ever stayed at. We stayed there several years ago and also last Summer...TOPS!!

John_Canfield · 01-11-2008, 01:26 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by FleetMan:
Many "Coin Car Washes" have an end stall with no roof which is designed for large vehicles and are capable of handling something of motor home size. You just need to locate one which could acomodate you. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>We actually found an automatic wash that was large enough for our coach in Alaska. Pictures here. We also were at Dakota Meadows RV Resort near Minneapolis and they have fuel and a self-serve wash on the property. Pictures here. (Not to mention a casino

)

Yup - Buckhorn is one of the nicest RV parks we have ever been in and we have made it a point to try stay at the nicest parks we can find (when we can.)

GG1 · 01-12-2008, 03:13 AM

I travel with a full water tank. I also have a hose made of soft flexible tubing that I attach to the exterior shower with a kitchen type sprayer as a nozzle, the hose reaches to the front and rear of the coach. I pull into a rest area fill a bucket with water and car wash solution use a telescopic pole with a good soft brush and wash away. Rinse with the hose using my on board water. As long as the temps are mild this works great its just a little time consuming. I also use a easy to use cleaner frequently like "Protect All"

jhanan · 01-12-2008, 06:54 AM

Has anyone found a wash in the Austin TX area?

Soupy · 01-13-2008, 10:10 AM

Thanks for your thoughts.I have questioned the harshness of what the truck washes do/use.I carry my own extending pole and a big soft brush,I'll add a hose to my outside water station,I like that.Thanks,gotta look good....Soupy

jhanan · 07-01-2008, 05:45 PM

I wash mine in the drive way. But on the road, it seems an RV park service is good way to go, but it seems not many offer it. Juan at Cherry Hills Park (A very large RV park outside Washington DC area) did mine for $2 a foot, and he did a very good job - washed the rig while we were taking in the sites on the Mall.