Boy am i stupid

[raayrob]

Heres a good one, Still being new to RV's and thinking swiftly I decided to wash my rig yesterday. Since I dont have a pressure washer yet ,I did it with A bucket and Dawn Dishwashing Soap. rinsing and drying in sections. (Done it this way for years with cars) All was well until 2 hours later I decided I needed to move the rig and found the door was literally glued shut. Thought the lock was jammed and would have to call AAA. I had to crawl through a window and finally with me pushing and the wife pulling we got it open. The doorseal pulled off with it of course. I guess Dawn was not the best thing to use (lol)
My rig exterior is fiberglass and was treated with "Tritian" when we purchased it last year. I have 2 questions. First, What works well for washing the exterior, and also what is a good rubber conditioner. Your help will be appreciated. THANK YOU!!!

[Sky_Boss]

What I just don't know that the way you washed it and/or the Dawn could have caused this to happen unless your seals were sooooo bad. I'll be watching this thread with interest.

[lthrnk]

Any good carwash soap works, everybody has there own preferences. Dawn will clean, but it will also remove any wax on the MH. As for treating the rubber gaskets, tires, etc., use 303 Protectant. 303 is UV resistant and does not contain any petro distillants.

[Tha_Rooster]

Number one dawn will take off any grease or oil which is good but will also take off any wax. I use a Rv wax and wax gives it a spot free shine without drying. A spray silicone is good for rubber. I can't imagine dawn would melt rubber learn something new everyday.

[bronk]

I have NEVER used dishwashing soap for washing any of my vehicles, motor home included. It is not recommended because it will remove any protective wax or polish. I have Corvettes and other personal vehicles which only see a good soap intended for vehicles. Turtle Wax, Mothers and others come to mind. This is advice that I learned a number of years ago from a classic car detailer - dishwasher soap is intended for dishes.

Bronk

[smlranger]

Dawn (as with most dish washing detergents) should not be used on cars, boats or RV's unless you are desiring to remove all wax/polish in prep for a new wax or polish job. I agree that not sure washing it with Dawn had anything to do with your door seal sticking, but maybe.

I use Turtle Waz Zip Wash 'n Wax on my coach. There are plenty of good car wash products made by Meguairs, Rain Dance, etc. that will clean your coach and not take off the wax.

[BFlinn181]

Dawn is a grease cutter, but I've never had it dissolve gasket adhesive. The fact that water and detergent caused your door seal to fail in your yard is better than have it fail on the highway or a campground. I've not heard of "Tritian" and tried to google it, came up with nothing. I'm curious, what is it?

[Tom-NC]

HI,

I never use detergents on any of my vehicles. My car only sees water and never any soap.

On my Rv I use Gelgloss RV Wash N Wax but not all the time and mainly when I get back from a trip otherwise I just use plain water as I keep it waxed with Protect-all and have never had any problems.

After using Dawn I would give thwe entire RV a good coat of Wax or Protect-all.

Good Luck

[Max Hubrich]

Hi raayrob-

Welcome to this forum--

Use 303 Aerospace Protectant for the seals and your tires. It was developed for the space vehicles- Great stuff. You can buy it on line or most boat stores carry it.

I use Blue Coral wash and wax that you can buy in a large jug at Walmart. It works good too. I like to use warm water since it disolves grease and sap stains fairly easily. I also put a little bleach (Clorox) into the warm, soapy water. I then let it sit for 15 minutes or so (a section at a time) then rinse. I always wash my rig only on a cloudy day, in fact if it rains after the washing, that's even better.

We all learn as we go along--

Cheers and good luck with your new Motor Home-

[doc]

I use Blue Coral as well.
I am more interested in two things> 1. It might not be a good idea to use a pressure washer on a MH. They can cut caulking, lift decals and vinyl applications. 2. What do you think caused the door to stick like that? It seems a soap surface would be more of a lubricant than a glue.
Ideas from anyone?

[ChileRick]

My rig exterior is fiberglass and was treated with "Tritian" when we purchased it last year. I have 2 questions. First, What works well for washing the exterior, and also what is a good rubber conditioner. Your help will be appreciated. THANK YOU!!!

We also have Trident protection on our coach, I would contact them and see what they suggest. I looked over our warranty and found no restrictions or recommendations on cleaning solutions. We use clear water and it seems to work just fine.

[BFlinn181]

I googled Trident and found gum, then 'trident wax' and found zipper lubricant finally found it, a paint protection system. I don't think Dawn should damage it. Instead of wax, which requires rubbing on and buffing, only lasting a year, search this forum for 'Red Max Pro #3' for an easy to apply, long lasting sealant for fiberglass RVs and boats.

[Dr4Film]

I have been using Dawn for years on my coach and have never been locked out of the front door or any window or have my slides refused to go in or out.

I think you have a completely different problem WRT the door seals versus using Dawn diluted with water to wash anything.

Just my opinion.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Chandler Bing]

Only use the Gel gloss RV wash and wax. Leaves a shine everytime. Hubby loves it on his motorcycle also.