Washing the Beast

[UncleJamie]

We are currently on our second coach.. our first was a 39 foot DP. So all in all we have been part time Rv'ers for about 8 years. Washing the coach has always been either time consuming or costly. I've done it myself and I've paid others to wash and wax several times only to have that sinking feeling when I must travel down a gravel road or thru a rain storm. (And it always seems to rain after I've plunked down several hundred to have it done).

I think we have cracked the code..

1st.. Foam cannon. This device fits on the end of a pressure washer and turns a couple ounces of soap into TONS of foam. Takes about 20 seconds to foam up literally one whole side of your Rv. With a good quality wash head (preferably lambs wool, NO BRUSH as this will leave tiny scratches) and you can wash a whole side of the coach in 15 minutes.

2nd.. The Cr Spotless works as advertised. No more drying and no more water spots. Use as a final rinse after you have washed and rinsed all the soap off. This "final final" rinse gets all the impurities off from the tap water that leaves water spots behind. Your glass and finish will shine!

[brobox]

Jamie, you have the washing thing dialed in. I made a deionizer wand about 10 years ago and don't leave home without it.

[UncleJamie]

Originally Posted by brobox

Jamie, you have the washing thing dialed in. I made a deionizer wand about 10 years ago and don't leave home without it.

Chuck, after a few washes with it, I am a believer for sure! My wife and I actually enjoy washing it now.

Now,,,,, if I can only figure out a way to convince her that helping me polish the wheels is fun too,,,, I'll have it made!

[Don and Dale]

Good info, Jamie. I have the soap cannon that hooks to the water hose, not a pressure washer, which allows me to take it on the road without having to haul a pressure washer. Love it. Very foamy solution which helps to loosen dirt and grit before washing. I don't have an deionizer yet, so for now, I work a 1/3 section at a time (wash, rinse, dry) in an effort to stay ahead of the water spots. Wanna take a guess at who generally wins that battle? Yeah, sometimes it ain't pretty.

[BeHappy]

Jamie, good photos - we also bought a foam cannon and you are right ...makes washing the rig much faster / easier

Don & Dale, we bought a more compact size 1500 psi Elec Pressure Washer on Amazon (AR Blue 118). Small enough to take with if desired. Using a pressure washer for wash-rinse (& dionized final rinse) will reduce total gallons needed for the process, too.

Chuck, as I recall, you posted "how to" in the mods to make your deionizer wand, correct?


So far, we have used soft water (& On-The-Go Softner plus AR 118 w foam cannon if not @ S & B). Spotting is reduced, but not eliminated with "soft" water wash & rinse.

After reading everyone's testimony, me thinks a Deionizer sounds like the final puzzle piece for us

Now, just have to decide pro & cons for CS Spotwash -vs- On-The-Go deionizers? Appears to be dual 'mixed' bed (CS resin mixed), versus On-The-Go which I believe keeps each type if resin separated, Cation & anion?

As an aside, we stayed at Poncho's Pond RV Resort in Ludington, MI this year. They provide dual spigots on the site pedestal and allow guests to wash their RV at your site, without extra fee or approval from park mgmt. Their brochure/site map given at check-in says: "We look good when you look good!".

Safe travels to All

[lowejug]

The cr spotless is the key... for those of you who don't have this in your wash plan, I highly recommend it.. you still gotta soap down but then rinse and your done... if you do your roof every time you can get about 3 washes out of it before changing the beads. Seriously turns a 4 hour back breaking job into a more like 2 hours top to finish .. jmo 😀

[mbaril]

Chuck, I would like to find more about your dionizer wand . tks

[brobox]

The instructions are towards the end of the post. Tip, keep it simple, a few really got carried away....no need to.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/good...ml#post2456943

[royals1212]

I keep it simple. 5 gallon pail with soapy water, extend a pole with soft pad on it, hose /sprayer and a 18 inch California squeegee plus a quick cotton towel wipe for the areas the squeegee doesn't get. Usually done and stuff put away in 1 1/2 hours. Not a lot of stuff to carry

[brobox]

Originally Posted by royals1212

a 18 inch California squeegee plus a quick cotton towel wipe for the areas the squeegee doesn't get. Usually done and stuff put away in 1 1/2 hours. Not a lot of stuff to carry

Now that is work.

[DeeGee]

I picked up the pressure washer that installs in the coach, and a dual bed DI system from On The Go. If I ever get my coach back, I'll install it and have a clean machine.

dg

[Betr2Trvl]

Originally Posted by UncleJamie

We are currently on our second coach.. our first was a 39 foot DP. So all in all we have been part time Rv'ers for about 8 years. Washing the coach has always been either time consuming or costly. I've done it myself and I've paid others to wash and wax several times only to have that sinking feeling when I must travel down a gravel road or thru a rain storm. (And it always seems to rain after I've plunked down several hundred to have it done).

I think we have cracked the code..

1st.. Foam cannon. This device fits on the end of a pressure washer and turns a couple ounces of soap into TONS of foam. Takes about 20 seconds to foam up literally one whole side of your Rv. With a good quality wash head (preferably lambs wool, NO BRUSH as this will leave tiny scratches) and you can wash a whole side of the coach in 15 minutes.

2nd.. The Cr Spotless works as advertised. No more drying and no more water spots. Use as a final rinse after you have washed and rinsed all the soap off. This "final final" rinse gets all the impurities off from the tap water that leaves water spots behind. Your glass and finish will shine!

Ok, the Tiffin gasser guy is back on the Entegra forum ..... Yes, trying to be helpful to keep you coaches looking thier best from someone who has spent way too much of thier time seriously detailing cars and now my RV.

Make sure you are rincing out your wash head / mitt (very) often with fresh water to get the grit out of it. Even more important when you are not dipping in a bucket to get soap on it. Otherwise you are going to be dragging grime across you paint.

Many use what is called a 2 bucket method, one for fresh soapy water, another one to rince the mitt before dipping in the clean soapy water. I much prefer, particualy on my RV, to rince out the wash mitt / head with fresh water from the hose directly. I probably do it every 25 - 50 sq ft.

Have a separate wash mitt for the bay doors, and rince it out after every door, or even 2x per door if they are really dirty.

Wash horizontally, not vertically. Which I know is a lot harder to do on an RV. The reason being that horizontal micro scratches (swirl marks is the generic term,which applys to any defects put in the paint either horizontal,vertical, or circular, with the holograms you see on on dark cars after the $20 wash and "buff" special from the corner car wash being the most extreme) in your paint are far less noticeable than vertical one.

For those of you that dry, better to dry horizontally was well too, which is almost most impossible using a pole on the higher sections of an RV. I also suggest applying detailing spray onto the wet surface before you dry, as it lubricates your towel, and greatly reduces swirl marks, helps remove any light spotting,and leaves a nice finish.

Regards

[Franko Foto]

Originally Posted by UncleJamie

With a good quality wash head (preferably lambs wool, NO BRUSH as this will leave tiny scratches) and you can wash a whole side of the coach in 15 minutes.

Please share the make and model of that wash head. It looks so much more stable than the one I have been using.

Thanks,
Frank

[RubiconTrail]

From the modifications thread, this is my permanent mount solution to the On The Go tanks...

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/tell...ml#post2966575