Inexpensive Power Washer Project

[Dutch Star Don]

Here is a project that may not be for everyone, but it does add a nice little feature for cleaning up the coach. I wanted something that I could spray my windshield with that had a little more power than a typical hose and could knock off the bugs. I have a large gas powered power washer at home, but too powerful for what I wanted.

I went to Harbor Freight and bought their inexpensive electric power washer. 1650 PSI 1.25 GPM Electric Pressure Washer It was on sale for $89.99 and I had an additional 20% off coupon, making it about $73.00. I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case my plan to dismantle it didn't work.

The unit, when assembled is about 30" tall with the handle and 20" tall without, as shown below.



I wanted to mount it in the dead area behind the driver's headlight so I could easily access the hose and spray off the front end of the coach. I stripped all of the plastic components off which leaves you with a wash unit about the size of a football. Using the same tabs that hold the wash unit to the plastic housing, I made a large "U" frame and that bolted to the fender support behind the driver's side headlight.





The next issue was powering the unit. Luckily, the Harbor Freight washer comes with a 35' power cord. My plan was to plug it into the same outlet the Dirt Devil uses, located in the bay between the pegboard bay and pass thru bay. I took a wire fish tape and fed it into the wire run of the passenger frame rail in the Dirt Devil bay. It exited alongside the generator. The plug end on the washer is a combo plug and circuit breaker. I disconnected the plug end and then pulled the 110 volt cord back down the frame rail to the Dirt Devil outlet.

I will leave the 14' hose that comes with the unit connected so I can just open the hood, connect a water line and wash the windshield or front end. Tomorrow, I'll have a local hose shop make a 50' hose so I can wash the entire coach if I necessary. The location of the unit makes it convenient to wash my tow vehicle too!

I didn't run water to the unit, but will terminate the water connection on the power washer just under the edge of the coach in front of the front wheel. This way I can use the campground water with a quick connect hose end. I typically only wash off the coach when I have hookups.

I know I could of have just taken the handle off of the Harbor Freight unit and stuffed it in a bay, but I didn't want to have to pull it out, drag it around and connect it. I know that I wouldn't use it if it wasn't handy and ready to go.

The washer comes with a two piece wand that has an adjustable nozzle that goes from a pinpoint to wide spray The pinpoint is pretty powerful for a cheap little unit. Unlike my gas unit, this little electric unit only runs when the trigger is pulled, so it's pretty quiet.

I didn't see a need for a power washer before our last couple of trips. On the last two trips we hit a lot of rain and both the coach and towed got nasty. The power washer would have been handy then for getting them cleaned up.

[PepaGlen]

Why are you spending my money so fast, now I have to hit Harbor Freight. That is an excellent addition and all I have to do is figure out where to put it. I keep running across mods you have done when you had your Diplomat and have gotten a lot of good ideas from them, thanks for documenting your mods so well..

[JFXG]

Nice job, Don. I like your location. Redbaron73 did this a little over a year ago, http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/feb-...-149098-3.html (Post 251) but he put his in the water bay. I think I like the nose location better. Well done.


One question, though: by far, most of the CGs and RV Parks we've been to prohibit RV washing. How do you work around that?

[redbaron73]

The location in the middle is ok, but what I want is a fixed hose for the power wash side. I am investigating putting the spool up front and hard plumbing to the pressure side.

I wash the front end every stop and dragging hose is the big problem for me. I have not figured this part out yet, but using spot free water for washing windshield gives such clean glass i suffer through the hose dragging.


2013 Newmar Dutchstar 4347, Active Air

[Dutch Star Don]

I haven't been to a campground yet, even with the water shortage, that won't allow windshield washing as a safety issue. I wanted the power washer primarily for that. Things are really dry on the west coast, but even on our trip last month to Oregon, there were places that allowed washing. It depends on where they get their water. Those without water issues will often allow washing if you ask. Sometimes there's a $5.00 - $10.00 fee.

"redbaron73"......I know you posted about an install in the past. Living on the west coast, we rarely see rain and my coach pretty much looks like it does at the end of the trip as it did when we left (clean). In may we went to Yellowstone and it rained most of the trip. My coach was a mess and needed more than just a hose off. Since I won't see that weather very often, I wanted to do a cheapie power washer that I could hide and use only on a few occasions.

I'm not worried about the water clarity, so I'm just using one of those "As Seen on TV" collapsing hoses for a quick connect from water to the washer.

[kustom]

very neat thanks

[Baja Fun]

I really like this idea and may try to copy you. Great info. I can't see the mounting bracket you made but once I see the actual sprayer unit it become clear. Thanks for the explanation on the install and how to get the AC connected. Really helpful stuff!


2015 DS 4369 on order
2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid

[Smosher]

Great idea the places we stay at wont allow washing the coach but I have never been stopped for washing the windshield and bugs off of the front. I can see if a person got too wild and got another coach wet with unfiltered water there could be a problem.
Think that will be another project thanks for the pictures.
Steve Mosher

[Mr_D]

Darn, HF had that unit on sale last week for 79.99 and I had the 20% off coupon. Now I need to see if I can find space behind the front "bumper". I have two steering boxes, one for each wheel, and the access panels can't be covered but I think there's room like DS Don did.

[Ron_H]

Originally Posted by JFXG

One question, though: by far, most of the CGs and RV Parks we've been to prohibit RV washing. How do you work around that?

Some parks do allow washing, like the one we're currently in just outside of Calgary Alberta. In fact, we stayed here an extra day so I would have time to wash our rig down yesterday.

Oasis in Las Vegas is odd in regard to washing as they will allow you to wash at your site but only if you are using a pressure washer capable of 1600 PSI or greater.

Fort Telkwa RV Park, 10 miles east of Smithers, BC, not only allows washing on site but they even provide a wash site with a free pressure washer.

I carry a pressure washer with us in our rig but it requires a manual hookup each time I want to use it.

[slabman]

1600 psi? Sounds odd, but this, I think, is their line of reasoning. Given that the most amps a typical RVer will use to operate a pressure washer ( based on cost, portability, etc.) is 20, you can only do so much work unless you move up to the big equipment With higher HP and amperage. Their main concern is water consumption. So if they require a high enough pressure, flow rates will be down in the 2.0 gpm area. The thing to remember, here, is FLOW rate is what removes the dirt but also what they are trying to minimize.

[brobox]

Nice mod Don. I saw a Newmar owner in Omaha that had the same washer stored in a bay and it did a nice job. Picking one up is already on my list when I get home. I really like your mounting idea and think I am going to borrow your idea. Nice job, thanks for sharing.

[Dutch Star Don]

I decided I didn't want to mess with two lengths of hose, so I bought a 50' length and made a holder that was easily accessible under the hood. Now I can pull out the length I need for just the front or enough to reach the rear.



My original photo the pump wasn't very good, I think this one is better.



Lastly, I finished the water connection. I wanted something I could quickly connect to with one of those as seen on TV hoses. I ran the water input line to the underside edge of the coach and put a brass quick connect on it.

[slabman]

Hey Don...love your mods. Got any more room left under the "hood" for anything else? .