Washing your RV?

[wildtoad]

Originally Posted by Rev. Roy

I adopted the principal years ago of NEVER using a brush on my RV. Tiffin actually has a sticker on their new motorhomes stating that. I use sheepskin pads for cleaning and do my final rinse with deionized water. Once a year I do ceramic coating. I have the advantage of a large RV garage where I have scaffolding so I don't need to work off a ladder. For on the road I have a foam cannon and a power washer along with the water deionizer.

Newmar discourages brushes too, could void paint warranty. Others may disagree.

[MCRV Passion]

My rig is kept inside storage when not travelling so this simple method has worked great and I am very picky on the look. My paint finish is close to same as day one still.

1st suggestion - get the "Mary Moppins" wash and dry kit (find on GoClean website or others) this kit is very effecitve and saves so much time. Then you add a long enough extension pole (find at Home Depot or elsewhere). Major help is the foam/velcro dry tool, simply wrap cotton towel around and dry before water spots dry on rig by the way, very important.

2nd - Only wash/dry in the shade or at least no direct sunlight. I simply use Johnson Baby shampoo, customer service at Newmar advised me on this simple solution when I got rig in 2015 and I have used it since on all my vehicles with great success. Vehicle with clear coat and any quality paint today simply need this mild quality shampoo between waxes. Wash it whenever dirty and especially if possible before long trips. The Moppins kit travels with me btw.

3rd - I have mine waxed every 2 years - worthy expense I think; again 2 years ok for me as inside most of year. Yearly better if outside a lot.

NOTE: It is key if at all possible to use softened/treated water unless you have quality water at home. I have treated water and rigged up a cold/hot mixing station in garage - highly recommend this. Use warm or hot water when washing and rinsing if at all possible. Can also just hook up hose to water heater drain valve but obviously that uses more hot then needed. But necessary often as the hose bibbs outside are not typically soft or treated even though your home may be. If pipe in a mixing station you need to pull the cold water ( usually) from where it feeds the water heaters as that is treated cold supply - then just tee in off hot side before it goes to house.

[LagunaJim]

Truck washes are cheap and convenient, but sadly very few dry the coach -- so you end up with some spots, especially if they aren't filtering their water very well.

Very important to ensure that they do NOT use what they call "brightener", and you and I would call bleach! They use it on trucks, especially to sanitize truck trailers that carry foodstuffs.

A good truck wash knows that our motorhomes get washed with water and carwash soap. Blue Beacon certainly knows this.

I get my 40 foot diesel pusher plus my tow Jeep washed at Blue Beacon for about $80 including Rain-X, which I take as it reduces the spotting. A best practice is that after the truck wash, pull out of their wash bay and STOP on the apron for at least 10 minutes to let the water run down and off your coach. If you drive away drenched with water it leaves many more streaks/spots than if you just sit for 10 minutes before driving away.

Then I manually re-do the windows later to get rid of spots.

Beyond that, at least twice a year I have my coach washed and hand-waxed. Here at my homebase in SoCal my guy charges $460 to wash/wax the 40 foot coach AND semi-detail the Jeep (wash/wax, good interior clean).

The going rate in most places is $10 per foot for the motorhome, so he's giving me a bit of a deal doing the Jeep for only $60 more.

[Steve70-5]

I like washing my coach, might take a day or two, no big deal. When washing it, you will see any new paint chips/issues and can inspect the caulk. I usually run the hose water thru my water softener I have on the coach. Cuts down on the water spots.

[woodosgood]

We have used the Wash Wax All products from Aero Cosmetics since we bought our coach in 2016. It is a "waterless" wash and wax system that is allowed at campgrounds that do not allow you to use the water hose. You can get to most spots using a long, extendable pole, but sometimes you may need a ladder to access the hard to reach spots.

You can buy their products through Amazon, some RV Shows, or directly.

https://washwax.com

[jrs]

Excellent tips above but would add a wide squeegee to the list. I'm too cheap to pay yet to wash since still able to do it. We full time and don't want to carry a unit to DI our water. I do use a water softener which helps. After rinsing and using the squeegee, I wipe off by hand with good microfiber cloths.
It takes me about 8-10 hrs to do mine (when washing roof too).
We full time and many RV Parks don't allow washing so between washes I'll use Wash Wax All which was mentioned above.

[STEVE-JUNELL]

I will never forget the first class A we bought was an 05 Mt Aire and the first time we went to wash it. We had the whole family involved and buckets and ladders and hand washed every inch and dried with a towel. The process took a better part of a day. Fast forward now we can wash the whole rig in less than an hour. We use telescoping poles with lambs wool, power washer with De Ionized water, and some hand mitts. We do one side at a time hand wash what we can reach, use a separate bucket and mitt for the wheels goes pretty good now days but I still remember the feeing of looking at that big buss and thinking we gotta wash that.

[Dennis C.]

I find it therapeutic to wash my vehicles. I’d love to have that option for the RV, but unfortunately I don’t. My RV storage facility doesn’t allow RVs to be washed on the property. My home is in a neighborhood with a strict HOA policy that doesn’t allow me to wash it in my driveway. So, I have found other means to keep things clean.

[Dennis C.]

It’s kinda nice letting someone else do the dirty work too…

Detailing, ceramic coating, and roof resealing were completed today. I’m pleased with the outcome.

[K0YJ]

Looks awesome Dennis!!!

[202235f]

The first thing I would do is carefully read your owners manual. Some brands are very specific on how to wash and what products to use. You have a really high quality finish on your bus. Your manual will guide you correctly.

I would never wash my coach at a commercial truck wash. They are designed to wash commercial trucks that get realay dirty. They use stiff brushes and sometimes caustic chemicals to clean a big rig.

My owners manual outlines in detail what they recommend. They also warn that if their procedures are not followed, it could void any warranty on your new beauty.

[Dennis C.]

I spoke about washing with the guys who detailed my Ventana yesterday. They specifically recommended staying away from Blue Beacon truck washes for the reasons mentioned above. They recommended treating the finish the same way as a high quality automotive finish. Use something like a lambs wool mitt to wash the vehicle, use good automotive quality soaps, etc.

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by 202235f

The first thing I would do is carefully read your owners manual. Some brands are very specific on how to wash and what products to use. You have a really high quality finish on your bus. Your manual will guide you correctly.



I would never wash my coach at a commercial truck wash. They are designed to wash commercial trucks that get realay dirty. They use stiff brushes and sometimes caustic chemicals to clean a big rig.



My owners manual outlines in detail what they recommend. They also warn that if their procedures are not followed, it could void any warranty on your new beauty.

At Blue Beacon the crew boss always comes out to talk to me re what I would / don't want done. I request no brushes and finish w Rain-X.
I have never had an issue and always make it a point to tip the boss.
I've noticed he always carries the tip into the office and asks the counter clerk to deposit it so pretty sure it gets shared with the crew.
I see many MH / Toad rigs going through the one we usually use and think they are attentive to MH washing vs other OTR trucks.

[weird]

I've tried many different products from waterless to ceramic. Surprisingly, the simplest and cheapest solution works best for me. I use Superior Products, "Vehicle Soap with Wax" (catchy name there), a bucket, Molly Moppins Lambs Wool pad on a pole and a water blade on a pole. Takes 45 minutes with minimal spotting. No power washer, just a garden hose.

Unlike other all-in-one wash wax products I've used, this one has a good amount of surfactants to actually lift and remove dirt. Can you get a better shine? Probably, but frankly it looks pretty darn good to my eye.

https://superiorproducts.com/product...with-wax-soap/

Oreilly's has it but you have to call to have it shipped (free) to the store. $13 per gallon. Concentrated so a little goes a long way.