How clean do you keep your rig?

Buji · 09-12-2007, 11:59 PM

I have a bad habit of keeping all of my vehicles in a showroom condition, even my jeep. I claybar my cars once a year and apply premium hand wax, with touch-up waxing at least monthly. This maintains the paint, (vehicle value) makes it easier to clean, and gives me a workout on Saturday morning.

After my inaugural trip with the SMB, I realized that this was not going to be practical. Not only are we talking sheer square footage here, but the rig is tall and more difficult to wash than my other vehicles.
Also, my SMB is stored outside as it is much to large to fit into the garage, so it will pick up it's share of water spots etc.

Here comes the $6 question: How often do you wash your van? How thorough are you?

jage · 09-13-2007, 08:41 AM

I found a nice extension brush at target that's good for scrubbing most of the dirt off. I've always been leery of auto washes and have found that many (especially brushless) don't get real mud and dirt off.

I've only taken my 2000 Jeep through the wash maybe 5 times since I've owned it. I hate washing them by hand and use the least labor intensive method - like I'll wax only if I find something in a bottle that sprays on with the hose.

Of course my family has never been sellers of vehicles. We tend to collect instead- for example I'm still holding on to my F250 for some reason even though I've got the SMB. In fact I've only ever sold two vehicles in my life, both were comanches and both were to the same friend. The rest went to the junkyard, so wax and finish wasn't really important.

**BroncoHauler** · 09-13-2007, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buji

I have a bad habit of keeping all of my vehicles in a showroom condition, even my jeep. I claybar my cars once a year and apply premium hand wax, with touch-up waxing at least monthly. This maintains the paint, (vehicle value) makes it easier to clean, and gives me a workout on Saturday morning.

After my inaugural trip with the SMB, I realized that this was not going to be practical. Not only are we talking sheer square footage here, but the rig is tall and more difficult to wash than my other vehicles.
Also, my SMB is stored outside as it is much to large to fit into the garage, so it will pick up it's share of water spots etc.

Here comes the $6 question: How often do you wash your van? How thorough are you?

Buji,

Is this how you're going to pay for your rig, by offering to wash our vans for $6? Come by Saturday, no Armour All on the seats, and don't steal the loose change in the ashtray.

Herb

danamrak · 09-14-2007, 09:46 PM

My husband believes is cleaning and waxing the SMB on a regular basis. Which means whenever it gets dirty. We had to have a new garage built for the SMB because he didnt want it sitting outside when not in use.

sailquik · 09-02-2009, 01:46 PM

My cleaning schedule is here:

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1350&p=29549#p29549

winvest · 09-02-2009, 03:22 PM

I spray off the mud after a rainy trip, and vacuum out the inside, but that's about it.

saabman · 09-03-2009, 03:25 AM

In Winter with lots of salt on the roads I clean weekly especially the underside...

MikewTV · 09-03-2009, 05:10 AM

I clean Minerva inside and out on my way home from every trip. Just swing through the self serve car wash. Also, living on a dirt road, I have to give her a good undercarriage wash off at least twice a month. So far I have only hand waxed the penthouse (twice a year.) I've hand shined the rest of her once but waxing all if the SMB just seems too daunting. Even with my ryobi power buffer (which stops spinning as soon as I put any pressure on it.)

I did find a drive thru car wash about 45 min away that I can actually fit her through even with my Quigley 4x4. But it was a major leap of faith driving thru the first time. A sickening scraping started as I was exiting the dryers. later, I realized it was the rubber nozzles of the dryer dragging on the penthouse. Not sure it really did any harm and I actually took her through again about 6 months later. But not since.

LeadDoggy · 09-03-2009, 06:26 PM

Did not really see my true regiment
use an autowash before and shortly after every trip

The place that I purchased my van from had some "Nimrod" buff it prior to my pick up. Swirl marks all over, up and down both sides and around the back to the front. Took two days to buff them out and put a coat of wax on it.
How does one wax the top?

SierraHawk · 10-25-2009, 09:33 AM

As a landscape photographer, I use the van on a regular basis. To the consternation of my wife the van generally has a thin coat of dust or a little mud along the lower part of the doors. I keep telling her that there is a difference between clean dirt and dirty dirt (eg urban street dirt) and it will only get dirty when I go out the next day but she doesn't seem to understand. I apply a paste wax to the body 2 - 3 times a year. I avoid using soap because it will remove the paste wax that I applied and buffed out myself.

If there is salt on the road or I am driving in a city for a while the van gets rinsed with lots of water and then washed again. If I use soap I will wax it again. The kitchen area is always kept clean. I will vacuum the floor as needed. Dash, windshield and windows are wiped so that I can see. I generally do a reasonable job but my wife often opts to clean everything again. Since my SMB is white, the top is the most important area to keep waxed. I use a heavy coat of liquid (so that it will soak into the gel) on the top several times a year.