Coach Cleaning Questions

[Dick Simonis]

Cleaning this thing is a bit more formidable than our TT and I'm looking for some advice.  I have noticed several folks with MH's using spray bottles of something and just wiping it off without washing first.  This seems a lot easier than washing and trying to dry it off.  Any thoughts on this???

Also, cleaning the windshield is causing me some grief.  Currently, I using a RainX product but it always leaves streaks and Pat finds that unacceptable so if there is some magic Foo Foo juice that you use I'd love to hear about it.

For the wheels I'm leaning towards a Flitz product with the power balls.  Anything else I should be looking at??

Thanks for any advice.

[Bill Sprague]

You are going to get lots of opinions!  Everyone does it different.   I've settled on some products and habits that I like.  So here goes.....

I buy microfiber rags at Costco.  They are yellow and come in large packs.  I wash them many times and only throw away the ones I get so dirty or greasy that they would not be good for the washer.

I have a car wash brush with an extension handle that attaches to the end of the hose.  The head comes off for reaching tight spots like wheels.  The one I have now came from Costco and is very sturdy.

I also have a microfiber floor mop with half a dozen extra pads.  I think mine came from Wal-Mart.  I've seen them at Home Depot too.  The mops only come with one pad but there is usually a bin with extra pads.   You can get some VERY expensive versions of these at big rallies or places like Quartsite.  

I have a ladder that I got at Camping World that folds to a compact size.  I have not found a way to get the windshield clean with out using a ladder.

For windows, I use Sprayway  that I get from Costco in three packs.  Look for blue and white spray cans.  Spray it on and wipe off with the microfiber rags.

Be careful of your wheels.  Many of us have wheels with a plastic finish that keeps them shinny.  If you have that, the Flitz stuff might take it off.  My lazy way to clean wheels is with "S100" that I buy in motorcycle shops.  In a Honda store it is called "Honda Bright".  You spray it on and rinse it off.  If I'm in the mood to work a little harder I use a bucket, paint brush for the nuts and the head of the long handled or wash brush or microfiber rag for the rest.  Go slow or wear heavy rubber gloves to keep from bleeding.

My first choice for washing the motorhome is to hook the long brush to a hose and do a section at a time.  Where I store the motorhome there is no water so I hook the hose and brush to the outside shower -- which is nice because I like using warm water heated by the hydro hot.   It takes about 25 gallons out of the tank when I do it that way.   I wash a section at a time, wipe the part I can't reach with the microfiber floor mop and the part I can reach with the microfiber rags.  I can usually do it in about 40 minutes.

Depending on the year and model of your Beaver, it may be easy to hook a hose up in the water bay.  On mine I had a plastic RV shower.  At the hardware store you can get a 1/2 inch pipe to 3/4 inch hose brass fitting.  Unscrew the shower head and screw on the fitting.  Then you can attach a hose.

If I am where I can't hook up the hose or want to use less water, I get out a bucket.  I fill it with water, add a couple capfulls of "Protect All Quick and Easy Wash" (Camping World) and use the long handle brush without the hose.  It takes about 5 buckets.  The "Easy Wash" is not soap.  I think it is more of a rinse aid and maybe not necessary.  

I have tried some "waterless" car wash sprays like you've seen used .  My current favorite is from Griot's Garage, a Tacoma company with a catalog and website.   The idea is to spray it on and wipe it off with a microfiber mop or rag.   I have a badly scratched front cap because I did that when it was too dirty.  So, I will only use "waterless" cleaners when there is no other choice.

Some say you don't have to or even should wax because you have "clear coat".  I like what it looks like waxed and I think does not adhere to wax.  I've tried everything.  The easiest product I've found is "Protect All Polish, Wax and Treatment".  I buy the spray can at camping World, not the squeeze bottle.   It has real wax in it and one can does the whole motorhome.   You spray it on and wipe it off with the microfiber rags.  If the motorhome is washed, I can wax the whole thing in an hour.  I try to do it about twice a year.

One last product I use is a "California Duster" I bought at Autozone.   It is like a dust mop.  There are about three sizes.  Get the big, round one.  The handle fits into a four foot piece of PVC pipe.   If the motorhome is only "dusty" I can dust it in 10 minutes.  

Good luck!  And, BTW, I enjoyed golfing with you.

[John and Judy Gardner]

We use "The Solution" with Micro Fiber rags, http://www.rvsupplywarehouse.com/product/detail.cfm/pid/3619, works great, wife loves how it works on the windows, Works best if not applied in direct sun.

[Dick Simonis]

Thanks for all the replys.

Bill, nice narrative on cleaning.  I have the ladder and extention brush but the part I was missing was the floor mop for drying....never tought of it and the drying was causing me a lot of aggravation.  On the wheels, how can I tell if they have a plastic coat???  Don't want to cause a problem trying to solve it.

John and Judy, you hit the key I was trying to remember.  Our neigbor at Mallard Creed was using a product that seemed to work very will on his Contry Coach....really fussy folks....and now I remember it was the Solution product.  He was out there pretty much every day fussing with it and cleaning.  I suspect a product like this is good for keeping it clean as opposed to cleaning a dirty coach.

Dick and Pat

[Joel Ashley]

My elder brother has a '36 Plymouth and a '40 Ford that he has restored.  Practically every nut and bolt in them is stainless steel, just like his custom-built car trailer.  He belongs to both associated car clubs.  He also patronizes Griot's Garage, and I agree that if you care about your car's or coach's finish, you should get Griot's catalogue.  They sell their own name-brand products and aren't particularly cheap, but you can learn a lot just by reading the catalogue.

Brother says that even the best UV waxes break down in the sun in just a few weeks, and he has been after me since the day we bought the coach to build a carport for it;  he is a perfectionist that knows his cars and finishes, and is greatly disappointed I've not covered the coach.  There are several significant reasons why I haven't.  So I spend many hours cleaning it and waxing it adhering to Monaco's video on the subject.

While on the road, I used to try a long pole scrub and rinse (most campgrounds will allow at least a windshield rinse) every couple of days.  But after watching others in adjoining sites, I've gone to a different program.  Each evening, while the wife makes dinner, I get on my collapsible ladder and clean the windshield with 20/20, Bug-Off, or similar windshield cleaner you'd put in the underhood reservoir, a bug scrubber if needed, a squirt bottle with water, and towels.  Bug-Off works best to dissolve critters.  Cleaning daily isn't that much of a chore if done daily.  After a rinse, a squeegee in the right hands can work, but not on a long pole;  to my notion it's just as easy to get on a ladder with a towel and do it right, and with less water.

Additionally, about once a week, I rinse the whole front cap to remove dry grit, wash off the bugs, perhaps dry by hand, and apply a quick-wax, like ProtectAll or sometimes Aerospace 303, that puts a UV retardant, dirt resisting coating on the cap.  That alone makes the bugs rinse off with little if any scrubbing the next time, and I use little campground water to do it.  A bucket of Bill's Easy Wash or The Solution would suffice if there's no hose available, but a bucket of plain water or even a pump-up spray bottle works for me to simply rinse a treated cap.  

Since the cap's anti-rock film gets most of the glued-on dirt that can take hours of muscle to scrub off, and the wind and dirt impact wears off the front cap's wax faster than the rest of the coach, I've found it much easier to regularly spend a half hour coating the cap with protectant; bugs and dirt don't stick in the first place, and practically fall off on their own if they do.  You can let a rinsed cap dry overnight if you like, and spray/wipe on the protectant the next day.  As long as the sun hasn't baked in calcium waterspots, the protectant should help wipe any away.

Joel