Truck Washing

[Soundguy]

Ok, this may be a fairly lame topic, but I'm wondering where you guys with full size, long bed pickups take your trucks to be washed. Mine is a 3/4T ford with extended cab, and the turning radius is not to good, so I've had issues with some car wash places where its a tight fit. Of course theres the mirrors to watch out for also.

I've taken it to those touchless type washes where you pull in and sit while the nozzles spray around the truck, but I'm not happy with the results.

So where do you all take your trucks for washing???

backyard or driveway.

I don't like those auto car wash places with the dirty hard bristle brushes and machines that eat quarters.

 

[Fixemall]

Ice wash soap smells, cleans and shines the best, soft bristle extendable brush and warm water, if it is muddy or has ice buggers I use hot water first. One of the best things I ever did was put Hot and cold water outlet in garage.
For wheels I use a different bucket and brush with diluted concrete cleaner and rinse well!

 

[RobertBrown]

You're supposed to wash em? Trucks? Really?

I guess I better get busy.

 

[JimRB]

I wash the car and truck using a wash mitt, 5 gallon bucket of water and hose with a spray nozzle. I climb in the bed to get the roof of the truck. I stuck a board on the top of the 5 gallon bucket step up to stand on the front tire to wash the windshield and hood. The car has not seen a commercial wash ever. Paint is in good shape except for all the stone chips on the hood. Truck paint beat to heck from previous owner but it looks ok after a wax.

I did hand wash back when I was a kid living in Ohio. We just waited for rare warm winter days to wash the cars.

 

[PapaPerk]

In my driveway with a bucket and sponge!

 

[US American]

Hand wash with a quality mitt and a quality soap (like Maguires or something similar). If I must go through a car wash it is touchless only but I can count on one hand the # of times I have done that. Wax in the spring and again in the fall (I use a high quality Maguires liquid wax). Rigs live in the shop.

My wife detailed at a Chevy/gmc dealership for five years... I thought I knew detailing before she set me straight. Never ever use a dirty mitt, rag, dish soap, or automated car washes that contact your paint. And Bleche White for the tires works the best and keeps them blacker longer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Hand washing is the only way to get them really clean. I might powerwash mine if I have it hooked up knocking the mud off the tractor but usually just a jet from the hose removes the crud, then a hand wash with a soft brush and bucket of soapy water, then hose off or pressure wash off the soap. Wax whenever I have the energy which is about every 2 years average for a paste job. I like to let the rain wash it as much as possible and since it is silver gray the dirt doesnt show too bad anyway. The older I get the less particular I am about a spotless vehicle. I do like to keep the interior clean so I dont get dirty sitting in it so it gets vacuumed more than washed.

 

[Jimbrown]

I can't remember when mine was washed last. At least 3 years ago.

I always marvel at peoplel that park their trucks in the driveway and wash them every weekend and never use them as trucks.

And mine has a broke windshiled as does every vehicle I own.

Put a new winshield in the Jeep Liberty last month and it alsready has a big rock hit.

 

[crashz]

My trucks are always used as trucks. But I like to keep them to be as clean and as shiny as possible. That includes a waxing twice a year, chrome polish once a year, wash at least every month and after every snow storm (to rinse the salt brine off), fluid film the underside, scrape and paint all underbody rust (minimal as long as I keep up with the FF), detail the interior a few times a year and liberal amounts of protectant (Armor-All or whatever flavor I have) on interior and exterior trim.

I traded in my 2004 with shiny paint, clean interior and not a single spot of rust on the exterior or underside. Other than a dent on the drivers side bedside, the truck looked like new. It maybe more work than necessary, but I enjoy it, and hopefully it retains more value of the vehicle. Plus a well detailed vehicle is only second to that new car experience.

 

[Deere Dude]

I was with my boy and he took his car to a touchless spray shop to get the salt and dirt off and spent $7.00. When we got home I looked at his car and I was amazed at how dirty it was from a bad wash job. I'm to cheap anyway but I would never do that except to spray underneath the car in the spring.

What about wax? I paste waxed and liquid waxed over the years, but does that work much better than carnuba car wash soap?

 

[bironacad]

X2, plus I have a 4-5 foot handle with a soft bristle brush for reaching the roof. This also works great for cleaning the side so I don't have to bend over at all. I can wash the truck in 10 minutes. Of course wheels take a little bending and scrubbing. The pressure washer works for the most part, but it never gets the film off so I need the brush.

That is me in the summer but in the winter it is the self wash for my truck.

She is 21' long bumper to bumper, a Dodge 2500, CTD with an 8' box and full quad cab. Wash it? it is a chore to park it, lol.:laughing::thumbsup:

 

[Combustix]

I just wait till it rains

 

[buck12]

I don't keep spotless vehicles. Just not enough time. When I do wash it is always by hand.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I am amazed at you guys who say they do not wash their vehicles. I mean it seems like a dumb thing to me not to take care of you 2nd biggest investment behind your house.:confused2:

I have too much invested not to take care of them.

2006 F-350 Diesel
2008 Nissan Titan
2008 BMW 335I

Heck I wash my boat after every use and for that matter my car haul trailer also gets washed before getting stuck back in the barn.

Kind of reminds me of my neighbor. Him and his wife park in the drive way while $200 worth of broken bikes and crap no one would buy at the last garage sell sits secure in the garage. It makes me laugh each time I drive by and see that $45,000 Lincoln and $50,000 Dmax sitting there with limbs, snow, bird crap, cats, ect all over them.

Chris

 

[flusher]

NAPA store parking lot--benefit car wash-- high school girls soccer team. Enjoy helping a worthy cause :thumbsup:

 

[frischtr]

A buddy of mine has a two car garage and a shed big enough for another two cars and all of his vehicles sit outside.

Also, just because some guys baby their trucks doesn't mean they don't use it as a truck. As I said before I only drive mine once every week or two, but when I do, its either a trip to the lumber yard, or to go pick up a tree for firewood, or hauling a tandem axle utility trailer for who-knows-what. But I baby mine like a show-car...:thumbsup:

 

[buck12]

I am amazed at you guys who say they do not wash their vehicles. I mean it seems like a dumb thing to me not to take care of you 2nd biggest investment behind your house.:confused2:

I have too much invested not to take care of them.

2006 F-350 Diesel
2008 Nissan Titan
2008 BMW 335I

Heck I wash my boat after every use and for that matter my car haul trailer also gets washed before getting stuck back in the barn.

Kind of reminds me of my neighbor. Him and his wife park in the drive way while $200 worth of broken bikes and crap no one would buy at the last garage sell sits secure in the garage. It makes me laugh each time I drive by and see that $45,000 Lincoln and $50,000 Dmax sitting there with limbs, snow, bird crap, cats, ect all over them.

Chris

My vehicles may not always be clean but they are kept in the garage and shop including my 19 year old hunting truck.

 

[drivadesl]

Well after driving on upstate NY clay backroads, I decided I had to get her washed. All that mud caked underneath and below the wheelwells so took her to some local automated carwash, where it goes through and you get to watch it along the way. Some hand washing by the locals to start. a quick vac, and dry her off when done, came out pretty good. $15, and maybe 15 minutes sure beats dragging out the hose n bucket right in the middle of winter.

 

[JDgreen227]

None of our vehicles (1 GMC and 3 cars) has ever gone thru a commercial car wash, I have always done the cleaning at home when weather permits. Even a $100 1400 psi electric washer will suffice for most purposes, and when 3 minutes at a drive thru wash costs you $1.50 plus the gas you burn to get there, that $100 machine pays for itself really fast. The only time I go to the drive thru places is when it's too cold to wash it at home. The biggest advantage to home cleaning is you can scrub away with a mitt or wash brush as long as you want, while the drive thru places frown on bucket washing and other customers get impatient.

 

[JDgreen227]

I was with my boy and he took his car to a touchless spray shop to get the salt and dirt off and spent $7.00. When we got home I looked at his car and I was amazed at how dirty it was from a bad wash job. I'm to cheap anyway but I would never do that except to spray underneath the car in the spring.

What about wax? I paste waxed and liquid waxed over the years, but does that work much better than carnuba car wash soap?

Take it from me, a hand applied and buffed wax job is worth 20X those carnuba car wash soap applications. Those are basically just an additive to make water bead off and look like it did some good.

The more work a wax job entitles, the better it protects. The cheapo spray on and buff off applications you can buy give a very small amount of protection, but nothing like a hand applied liquid or paste wax job. The very best wax I have found for the money is Black Magic liquid, costs about $7 a bottle.