Keepin it clean on the road
 

How do you keep your rig clean when on the road?
Do we do it ourselves once at our destination or hire a detailer or ?
Stop at truck/rv wash stations along the road?
Has anyone ever used Blue Beacon wash stations?
There is one on I-75 in Tifton, GA. I might try anyone been here and how did it go?

when were traveling we use the truck washes….ive used blue beacon in wytheville (#35) 3 times (when we've tailgated at Va Tech)….they do a fantastic job.

I've also used the blue beacon in houston (#98) - again they do a fine job.

Ive got another place I've used in houston, but they're expensive (80 bucks) and for as long as they take, i don't think they're any better than blue beacon.

Otherwise, i do it myself at our storage lot or in front of my in-laws.

I carry a brush & squeegie (on telescoping poles) in our storage bays.

They used to call it the "streakin' beacon" in the old days, for good reason. Lately though I've had much better luck and gotten great jobs from the Blue Beacon. OK, maybe not luck. Here's the secrets. First, go late at night if you can help it. When there is no line and they are bored they will spend a little more time on the job than during the day when they've got 10 impatient truckers lined up outside. Second and most important, TIP! Truckers are notoriously cheap and those guys rarely get a tip. Here's my MO: When you go in the office to pay before they start washing, they will have to figure out what to charge you, they know semi truck prices inside and out and they are set in stone, but when doing an unusual rig they usually have to pore over the price chart to try to figure out what to charge you. There's about 50 different things on that list, and none of them are a TC. So the first thing I do is lay a $20 bill on the counter and tell the guy "that's for the crew, because I know you do a good job". Now here's a guy that hasn't seen a tip all day, with a $20 bill in front of him. The first thing he does is charge you for a cheaper rate, because he has that discretion on an unusual rig, and second thing is you get a bang up job. Their habit it to walk right out and tell the crew they just got a tip and they always hop right to it. My experience has almost always been that even including the tip I end up paying less or the same for the wash than the price list rate, and I get a better job. Works every time. If you just want to be a nice guy, tip when they are done, if you want a great job, tip up front.

So we have been on the road since Nov 1 and so far we have had Little Sisters, Blue Beacon and I washed it a couple of times in between. Little Sisters in Barstow Ca, was great, washed and dried the coach and jeep and looked great. Blue Beacon in Texas was super BAD. I don't know if the water was dirty or they didn't rinse enough or what but it was PITIFUL. I washed and polished yesterday for 5 hours cleaning up their mess.
I had phoned and complained and was told they couldn't refund but could issue credits for future service-no thanks after the last time-NEVER AGAIN.

I sense these truck washes have a HIGH turn over rate....so a good wash today could be a bad one tomorrow.

Which beacon in texas ?

Unique Truck Wash up in dallas gets great reviews.

Had our F-350 and fiver washed at the Streakin Beacon in North Baltimore, Ohio last fall. Was satisfied with the job they did and they were courteous and easy to work with, as I am somewhat particular about those kind of things. ( So my wife says ) ...

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It was the Beacon in Laredo Texas. I think I just got a bad wash job but after having to fix the problem, why take another chance?

I went to a truck wash outside Fargo. Don't remember the name, maybe BlizzardND will tell us? I was very happy with the price and they did a pretty good job I think. The only concern I have is those high pressure jet nozzles. They don't touch the truck at all. They used about 6 guys with the pressure sprayers. I just don't like the idea of those things because I fear if they don't do it just right they're going to force water into all the places it shouldn't be. Around the clearance lights and windows, any vents and such, etc.... And I don't think the high pressure does that good. My wife and I have got it down to a pretty good routine. We use a bucket with rv wash/water. I use one of those long extendable handles with the soft brush end. It's made to hook up to a hose but we don't hook it up. She uses the hose with a spray nozzle. We do sections at a time. She sprays a section, I follow behind with the soapy brush, then she moves behind to spray that section down washing the soap/dirt off. We work our way along that way leapfrogging until we've gotten all the way around. Then the time consuming part. We have to set up two large step ladders, one on each side of the windshield. Then we put a Little Giant extendable aluminum plank across from one to the other. Then we climb out onto that with a bucket of soapy water and rags. This is the best way for us to clean off the sleeper overhang section that comes over the cab. Living in MN that area gets a good mess of bugs when I have to drive at night. I don't like to stand on the engine to clean it because it's too hard to reach the edges. Can't stand on the hood because it's fiberglass and slopes a bit too. Last step we spray the rims and wipe them down with a rag and soapy water. Final rinse and throw those rags out. Brake dust is nasty stuff, best to dispose of. I'd guess we're under an hour start to finish. Doesn't cost much for soap and old t-shirts. We could do this method on the road if we brought the rv wash soap and that long handle brush. But those ladders and the plank would be hard to take along.

When I drove long haul this is what I did, i carred an extension handle soft brush, bucket, soap, 100' garden hose, a faucet key, and tools like a large Cresent wrench. I ordered two sizes of fire hydrant caps and drilled and taped them for a garden hose adaptor. I would park in a closed warehouse parking lot and wash the truck there. I would look for a faucet on the building first then if you have to use the hydrant, do not cap off the end of the hose! The water pressure can be more than 200 PSI so just crack the valve just enough to flow.

Follow up with the rest of the detailing like aluminum polish and tire shine.

We keep things clean mostly by washing ourselves.......occasionally we will have a detail guy come in with a power washer....what I do regularly myself that I am certain makes a big difference in the overall cleaning routine is wash and wax the roof.....If the roof is clean the Rig will stay clean.....by doing once a month roof washes it also keeps me up on the overall condition of the sealants, seams, vents, etc.....