Washing your class A

Executive wrote:
I wash mine when I can but usually once a month. The roof gets washed too..you wash your hair when you shower don't you...:S..the coach, including the roof, gets waxed twice a year. Takes me a couple hours at a campsite to do the wash. Some CGs charge $10 others don't care. If it's going to rain, simply lather it up and let Mother Nature rinse it for you. It still needs to be wiped down with microfiber towels. Make sure you wet the microfiber towels before drying...washing your coach gets you up close and personal with your rig. You will be surprised at other things you find while washing it. Things that you can easily repair/fix that you might otherwise miss.

Unless you use soft water, you will get water spots if you don't wipe it down after hosing it off......Dennis

One last comment.....we have a portable dionizer that we use for the final rinse and it dries 100% spot free. You know when you go to a car wash and the dial includes a final rinse setting? That is dionized water and our coach dries spot free and I like the look of the finish just that much better!

The roof 4-5 times a year.....it all starts with the roof IMO, keep the roof clean and waxed, the entire rig will require less work....The sides get 303 section by section, I am always doing it...

My husband has made the comment when the HS cheerleaders, etc. are having a car wash, that we should take the RV and let them do it. Like Diplomat Dan the knees and back are getting worn and it is hard to get around. Diplomat Dan when I heard what you were doing on your coach made my knees hurt, so I think I will go to bed with the heating pad and Tylenol.

I don't do high places and neither does he anymore (when he was younger he was on the top of his UH-1H (or D model) and did what needed to be done. This was in his "wild oats" days. I just look up and shake my head.

In the remodeling I am doing, I want to get the decals removed - they are peeling off, were that way when we bought her in 2009 - and have a solid color painted all over, white, off white, something like that - then have some of the artists around here do some painting on the coach. One thing I want is a Huey with his Black Cat nose art like it was in Vietnam, across the back. Then other stuff celebrating his time in service and Ohio. Part of it would be for me, Texas, the WAC emblem and other stuff. Then I would take it to the paint shop to have a clear coat or whatever they suggest. I will have the word Brave painted on the nose with a small black cat emblem on the nose.

Then, I would save money to let someone else do the washing and polishing. I do good to at least keep the windows clean.

J-Rooster wrote:
I wash my coach 3 times a year. Or should I say I have my Grandson (16 yrs.) wash it. I do the roof first after rinsing the whole coach. I use Simple Green (soap) and a power washer on the lowest settings. I do not power wash any seams or caulking. I apply 3 coats of Nu Finish paste wax to the front end of the coach only. The rest of the coach I use Aerospace #303 Protectant with UV protection very easy to work with and adds luster to the coach.

Can I borrow your Grandson? We're not THAT far from Port Orchard. I'd even pick him up at the ferry! :B

I wash my coach 3 times a year. Or should I say I have my Grandson (16 yrs.) wash it. I do the roof first after rinsing the whole coach. I use Simple Green (soap) and a power washer on the lowest settings. I do not power wash any seams or caulking. I apply 3 coats of Nu Finish paste wax to the front end of the coach only. The rest of the coach I use Aerospace #303 Protectant with UV protection very easy to work with and adds luster to the coach.

We've owned our coach since new. In the first 6 years, it got washed before every trip and waxed at least 4-6 times a year. The front 3M shield gets either 303, Plexus, Pledge or wax before every trip. Nothing sticks to it.

In the last couple of years, the knees and back have been acting up. It still gets washed before every trip and waxed quite often. The only difference now is I do it in sections. Sometimes with a nap about half way.:Z

As for tips, I use a soft brush on a pole and Meguiars car wash soap that I keep in a dish soap bottle. I squirt about a 6" long squirt on the brush and can wash half of one side. I rinse and do the other half. I still get on a ladder and dry with cotton towels, but you can also wrap a towel around a push broom and dry the sides. Just move the towel around the broom to the dry sides of the towel.

Now...don't forget to wash the generator and it gets a coat of wax once a year. The roof twice a year.

I've always advocated what the "Executive" stated.....you really get to see little issues developing when you clean your own coach. I also do all of my own engine servicing which lets me see issues developing on the underside too. Now that I'm getting older and things are getting tougher, I have a different opinion of older people with dirty coaches.....some just can't physically clean them.

I wash mine when I can but usually once a month. The roof gets washed too..you wash your hair when you shower don't you...:S..the coach, including the roof, gets waxed twice a year. Takes me a couple hours at a campsite to do the wash. Some CGs charge $10 others don't care. If it's going to rain, simply lather it up and let Mother Nature rinse it for you. It still needs to be wiped down with microfiber towels. Make sure you wet the microfiber towels before drying...washing your coach gets you up close and personal with your rig. You will be surprised at other things you find while washing it. Things that you can easily repair/fix that you might otherwise miss.

Unless you use soft water, you will get water spots if you don't wipe it down after hosing it off......Dennis

We just got back from the FMCA Rally in Albany, Or while there they parked us next to a guy in a 2004 Country Coach that looked better than it did when it was new and it had 65k on it. Never washes it but waxes it every month and between uses a California buster, liquid spray wax and microfiber towels. He had his coach looking great in 2hrs max.
JR