Spring cleaning the roof and sides, best options

pk1023 wrote:
I have a Karcher gas powered power washer. I want to do the lion share of the work with this and soap/cleaners.

No you don't. :E

I don't want to do a ton of hand scrubbing basically.

Yes you do. :W

I never use a pressure washer on an rv. I use Dove dish soap on the roof and a automotive wash & wax on the sides.

I agree with others. I'll add that the best product I have found for the rubber roof is Dicor roof cleaner. And you still need to scrub some areas. I do mine twice a year. I can't imagine what it would look like after three years.

You may not want to do much hand scrubbing, but that's exactly what's required. I would not use a pressure washer for reasons mentioned above. I can't imagine not cleaning my rig for 3 yrs, but everyone is different. You probably have your work cut out for you now.

I'd spray a small area at a time with rv black streak remover, scrub that in with warm dish detergent in a pale of water, then rinse off before the black streak remover dries. Be careful with it though, it can stain paint.

Then when done, follow it up with a good coat of wax. Our just let it go as you have the past 3 yrs. To each their own. Like anything else, maintaining equipment takes effort, pain and simple.

Your choice if you want to do it right or not. My bil has never waxed his rig and it shows. My 28 yr old rig looks better than his that's 11yrs old, but that's his choice.

On a rig that hasn't seen cleaning for a long time I would leave the pressure washer in your garage and prepare for a more thorough wash with a brush on your hose. As mentioned above too much pressure in the wrong area will do damage to decals, seals etc. Get some good soap in a bucket, some black streak remover and go at it. The roof manufacturers have recommended products based on the material on your roof. I have used simple green with good results...just please take care up there and take notice of any seams needing dicor. Some 303 aerospace protectant on tires and decals will really protect them well. I just don't think there are many shortcuts to the labor involved unless you pay others to do the work for you.

Daryll

Pressure washing can be touchy. There are a lot of sealed areas on the roof and sidewall, around the windows, and around doors and hatches. If you know what you're doing and use a fan tip, first letting the soap do most of the lifting, you may be OK. If you use a circle tip and decide to blast out seamed areas, you'll create problems.

I'm not afraid to use a pressure washer on any surface but I don't blast away at dirt and I know when to back off. It is an art.

If you have a lot of oxidation on the surfaces, buy a gallon of Jasco prepaint conditioner. Mix it at the 50% rate and spray it on your painted surfaces with a garden sprayer. Rinse well and before the Jasco dries. If you want gloss, spray or apply wax at your convenience.