Am I the only guy who hand dry's my RV after every wash

nellie1289 · 12-22-2015, 10:12 PM

Just curious what people do washing/waxing wise. I usually wash with a brush and dry it off with 4-5 towels on a sunny day, or in the winter if the roads are dry I will wash it drive it a couple miles then dry it. I do have covered storage I was just curious what others do. I don't mind the effort and I have to say it is nice to have it clean when you take it out on the next journey. I figure its a big investment so why not protect your rig! I wax the cap twice a year.

On edit I generally dry it to keep it from water spotting....

GaryWT · 12-22-2015, 10:23 PM

I use a wash/wax on it. Sometimes I just wash the front cap. Generally it is dark out when I finish washing so it dries overnight.

bsmith0404 · 12-23-2015, 05:34 AM

I rinse with spot free (softened) water, way too much RV to try to dry it.

Starmaster · 12-23-2015, 06:54 AM

X2 what bsmith said. I bought our portable water softener for about $200. We use it to supply the trailer water when we are parked for more than a couple of days. When at home, it's used for washing the cars, trailer, boat, etc.

Softened water leaves no spots and soap suds a lot more.

Dave

**sourdough** · 12-23-2015, 10:58 AM

We dry the RV every time we wash. Water always leaves marks if not dried off (everywhere we've been). We then wax with 303. As a word of caution; I just paid CW $339 to inspect/clean/treat the roof and wash the trailer. I made them wash the trailer twice because the water marks were terrible. Even then, it just isn't like something I would do. We put it in our storage building and re-did it ourselves (I've got the front and one side done- hope to have the rest done today). We had the front cap re-painted about a year ago so we try to keep it clean and treated in the hopes that it won't fade again.

nellie1289 · 12-23-2015, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourdough

We dry the RV every time we wash. Water always leaves marks if not dried off (everywhere we've been). We then wax with 303. As a word of caution; I just paid CW $339 to inspect/clean/treat the roof and wash the trailer. I made them wash the trailer twice because the water marks were terrible. Even then, it just isn't like something I would do. We put it in our storage building and re-did it ourselves (I've got the front and one side done- hope to have the rest done today). We had the front cap re-painted about a year ago so we try to keep it clean and treated in the hopes that it won't fade again.

Amen brother, there is no place in America where the water doesn't spot from my experience, and I live in the northwest where we probably have the softest water of anywhere. Our water doesn't even get treated, no fluoride, nothing it comes right off mount hood(bull run) and into the Portland water system. I don't know how people can say there water doesn't spot?

**JRTJH** · 12-23-2015, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nellie1289

Amen brother, there is no place in America where the water doesn't spot from my experience, and I live in the northwest where we probably have the softest water of anywhere. Our water doesn't even get treated, no fluoride, nothing it comes right off mount hood(bull run) and into the Portland water system. I don't know how people can say there water doesn't spot?

Same here. Our "well water" is about as "fresh and pure" as can be expected for this area. After being pumped out of the ground behind our house, it's filtered to remove the iron and any potential organic material, then softened to remove the mineral content. That leaves behind just enough sodium (from the water softener) to spot dark surfaces when it dries.

So, it's either buy a "de-ionizer" or use a chamois/towel. So far, I'm too cheap to spring for the de-ionizer and towels work well to prevent spotting on the RV. I usually follow-up with either a quick coating of 303 or a polish. Wax just doesn't seem to last long enough to justify the effort...

mfifield01 · 12-23-2015, 01:02 PM

Any clue how long 303 lasts? I was previously using it on my boat's interior and dash. It kept it looking new, but I used it frequently in the summer. I put 303 on my 2810 right after purchase. I'm just curious how often I should treat it.

BTW - I don't dry, due to the size.

skidooxman · 12-23-2015, 01:30 PM

I use 303 but also a squeegee on a 6 foot handle, gets all the water off and no scratching. The auto squeegee is 12" or 16" and can be used by hand or a handle.

I might add, my OCD washes and dries my trailer before and after every trip, and I travel with detailing supplies, a few trips I even washed it in a parking lot or my tank water. I know I know, my OCD is going to kill me.

bsmith0404 · 12-23-2015, 02:46 PM

Apparently you all haven't discovered using water to dry. If you have a good coat of wax and you do water sheeting with soft water it will be nearly dry without leaving spots behind. Google drying with water, you will find a bunch of info/youtube videos. It's a detailers trick to avoid introducing scratches through drying.

jje1960 · 12-23-2015, 03:13 PM

Yea, it get's dry if the leaf blower reaches the water....

nellie1289 · 12-23-2015, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidooxman

I use 303 but also a squeegee on a 6 foot handle, gets all the water off and no scratching. The auto squeegee is 12" or 16" and can be used by hand or a handle.

I might add, my OCD washes and dries my trailer before and after every trip, and I travel with detailing supplies, a few trips I even washed it in a parking lot or my tank water. I know I know, my OCD is going to kill me.

Well with an unbelievably beautiful setup you got I can hardly blame you. I love that setup you are rolling.

gtsum2 · 12-23-2015, 07:22 PM

Mine air drys. Can't imagine drying it by hand...39ft long means I would dry the front cap and the rest of he trailer likely air dried before I got to it

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nellie1289 · 12-23-2015, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtsum2

Mine air drys. Can't imagine drying it by hand...39ft long means I would dry the front cap and the rest of he trailer likely air dried before I got to it

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Ha I wash one side at a time for this reason then dry it and move on

squeak93 · 12-24-2015, 09:38 AM

I washed mine once..... does that count?

But really, I need to spend some time waxing it getting ride of 5 years of stuff on it. It looks nice but when you get up on it, you can see the streaks etc from where water "runs" down the side after rain etc.

I'm about to pay a detail service as the time I takes to wash/wax my truck is extensive, I can't imagine a 37 ft Fifth wheel... YIKES.

old timer · 12-25-2015, 07:12 AM

I don't hand dry anything. I found that rubbing on painted finishes leaves tiny scratches in the finish. No matter how you try they will just appear. Now I use my shop vac to blow the water off my cars and 5th wheel. Less rubbing means less scratches. it also blows the water out from places you cant dry with a towel. I use the filters that I use for filling my water tank to filter the water. It may not filter that much but something is better than nothing> Water here is as hard as a rock. LOL

Javi · 12-25-2015, 09:46 AM

I wash both my truck and the 5'er in rain water and air dry...

gearhead · 12-25-2015, 04:12 PM

As humid as it is here, there is no point drying it if it's parked outside.

nellie1289 · 12-31-2015, 03:44 PM

for those of you who think drying it is hard, I waxed the cap yesterday!

old timer · 01-03-2016, 05:29 AM

Wish i had a place like that to do my rig LOL.
Looks nice to bad the previous owner didnt take that much care of mine. I have lots of work to do on mine to make it shine like that.

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