Even after just one or two camping trips, you’ll notice your RV’s starting to get a little dirty. This is natural because travelling cross-country exposes your trailer or motorhome to a lot of dust and debris, which sticks pretty easily to the aluminum or fiberglass exterior. Thankfully, these walls are also designed so that the dirt washes off easily, which means you should take a couple hours of your time after every couple trips to get your RV back in top shape. It’ll look a lot nicer afterward, and the cleaner surface will ward off mold, wood rot, and other problems that could potentially harm the exterior.
This guide will help you out with your cleaning techniques because we want you to enjoy your recreational as much as possible for many years to come. If you still don’t have an RV or need parts or service, come visit us at Wisconsin RV World, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Caring for the Roof
When setting out to clean up your RV, the roof is your first order of business. You need to clean this before everything else because otherwise, dirt and mud from the roof will trickle down and ruin everything that you just cleaned. To wash the roof, get a bucket full of water, with some form of light detergent mixed in. If you want to, you can spend a little extra cash on a product specific for cleaning RVs, but something like dish soap will do just fine. When you’re up on the roof, it’s best to clean it in small, manageable sections. That way, you can rinse off all the soap in the areas you washed before the soap dries. After you get the entire roof cleaned up, give it a good, thorough rinse once again to make sure you get rid of any excess soap.
Washing with a Pressure Washer
A pressure washer can make cleaning more convenient, but you’ll need to know how to use one properly before washing your RV with it. For one thing, make sure you stand with the nozzle at least a foot and a half from the exterior wall. From here, you should spray each side in broad sweeps, so long as you don’t hold the nozzle aimed at one part for longer than a couple seconds.If you spray in one place for too long, the paint will start to peel off. This means that you’ll need to scrub off stubborn bits of sap and sticky substances by hand, but you’ll still have a lot of time with the pressure washer.
Washing by Hand
If you don’t have a pressure washer, you’ll have to wash the sides of your RV with the same brush and telescoping handle you used on the roof. We also recommend that you break up each side into columns, and wash each individual column, rinse it, then move onto the next one. Just like it did for the roof, this will prevent the soap from drying. If you try scrubbing the entire side before rinsing it off, the soap will start to harden, and you’ll just have to go over it again to get the soap scum off. Once the sides are done, you can move on to the detail cleaning. For the windows, you should get a glass cleaner. The rims require a special cleaner. They might be made of aluminum, chrome, steel, or possibly something else, and each of these materials calls for a different type of chemical. Make sure you check your owner’s manual,and purchase the cleaner that’s appropriate for your rims.
If you have any further questions about washing your RV or want to check out our inventory of motorhomes and trailers, come on into Wisconsin RV World. We’re in Deforest, serving the areas of Madison, Green Bay, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
