| Washing the exterior of a truck. Sounds easy right? | | | | The backs of the cabs can get really greasy. You're |
| Well, it's not really. When you soap a truck, it is very | | | | going to have to use some kind of a cleaner. |
| important that you are careful to soap around all the | | | | Whitewall cleaner or citrus cleaner/degreaser work |
| handles, turn signal lights, steps, and wipers. You | | | | the best. You spray it on and blast it off. It usually |
| want to soap all that stuff by hand. Use a one-foot | | | | makes them perfect. Make sure your hot water |
| by one foot lamb's wool square-not a mitt, they | | | | pressure washer, we recommend Landa or HydroTek |
| don't work well. You can use a brush for the rest of | | | | unit is running at 150+ degrees, 180 is most optimal. |
| the truck, but you have to get in around the handles | | | | Soaps activate best at 180 plus degrees, too hot and |
| and stuff by hand. There is no shortcut if you wish | | | | you get steam with less water flow and potentially |
| to maintain quality.Many product manufactures say | | | | get vapor locks slowing your progress. For more |
| you can use inline injection with certain soaps and let | | | | information on Truck Washing equipment or |
| the soap dwell for 30 seconds and rinse. That's great | | | | procedures contact; The Truck Wash Guy; all know |
| but you'll dull the paint. If you don't hand soap there | | | | that there's grease also on the bottom of the front |
| will be huge spots where you missed, because the | | | | axles, which require high pressure hot water to clean. |
| brush cannot get to all the nooks and crannies. It just | | | | You may have to get down kind of low and blast |
| physically is impossible. So when you're washing a | | | | the front axle from the front of the tractor. Use an |
| truck you want to make sure that you are soaping | | | | extension wand and get the grease in between the |
| most of the nooks and tricky parts by hand.Now the | | | | frame rails of the tractor behind the cab as well. |
| rest of it, you can soap by using a brush. One thing | | | | You're going to want to get all the grease off of the |
| you may want to check out on Peterbuilt trucks that | | | | rear differential, airbrakes and the airshocks. These |
| have the large front end that looks like a car, with | | | | are the places where you see the majority of the |
| the hood, not the flat cab, Kenworth type. On this | | | | grease. Check the bottoms of the gas tanks. The |
| Peterbuilt style truck, you can loosen the big straps | | | | diesel fuel really blasts off easy especially with hot |
| that strap down the hood and pull on the front of | | | | water. One pass and it will clean it up. Make sure you |
| the hood and tilt it forward. You will notice the top of | | | | hit this area otherwise there will be a big grease stain |
| the hood goes straight up and down, when it's fully | | | | there. Trucks are usually inspected by the state |
| forward. Then you can soap it pretty easily and you | | | | patrol. That's the highway patrol or state troopers as |
| can stand on the tires. Usually the trucks have two | | | | they're called in some states. They give tickets at |
| cross members that hold the radiators in place above | | | | the scales when they test for load weight before |
| the engine. You can usually stand on those and soap | | | | the trucks go down hills and at different inspection |
| the top part of the cab. That is probably the easiest | | | | points they check for excessive grease, because |
| way to do it if you're alone. That way you're not | | | | that's a fire hazard for over the road trucks. Always |
| climbing all over the tractor because when some of | | | | make sure you clean the license plate on the back of |
| these fenders get slick with soap, you will slide right | | | | the tractors. The trucks will get stopped at the |
| off. You're going to be four or five feet in the air. As | | | | scales if you cannot read the license plate.Make sure |
| you slide off you might get hurt. You certainly don't | | | | the trucks you wash don't get tickets. If they do |
| want to have a worker hurt him/herself. So you may | | | | they'll probably terminate your contract for cleaning |
| want to tilt the hood open.You are going to have to | | | | their trucks because you're not helping them if you |
| hand soap the wheels. You're not going to be able to | | | | don't clean all the grease off. Bugs. Boy, there's |
| clean them with a brush because they have those | | | | always bugs on the front of trucks. So you want to |
| big lug nuts. In between the little chrome caps that | | | | make sure you get all the bugs off. Some trucks |
| go around the lug nuts is a space that you're going | | | | have those big chrome horns on top of the cabs, |
| to have to hit. You don't want to miss those areas. | | | | and the little yellow lights that are all the way across |
| It's ok to spray a citrus cleaner, white wall cleaner, or | | | | the top of the cab. These get really dirty with lots of |
| strong degreaser on the wheels, but don't put these | | | | bugs. Many trucks have really big rear view mirrors |
| types of chemicals on polished alcoa aluminum wheels. | | | | on sides of the fronts of the cabs so that when |
| Hand soap them along with the rear wheels on the | | | | they turn they don't hit smaller cars that are low to |
| tractor and the trailer. Make sure when you're rinsing | | | | the ground. You have to hand soap those as well, |
| those wheels that you rinse thoroughly. You'll have to | | | | both sides; bugs in front and dirt on the back. And |
| dry the water out, otherwise the water rests in | | | | make sure you clean bugs off the front license |
| there and the entire soap residue rests in a little pool | | | | plate.To clean the entire fleet repeat this simple |
| of water in those rims. Then when the driver moves | | | | process in rapid repetition and as you work down the |
| the truck or trailer the dirty pool of water splashes | | | | line you will see why on the first day God made dirt |
| the rest of the rim spotting it and the dirt ring travels | | | | and then soon after he made water to clean it off all |
| around and around. Pay attention to this kind of | | | | he created. |
| stuff.There's grease all over these types of tractors. | | | | |