Let's Talk Caravans & Motorhomes, how do you clean yours?

[cockykat27]

Hey, fellow adventurers and road trippers!

I have recently bought an Elddis Affinity, and I'm looking for some help on how to clean/ keep it clean.

I'd love to hear about how you do it.

Any help would be great.
Thanks Kat 😁

[Steve Kimberley]

Any half-decent wash & wax, and a bit of Silky on the inevitable black streaks always did the job for me.
Might be worth doing a home ceramic coating job on it too, but not essential.
I had a free Diamondbrite ceramic job done on my last new moho, but I'm not sure I'd have paid for it.

[cockykat27]

Steve Kimberley said:

Any half-decent wash & wax, and a bit of Silky on the inevitable black streaks always did the job for me.
Might be worth doing a home ceramic coating job on it too, but not essential.
I had a free Diamondbrite ceramic job done on my last new moho, but I'm not sure I'd have paid for it.

Amazing. Thank you for this. Would you say silk is like a tar remover? Would you say a wax would be easier instead of a ceramic coating?

[LeighW]

The front and rear grp panels on my 2020 Sprite had gone quite dull and black streaks were a pig to remove. I assume the first owner had never used anything to coat or protect it. I've tried quite a few products, but in the end Autoglym Super Resin with a DA polisher worked best to polish it to a shine, I then coated it with Autoglym Ceramic Spray. I use Autoglym Ceramic Wash and Protect to wash it, it's working well.

[stevemcs]

Snow foam, well built hamber touchless, then any decent spray sealent - infinity wax, gtechnic, gyeon wet coat etc. tyres are dressed with carpel retyre, plastics with Koch chemie plastar, wipe down infinity wax or gtechnic c2v3

[cockykat27]

This is such a cute little caravan. Looks like you keep this super clean. Do you have a go-to sealant that you use?

[cockykat27]

LeighW said:

The front and rear grp panels on my 2020 Sprite had gone quite dull and black streaks were a pig to remove. I assume the first owner had never used anything to coat or protect it. I've tried quite a few products, but in the end Autoglym Super Resin with a DA polisher worked best to polish it to a shine, I then coated it with Autoglym Ceramic Spray. I use Autoglym Ceramic Wash and Protect to wash it, it's working well.

This is helpful, thank you. Have you ever used anything like a tar remover on the black marks?

[Easternlight]

Nothing special. CIF is my go to for cleaning.
My van is 13 years old now and I do T cut and wax the front every few years.

[cockykat27]

Easternlight said:

Nothing special. CIF is my go to for cleaning.
My van is 13 years old now and I do T cut and wax the front every few years.

If it isn't broke, don't fix it, as the saying goes. Looks mega ☺️

[slopes]

Decent APC in a pump sprayer to remove the worst of the general crud, agitate with a soft long handled brush, rinse, then the sides, front and back get a hand wash, rinse and dry.
If i want to use a sealant, i use detailedonlines nano selant, it's a spray on wash off style chemical so after hand washing and rinsing, spray this on and rinse off, then dry. Lasts about 3 months in the winter or thereabouts and next time i go to wash it, it's so much easier.

[Steve Kimberley]

cockykat27 said:

Steve Kimberley said:

Any half-decent wash & wax, and a bit of Silky on the inevitable black streaks always did the job for me.
Might be worth doing a home ceramic coating job on it too, but not essential.
I had a free Diamondbrite ceramic job done on my last new moho, but I'm not sure I'd have paid for it.

Amazing. Thank you for this. Would you say silk is like a tar remover? Would you say a wax would be easier instead of a ceramic coating?

Silky isn't a tar remover, but there are any number of tar removers on the market. Silky is aimed at the black streaks you get where water/contaminants run off the corner of window surrounds etc.

[Chicken Chaser]

If you've got black marks, Autoglym do a caravan cleaner which really gets them off. Use it with a wet sponge and wash off.

Id highly advise against using a DA polisher on a caravan, Autoglym SRP by hand is fine but they don't take to aggressive methods of polishing. Don't ask me how I know....

[LeighW]

Chicken Chaser said:

If you've got black marks, Autoglym do a caravan cleaner which really gets them off. Use it with a wet sponge and wash off.

Id highly advise against using a DA polisher on a caravan, Autoglym SRP by hand is fine but they don't take to aggressive methods of polishing. Don't ask me how I know....

How do you know?

Just have to be careful using it. I just used it as a one off to restore the finish. Now with a nice coat of AG ceramic on it (AG ceramic lasts ages as well, I use it on my cars), it washes easily and looks like new.

Another tip is to keep the roof cleaned regularly, so many people never wash the roof at all, they probably wonder why they've constantly got mucky streaks down the sides...

[Chicken Chaser]

I always wash the roof. It's an absolute pain to do but it does keep the black streaks away. Another big tip is to get the awning rail strips to place into the rail when you're not using it. It stops the muck running down the side of the van so you rarely get it on the sides, and just then have to keep the front and rear streak free.

[andrewcliffe]

We tend to give ours a good wash at the beginning of the season and a smaller clean half way through and at the end. I do the outside, Mrs C does the inside.

I start with the roof, and climb up with bucket of water and a hose. I use Fenwicks motorhome/caravan cleaner. Whilst I'm up there, Mrs C will open roof vents and windows in turn so I can get rid of dead leaves and associated crud before turning to the rest of it. Again Mrs. C will open a window so I can get in and around it.

[slopes]

I did use the DA on it once when i still had the gear, given time and decent weather, i reckon i could bring it up really nice and then it just remains to get some sort of long term coating/sealant on it but iot's all for the future.

[Huffy]

Used to clean mine with Autoglym - wash first, super resin polish for the stubborn/black streaks, two coats of high gloss wax to finish (I found two coats instead of one made a huge difference to longevity) - first time you do it it is hardwork but if you do the same each year it becomes much easier in subsequent years....and yes, I used to do the roof as well

[missing the VR6]

We throw our MoHo at the Eastern Europeans at the local garden centre every now and again. Probably not ideal but can't be arsed.