Automatic Car Wash?? Yes or No

[whtrapta]

If it has any kind of tracks, NO. It will off center the truck too much on the right side. The touch free ones are good but most have bars on the ground to help center you, I tried to fit in one and the truck was too wide. Too bad too because the touch less here is AMAZING.

 

[Big Blue]

SWEET!!! Found a solution for the winter months.

Only a block from my office there is a "Hand Wash" place, so I walked over to check them out.....NO tracks at all!!

Best of all, Its only $15 for a full exterior/interior wash and they have a $3 discount between 7AM-10AM everyday, so it will actually be cheaper than the standard automatic wash at the local gas station.

Nice!

So you guys should look into your local "hand wash" places as a solution.

 

[stevenstommyboy1]

Where are you on the north shore of illinois. I am at Great Lakes Naval base. There is a good touchless car wash on the corner of 41 and Buckley that I use all the time. There are 2 bays and does a good job. Use it when I get lazy. Hope this helps.

 

[Double Tap]

Bunch of lazy people here.

But seriously, there's no way I would allow either an automatic wash or a commercial "hand wash" touch my truck. I'm very particular about it and use the two bucket method when washing any of our vehicles, and have zero qualms about washing my truck by hand in the dead of winter when there is snow on the ground. I've done it plenty of times and the neighbors think I'm ******* nuts.

Automatic washes do a horrible job of cleaning the paint, to begin with, and are pretty hard on the trim and extraneous pieces hanging off of your vehicle. And that's assuming they can accommodate the wide track of the Raptor to begin with.

Commercial hand washes are a joke. Those guys use the same gritty, nasty, "soft cloth" wash cloths on every single car that runs through there which invariably leads to swirl marks in the paint of your $50K truck.

My Raptor's no garage queen but I'm not going to abuse it needlessly either. That includes the paint.

 

[Big Blue]

Bunch of lazy people here.

But seriously, there's no way I would allow either an automatic wash or a commercial "hand wash" touch my truck. I'm very particular about it and use the two bucket method when washing any of our vehicles, and have zero qualms about washing my truck by hand in the dead of winter when there is snow on the ground. I've done it plenty of times and the neighbors think I'm ******* nuts.

Automatic washes do a horrible job of cleaning the paint, to begin with, and are pretty hard on the trim and extraneous pieces hanging off of your vehicle. And that's assuming they can accommodate the wide track of the Raptor to begin with.

Commercial hand washes are a joke. Those guys use the same gritty, nasty, "soft cloth" wash cloths on every single car that runs through there which invariably leads to swirl marks in the paint of your $50K truck.

My Raptor's no garage queen but I'm not going to abuse it needlessly either. That includes the paint.

I'm with you double tap and I am also very **** about washing my cars. I have a very detailed process for my vette and have also done it in the early winter months.

However, here in Chicago is gets to -10, -20 and -30 during Jan and Feb, so no way to wash at the house.

I do not perfer Car Wash places, but it is preferable to several months of road salt just sitting on the truck.

Futhermore, I was watching them for about 15 minutes and I must say (without sounding to offensive), these mexicans do a darn good job and used new wash mits on each of the cars as they went threw.

 

[Big Blue]

Where are you on the north shore of illinois. I am at Great Lakes Naval base. There is a good touchless car wash on the corner of 41 and Buckley that I use all the time. There are 2 bays and does a good job. Use it when I get lazy. Hope this helps.

Lincolnshire here. Car wash is located in Northbrook, called "Splash Hand Wash & Detail."

I think I know the one you are referring too.

 

[verytalonted]

I have ran my Raptor through one of these with no ill effects. I ran it with the mirrors folded and the antenna off twice and the last time had the mirrors out and antenna on, and it pushed the drivers mirror in.

Tandem

So just find a auto wash with no tracks on the ground and you should be fine.

 

[BJatFiveStarFord]

Yeah, I go through one here all the time. Its a "Star Car Wash", theyre awesome and they DO fit through it.

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

We have one up here in College Station that a Dually can fit through with the mirrors in...seen plenty of F-350 duallies go through...shouldn't be an issue with something like that. As others have said, just depends on the unit.

 

[AVALANCHE]

^^^^It wont be^^^^