Cleaning outside of caravan

[RileyAnn]

Hi what' should I use to clean the outside of my caravan it's a elddis cyclone so a bit of a age but in good condition just needs a bit of a clean

 

[Parksy]

Wash the caravan including the roof using a hose brush if possible and then use a bucket of warm water with either a good car shampoo or Fenwicks Caravan Cleaner added according to the directions. Rinse off and dry, then polish using Auto Glym or a similar automotive polish if desired.

 

[RayS]

As ever excellent advice from Parksy.
All i would add is after polishing give a final coat of fenwicks bobby dazzler solution. Tis will enable road dirt etc. to was off more easily next time.
(NO connection with Fenwicks apart from being satisfied customer)

 

[Craigyoung]

.... and give yourself 3 to 4 hours for a good cleaning of it 😛

Enjoy .

 

[audiorob]

If the plastic surrounds around external lockers have gone a bit yellow you can clean these up with a non-abrasive polish like Mer or Care-a-van using it neat on a cloth then rinsing off.

I go with the thorough rinse first to remove the worst followed by a wash with shampoo. While a through-flow brush (extending versions cost about £15) is useful connected to a standard hose I would steer clear of pressure washers that can loosen decals and spray in where you don't want.. Better to undertake on a dry cloudy day so it can dry naturally or go over with a chammy. Bear in mind that paint on alu panels is very thin so no abrasives or scrubbing.

A simple tip - I bought an almost rectangular bucket so my through-flow brush head could be complete immersed and could be rinsed regularly during use. 2nd tip - have a cup of tea or something stronger when done so you can sup while you sit back admire your sparkling handiwork!

 

[CustardAvenger]

Hi RileyAnn,

I have used one of the cheap flow-through "Brush-on-a-Stick" jobs to clean the roof of the caravan, but never with the hose connected as as water gushes out and the hose drops off when horizontal. I don't use it on the acrylic windows/rooflights as I don't want to add additional marring to the soft surface. Therefore, I bought one of these: Brush on a stick 2.0

In general I use whatever I have for the car, but I tend to buy detailer-oriented products. So I use a microfiber wash-mitt and last washed the caravan with AutoGlym bodywork shampoo.

I've not used Fenwicks products for caravan cleaning, so can't comment on them. But my advice would be to apply some wax of some kind. Polishes will remove a layer from a surface, while a wax will add them. I have used a specialist synthetic car wax, known as a ceramic coating, which has meant that the water beads on the surface of the caravan and rolls off. It doesn't prevent black streaks though!

 

[waffler]

For the rough plastic, around external lockers, etc I use Silky. Specialist caravan cleaner which is gentle and non-abrasive. For plastic windows use Autoglym Fast glass with a soft cloth. This is NOT glass polish which will wreck the windows. Polish windows inside and out in different directions and you can see where you have missed.