First Wrangler Wash - PITA

[HungryHound]

One of the unexpected costs of Jeep ownership is................ cleaning the driveway.

The first time, I was surprised at the amount of mud on my driveway! Out of pride I left the mud there for 3 days

My Jeep cleaning procedure:
Sweep the driveway of any small stones.
Drive the Jeep onto the driveway.

Take a small screwdriver and remove all stones from tyres.
Sweep the driveway of any small stones.

Drive forward a half turn of the tyres.
Take a small screwdriver and remove all stones from tyres.
Sweep the driveway of any small stones.

Take the Gurney and wash everything. The wheels and undercarriage is where most mud and dirt is found.

At this point I wash my Jeep just the same as I would wash a car, inside and out.

Drive into my garage.

Gurney the driveway.
.

I park in the yard when I wash mine so the mud just fertilizes the grass.

It's really fun the first time you wash it with the top and doors off.

A good 80mph run to the beer store gets it mostly dry. Best to run under the limit on the way back.

This fuzzy sponge gets in the nooks and crannies.

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[Cappy]

Uh........nobody in their right mind goes "muddin" for that very reason. I'll go through it on the trail. However, I won't drive in mud just for giggles.

Unfortunately, I have to drive about 300 yards on a poorly maintained dirt road to get to my neighborhood. It is fine when it is dry, but a bit of rain and I am forced to go muddin' when I leave the house. That stretch of dirt road is why I bought a power washer for my regular cars. They get muddy, but not ridiculously muddy like the Jeep. I am hoping the mud flaps limit the mud spray on the sides.

One thing I've found that works REALLY well for all the nooks and crannies is what is sometimes called a "Gong Brush". I can't imagine washing my Jeep without one.

I got a couple at Auto Zone that are nice. The bristles have "flagged' tips I think they call it. It's where they kind of split the ends of the bristles to make them softer. This makes it less likely to scratch the paint.

The Gong brush seems like a good idea to clean behind the hinges, door handles, and grill where a spunge doesn't do the job. A separate one for cleaning the wheels would also be good.

I use this foam cannon. $25 on Amazon. Washed and rinsed in 15 minutes. It really works out well.

With my pressure washer I put it on suds mode, coat the vehicle, then power wash. This seems to get 75% of dirt off, then soap and hand scrub, then chamois cloth to dry. I may try the back pack blower to dry, but I find the hand dry is really where the car gets clean.

With the soap cannon I assume you still need to hand scrub the Jeep? It is not just the soap cannon then power wash to rinse and then hand dry? If so, this would be the way to go.

I have been using a do it yourself car wash but the results are mediocre at best. When I get time, I will wash it by hand in the driveway, but it is a PITA.

Bottom line for me is take the time to drive and fill up my 5 gallon gas can so I can use my pressure washer. The time would be more than made up with a quicker wash.

 

[Cappy]

Mine will be two years old next month. I live in the country, and it's 3 miles of gravel to get to pavement. I've never washed it. I do pull it out of the garage if a heavy rain is forecast.

Somehow your Jeep is cleaner than mine was after I used my hose to squirt it down. It does not look like you have mud tires so maybe they don't toss as much mud onto the sides of your Jeep.

 

[_olllllllo_]

I know that this is my own opinion.
But it’s a Jeep Wrangler.

I have a gravel / dirt driveway 1/8 mile long on clay to boot. My driveway is only damp in the Spring, fall and winter. Not joking. So dirt / mud spray is constant on my Jeep.

concerning washing it. I typically take it through a touch less wash.

You are 100% correct in the point that the box on wheels at times does not clean well in a standard car wash. So to combat this, I will frequently take it to one of those wash bays where I can use the high pressure wash on it. Spend a few bucks and then take it through the touch less wash.

I also finish with chamois and ceramic coat.

But again in my mind, if the vehicle cannot get dirty and every have dirt on it frequently, I’d say wrangler is not the correct choice.

again my $0.02

Best of luck.

I wash mine every few months, but since I am out on the trails at least two weekends a months it is a never ending fight.

 

[Hogdreamer]

My Jeeps at home in the garage........because there's a chance of rain today.

Currently treating the Wrangler like I do my Harley. No moisture for that baby!

Actually the truth is I do want to treat the One Touch Sky Top before it gets soaked.

Once I sell my third vehicle it will be between the bike or the jeep on who stays home on rainy days. I think I know who's tucked in the garage.

No mud for mine yet but I imagine that'll soon change.

 

[JLTraveler]

I wash mine using a pressure washer to get most of the dirt off, making sure to get under the fenders, undercarriage, etc. Then do the typical handwash and dry, followed by wiping down the interior. All in all it usually takes me about an hour, maybe two hours if it is after a Moab trip.

Nice wheels!!

 

[FLjeeper]

FLJeeper
What is that gun thing in your photo?
I too use my blower to pre-dry my vehicles.

It's a foam cannon. It I put 1 oz of the solution in the container and fill the rest with hot water. Then I connect it to my pressure washer. It takes 5 minutes to completely cover the Jeep in thick long standing foam, then I switch out the head and rinse it off. It's awesome.

 

[Fsttanks]

I had to drive a very short distance on a dirt road after a rain. My brand new jeep looked like I spent the day off road. Mud sprayed all over the side . Even on the door handles and a nice coating of mud. I ordered quick release mud flaps that will hopefully limit the mud spray during every day driving.

Anyway, decided to wash it, discovered no gas for the power washer so I decided to use a regular hose and sprayer with my suds bucket instead of going 8 miles to the nearest gas station and filling up my 5 gallon gas can.

Bad move. It took forever, everytime I thought I was done I would find another nook and cranny that was muddy. Some places impossible to clean like behind the hinges around the fenders and by the rock rail. I think with a power washer cleaning will be easier but still not as easy as a jelly bean shaped car.

I hesitate to take through zippy car wash. My last car, a Jeep Trailhawk had a scratch straight down the back by the rear windshield washer. I could not figure out what caused it and I came to the conclusion the only thing that could have done it was Zippy car wash. I am thinking these giant boxes on wheels called Wranglers may take a worse beating in a car wash and I doubt a car wash would clean the hard to get spots. Plus I have the Sky Onetouch top.

For those of you that like to keep your Jeep clean between adventures, what is your strategy?

Staying out of the mud is my strategy......LoL

Welcome to your first Jeep lesson: Mud is fun while you are playing in it, but not so fun spending the next few months removing all of it.

Don’t worry to much you will come to love your Jeep dirty rather then clean.

 

[Mikeoso]

Somehow your Jeep is cleaner than mine was after I used my hose to squirt it down. It does not look like you have mud tires so maybe they don't toss as much mud onto the sides of your Jeep.

oh, it gets mud all the way up to the windows. We just havent had any real wet days when I had to go out

 

[maddscot]

Mine gets dirty, I got it to get it dirty. I am not extreme mudding, nor have had the opportunity yet to get to Utah red dirt (though I did a bit of mountain biking camping there and after a week of riding and camping, that hotel shower was a mess). I was used to taking the cars to the local car wash and after a breakfast "sammich" and coffee they were done.

Enter the Jeep, like I said it gets dirty from regular use, and off road use. I hit up the local spray wash if open or when able afterwards to get the gunk off and hit up the undercarriage. Then that weekend it's the driveway wash job. I have a Sunrider on the front during the spring summer and fall, and off road lights on the front bumper and pillars, so the local car wash is a no go for me. The hand washing gives me a chance to check things out as well on the Jeep (I do the motorcycles at the same time if needed).

I use a simple hose extension, soft brush, sponge hand, good cleaner, and spray away. Windows I clean myself as well. It does drive the neighbors nuts as suburbia rules seem to be no one washes their own cars anymore, but I keep the soap and water to a minimum.

 

[Reinen]

My rule of thumb is when the dirt is over 1/8th inch thick I hose it off. The only time it's truly clean is when I refresh the wax before winter for road salt protection.

When it comes to washing, I do miss my YJ. It had a bare-bones no carpet interior so when it could use a wash it I took my stuff out of it and drove it through a river. Wash day was a blast.

 

[Cappy]

It's a foam cannon. It I put 1 oz of the solution in the container and fill the rest with hot water. Then I connect it to my pressure washer. It takes 5 minutes to completely cover the Jeep in thick long standing foam, then I switch out the head and rinse it off. It's awesome.

When you rinse the foam do you then need to do some more scrubbing or is it pretty much clean and all you need to do is towel dry after power washing the foam off?

 

[FLjeeper]

When you rinse the foam do you then need to do some more scrubbing or is it pretty much clean and all you need to do is towel dry after power washing the foam off?

The foam shoots out under pressure and I let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then I rinse under pressure. Even at 2800 PSI I haven’t had any issue with leakage into the Jeep but I am careful not to get too close. When I’m done I put the black “soap” head on which is low pressure and I can get really close and clear all suds. Towel off then done. No brush needed.

 

[Cappy]

The foam shoots out under pressure and I let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then I rinse under pressure. Even at 2800 PSI I haven’t had any issue with leakage into the Jeep but I am careful not to get too close. When I’m done I put the black “soap” head on which is low pressure and I can get really close and clear all suds. Towel off then done. No brush needed.

I will give it a try, sounds too good to be true!

 

[FLjeeper]

I will give it a try, sounds too good to be true!

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