As we were off on our travels again shortly I decided to get up on the roof to give it a long over due clean.
I have always been nervous of getting on the roof as you hear stories about damaging seals and not taking a persons weight amongst other issues (falling off!). When we first got the van (from new) I used to wipe it down religiously after every journey……….Come on, you’ve all done it!
I then moved on to wash it monthly, six monthly, then a good clean yearly. Now it’s as and when. I never used to bother with the roof until I saw how bad it had got so now that is just once a year. Initially I cleaned it from a long ladder leant against the side of the van using an extendable brush. Although this did an adequate job it is not the same as getting up there. The few times that we have wintered in Spain we often saw people, of all shapes and sizes on the roof of their van with a brush and hosepipe. Usually the wife was standing guard as we men cannot be trusted on our own.
For a couple of years I used our time off in Spain with the good weather to carry out the roof maintenance. Cleaning and re-sealing all of the roof lights and giving it a good inspection. For access I either squeezed through the roof light in the bedroom, or by using my small lightweight stepladders through the roof light in the main habitation area.
The best thing I have ever seen for cleaning motorhomes was in 2009 when we drove along the Pyrenees. In a medium size village called Luchon, not only did the supermarket have a washing machine and tumble dryer in car park but also a vehicle wash area. This included a stepped gantry with a long reach pressure washer. Even though our van was still relatively new and clean, I had to try it out!
The pictures below are from the latest cleaning session. A well earned beer was had after.
Now go out there and clean yours!
