Best way to clean the outside of my TM?

We just bought a used 1998 TM that has leaf stains on top and some discoloring on the sides. What's the best way to clean it? Steam clean? Solvent? I don't want to waste time.

[B_and_D]

I regularly scrub down the outside of my TM and use a lot of elbow grease.

First I use a carwash brush, and what that doesn't take off, I use Awesome along with a dish scrub brush, and sometimes one of those Scotchbrite-type pads (but I don't scrub too hard with that).

The Awesome takes off a lot of the stains, but sometimes it does take a bit of scrubbing. One year we had a bunch of oak leaf stains and it took a lot of work to get them off.

The average time I spend cleaning the outside is about 3 to 4 hours, and that's when it's just been since the last cleaning, so it's fairly clean to begin with.

I want to be sure that the caulking doesn't get damaged when I clean it, and I don't want water to go where it's not supposed to.

I buy the Awesome from dollar stores, spray it on straight, and it works very well.

For stubborn marks I have had good luck with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

I use a bug sponge on the tougher stains. It's a sponge with a nylon netting surrounding the sponge. You can get them at most auto stores. They're slightly more abrasive than a regular sponge but won't damage paint of the roof. I first use a long handled RV brush (you can get them at camping world) and some mild detergent. I use a Mr. clean carwash system that has the carwash detergent in it as first pass and have a smaller spray bottle of black spot remover that I add to the mix. There are always places that you have to do by hand with the bug sponge.

I should add that nearly every time I wash the top of the TM, I pull some of the caulking out so I take caulk up with me. I do go up on the top of the TM and use several boards as bearing plates to spread my weight around when standing and kneeling.

Ditto B&D's hour estimate. It takes me several hours to clean the TM properly and I always clean the roof first or everything else is a waste of time. Cleaning under the main seals requires you to stick your hands between the seal and the roof to get the crud out (unfortunately the back half of our TM is under a bunch of oak trees).

One last thing I'll mention is that, after the TM is clean and dry, I go around with rust inhibiting paint (black and white) and just touch up the paint on the hinges, clamps and the black frame. My next paint job is to repaint the propane tanks which are not holding up very well for a two year old unit. BTW I just use some cardboard to hold off any overspray- although I will mask off sections that are close to the decals since they'll show white overspray.

I have not figured out how to get the black road crud off of the rubber parts and the bag seals. I tried commercial grade 409 and which gets rid of mildew and some of the dirt but the real black stuff doesn't seem to come off. I'm thinking about trying "Gunk". I remember that worked pretty well to get grease off of my hands ;-)

Phil

Phil, I cleaned all the seals on my TM with tub and tile cleaner and one of those green flat scouring pads.
Be careful though, they are vinyl so you have to remove all of the cleaner when done to prevent the vinyl from drying out.
I then used automotive paste wax and worked it into the vinyl to renew its oils and stuff.
End result was clean as new and less chance of picking up dirt and grime as fast.
John

John- What brand of tub and tile cleaner? I would never have thought to use that because they're usually a little abrasive. In some spots, I'm willing to try almost anything to get some of that road grease off.

Phil

Phil, I used our local "Food Company" store brand. I also used it on the roof which had a lot of dark modeling from rain water sitting on it and drying.
I used plenty of wax on all surfaces after a thourough rinse, all turned our great.
All surfaces are bright and clean.

If the Totally Awesome from the Dollar stores (I don't remember if it's Family Dollar or Dollar General) isn't strong enough I use Greased Lightning, which I get at Lowe's. It's great stuff, but I'd recommend first trying it on an inconspicuous patch, if it's other than metal.

I'd like to follow up with another question. After the seals are clean what product do you use to lubricate the vinyl? The factory cleaned and lubricated mine recently and the lubricant was great. All seals (vinyl as well as rubber) stayed soft and supple for quite some time without collecting dirt and dust.

[Speckul8r]

I'm a bit late to the party here but plain ole WD-40 does wonders for tar and that other black road junk I get on the seals. A squirt on the spot and a bit on a shop rag/junk towel, and rub.