Automatic carwash

So I decided to treat my Raptor to nice interior and exterior detailing. I called local carwash/detailer. They said no problem we wash Raptors all the time.. I drove up the sceptical that my truck would fit. I talked to the manager and he came out and looked at the truck and said "no problem"

I drove the truck around and drove it through their "touchless wash" the guy waved me in and lined me up. Covered the whole truck with soap, and sent me on the way. Get to the tire cleaner and the truck gets caught between the brushes. And brings the carwash to an abrupt stop...
The guy runs over and tells me to put it in neutral and let go the steering wheel. I told him I was.. So he runs in front of the truck and says the truck jumped the track and they will need to get a tow truck to pull me out.
By now I am getting pissed, and said i will just back out. The manager said you can't you'll pop your tires and break the tire scrubber if you move the truck. So I try to get out and unable to so I look out the window and decide to back up.
The manager said "STOP! There are cars behind you" I yelled at him, "they'll move.." I gunned the motor and popped the front tire up and over the wheel brushes and snapped them off. And backed right out of the car wash, and all the cars behind me moved right out of my way.

Get out of my foam covered truck and go into the managers office. He apologized and gave me a refund, and sent his guys out to spray off the truck. I tell him to leave my truck alone and just spray that shit off, I will go somewhere else.



-Greg

wow lol. I think it's the touchless carwash that screwed up the LEDs in my third brakelight. Since I had it warranty replaced, I haven't been through one.

Damn, mine needs a wash and interior clean badly.

I took mine through a touchless for the first time the other day. The attendent had to guide me in. In the end, it didn't do a very good job on the Raptor. It does well on my Mustang.

c'mon was these trucks by hand !!!

There's a touchless carwash by our house that does a decent job. But you don't move while you're getting washed. You pull into the bay and it rotates around you.

I've used a mobile wash service for a few years and used to have come by the office once a week. But in an effort to cut costs I only have them come by and get a full wash and detail once a month now.

Hmmmm I did the due diligence and with a few hours of work found one that worked pretty close to me. NEVER go into one unless you know it will work. This should be a lesson for everyone----be careful..

Boss Hoss said:

Hmmmm I did the due diligence and with a few hours of work found one that worked pretty close to me. NEVER go into one unless you know it will work. This should be a lesson for everyone----be careful..

Click to expand...

Exactly... Just because they say have washed Raptors before does not mean it will fit. I knew my Raptor is wider than a stock Raptor and even told him the exact width at the tires. So when in doubt whip the tape measure out...

-Greg

i find that most of the "touch free" car washes don't work well on the Raptor for a couple reasons.

1. the "rocker panel blaster" misses the truck completely lol. it shoots right underneath the steps.

2. the soap applicators and jets are so close to the truck due to its width that it doesn't get full coverage. if you can picture the spray:

<, the Raptor gets the skinny part of the spray fan so there's just streaks of dirt and clean left up the sides of the truck.

One of my business investments is a chain of car washes. As a result, I've been pushing the manufacturer/supplier of our wash equipment to come up with designs that will accommodate the Raptor and other large 4X4 trucks. This has proved more complex than you might imagine.

There are several key "choke" points that come into play with the Raptor as follows:

• Tire width - This comes into play initially with the track or belt width. Most older tracks are to narrow. More modern ones appear to fit up to a 35 x 12.5, however, when you add in sidewall lugs, many will not fit. The second issue is the tire wash or tire shine applicator. Nearly all of the rotating versions cannot accept anything wider than roughly 11", so no go for the Raptor. The bar or pad applicator styles have more flexibility and can be set-up to accommodate a 35 x 12.5.

• Frame width - This refers to the square tube frame that supports the wash equipment. Most older designs are to short to handle the height of the Raptor and in some cases also to narrow. More modern frames have the height and width to work but the articulating arms (support for the rotating brushes) that adjust to each vehicles width and also move across the front and back of the vehicle don't always have the range to handle larger trucks.

The next evolution of wash equipment will handle larger tire and vehicle sizes but, for now, be very skeptical if a wash operator claims your Raptor can fit.

Well...I guess I will continue to use my hand