Lesson Learned... $99 later...

Hey all,

Just wanted to pass along some friendly advice and reminder to all those who also live in the North. Right now being stationed up here in MD I must say its my first time really living in the North since I have been up here for the last 3 years but this is the first time I brought a vehicle with me. That said, I decided to go mudding with a couple of friends two weeks ago, long story short: Mudding was a blast and the guys were awesome! But cleaning the Raptor was a bitch w/o the convenience of my own home.

So basically went to the nearest Coin-Pay DIY wash bay and ended up spending $14 on a pressure washer to try and get the majority of the mud off but haha, here's the kicker... Its been so f-ing cold that the Water I'd been using to try and blast the mud off literally FROZE not 5 minutes later, and I'd been trying to fill up my two 5-gallon buckets for a 2-bucket thorough clean.

Ended up getting frustrated that I could not take the time to enjoy cleaning my truck when the water turns to ice minutes later and taking my truck to a professional Steam cleaning detail service. $85 w/ tip later, all my WeatherTechs and Bed + exterior w/ wheels+tires only were squeaky clean. They couldn't get the caked up mud from the wheel wells but I can live with that.

So yeah, just a friendly reminder for all those in the North who DON'T have their own heated garage (like I did back in Texas) or unlimited access to free-warm running water, pause for a moment to consider what it'll cost ya to go mudding. In the end I put (2) coats of Meg's Carnauba wax + (1) coat of the NXT Wax (which I am told isn't wax but sealant) after I clayed it meticulously. But yeah, so far I learned my lesson that it just sucks living in the North on base housing w/o your own private garage.

No pics?


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^On my original post of gone mudding. I will take pics of my now clean truck later, but by God that was a steep learning curve. I honestly never put two-and-two together that, "Hmm... If I go mudding w/o ready running-water, where should I go to clean it up?"

you spent that much money and that shit wasn't spotless?? **** that nonsense if i ever paid someone more that $30 to wash my truck i better be able to see myself in those wheel wells not just have caked mud in there hahaha

Wait for it to freeze and drive over big bumps.. Usually will jitter the ice and whatever is frozen in/to it right off.

But welcome to the north... Your truck is dirty till the big thaw in reality !

I grew up in a cold northern winter climate . You don't wash your truck till spring.

When one lives in a colder climate one will come to expect a permanently filthy vehicle during wintertime.

Shit for $80 I will wash your truck...and even get the mud out of the wells!

When I first got my Raptor, the local car wash would direct me over to a nearby self-serve car wash to get all the mud off first. Probably cost me $6 in quarters and would usually come out a little wet and muddy myself. Now the car wash (Leesburg Station Auto Wash) does a pre-rinse for $4. I just pull my rig into a parking spot, wait about 10 minutes while a guy uses a pressure washer to clean off the mud. Definitely worth the $4 before going through the car wash.

I lived in Pa in 1996 during a particularly bad winter. I took my Ranger to a self wash place to clean off the salt. The damn truck froze up and I couldn't get in it for 30 minutes. I was almost frozen by then.
That's just one of the reasons I live in SoCal!