washing a ute

[evil_monkey]

:embarrass excuse my stupidity but im used to washing sedans

i was just wondering you guys with utes how do you wash it in regards to do you take the tarp off to wash it or do you leave it on i take my cars to the car wash and use the high pressure hoses last time i washed it was annoying because the tarp holds a bit of water and for ages keeps dripping over the side of the car also the tarp is very dusty the hoses and brush didnt clean it to well, do you guys treat the tarp to prevent it from cracking in the sun ?? any tips would be much appreciated thanks guys

 

[VZGEN4]

Invest in a hard top!

 

[Struma]

Washing the Ute

If you are going to hang onto the soft cover - which is a great idea if you want your ute to actually be functional - I would reccomend removing your cover before you go to the wash salon.
Wash the tonneau cover on your lawn/ driveway if you need to; give it some seperate treatment, as it is vinyl and has different requirements to your bodywork with regards to cleaning.
The body well has holes that let it drain - check that these are clear - also let the tail gate down when you are washing so that you can get into the hinge asembly and the seal area at the bottom of the gate; an area that is prone to rust so keep these parts clean and dry off afterwards if you can.

How did you go with your dash replacement? I have the same stock options as you and wish to perform the same mods; I would be interested in any singularities you may have encountered...

Love my ute.

 

[bns-sticky]

I got a soft torno and I leave it on most of the time.

I only wash the tray when it gets really dirty. It should not let too much crap in there if it is a good one. Your torno must be a povo one if it doesn't hold tight enough for the water to run off. I have no probs with mine. The drain hole block easy to cos its just flewy condute and all the **** catches on the way through. Use a good vinyl treatment and you wont have any hassles. I treat my every now and then and its still like new.

BTW I am in the process of getting the bit for a level 1 dash change upto a level 3 dash in my ute with the statesman dash surround. A HOW TO will be posted with pics when I get around to it.

 

[evil_monkey]

yeah i also noticed that the rear of the cover sucks down when im driving on the freeway ive been told thats normal ??? thanks for the tip struma in regards to washing the car/tarp

the cluster was fairly easy but as it is a colum shift it dosent have tilt steering wheel so its a bit tricky to pull the fascia off you need to pull the steering wheel surround off and the colum shift selector to get the fascia and cluster off

 

[bns-sticky]

Thats normal for the torno to do that

 

[evil_monkey]

how come i see heaps of other utes not doing it

 

[Struma]

Tight Tonneaus

This is probably a dumb question - but do you have your steel tonneau bow in place?
Mine doesn't oscillate beyond what I'd consider normal; and it doesn't collect water to speak of either.
It is quite worn and has been resewn once, but is still tight.
I find that if I wash my (white) ute with the tonneau in place lots of grit and colour will continue to bleed off the cover and elastic onto my nice shiny white (bump strip free) flanks, especially since some previous owner/idiot used tyre black or something to darken the cover and elastic up before selling it. Plus I like to lift the woven matt and blast the well out occasionally. Being in Brisbane means there is always a chance of water collecting somewhere, so I am always carefull about getting all the water out of doors and body cavities where possible.

Cheers,

 

[evil_monkey]

yes i do have the steel bow in place have you removed yours ?

 

[evil_monkey]

wait that was a stupid question.... :hit: