What's the best way to wash my caravan?

Keeping your caravan or motorhome's exterior clean is a good way of extending its life and retaining resale value. While washing an RV is similar to washing a car, there are subtle differences that, if ignored, can cause damage.

Not for show-winners

We’re assuming here that you want to maintain your caravan in good condition, not show-winning condition. So we won’t get into the two-bucket method and which microfibre towels you should use… 

Where you park your van will also have a big influence on how easy it is to keep clean – parking under cover is the ideal scenario. If you park your van under trees, then you’ll have to work a lot harder to keep the RV’s exterior finish in good condition.

Right gear for the job

First thing is to have the right gear for the job. Unless you want a good work-out with a hand sponge and have long arms, the most practical way of cleaning a van is to use a soft-bristle brush attached to a broom handle. 

Buy a new one, and keep it for only washing the van. Using a broom that has been used (especially on hard surfaces) makes the bristles hard, which will scratch the surface of your van. 

Then you need a detergent to clean the RV – a good quality car wash is best. Some caravan manufacturers say not to use truck wash, as it’ll damage transfers (stickers) on the van. 

A rectangular bucket (big enough so that you can drop the broom brush into it) and a ladder (to climb up so that you can wash the roof) are the final items on the list.

If your van has a canvas pop-top skirt or annexe, just hose down the canvas with plain water, using a soft-bristle brush to clean stubborn marks. Mould or mildew should be treated with a canvas mould remover.

Access all areas

You’ll need a space where you can get easy access around the van and with firm ground for when you need the ladder to clean the roof. 

Don’t wash your van in direct sunlight either – a shaded spot is best, or early or late in the day if you don’t have access to shade.

Get inside and make sure all hatches and windows are shut. Water leaks are the enemy of caravan interiors, so you don’t want to end up wetting down the inside of your RV. Now is a good time to pop open the pop-top and roll out the awning.

Don’t use a pressure washer

Use only a regular garden hose with an adjustable nozzle for wetting down and later rinsing the van rather than a pressure washer. The risk with using a pressure washer is that it’s too easy to damage joint sealant on the RV – which in turn will cause leaks.

Fill up the bucket and just 3cm or so before it’s full, pour in the car wash according to instructions. Then top-up the bucket with water – this method will make sure that you don’t end up with a bucket only half-full of water and the rest foam.

Wet down the van, starting with the roof, using a jet spray on stubborn insect spatter and bird droppings. Then dip the broom in the bucket and give it a scrub. 

Use a polish to remove stubborn stains or marks later. Don’t be shy to use liberal amounts of the cleaning solution. Now it’s a matter of thoroughly rinsing off the cleaning solution.

Work your way down the front/back/sides of the van, spraying loose dirt off with the hose and then scrubbing with the broom. 

Be careful on polycarbonate windows (which is what most RVs have these days) not to scrub hard or you will scratch them. Spray into wheel wells to remove any mud or road debris that might’ve stuck in there.

Watch the seals

Sealant along panel joins can become discoloured over time or if you’ve been driving on dirt, which tends to stick. Just brush along the sealant with the broom to remove the dirt. If that doesn’t work, a small soft-bristle brush or even an old toothbrush dipped in the car wash solution will do the job.

Don’t spray into vents

Many RVs have external vents for fridges and also a vent (often at the door) to allow gas to escape if there’s a leak. 

Make sure you don’t spray directly or up into these vents – and turn the water pressure down, by turning the hose nozzle to a spray. 

The same applies to pop-top skirts – don’t spray a direct jet of water onto the skirt; in particular, be careful around the window zippers.

Once you’ve rinsed off all the cleaning solution, let the van dry. If you’re really keen (and want to be sure that the van is not left with water marks), use either a chamois or old towel to dry off the van. 

Leave the awning and pop-top open until the material has dried.

Keeping the shine

How do you keep the shine on your RV? You could get it ceramic coated, but that can be expensive if done by a professional.

The cheaper option is to polish/wax the RV yourself, but that will cost you a lot of time and elbow grease.

If you’ve got the time and inclination, then invest in a clay bar to remove any contaminants and a good quality one-step polish/wax (or just wax for a new RV).

First you need to remove any residual wax on the RV by washing it with washing up liquid. The quickest way to remove any contaminants (such as bird droppings or sap) on the paint is to wash a section of the RV at a time with the washing solution and then reapply the solution and rub the clay bar on the paint (using the washing solution as a lubricant for the clay bar to slide over the paint more easily) until the paint feels smooth. 

Rinse off any remaining washing solution and let the RV dry.

For aluminium powder-coated RVs that have weathered a little, use a mildly abrasive polymer one-step polish/sealer on the paint, which will remove the oxidised top layer while not removing too much good paint underneath. 

For brand new vans, a non-abrasive wax should be enough.

You should use a clean polishing pad to apply the polish (leaving the polish on the paint according to the polish instructions), then wipe off the residue with a microfibre cloth.

For fibreglass-clad RVs, you’re best off using a specific fibreglass polish and wax.

Related: How to keep the inside of your caravan clean