Dually Question - Montana Owners Club

Tom S. · 03-02-2014, 12:11 PM

I'm afraid I already know the answer to this, but I'll ask anyway: are there any automatic car washes that duallies will fit through? All the ones I've ever seen only had tracks wide enough for one tire. Hand washing in the spring, summer and early fall isn't the issue, but washing at -15 degrees can be a bit rough!

WeBeFulltime · 03-02-2014, 12:17 PM

Take it to a truck wash such as Blue Beacon.

BB_TX · 03-02-2014, 01:52 PM

No standard auto car wash that pulls a vehicle thru with a chain drive is going to accept a dually. The rails are just wide enough for a single tire to keep the vehicle tracking in a straight line.

bigskyjimmy · 03-02-2014, 02:10 PM

Keep dreaming my man never seen one ,I WISH!!!! the only option I have seen is a few place that wash Semi's and they are few and far between

Artemus Gordon · 03-02-2014, 02:22 PM

No.

tbhd2 · 03-02-2014, 03:09 PM

Only seen one in 18+ years of owning a dually. It was a small town south of Atlanta Ga. It was a Home Depot fuel station and it had a car wash that would accept a dually. First time I ever saw a Home Depot Fuel station also. Did a pretty good job too for three bucks.

Artemus Gordon · 03-02-2014, 03:13 PM

Ok I have found "hand washes" all over the country. No drive through car wash. Paid 15 to 35 for wash. I normally look for "self wash". With wands. Those washes are in every city. Knock off bugs and grime!

MDL · 03-02-2014, 04:06 PM

I've only seen truck washes that can accommodate something that wide, but with that said, do you really want to put your 2015 dually through that torture? I hate the abuse those things give my vehicles and hand washing is good exercise!

Find a young kid around and give him $25 and a wash mit/bucket and you'll be a hero (maybe I'm living too far in the past with that price)! Even with my SWR, I never use a car wash. Don't they have some indoor pull through truck washes??? We don't have to worry about those temps in Washington state, but maybe you can either, 1) go south for warmer weather, 2) wait unit it warms up???

steelpony5555 · 03-02-2014, 04:07 PM

I bet I could make one fit,,,,, here hold my beer, watch this,,,,,,, lol lol lol

MDL · 03-02-2014, 04:08 PM

LOL...maybe once!!!

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by steelpony5555

I bet I could make one fit,,,,, here hold my beer, watch this,,,,,,, lol lol lol

Art-n-Marge · 03-02-2014, 05:03 PM

Famous last words for a Darwin award winner... Watch this!

Montana Sky · 03-02-2014, 05:03 PM

Fleet Farm in MN, IA, and WI have a brush-less automatic car wash that welcomes dually trucks.

**Rondo** · 03-02-2014, 05:29 PM

The problem with hiring that kid and giving him $25 and a bucket and sponge is that at -15* that bucket of water would freeze up real quick and you might even have to take a torch to the kid to thaw him off that NEW truck!

Tom, I know that Blue Beacon takes care of them but I also had the Monte in tow when I ran the TV thru to get it washed. The two items cost me about $65 so I'm sure you could get any truck wash, including Blue Beacon, to do the TV at a very reasonable price! Don't worry about it till that BIG NEW MACHINE comes in then look for a good truck wash!

jfaberna · 03-03-2014, 02:40 AM

That's the advantage of me buying a Ram 3500 DRW. They never get dirty

Seriously, I did find a car wash were the spray mechanism rotated around the truck. If I fold in my mirrors, it works fine. At least it gets it mostly clean. It makes the hand wash and wax easier. A really good wax job makes these touchless systems works pretty good.

Captain Joe · 03-03-2014, 02:58 AM

Suds car wash has a special bay for duallys. Signs are posted at the entrance to the bay. It is a touchless bay.

Fire5er · 03-03-2014, 03:40 AM

Cruise-N car wash in my home town has a touchless system that just fits my dually. They first hand wash and use a pressure washer to clean those really dirty hard to reach areas down low. After the hand washing you enter the touchless wash, wax, and spotless rinse. Then they hand dry your car...all for $16.

Tom S. · 03-03-2014, 03:44 AM

I'm no stranger to what we call the quarter car washes, places that take quarters (now it takes 7 of them just to turn on the wand!). The problem with them is I end up spending around $10 or more because I hose off the undercarriage to get rid of the salt we use around here in the winter. So, what's wrong with that? The local papers ran a story a while ago how a lot of those car washes recycle the water for the wash water, so you are actually using salt water in the winter to wash the truck. The rinse water is supposed to be clean, but who knows?

When I was a kid, I worked at an "automatic" car wash, only the only thing auto about it was the rinse station and blower. We vacuumed, sprayed, soaped and dried everything by hand. I wish those were still around, though they didn't pay real well.

davidaf · 03-03-2014, 01:17 PM

Actually yes. There's one in Norco, CA they run duallys through all the time including mine a few times. May be a bit of a drive just to get the truck washed but it will get you out of the -15 degrees.

sambam · 03-04-2014, 03:14 AM

It's a small price to pay, I think, for owning a dually. I don't have any faith in the "you-do's". I don't know what the wand has been through, and having a black truck means many, many quarters to get it clean. I've heard the recycled water story before, too. I will use the high pressure to rinse the undercarriage, tho. Usually during winter, we'll get an isolated day here and there that's just warm enough (40ish) to drag the hose and bucket out and give it a wash. If not, I'll suck it up and use the you-do if the truck is real bad and there isn't any other option.
Most ATM's are off limits, too. At least around here.
Dave

Tom S. · 03-04-2014, 06:03 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sambam

It's a small price to pay, I think, for owning a dually. I don't have any faith in the "you-do's". I don't know what the wand has been through, and having a black truck means many, many quarters to get it clean. I've heard the recycled water story before, too. I will use the high pressure to rinse the undercarriage, tho. Usually during winter, we'll get an isolated day here and there that's just warm enough (40ish) to drag the hose and bucket out and give it a wash. If not, I'll suck it up and use the you-do if the truck is real bad and there isn't any other option.
Most ATM's are off limits, too. At least around here.
Dave

Except traveling, I've got ATM's covered. The 7-11 a few blocks away has an inside ATM that is fee free, and in the other direction is a gas/fuel station with a drive up stand alone system.

The wash thing has gotten me thinking however. I wonder if a semi automated wash designed for our trucks, along with possibly medium duty trucks would be profitable. We certainly have the inclimate weather. I was thinking something of a semi-automated drive through where you go through a hand spray station, then an underbody wash, followed by hand washers, auto rinse, blow driers, and last, hand drying. Labor would be 7 or 8 people, and very limited automation equipment. Maybe even add one ot two folks for inside detailing. It would be nice to know before hand whether the market would support it though.

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