Are trucks meant to be clean or dirty?
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Are trucks meant to be clean or dirty?
I work with two guys who are on the opposite spectrum of this question. One guy, an older gentleman, drives a 2015 Silverado and says he's washed his truck only three times since he purchased it new. His mantra is, "It's a truck, it should look like the work vehicle that it is" -- granted, his truck is silver, so it doesn't LOOK like it needs a wash. The other guy I work with has an unlimited wash pass, and drives through it every single day on his lunch break - his truck is spotless, always clean, and even the interior looks like it still belongs on the car lot - it's immaculate. It's a 2014 F150 (blue). He says it's too nice to let it get dirty, so he cleans it religiously.
I find myself in the middle, but lean more towards the clean side - I wish my truck at least a couple times a month, but weekly if I have the time. I'll clean the interior every few months once it needs a good vacuum.
So, what's your clean preference? Or, better yet - what do you think the "truck philosophy" is? Trucks were meant to be rugged and dirty, or it's nice and deserves to be shown off?
I find myself in the middle, but lean more towards the clean side - I wish my truck at least a couple times a month, but weekly if I have the time. I'll clean the interior every few months once it needs a good vacuum.
So, what's your clean preference? Or, better yet - what do you think the "truck philosophy" is? Trucks were meant to be rugged and dirty, or it's nice and deserves to be shown off?
#2
Having a 2WD truck, it doesn’t get crazy dirty, but I bought an unlimited pass at the car wash just down the street from work. I wash it once a week and clean the interior once a month. Being a work truck, the interior isn’t spotless.
#3
Old Fart
You just figured out the difference between a Chevy owner and a Ford owner.
BTW I hauled sand and gravel in Southern California for years with Double Bottom Dumps, truck left the yard clean in the morning and was clean when it came back in everyday. That was Polished Aluminum wheels. tanks and Battery boxes plus all the chrome. Pretty much the same when I was driving over the road.
So I guess my preference is clean, and it can never be too clean since I can get down and dirty when I am cleaning for a car show.
BTW I hauled sand and gravel in Southern California for years with Double Bottom Dumps, truck left the yard clean in the morning and was clean when it came back in everyday. That was Polished Aluminum wheels. tanks and Battery boxes plus all the chrome. Pretty much the same when I was driving over the road.
So I guess my preference is clean, and it can never be too clean since I can get down and dirty when I am cleaning for a car show.
The following users liked this post:
greymatter (12-31-2021)
#4
I tend to be more of a "Don't wash it often but feel guilty about it" person. I like having it clean but never actually take the time or effort to clean it.
#5
When I was in my teens and early 20’s I thought it was cool to have a truck covered in mud. Now I shake my head at people like that. But I also don’t understand people that constantly wash and wax their truck an fret over every ding and scratch. I wash my truck when it needs it. I don't touch it through the spring, summer, and fall and just let rain do it's thing. In the winter probably run it through drive throughs 4-5 times to get the salt off. So its really just about rust prevention to me.
#7
Senior Member
Every single day???
Too much.
3 times in 4 years???
Too little.
This reminds me, I need to wash my truck.
Definitely weekly, or after every snow storm, in the winter. That is about rust and the future, not about looking shiny right now. I used to do weekly in the summer, too, but the last couple years I've been lax.
Too much.
3 times in 4 years???
Too little.
This reminds me, I need to wash my truck.
Definitely weekly, or after every snow storm, in the winter. That is about rust and the future, not about looking shiny right now. I used to do weekly in the summer, too, but the last couple years I've been lax.
Trending Topics
#8
Super Moderator
iTrader: (1)
Every single day???
Too much.
3 times in 4 years???
Too little.
This reminds me, I need to wash my truck.
Definitely weekly, or after every snow storm, in the winter. That is about rust and the future, not about looking shiny right now. I used to do weekly in the summer, too, but the last couple years I've been lax.
Too much.
3 times in 4 years???
Too little.
This reminds me, I need to wash my truck.
Definitely weekly, or after every snow storm, in the winter. That is about rust and the future, not about looking shiny right now. I used to do weekly in the summer, too, but the last couple years I've been lax.
#9
I have found that the visual inspection that occurs as part of a detailed cleaning of ANYTHING I own has caught many small issues before they became real problems.
So for me washing is just part of routine maintenance, and everybody has their thoughts on how often that should occur.
To each his own, no right or wrong answer here.
So for me washing is just part of routine maintenance, and everybody has their thoughts on how often that should occur.
To each his own, no right or wrong answer here.
#10
Senior Member
I've been putting Fluid Film to good use for protection, too.