power washers

Could also be your power washer. What are the specs? My SIL has one that isn't worth a crap, but my friends 4200psi Simpson works very good. Also you need to make sure that your water outlet can flow enough to supply the washer to get full psi.

 

I've heard most of those power washers you buy from those kinds of stores are junk. They have cheap pumps and never last long. I plan on purchasing one from Mi-T-M this summer, I heard there stuff was good and reasonably priced.

 

The soap/detergent you use in conjunction with a Pressure Washer is the most important thing. I worked in the industry for many of my formative years.

Alkota make some of the best Hot Water units! The use parts that anybody who works on PW should have on the truck.
Simpson belt driven cold units are about as good as it gets.

 

We have crews around the country that do pressure washing for a living. We use Landa industrial pressure washers with diesel fired burners that heat the water to 300 degrees. When I've washed my Volvo trucks though I've used a garden hose with a bucket of car wash soap and water with a soft brush on a marine style extendable handle and that's always worked good enough. I pressure washed my Pete when I first got it. It had been hauling dirt so it was caked and filthy and it was the pressure I wanted more so than the steam cleaning of the heated pressure washer.

You didn't mention why you need to pressure wash it so its hard to give a suggestion. Are you driving OTR, in snow or sleet, off-road? What you're trying to clean off determines the application. As for anything caustic, I would recommend against it.

 

Soft water will make a world of difference too

 

I used the bathroom product Scrubbing bubbles on my car headligts, left it on a little bit and it did wonders for them I also used it on some places on the car. It will also work on stainless, test first of course, use it on appliances in house.

Rainx products help later on with some of the cleanup.

 

It's all about the soap your using in most cases. I used to build and ship 50-100 pressure washers a week for about a year when I was younger. In general, it's not abound the brand of the unit as it is the components. Buy a good engine, hint Honda, and a good pump. I prefer Cat, but General was decent back then, too. A high power pressure washer will take the paint right off your truck. We had a 18hp 4000psi unit that would cut 2x4's. Fleetpride or Truckpro should be able to get you the proper soap.

 

When I get a truck I send it to the truck wash to have all of the years of crud removed from up inside of the frame rails. The was usually keeps the truck overnight and they do wonders at getting all of the crud off. They can even remove the paint from certain areas. So after the frame is cleaned the truck goes back to the shop for service and paint,

 

You don't need a pressure washer to wash a semi, but it does help when you try to rinse.

I wash my truck with Meguire's Car Wash soap. It melts the dirt away and leaves the paint looking like it was just waxed.
For engine and frame cleaning, I use Gunk Engine cleaner in the white can. Normal degreasers will dry out the belts and hoses.

*edit* Don't get the bright idea to hook your pressure washer hose to the hot water heater. Water that hot will ruin the seals in the pump.

 

It depends what brand the unit is. Not all Honda engine are created equal. If I remember correctly, the Honda engine with the red engine cover is the good one. Cat pumps are considered the best, but a little more expensive to rebuild. Typical Cat lol