Top tips for a dream fleet clean
Mark Byard, head of sales for wash systems at Kärcher , offers advice for commercial fleets on various aspects of vehicle washing
What kind of installation would you recommend for HGV, PSV and/or LCV fleets?
Kärcher would recommend a rollover gantry wash, although there are drive-through washes available. We prefer to have the vehicle stationary and move the gantry, as this ensures we have control of the wash quality. It also allows for full control of the brush pressure and mirror avoidance required for each vehicle type.
What considerations should be taken into account?
In all cases we would insist on a site survey of the proposed wash d
own area. This would then confirm the available electrical, water and air supply. We would clarify the dimensions of the current vehicles in the customer’s fleet and any future vehicles they may be purchasing, to enable Kärcher to offer the customer the correct solution for their cleaning and recycling requirements.
Considerations to be taken into account during the washing process include: the position of the euro mirror – on an HGV this can be central or to the left/right of the windscreen whereas a PSV vehicle can have long reach mirrors of differing length and height, depending on the manufacturer.
On some older PSV vehicles, the windscreen wipers are air-operated, so a reduced brush pressure may be needed on the front screen if the air pressure is low.
Tail lifts on trucks, and loose security straps on curtainsider trailers, need to be considered when washing these vehicles.
The above mentioned considerations are in a normal working environment for the Kärcher TB range of commercial rollover gantry wash.
The TB wash is fully programmable to avoid the mirrors (euro and long reach). The TB wash can be programed to avoid the brushes going into the gap between truck and trailer, and can also avoid any tail lift which would stop grease from the tail lift sticking to the brushes.
What products and detergents would you recommend?
For a standard commercial wash, our Kärcher reclaim compatible shampoo detergent would be ideal. On our HP touchless commercial wash, we would recommend our pre-wash detergent followed with a shampoo.
What are the dos and don’ts of commercial vehicle washing?
Do follow the instructions given by the traffic light positioning (red means stop and green means go), a simple rule of the road that all drivers know and should adhere to.
Do not use acid or a high pH value detergent in the wash bay.
Do not pressure-wash engine parts or brake parts in the wash bay if you are recycling the wash water. Any water that goings into the wash bay interceptor for recovery will be contaminated with the acid, grease, brake dust etc.
Other common mistakes we see are selecting the wrong wash programme for the vehicle, not securing the security wire/strap on the curtain sider trailer, and not checking the long reach mirror dimensions on new vehicles (Kärcher service engineers can adjust the parameters in the software to suit any new vehicles added to the fleet).
What does Kärcher offer in terms of service and training for CV washing?
Full training is given on commissioning and handover of the installation. Our standard service packages are on a three tier level – classic, advance, and advance plus. We can also tailor a service package to the customer’s own requirements if needed keeping the level of cover completely flexible.
What is Kärcher’s background in the fleet washing equipment sector?
Kärcher has been washing vehicles since the 1950s, originally with pressure washes. Our commercial gantry wash, the TB range, is the third generation wash we have produced for HGV, PSV, and LCV. We supply to Eddie Stobart, First Bus, Stagecoach, Tower Transit, City Circle, FedEx and Reed Boardall to name just a few.
