Washing and waxing trailmanor outside shells

Does anyone have any recommendations for products to wash and wax the exterior of the trailmanor. I have heard Protectall is easy to apply but doesn't last very long. I don't mind a more difficult application of wax if it doesn't damage the finish and lasts longer.

Jeff Watson, Johnson City, TN

As one who just clambered all over the TM this past weekend, I can speak for Protectall. Although this is the first time for my TM I have used it for a couple of years on my old trailer. It worked fine for me, I didn't need to rewax for a year. And it seemed to make easy work in taking the crud off the front of the trailer after traveling.

On a related note. Does anyone know if it is alright to climb on top of the TM (shells closed of course) to do the waxing? I didn't this time but what a pain, it is a good thing I have long arms...

Mike Anderson

[cali camping]

Originally Posted by ragmopp

As one who just clambered all over the TM this past weekend, I can speak for Protectall. Although this is the first time for my TM I have used it for a couple of years on my old trailer. It worked fine for me, I didn't need to rewax for a year. And it seemed to make easy work in taking the crud off the front of the trailer after traveling.

On a related note. Does anyone know if it is alright to climb on top of the TM (shells closed of course) to do the waxing? I didn't this time but what a pain, it is a good thing I have long arms...

Mike Anderson

It is definitely not ok to climb on top of the TM! The top is only foam sandwiched between very, very thin layers of aluminum below the white "cosmetic" covering. The very least damage you will do is dent the aluminum and you could damage the structural integrity of the roof. If you must climb on the roof, lay down some type of protective material first to spread the load out over a larger area.


Just my two cents worth...

I have found that Softscrub works well in removing most anything, but I may need a black streak remover (haven't purchased yet) to remove some black streaks. Any good wax will finish the job.

I disagree about climbing onto the roof. I've been doing it every year, both when open and closed, and I'm over 240#s! The key is that the roof is laminated with alum on both sides of the foam with glue. Don't forget your floor is the same thing - there is no wood there. How would it support heavy snow loads otherwise?

I recall reading how strong the roof was in Trailmanor's FAQs at some point.

I think the floor is at least twice as thick as the roof. Knees are bad for denting, too. When I used to work on RVs we always had to put down plywood to avoid denting the skin. (SOP)

I have used Thetford Black streak remover and seems to work well.

In addition to denting the roof I would question whether the excess weight on the roof MIGHT put strain on the caulked seams and create leaks?
The caulked seams are not designed for excess movement. My two cents!

Midwest Dave

To answer your question Jeff, I too have use Protectal for waxing and find it works quite well. I have used a cleaner Awesome found at your local dollar store which works great. I have even used Protectal on my van too.

Midwest Dave

We shined our shell with maquires boat and rv cleaner and it looks like new! Used a power polisher and it glistens! Thetford was a waste of money!