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Blue Beacon
First a little background. In over 62 years of motor vehicle ownership I have never used a car wash or paid someone to wash any of my vehicles. There have been a few occasions when attending a rally the organizer included a professional wash job for all coaches, but that might have been only 2 times.
But we recently returned from a 3300 mile trip to Vernal UT and back to Knoxville. The first day we hit rain and the bus got dirty, but on the first day of the return trip local 2 lane roads that had not seen rain in weeks ended up delivering the accumulated dust, dirt and grit on the bus and the toad. Both were incredibly filthy when we got home and I washed the Grand Cherokee, flushing it with a lot of water to minimize the paint damage from the large amount of grit that collected. Somehow washing the Jeep I hurt my back.
Washing our bus is an event when it is just dirty from normal rain events. I have a 10 foot ladder, long handled brushes, lots of towels for drying, and when the dirt is average it takes an entire morning to wash and dry. Based on my experience trying to get the Jeep cleaned I knew washing the bus was going to be a serious event due to the amount of white and red dust and dirt that accumulated, and for the first time ever I could no longer see anything from the rear camera, a serious clue about how filthy the bus got..
So I decided to go to the local Blue Beacon. I admit I had two concerns. Number one was I hoped they would flood the coach surfaces with water to knock off the accumulated dirt so the finish would not get damaged. The second concern was that the bus would be clean when done.
One out of two isn’t bad. They flooded the outside surfaces with water and then used copious amounts of soapy water to loosen what was sticking to the bus on long handled brushes to loosen and remove the dirt. The shortcoming was the amount of dirt still on the bus in multiple places, and despite what looked like a lot of rinsing the bus had dried soap everywhere on its surfaces, both painted and the polished stainless and I have to go over it now that it is in the garage to remove water and soap spots.
I will not go back to Blue Beacon, or any truck wash again. They accomplished what I wanted which was to loosen and remove the huge amount of accumulated crud, but the attention to detail was lacking. The good news is it seems like some damp towels and some dry towels will be all I need to remove the soapy spots, the dried water spots, and the dirt from spots they missed.
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28 Replies
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Glad to hear that Jon.
I used Blue Beacon weekly back in my Trucking days, but have been reluctant to use them with my Bus, due to the harsh chemicals and methods they used way back when.
I’ll give them a try.
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Dear Admin, I am going to save my 43 cent stamp and drive to Bella Terra and pick up my Blue Beacon card up.
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That is a decisoin that makes a lot of sense, especially now that fuel prices are relatively low.
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Just kicking this up on the forum to remind everyone if you want a Blue Beacon discount card send me a SASE to the address above.
Also, if you have the card and have had an opportunity to use it please let us know about your experience.
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Streaken Beacon. Never used them, figured the acid they use on the trailers would contaminate all their brushes, rags, pads or whatever else they use and raise hell with the bus finish.
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Jon:
Next time you go on a trip, please stop by our home in Shawano, Wisconsin and I will wash your coach for you using voluminous amounts of soft water, the proper soaps, soft brushes, and clean microfiber cloths. If its really dirty I will wash it twice knowing that getting everything the first time will be difficult. You will not be expected to help, only pointing out spots I missed while you sit in the shade enjoying beverages of your choice. By next spring I expect to be able to provide you with 50amp/240volts as a courtesy.
Tom:
Help me remember … a number of years ago someone provided PC members with a discount card and one time free Rain-X treatment for Blue Beacon. Do you recall who arranged that?
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Dick, I think that was Al, IIRC.
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Dick, since it is getting into the cold seasons we do not travel north of the Mason Dixon line so does the offer have an expiration date?
To Tom’s comment I had fears about having the bus washed, but I could not come up with a decent alternative. It was really filthy and the engine doors felt like 80 grit sandpaper when I opened them to check fluid levels so a strong flush with a lot of water was really needed before anything else.
I probably should have just asked for a strong water spray and did the rest myself. As it turns out even with their brushes and soap with a strong lengthy rinse I still have to redo the wash.
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Have you tried finding a reputable mobile detail service?
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Not to be a smart ass, but finding anyone to do anything (especially correctly) is becoming almost impossible. Maybe in FL where there are large numbers of RVs there may be someone, but Knoxville seems to lack people or companies willing to work.
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Jon
It would have been interesting to check your blood pressure while you were watching your coach being cleaned.
Chuck
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I stayed inside the bus so I couldn’t see what was going on. There is no doubt I was anxious.
When I got home and saw how shitty the quality of the work was I wrote the experience off as a lesson. I plan to rewash it Thursday and hope I do not find scratches or damage. Right now I cannot bear to look for any.
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As a full timer, if it weren’t for Blue Beacon the coach could rarely get washed. We do usually hire a private service for wash and wax twice a year (pricey!) but otherwise we have had great success with BB. Yes, I usually have to follow behind and wipe down some spots and missed details but overall I am very happy with their work.
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I am certain every Blue Beacon has quality standards that vary based on its manager, just like every Prevost owner has his own standards.
BB does not meet mine, but as age, balance, leg weakness, etc. keep affecting me there is no doubt my standards are going to change.
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Please don’t think my experience was in any way meant to diminish your experience. Just different strokes for different folks.
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