StumpyDetailing said:
How can you get at the undercarriage without either A) Lying on your back, or B) Using a Hoist?
That is why I'm looking to get a shop with a hoist :spot
When I had a shop with a lift I hardly ever used it for this; it took longer to get the vehicles up/down than I wanted to bother with, and then I made a royal mess in the wrong part of the shop cleaning them there. They sure can be handy though...
Fortunately for me, I have one of the old undercarriage wands that American Waterbroom used to sell, but I can do the same job, albeit with a bit more hassle, working on a creeper with a hose. I only use the wand to do the preliminary/final rinses- most of the washing I do with the brushes and it takes a small hose nozzle to get into the tight spots to flush them out. I don't even bother getting the wand out except in the winter, and sometimes I don't bother with it even then. With just some brushes/etc. you can do a good job of keeping undercarriages clean and salt-free.
Year-round, I jack the lower vehicles up *so* often to do the undercarriages that I keep two floorjacks and some jackstands in the washbay at all times. The minivan/etc. I can do without jacking.
Rinse off the worst of it, spray with an APC, let dwell, agitate with a brush, rinse off. Just that easy.
And yeah, spraying some undercoating on can help immensely. I like the Black Heavy Duty Anti-Rust from Eastwood, just did frame/etc. of the new beater-Blazer with it. But I didn't bother on the MPV and after five winters it's still fine with just regular washes. Do the undercarriage every time you wash and it's no big deal (or at least you get used to it).
