Keeping a clean Recreational Vehicle (RV) provides benefits ranging from a better personal image to improved vehicle upkeep. Regardless of the size of the RV, researching RV wash system choices can help establish whether the time and resource savings the various systems provide makes economic sense for your RV wash needs.
LazrTek offers these RV Wash System options: a mobile RV wash system (manual single brush), an automatic drive-through RV wash system, and a gantry RV wash system. Brush cleaning, touchless high-pressure low water volume cleaning, or a combination of the two are all alternatives for automated RV washes.
RV Wash Systems by LazrTek
Mobile RV Wash System
The Mobile Brush solution from LazrTek is a spinning, upright brush that an operator walks around the vehicle once to wash and once to rinse. The wash unit is all stainless steel, 14’ tall and is electric self-propelled facilitating a single operator to wash a full-size school RV in 6 minutes using only 35 gal. of water.
Washing an RV takes only five to six minutes, according to LazrTek operator Chad Erie. Because only five gallons of water are used per minute, a total RV wash should only use 25-35 gallons, far less water than automatic systems and hand washing.
“It will provide [staff] more time to clean and detail the inside of the RV.” “Alternatively, you can have fewer people doing the work,” Erie suggests.
The mobile wash system’s adaptability is one of its key advantages. Installation requires only a 220-volt power source, water supply, and a shared operation surface. The unit can be transported conveniently between several locations if required and takes up very little storage space. Even a mechanic’s bay with a drain can be used as a wash bay at night if it has tarps and curtains to protect the walls and equipment. Outside washing with the mobile unit is often the preferred wash medium, weather permitting.
Clients range from big fleets of hundreds of RVs with multiple systems to companies with only one or two vehicles. The total cost of the system is expected to be less than $40,000.
Automatic Drive-Through RV Wash System
A standard automatic RV wash with brushes is an option. The system includes two vertical brushes for the sides and rear, as well as a scrubber curtain for the hood and top.
“You can modify the grade of cleaning that you require by being able to adjust the pace of the RV moving through.” A muddy RV, for example, can be driven slowly, whereas a dusty RV can be driven quickly. He goes on to say that this control enables for utility, chemical, and power savings.
Brushes can be conventional plastic brushes, or custom Lammscloth brushes, which are safer for paint finishes and help shine the RV.
The standard automated brush wash system has been improved with a 50% reduction in horsepower, which has now been reduced to a one-horsepower motor to save electricity. The basic system can wash any vehicle up to 12 feet tall and can wash a RV in three minutes or less. The system is estimated to cost $85,000.
A high-pressure blast-off system, which uses recycled water and a 20 horsepower motor pump to remove about 90% of dirt and muck before the wash, is another option from LazrTek. It’s best for places where there’s a lot of mud or bad weather. The reverse osmosis final rinse, which purifies clean municipal water so that the car dries spot-free, is an end-step option that is advised for areas with hard water.
Hybrid RV Wash System
The Hybrid System is another drive-through wash system for school RVes. The Hybrid System is made up of two vertical brushes that clean the vehicle’s sides and back. The most delicate hood and mirror surfaces are cleaned with touchless water pressure.
“We’re seeing that [the Hybrid System] is where a number of ISDs want to go.” A drive-through system has the advantages of being speedier and requiring less maintenance because the equipment is stationary.
Drive-through systems, according to Ross, can wash RVes as quickly as they can be scheduled through – at one foot per second, almost 160 60-foot RVes can be washed in eight hours. The LazrTek Hybrid System is priced at around $150,000.
Gantry RV Wash System
Limited Driver judgment is eliminated with gantry systems.
Gantry-style wash equipment, where the vehicle remains fixed while the brushes move around it, is a viable option for school RV fleets, according to LazrTek. “A gantry style system gives you a reliable and consistent wash outcome with the mirror setup on RVes,” Evans explains. “The driver is not left to make any decisions.”
LazrTek’s gantry technology cleans all RV sections using two vertical brushes and one horizontal brush. A LazrTek Gantry system washes around mirrors to prevent damage, and programmable logic controller technology constantly monitors and changes brush pressures to deliver a consistent wash.
LazrTek’s gantry RV wash systems are low maintenance, even in wet environments. “Instead of chains and air cylinders, we employ belts and wagons, which considerably minimizes system maintenance.”
Each wash takes roughly five minutes with the system. A LazrTek Gantry RV Wash system installed is around $100,000.
Brushless and Touchless Systems
LazrTek touchless drive through systems are state of the art. LazrTek touchless “gives operators the ability to safely and successfully wash a variety of vehicle shapes and sizes while conveniently fitting vehicle attachments,” according to LazrTek.
LazrTek touchless Gantry (also available in a drive-through variant) is built on an overhead gantry platform that keeps wash equipment off the floor, resulting in higher system reliability, cheaper maintenance costs, and a longer working life than floor-mounted rollover washes.
Drive-through touchless wash solutions are available for agencies with limited wash bay area. To protect mirrors and hybrid systems, Belanger also makes friction washes with retractable side brushes.
Basic systems start at $75,000, and LazrTek collaborates with each fleet operator to custom design a wash system that matches their specific requirements.
How Much Water?
Water consumption with the various wash options varies. Touchless systems with low volume high pressure pumps are more efficient in water consumption than other systems. The mobile wash unit is most efficient. What happens to the unclean water that collects after so many RVes are washed? Water can be filtered before it drains to sewers, and LazrTek offers water recycling systems.
LazrTek Water Treatment Systems recycle water for reuse by electrifying drain water from the wash cycle, which separates water from impurities and renders contaminants non-hazardous. Water from the wash and rinse cycles is recycled to the holding tank. This treatment system recycles 95% of the water, and a 24-hour monitoring system allows LazrTek’s specialists to phone into the treatment system and resolve difficulties at no additional cost.
Lazrtek also offers a water filtration system. The system removes all heavy metals, oils, carbons, and other dangerous impurities from water, allowing it to pass uncontaminated to the sewage. Despite the fact that many organizations recycle water for the washing process, LazrTek estimates that 20% of the water ends up in the sewer.
LazrTek also has an above-ground water clarifier that removes impurities from water before it enters the sewer system. For new facilities, an above-ground system eliminates the need for a more labor-intensive and costly underground system.
