How many times have you searched for a truck wash near me and had an idea of what you wanted your truck to look like, and the results were different from the expectation?
People look at truck washing as a real simple line item when there are so many different factors that can determine what type of results you will get and pricing.
Aluminum Brightening
Did you know if you want aluminum brightening for your tankers that if they are waxed they take two to three times longer to brighten? Because of this the cost goes up drastically.
If you are looking for a simple brush wash the prices for these tankers range from $40-$100. If you need these aluminum brightened and they have been brightened within the last six months the price won’t be much different than the price above. But if it has been three years and the tanker is brown it takes a substantially larger amount of soap and labor to brighten your tanker. Because of this the starting price for these can be as low as $150. If you recently had your tanker waxed the cost is closer to $300-$400 per tanker. Why is that? Because the aluminum brightener takes time to break down the wax and do its work on the surface. Just to be clear, aluminum brightener is not only used on aluminum but we also use it on stainless.
Now many companies know aluminum brightener is NOT safe to use on anything that is polished. Even a mild aluminum brightener that is citric acid based CAN streak a tanker. What we recommend is just getting a standard wash on these tankers until they start to turn orange (which means the polish is either gone or on its last leg). At this point you have two choices, getting the tanker repolished (which costs in the range of $5000 to do) or have it aluminum brightened. Although it doesn’t give the same shiny reflective look, a well brightened tanker can still look sharp.
This rule doesn’t just apply to tankers. It also applies to your fuel tanks, cat walks and sometimes even your front bumper. There are many bobtails that are either polished or what we call brushed (basically the dull finish). The dull appearance is ok to use aluminum brightener on. The rims on most trucks also fall in this category.
Something real important to consider is that when you get these items aluminum brightened you need to make sure it is thoroughly rinsed off. We have had one case where we did not rinse sufficiently and it caused us to have to re-brighten the entire tanker because it had inconsistent tiger striping and looked terrible.
If you are aluminum brightening in house it is real important to wear proper PPE because the majority of these soaps are very corrosive and can cause serious burns that are painful.
Cab Washing
When you are getting your cab washed you need to consider how important aluminum brightening is. Maybe even consider if you want aluminum brightening at all. If you don’t want aluminum brightening this makes the price more negotiable. Also consider the frequency of how often you want the trucks washed. We recommend having any fleet washed a minimum of once a month because beyond that is when you run into issues with TXDoT (or whichever DoT you deal with in your state outside of Texas). We have a blog that covers this here: Dirty Trucks Cost More Than You Think
Now there are two other popular packages and that is bi-weekly (most common) and weekly washing.
Consider your company and what they do. Some companies have it in their best interest to be done weekly. The first one that we recommend having a weekly schedule is washing garbage trucks. The garbage trucks we wash in Houston are extremely dirty every week, and going two weeks they don’t just look bad but they will have a foul smell which can be unpleasant to anyone near the truck (which is negative for the brand). Also hydraulic fluid gets trailed on these trucks more often from living organisms covered in the fluid trailing it on the truck. There are also some oilfield companies who have equipment that get filthy and don’t meet DoT compliance within days of working (especially ones in the oil patch).
The most popular package is a bi-weekly cleaning, this is what most companies go with to keep their fleet clean and presentable. There are times after heavy rainfall they will be extremely dirty but keeping them on a schedule will prevent them from staying dirty for long. For companies with a dirt yard we recommend a bi-weekly cleaning schedule because these trucks will get extremely dirty even when not in transit (particularly in Galveston County where the wind is extremely heavy).
Monthly washing is often appropriate for companies that have a concrete or asphalt yard that don’t see a lot of dirt roads. This is a more common package for companies that run box trailers (they will often get the cabs washed bi-weekly and the boxes washed monthly).
Waxing
Waxing equipment is one way to preserve the appearance. In heavy equipment applications wax is also used to prevent paint from fading or chipping (which can cause rust to appear prematurely). When having equipment waxed also consider if you plan on aluminum brightening in the near future, if you are DO NOT WAX IT. This will create more work and end up costing more money.
Wax also only needs to be done every 3 months (that is about how long it takes for the sunlight to break it down).
These are the 3 common scheduled washes that we see in the fleet washing industry. Please note the heavy equipment we wash in Houston undergoes more humidity so what I have on here may be different as far as frequency needed. This is just a basic guideline to help assist you in making a decision on how often you want your fleet to be washed.
Looking for a reliable fleet washing partner in Texas? Texas Commercial Wash specializes in aluminum brightening, cab washing, waxing, and full-service fleet maintenance for tankers, box trucks, bobtails, and heavy equipment. Our team understands TXDoT compliance requirements and helps you keep your trucks clean, safe, and inspection-ready. Contact Texas Commercial Wash today to schedule a wash or set up a custom fleet plan.