Soapy Joes Car Wash

Fully prepared to get a ton of flak but have to ask. Has anyone run their crewmax longbed (6.5’) through a Soapy Joes car wash? Does it fit in the bay? As my alias suggests I have no time, being a dad of young kids to wash it myself. Maybe again someday but not now haha. Priorities have changed.

 

Instead of asking "us" why not ask "them"?
I find it somewhat amusing that ppl think Toyotas/Tundra are special or different in many aspects from other vehicles on the road.
Plus, who on earth would build a car wash and exclude a good portion of potential customers (full size trucks/SUVs/vans)?

Granted, once you go with stupid off-set wheels, very large tires, roof/back racks, etc the conversation changes, but the OP didn't indicate any non-stock equipement or form.

 

This is what I use. Touchless ofcourse!
Duel wheel trucks will not fit

 

I feel like they’ll just yes to get my business. Nothing beats first hand experience from ya’ll.

No stupid mods haha. Stock for now…

 

What’s the verdict on touchless? Does it clean just as good as touch-ful/ touch-a-plenty?

 

You’re better off not washing it at all than to run it through one of those.

 

No, but it doesn't mess the clear up, either.
They're good if you don't get the truck too dirty. I use them fairly often to keep the truck looking clean, but if I don't keep up on it, or get dirt and bugs caked on, it won't get it completely clean.

 

My experience with touchless wash is it works best if you get to it no less than about once every couple weeks (more than one is pushing it) and for some reason does a better job on my light colored vehicles than my black ones. My plumb crazy Challenger RT I used to have and My Red F150 come out of them looking great. My wife's black Acura came out looking a cruddy as ever the few times I tried it.

The routine I got into with my Challenger and now my F150 is a hand wash and wax at the beginning and end of warm season. In between I do Ceramic waterless wash wipedowns with touchless washes occasionally thrown in. This keeps my vehicles looking great with minimal time consumption and no damaging automated wash machines. Wipe downs take about 15 minutes.

The harsh detergents in the touchless wash can break down waxes faster, but wiping down with something with wax properties in it adds back some of those layers of protection. If I accumulate dirt from infrequent wipedowns a touchless wash gets it to the point where it can be safely be cleaned with a spray again. My Challenger always looked great and never saw an automated conveyor belt carwash in its 5 years with me. My F150 is the same scenario after a year. And I am also a busy guy with a family so I do not kill myself hand washing every week. My days of doing that are over and I look to keep vehicles clean with minimal time commitment.

 

No but no Shirley swirls .

 

The best solution to all of this is to simply buy a black truck.
You'll stop caring about pin stripes or swirl marks on your 2nd day of ownership!

 

Haha never heard if soappy joe's but what comes to mind is sloppy Joe's. Lol
I bought the monthly pass at a local joint it's pretty darn good too,funny thing is the nanny sensors goes crazy and shows points of contact when ya go through it!

 

Any sealant on the vehicle kiss good bye. High PH soaps will destroy any sealant on a vehicle. If you want your ride to have swirl marks in the paint.....fly on into an automatic car wash.

Soappy Joes sounds like a stripper bar

 

Is your Tundra any color but white? Otherwise, teach your kids to help you to use the two bucket method. Family bonding thing. Ha!

 

My 14 Blaaaaack Tundra would look great for a few minutes. Awesome actually.

 

Pressure wash / foam cannon / 2 bucket / PROPER drying towel. Your paint will thank you

 

This is why I chose WCP,White in general is very forgiving it hides alot of the spider web/ swirl marks were as darker colors will show the trucks contour lines and definitions a whole lot better but inturn it doesn't hide anything.

 

actually silver is the best at hiding than white cause it hides light dusting/dirt better than white on top of the imperfections. plus toyota's white color has historically had issues across all models/trims.

 

They can be useful for getting major stuff off, but don’t really clean it all that well. If you’re short on time, a good method would be to use the touchless wash (never use the ones with brushes unless you just don’t care about the paint), then go home and go over it with a good detail spray with some protectant built in. Probably the best method you can use if you don’t have time for a full hand wash.
Another option is to get some Optimum No Rinse. You can get a Tundra pretty clean with that in about twenty minutes as long as you do it regularly enough that there’s not a lot of dirt or mud on it. If you have anything caked on it you’ll want to avoid using ONR, as it will introduce scratches and swirls.
You can also usually find a detailer that will come to your house for less than a hundred bucks.

 

lol we havent cared about paint in like 10-20 yrs. at my age (pushing 60) i gave up spending hours in the old days washing, drying, wax by hand in the shade. if i cant run thru a car wash with brushes, i wont wash it. winter time, it can 4-6 months before a wash.

just dont have the time or the care anymore. i have better things to do.

plus, after a while, its going to get scratches, dings, chips, etc anyway. unless its a major blemish, even a car dealer wont care, it will still sel since we put low miles and keep the inside clean.

each person has a different threshold on upkeep. in the end you do you.

 

IDK about soapy joe's but I sent mine through Fast Eddies 2 days ago.

 

Could your neighbor of built an uglier fence???

 

Right there with ya! My 08 in Silver went through every week, the new 23 in white will also. It’s a truck and hauls dirt bikes, its going to get plenty of scratches that ever a car wash cant possibly produce.

 

I spend a lot of time detailing my Tundra, as well as the other vehicles in my household. My kids are grown now, and it's therapy for me. I fully understand and appreciate having small children and limited free time. If possible, try and take your vehicle to a touchless wash, if you have one nearby. If your kids are old enough, they will probably enjoy riding through the car wash with you.

 

I went thru Buccees yesterday, same thing, you get on a track and it pulls you thru everything then you can vacuum yourself at the end.
Be warned, your truck is going to do nothing but beep and flash up warnings about being too close. I had turned off the auto braking, but it still scared the hell out of me that my truck was going to lock 'em up and the car behind me would hit it.
It did not.

My 2016 went thru one of these washes every other week for 7 years. I waxed yearly and the wash did not do any cosmetic damage(scratches) other than ripping off a stubby antenna one time. It was a silver truck.
I plan on doing the same with my silver 2023.

Anyone that claims a touch-less does just as good needs glasses in my opinion. They never get off that film/haze, which for me is the reason I wash it, so it sparkles.

I wish I had the time and determination to wash and wax myself, it would save me $20 a wash and a couple hundred for wax.

 

There's a Soapy Joe's being built like TWO MINUTES from my house. I've been occasionally using a similar one near the office.

I bought my '19 Tundra as a CPO with 20K miles and a couple of scratches already on it so Swirly Joe's it is. I'd rather be surfing than detailing my truck.

My only bummer is taking off my racks to go through the wash.

 

The touchless leaves my black vehicles looking like crap for some reason but always does a surprisingly good job on the light colors.

 

Kids need time with mom too and you can set a good example to them by washing and vacuuming both your truck and mom's ride. Just my .02