A while back a company called Aero Cosmetics contacted me about trying their cleaning supplies, and after a delay in shipping, a box of their goodies finally caught up with us. The company has been selling their waterless wash/wax/polish to airplane owners, and is expanding into the  market. We decided to give it a try, to see how it worked.

Our Winnebago had a couple thousand miles of road grime on it and really needed a bath. So we spent most of yesterday cleaning the outside of our motorhome. You have no idea how big a Winnebago Ultimate Advantage is until you have to wash one from top to bottom! What a job!

I have tried most of the RV cleaning products on the market, including Protect-All and Dri Wash N Guard, at one time or another, and my impression of the Aero cleaning products is that they are probably as good as anything else on the market, but certainly no better. We tried both the Degreaser and the regular version of their Wash Wax All, following the instructions on the bottles, and found that while they worked fine on the less grimy parts of our RV, the front end, where we had an accumulation of highway bugs, required a lot of very hard scrubbing with a microfiber cloth to get clean.

Would I buy the Aero products to clean my RV? Yes, if they were available and the price was right. But, since I know several vendors who sell Dri Wash N Guard, 303, and other cleaning products, I’d probably give them my business first. It’s not a bad product by any means, but I don’t think it’s going to set the RV world on fire, either.

Okay, here’s my take on cleaning the motorhome. Keep in mind that I am terminally lazy, and, to quote a line from a Jimmy Buffet song, “any manual labor I’ve done was purely by mistake.” Terry and I worked on the coach for about six hours each, which included cleaning the fiberglass roof, polishing the wheels, and everything in between.

In that time, I could have written a couple of magazine articles and made $400 or more, paid somebody to wash the RV for me, and we both would not be sore, stiff, and achy this morning. My Daddy taught me a long time ago that it’s better to do what I do best, and to farm out the other stuff to people who can do a better job of it. The older I get, the wiser I realize my old man was.

Thought For The Day – Heroism consists of hanging on one minute longer.

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Terry and I want to thank all of you who left comments or sent us congratulatory e-mails in response to yesterday’s blog about our motorhome purchase.

To be honest, Miss Terry had some real misgivings, not about the Winnebago itself, but about what the reaction might be from some of our readers. As longtime blog readers may remember, we were chastised by a couple of folks when I bought a motorcycle a while back, or when I announced that we were shopping for a motorhome. One rather vocal former reader felt that we were “getting rich off our subscribers,” and didn’t feel it was right for him to help pay for my new toys.

I told Terry that I have never apologized for what success I may have achieved in my life. We work very hard, and there has to be some reward now and then. Besides, it’s like my Dad used to say, “Never explain and never apologize. Your friends don’t need it, and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.” We feel very blessed to have so many wonderful friends such as all of you out there, who can share in our happiness and be happy for us. 

Two very special friends are Ron and Brenda Speidel. Not only did they help us inspect the motorhome before we bought it, yesterday they really blew us out of the water.

Terry and I had to drive 70 miles up to Michigan to pick up the new issue of the Gypsy Journal from the printer, and then drive 85 miles back to Mishawaka, Indiana to pick up the envelopes from our mail service. From there we needed to go 30 miles to Nappanee, Indiana for an appointment with Carlyle Lehman, a very talented Amish cabinetmaker who owns a company called Focal Wood and specializes in RV upgrades. We wanted to talk to Carlyle about building a custom desk/work station in our new (to us) motorhome. With that finished, we then had to drive 30 miles back to Elkhart Campground! And all we wanted to do was spend the day getting our new home ready to move into!

Before we left, Ron and Brenda told us that they had thought about getting us a nice lamp as a housewarming gift, but being fulltime RVers themselves, they know that the last thing we need is more “stuff.” So instead, they announced that while we were gone, they were going to clean our new motorhome top to bottom, so that as soon as we got the new issue of the paper stuffed and mailed out, all we had to do was start moving in! Wow! What a wonderful, thoughtful offer! We told them that wasn’t necessary, they have done so much for us already, but Ron and Brenda insisted.

We thought we had a nice looking motorhome when we brought it back to the campground Thursday afternoon, but now it’s even better! Ron cleaned every bay, including the walls and the insides of the doors, vacuumed them all, used 303 on all of the seals and grommets, and lubed and tested every hinge, strut and anything else that needed even the slightest attention. Our sewer bay gleams!

And inside, Brenda was just as busy, removing a few small spots from the carpet, and scrubbing every surface from the bedroom closet to the dashboard. There’s not a hospital operating room any cleaner than the inside of that rig! I daresay that no new RV from any manufacturer ever left the dealer’s lot looking as nice. Ron and Brenda worked hard for hours and the results really show. We thanked them profusely, but they just brushed it off, saying that’s what friends do for each other. (Though they did admit later that somewhere around mid-afternoon, they said to each other “We should have just bought them a lamp!”)

In answer to a couple of questions we have been asked several times; we have two buyers who are interested in the bus, and we hope to find it a good home soon, but nothing has happened yet. It is advertised on our website at Gypsy Journal Bus For Sale, if you know anybody looking for a nice, affordable bus conversion. Several people wanted to know if we are moving our solar panels to the new RV. We’re not sure yet. A lot depends on the deal we make with whomever buys the bus.

And last, but not least, a lot of folks asked how they will be able to recognize us when we’re not in the bus. That’s the idea! Now I can slip into a campground or rally incognito and let Bad Nick off his leash, and nobody will know it until it’s too late!

Thought For The Day – Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

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