It’s vehicle washing time AT MY OWN HOUSE! This is going to be a bit of a different series of blog post, but I promise to bring it all back around to the Yamaha TW200. We like having clean bikes!
Sorry I have been a way from making new blog post here and videos for some time… It’s been a crazy 9-months as I’ve upped and moved again, this time to Colorado Springs. Some of you knew that already, but the move is still “in progress” as I have much of my belongings still back in Alabama. In July of 2021 upon starting my new job, my family took up residency in an apartment awaiting eligibility and finding the right home and within budget. All my stuff could not roll on the first leg of this operation! But the TDUB was in tow and did manage to sneak in a few rides.
Now that the house has been purchased the majority of the time outside of working my new job at Red Line Land Cruisers, has been working on the new house which is a 1980 model house and we are doing some extensive home renovations – OURSELVES! Time has been very scarce for fun TDUBBIN activities, but there is not a day that goes by that I am not thinking about getting out and riding my 2016 Yamaha TW200!
Let me back up just a bit and state that the motorcycles are what made me buy my first pressure washer! You’ve seen it a few times on the TDUB Club Instagram page and a couple of times in videos on our TDUB Club Youtube page. I don’t remember the brand, but it is red, it was roughly $119 a few years ago. I think I bought it before the TW200 for my other motorcycles. I was going to Supercross in Anahiem and seeing how the pro’s service their bikes and you see pressure washers in use in a lot of videos as well. I wanted a way to quickly and thoroughly wash my bikes as well!
During my nine months of living in Alabama I came across Aaron Colton’s video of how he set up his garage and it has been my “spark moment!” I even made a blog post about it: AARON COLTON OF GARAGE 93 SAID MY SHOP IS SET UP WRONG! THANKS AARON FOR THE TIPS!!! YAMAHA TDUB CLUB. While my shop in Alabama had considerable space, my 9-months there was short and I really didn’t get the time to fully lay out the shop.
Moving to Colorado Springs was always in the plans, but “when” was the unknown… Getting here, we knew we would be getting a house, but that was about all I knew because the market at our price-point has been, still is the unknown-wild-front! The house we got has a two car garage, but it’s a tight two car garage. Currently, only one side is usable for vehicle and wifey’s vehicle gets that spot. The rest of the garage is filled with all things home renovation. My TDUB is at work parked and collecting dust!
During this home renovation time, I have been obsessing over everything on the Obsessed Garage website and social properties! My old pressure washer was about “toast” and the house in Alabama had one there (the yellow one) and both are still back there. Hey, mom needs her pressure washer and like I said, my red one is pretty much done. My whole life I have done everything on the cheap! This time I would like, I said “like” to do it GOOD! And Obsessed Garage is REAL GOOD! Top shelf, top of the line GOOD!
But that is going to take a while! But at least I know what is the “top shelf” stuff and most likely I will land somewhere in the middle! I’m no baller and don’t intend on being a CCB’er either! CCB as in Credit Card Baller. But knowing what is “good” on the market will allow my to make better purchasing choices, especially when it comes to my next pressure washer.
Now lets talk vehicles. I have been finally re-united with my ADV80, the 1992 Toyota Land Cruisers of which you have seen via the TDUB CLUB Instagram page and the ADV80 has it’s own Instagram page as well. The Ford Ranger pickup truck is back in Alabama and will remain there indefinitely as both my mom and brother use it. While we were still in California, prior to moving to Alabama, we sold my wife’s vehicle. Nine months later, upon moving to Colorado Springs we purchased her another vehicle. My two daughters are here with their two cars and I purchased a “cheapy” car as a co-working was selling it super-cheap and the ADV80 needed some downtime. I have a few vehicles to take care of! Hence all the obsessing over all things vehicle washing, detailing and such! Lots of time on the Obsessed Garage site. Also quite a bit of time on the Chemical Guys properties. But, to be honest, I’ve been a Meguiar’s guy for years! But, like I said, I’ve had some “open mind” time…
WITH ALL THAT SAID…
I am starting at the bottom, starting all over again!
Before I tell you why and how I am starting all over, let me tell you my past of washing cars.
I’ve been washing cars for 39-years! Upon my first car at 16-years old, I loved spending Sundays hanging at the car wash and learning all the detailing tricks from the other guys there who would spend the whole day washing and waxing their cars. I’ve done car show vehicle washing, dually & 40-trailer washing. I use to wash my car three times a week based on what night I was going out cruising! I won a bet with a magazine editor that I could detail my engine compartment to the level that would be suited for tech articles in the magazine. Same time, I’ve owned offroad vehicles that I could care less about the paint. But the rally car would get washed and look sharp as that vehicle carried sponsor logos and needed to be presentable. But the ADV80 I have joked that I have the most expensive paint with all the custom pin-striping. It’s “desert pin stripping” from beating all the desert shrub bushes! hehehe I do wash the rig, but no care for the paint. But the wifey’s new whip… It’s nice, but it needs some serious paint care. The car I bought from the co-worker, it has scratches and such, but looks nice. It could look nicer. But what else is pushing me.
SALT BRINE / Magnesium Chloride
The Good / BAD STUFF!
Upon starting work at Red Line Land Cruisers (Premiere Toyota Land Cruiser Restoration & Service Shop), the owner told me that Colorado Springs / El Paso County is now using salt-brine with Mag Chloride vs the traditional hard salt crystals. This is bad for vintage vehicles and we are in the vintage 4X4 biz! My ADV80 is a 1992 model, thus is 30-years old. It’s not as old as the majority rigs we service as we see a lot of 40-Series Land Cruisers (1968 – 1984) come through our shop, but I plan on keeping my rig for a long time! Too, bad is bad and keeping your car “under-washed” is going to be very important! Thus, I began looking for car wash’s with “underwash” capabilities as I thought, this has to exist here in Colorado Springs! They have dog-washes at these car washes here!
COLORADO CAR WASHES
To my surprise, the drive-through car washes here are not so keen on the “underwash” as I expected. Someone needs to set this business up! But for me personally, I quickly found that it will be even more important for me to do my own “underwashing” on my vehicles. I would love to have a metal grate system set up with a bunch of spray nozzles all pointing up to spray the undercarriage of my vehicles. That could / would be potentially a little too industrious looking at my house. Believe me, I’ve been thinking about all types of visual disqcuized solutions, but even so, money is not in the cards for such solution. I will be getting on my hands and knees and spraying under the vehicles. BUT, what about those old school oscillating lawn sprinklers?!?!
HOME MADE HOME STYLE – UNDER CAR WASHING
Upon moving into this home, I found one such oscillating water sprinkler under the porch, but it was broken. But I also found a stationary sprinkler. This caught my attention with it’s hefty feel in my hand. On the back it says “Thompson MFG • LA, CAL • Made In USA” I’m going to give this a try! But next, I need a hose!
THANK YOU YOUTUBE – THANK YOU PROJECT FARM
I needed a hose and like everything during home renovation time, business hours are for work, after work is home renovation time. Late night after hours is my little research time! Within YouTube is the Project Farm guy and I discovered his video “Best Hose (GARDEN HOSE)? Zero G vs Flexzilla, Bionic Steel, Gilmour, Aqua Plumb, Briggs & Stratton.”
I DIDN’T FORGET!
I am starting at the bottom, starting all over again!
OK, so here is where I am starting all over, starting at the beginning, but not blindly or ignorant. Every choice is decision purposefully made. Yet, at the bottom as in economical, intentionally! Yes, I am not going all the way to the top and hitting all the buy-it-now buttons on the Obsessed Garage web site! As much as I would love to, I am not in position to. Buy too, I want to buy my washing supplies with the purpose of learning and experiencing the new ways, with new tools. You can spend all the money you want on anything and too, you can spend as little money as possible only to be frustrated every time you use an item. Everything – EVERYTHING is a sliding scale! Enter the water hose. I wanted to spend less than $50. Heck! I wanted to spend less than that! But we have all used a cheap hose and it’s just a horrible experience. So how do you go about finding the best hose within a price range. A “best in class” type of hose. Upon watching the Project Farm video, I chose the Upon opening the the Aqua Joe box, I discovered this 2-year warranty! REGISTERED! AND, I will not have a pressure washer just yet! I have way too much stuff in the garage for the home renno, so it’s a no go. It’s back to basic’s the old school way! But too, check out this faucet! This is some type of auto draining faucet. I thought something was actually wrong with it once I turned it on as it started leaking through the “gills” but under the plastic cover, so I knew it had to be intentional. Had to look this up! What I have here is a Woodford Model 30 Freezeless Faucet. The Woodford Model 30 faucet automatically drains with or without a hose attached. The faucet is intended for irrigation purposes and designed for residential and light commercial outside water service applications. AND!!! Woodford is from RIGHT HERE IN COLORADO SPRINGS!!! I purchased the MELNOR Industrial Nozzle 465C more for it’s rubberized protection and at $20, it comes with the history of a company founded in 1946 here in the USA. And speaking of those oscillating water sprinklers, Melnor® was the first successful oscillating sprinkler for the home market. Until next time!
AND IT COMES WITH A WARRANTY!
Because my garage is far from being set up the Aaron Colton / Obsessed Garage way, I will not be having a hose reel any time soon. Also, my water source is not at the garage, rather on the front porch and will have to stretch across the walk entry to the drive way in order to wash the vehicles. So my hose will be installed and put away after each washing. 
Now I have my super basic system of delivering / spraying water onto my vehicles for service-care of what will be metal eating salt brine / Magnesium Chloride conditions. Next step is water containment aka buckets and wash stuff. Plus a whole lot more as I explore my vehicle care pursuits.
Rodney / Yamaha TDUB Club
