Automatic car washes for tall vans

I don’t get it. Why can’t they make a car wash that adapts to taller vehicles like Sprinter Vans? We’ve driven around the western part of the US quite a bit and only found two places to wash all the road grime off our Sprinter Vans.

First is the do-it-yourself car wash bays. These are great for using their power washers and even soapy brushes to get the crap off your van. But ultimately, unless you have a ladder with you, it’s tough to get high up and even access to wash the roof. Also, not all bays are really tall. It’s important to find a bay that allows the heigh of your rig to fit without the apparatus of the washing arm to scratch your roof. Now, if you have a roof rack you can stand on then washing top down can be easier. Just be careful not to slip.

Second is a truck stop car wash. Or specifically a semi-truck car wash. Now these can be intimidating. You wonder, do you belong in there? How do I go about doing this. It’s all good. You’re a paying customer, and a van is much smaller than a massive rig. Typically these are services where you have someone wash your vehicle for you. And most of the time they’re indoors.

Now, we came across this bloke who tried to go through an automatic system and pulled the entire mechanism right out of the building. Which gets us to ask the question: Why don’t they make variable heigh automatic car washes?

Perhaps they do… we just have never seen one before. Our local Mercedes-Benz dealership recently renovated their entire facility. Part of this rehab they installed a carwash that accepts Sprinter Vans!!!