Symbol Cleaning Behind the Brown Trim

It's a Symbol ES '04.

How on earth does one get the muck and gunge out of the rim hidden behind the brown trim where the roof meets the body?

I tried - unsuccessfully - to remove this brown fascia and am now stumped. The water collects and I worry about rust forming where I can't see it.

How do others manage?

Hello Elijay
Just sent a message in reply to your hello. So many bits of trim up there to collect the dreaded green. A good scrubbing with a brush and Fenwicks motor home cleaner seems to get it off, and I follow up with Fenwicks Bobby Dazzler in the rinse. Does helpl
Regards
Plattypus

elijay wrote:It's a Symbol ES '04.

How on earth does one get the muck and gunge out of the rim hidden behind the brown trim where the roof meets the body?

I tried - unsuccessfully - to remove this brown fascia and am now stumped. The water collects and I worry about rust forming where I can't see it.

How do others manage?

Use a bottle brush I have a 11/4 bottle brush that is 2 ft long Aldi do a Caravan Cleaner that you can use neat or diluted .... use some washing up liquid and hose down as you clean I always enlarge the drain holes to about 1" x 3/8" at each corner this alows leaf and debrie to escape better you need a longer smaller brush to flush the rear plastic above the rear doors.
I must admit I have never seen a Symbol with a Brown trim

Alf

Elijay,
I use a damp cloth wrapped around the end of a 12" plastic ruler. It works reasonably well and does not appear to do any damage [except that the ruler sometimes breaks]
To get out old leaves etc I carefully use a couple of old bicycle spokes.

squip

Elijay,
Just noticed that you are a new member so I should also have welcomed you to the forum.
squip

Thanks for all replies. I bought it second hand so maybe the brown trim was once black? I'm considering the plastic ruler and metal spoke trick. I have some umbrella spokes that would work. I'm considering enlarging the holes.

Autosleeper vans are not cheap so why did they not design a special brush to clean up there? Talk about spoiling the ship for a hap'worth of tar!!

Because I hardly ever clean the van at home I use waterless 'Showroom Shine' by Greased Lightning, available from Ideal World shopping channel. It cleans everything without using water. There's a favourable review at ***.detailingworld.co.uk

Amother product is 'Optimum No Rinse', available from ***.detailedobsession.com

I hate cleaning it so much I take the van away for a few days to a very quiet CC Club site at Slindon near Arundel. I use telescopic ladders for the outside and a long step ladder for cleaning via the roof light hatch.

As a new member I am not yet allowed to post links, hence the ***.

Hi elijay

I sometimes use showroom shine by Greased Lightning, it's not a bad product but I would never use it if the van is dirty as the manufacturers claim, usually wash our vehicles down first to get rid of the grit and road muck first. I find it's good if you want to clean your bonnet of bugs after a run

I don't have the problem of grime or moss build up on our Trident, but then it's washed and polished frequently, also we don't have many trees in the area we park which is the main contributor to this kind of thing. On a recent trip to north Devon we stayed on a campsite parked under some trees, in the morning we woke to find the windows would barely wind down and the van was covered in this yellowy sticky substance, (sap out of the trees I guess?) it was awful! we straight away found a jet wash and blasted it all off, on our return home I gave it another wash and a good polish to be sure, never did get the yellowness out of my y-fronts that were also hung outside overnight though has anyone else encountered this parked under or near trees?

Hi Elijay,
Our gutters were full to the brim with dead leaves and moss when we got our Symbol over a year ago.
The only way I found to shift it was to get on a step ladder and use a pressure washer, got enough rubbish out to fill a small bucket. While I was up there I gave the roof a clean as it was black and mouldy. A lot of people will now throw there arms up in horror as to shift this I use flash kitchen cleaner and a soft scrubbing brush brings up every thing like new. Even a year later the roof shines like a new one
Cruizngcomet You were probably parked under sycamore trees the the sticky yellow go is aphid pee.
We have one of these trees on our drive its a real pain and if you don't wash the the goo off it turns every black.

I think I have found a possible solution, a flexible cleaning brush for cleaning inside the lead pipe and valve slides of trumpets. Available on Ebay.

Yes, that goo is from aphids that lurk in trees. I once lived in a house with oak trees in the front and the cars were constantly sticky. It drove us mad.

elijay wrote:I think I have found a possible solution, a flexible cleaning brush for cleaning inside the lead pipe and valve slides of trumpets. Available on Ebay.

Yes, that goo is from aphids that lurk in trees. I once lived in a house with oak trees in the front and the cars were constantly sticky. It drove us mad.

This Item [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] be ideal for the original smaller gutter under the plastic one over the back door and for under the top rear brake light it would be too small for the side gutter though my larger brush was part of a floor standing gas boiler service kit it had brass and nylon brushes

Alf

Thanks Alf, as a newbie I am not allowed to post any links.

Another idea, but only if like me you can sew. Get your hands on some stiff clear acetate packaging, cut into a ruler shape, then get some fleece or fluffy fabric, cut into rectangle and sew it. Insert acetate and sew open end. It will bend enough not to break and it can be thrown in washing machine for cleaning.

elijay wrote:Thanks Alf, as a newbie I am not allowed to post any links.

Another idea, but only if like me you can sew. Get your hands on some stiff clear acetate packaging, cut into a ruler shape, then get some fleece or fluffy fabric, cut into rectangle and sew it. Insert acetate and sew open end. It will bend enough not to break and it can be thrown in washing machine for cleaning.

The trim around the roof joint ( brown ) is shaped and to get into the curve of the trim as well as the roof to give a really good clean a bottle brush is about the only thing that will clean it your idea is ideal to give the roof behind the trim a polish this will help to keep gunge and green slime at bay living with a wood on my door step means ours is or was done 2 or 3 times a year alas our Symbol has gone now

Alf

elijay wrote:Thanks Alf, as a newbie I am not allowed to post any links.

Another idea, but only if like me you can sew. Get your hands on some stiff clear acetate packaging, cut into a ruler shape, then get some fleece or fluffy fabric, cut into rectangle and sew it. Insert acetate and sew open end. It will bend enough not to break and it can be thrown in washing machine for cleaning.

elijay if you are good at sewing a couple of idea's for you
1. with some nylon material make a bag for the hob glass lid it needs to be about 3/4" wider than the lid.
2. with some toweling material make a bag for the grill pan this cuts the noise from the oven.


We left ours on the Symbol when it went so I cannot give you the measurements.


Alf

Alf,
What's this then - you have sold the Symbol. What have you got in it's stead - a Fifer???

squip

Hi Squip no we have been all over looking for a Trooper we did agree a deal at Todds we did the deal on Monday was to pick it up on the Saturday when we rang on the Saturday morning to say we were setting off we were met with err, err sorry we have sold it we were livid but could do nothing it was the Trooper Seahorse bought we have looked at 3 more, we were speaking to the owner at Cleavland Motorhomes he had a SWB Romahome Dimension with 11300 miles on it, ours was March 06 this was Nov 06 we went to look and did a sraight swap. So for the first time in 35 years we dont have a Auto-Sleeper anymore.
We are well pleased with the Dimension the same heating unit as the Symbol but I had to go outside to see if it was on they have fitted a longer pipe before the Exhaust and it is wisper quiet
I will send you more details by PM
Alf

winter camper wrote:.
Cruizngcomet You were probably parked under sycamore trees the the sticky yellow go is aphid pee.
We have one of these trees on our drive its a real pain and if you don't wash the the goo off it turns every black.

elijay wrote:Yes, that goo is from aphids that lurk in trees. I once lived in a house with oak trees in the front and the cars were constantly sticky. It drove us mad.

Thanks for the info regarding this, had no idea it was aphids all I know is it made a real mess of our camper over one nights stay, will try to avoid parking under trees on sites in future