Van cleaning and covers

We are undertaking a good clean and polish of the van ready for a trip abroad. We do use it regularly throughout the year and store it in an outdoor pitch. It is pretty grimy with lots of seagull droppings and tree residue etc.
My Happy Husband has been up on ladders trying to do the roof bit but it is really hard work. How do others cope with this and how
often do you do it?
My husband has mentioned getting a partial cover (roof and just over sides for winter) although we do use it through out the year. Any comments on covers??

Also I am trying to clean around the Heki roof with it open from inside. I notice there is a sticky layer of sealant all around the outside of the Heki. I am probably being naive but is this the sealant to make it watertight and should it be sticky to the touch? There is also some of it come off on the window itself. Should I try to get this off? I am just concerned if the sealant stuff is sticky will it stop the window from opening at some point, especially in heat,

Thanks Happy Helen

The sticky sealant is probably the butyl rubber mastic strip that A-S use to seal around window openings. It's a mastic that never sets, and that's important, as the van body flexes a small amount while it's being driven.

What tends to happen is that it squeezes out slowly for a long time after the window frame is fitted, but the excess is harmless. If it is interfering with the window then yes, remove any that sticks to the Heki itself. When I re-sealed my side windows (with mastic purchased from A-S themselves) I went round after a few days with a blunt knife to trim the excess off, but that was only for cosmetic reasons - on a roof light I wouldn't bother, as it's not visible from the ground.

Hi Yes. That sounds right. We did have the Heki re-sealed at AS soon after buying it when a leak occurred.

Thanks HH

Use a proper marine based polish designed for GRP not car polish and the van will stay looking better much longer ( Meguires now make an RV wax - same stuff!)

Have just finished cleaning my Nuevo ready for a trip abroad. To clean roof I open Heiki fully and use a full size step ladder to gingerly and carefully crawl out and on hands and knees and systematically move over all the roof trying to keep towards the edge but never standing up . So far very successful. Just about everywhere can be reached but it goes without saying be careful