I apologize if this is a dumb question, but at 6'3" theres no way I can reach across the windshield to detail it with windex. I worry with a ladder there's a great chance of scratching the truck.

Any tips?

While we're at it -- by 1,000 miles my Platinum Ultimate wheels had a ton of black stuff on them. Any products or tips to make keeping them look awesome, easy?

Thanks

 

open the door and stand in the door way, should be able to get each half that way,

 

It's probably brake dust. BMW's I've leased were notorious for it. Wax the wheels will make it easy to clean off. If you let it go it becomes difficult to get off and pits the wheel. Only way to eliminate was to buy more expensive break pads that didn't emit as much dust.

 

I use an aluminum step stool that I bought from Harbor Freight pretty cheap. It makes it nice to get wax off the roof as well. Generally I just use the running boards with the door open like soundwave said.

 

As far as the windshield, I throw a blanket over my seats, open the moon roof and stand on the seats.

 

I hope any Prius owners reading this get as much of a laugh as I do Dang these trucks are tall.

I'm not into the whole "detailing" thing... it's a truck, I blast the grime off to keep it from eating up the paint, but I get no joy from waxing cars, so I'll just take it to whomever to have that done.

There's a Love's travel stop near me, they have window washer + squeegees on long broom handles. Those are AWESOME, maybe something like that would do it for window washing? Get like a swiffer and those Windex wipes, or Invisible Glass, which I like better (seems to stay clean longer, and as I said before, I hate cleaning.) Looks like swiffer rags are 11x8, invisible glass wipes are 7x12.

I may just have to try that.
Wipes Canister | Invisible Glass

 

Thanks guys. Y'all are really smart, and I appreciate the tips!

 

I usually stand on the front tire, gripping the edge of the hood or wiper mount to give me a little balance until I'm up.

 

I use a three step, step stool with a towel taped along the frame. Works great and won't scratch the paint if it bumps into the truck.

 

It is brake dust. European cars in general use soft brake pads, which use a lot of pad material and it ends up on the wheels.

Don't be fooled...soft brake pads work better than harder compound pads, are less likely to squeak, and provide better feel. It has nothing to do with 'cheap or expensive.'

We used to drive Mercedes-Benzes. Cleaning brake dust off the wheels was a weekly task.

I, too have noticed my new 2017 is putting off a lot more brake dust than previous trucks ever did...especially since my truck is a dually and the exterior of the rim is quite a bit further away from the pads than a SRW truck.

Clean it off quickly or it will be hard to remove, permanently discolor the wheel, and pit the surface.

 

I stand on top of the tire, using the plastic trim around the windshield wiper area as a nice hand-hold. Use a bucket or step stool to climb on top of the tire unless you are very limber. Top of the tire allows me at 6'6" to reach more than halfway across the windshield and get the area around the cab clearance lamps.

Tip: it is easy to climb on the tire on the driver's side than on the passenger side due to the wiper plastic surround.

I would never open the sunroof and stand on the seats and reach out. You could damage the TED seat heater / cooler device in the seat base.

Cleaning the roof: climb into the truck bed, and then climb up on the bed wall behind the rear glass. I pretty much lay across the roof a bit and reach forward. I like to keep the moonroof clean, and keep the paint up there waxed.

 

I throw my 7 year old on the hood and have him do all the work