trailer cleaning party!

Alternate Titles:

- It Takes a Village <3

- Ol' Dirty Gets a Bath!

- People Will Do Just About Anything for Apple Cider Mimosas & Pizza

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Ok. Real talk. My truck and trailer are dirty AF. And have been for... a LONG time. Realistically I could have just driven over to a local car wash place but... eh, instead I opted to grab about $100 worth of pizza, prosecco, apple cider, and cleaning supplies ---- plus the rag tag team of barn mates who have had horses in my trailer at one point or another ---- and had a little party!

 

Obvi nobody needs a blow-by-blow tutorial on how to wash a vehicle. But.... ooooh the satisfaction in seeing the transformation unfold, who doesn't love that? 

So. Let's begin with Step 1: Be the proud owner of an absurdly filthy horse transport rig. 

 

Step 2: Empty out all your shit. All of it, Emma. I mean it, you ridiculous hoarder... 

 

Obviously this includes the trailer mats, which haven't really been touched in 5 full years. Turns out, floor still looks pretty pristine, yay!

 

And obvi this step also includes sweeping out all the gritty detritus that somehow manages to accumulate in the back of my beloved (if slightly grandfatherly) truck bed cap. 

 

Step 3 (and this is the *most* important step!!): Assemble the team!!! Plus dog!!

(And yes, omfg, that entire pile of ....stuff was really truly belched up from the belly of my poor overstuffed rig haha)

 

Extra special bonus if said teammates come prepared with useful goodies like a POWER WASHER YAS!!!

 

Plus obviously additional scrub brushes (esp if said scrub brush has an extra long handle for those hard to reach spots!!).

 

Step 4: Definitely be safe tho, omg, plz don't get killed trying to scrub 5 years worth of tree litter off the roof of that trailer :(

 

Step 5: Lather, rinse, repeat. For real, tho. It's important to keep cycling around the vehicle -- swipe on a layer of soap, follow up with the power washer, come back with more scrub brushes and rags, rinse again with the power washer. 

Around and around and around like one big conveyor belt. Perfection is the enemy of good here, ya know?

 

Ooooooh we power washed the mats too. These things are crazy heavy, for us, maneuvering each mat was basically a 3 person job. 

 

The rooves of both vehicles have been the most neglected over the years, while also accumulating the most scum (since the truck and trailer live under a tree). 

You can really see the iterations of individual efforts in this shot tho -- and also see how, by the time the final power wash rinse will come around, it'll be clean as a whistle.

 

Like so!!! (Again tho, omg, plz don't fall off that ladder....)

 

Even the weather wanted to get in on the fun -- with an impromptu short-lived rain drizzle right when we were ready for a rinse!

 

Step 6: After the final rinses around the exterior of both vehicles, we went around and sprayed on a wax finish, buffing with dry(ish) microfiber towels.

 

The interior got power washed too!! Plus the wooden storage trunk got the shop vac treatment it so desperately needed omg.

 

And ya know.... That's basically it!! 

Well, except for Step 7: Entrust one of your intrepid teammates to go through that absurd pile of gear that came out of the rig, and sort into trash / not trash (which includes bonus categories like "laundry" and "donate to lesson program"). 

I sweetened the pot for this step by offering up the extensive saddle pad collection that's been sitting unused to anybody who might want them haha. And basically all found new homes! 

 

Step 8: Admire that gleam, tho <3

 

Step 9: Pack all that remaining junk back into it tho, bc #HoardersGottaHoard.

And, finally, Step 10: Park it right back under that tree, daring history to repeat itself.