IBA Entry Tire Scrubbers

[MW_Wash]

We have our entry tire scrubbers triggered by the garage door sensors but the problem we have is the customer either entering super cautiously, putting away their wallet, rolling up windows or whatever the case may be and 50% of time we have fully extended brushes before the vehicle is in place and to say the scrubbers take a beating is an understatement.

They get ran over, rammed into, and if that isn't enough the occasional back up and run over them again . Bent shocks, broken floor mounts, damaged bearings which results in them making too much contact with the floor at full extension and then either retracting very slowly or sometimes not at all.

There is no bracket in existence that would withstand the weight of a range Rover literally on top of the extended brush so what I think needs to be done is for these to be triggered further in the bay. If a set of sensors were added just 2' further in the bay it would ensure that the vehicle was in place prior to extending. Has anyone else done this in their bay or had similar issues? The entry scrubbers are standalone but the doors are controlled by the wash so this is how they are triggering them. I'm not sure how hard it is going to be to keep the existing safety sensors and somehow wire to trigger off of the new second set of sensors

 

[Waxman]

I wouldn't have them at all. No one has ever asked me about tire scrubbers for my automatic wash and no one has ever complained that their tires aren't clean enough. Seems like more of a problem than it's worth to have them so I would tear them out and keep washing cars.

I realize this is probably not What you want to hear but I bet a lot of others would agree with me.

 

[MW_Wash]

I agree they are junk unless you want wheel and tire cleaner sprayed on your rocker panels or your ground effects scrubbed with stiff bristled brush. I cringe when I watch a new civic type r enter or something similar where the ground effects protrude further than anything else and are 8" off the ground.. but the memberships are sold, the signs printed, and if they are off for a day in between damages we get calls about them not working and people think they are getting ripped off.

 

[soapy]

I would put down a pressure pad so when the tire rolls on it the scrubber is activated only when the car is far enough in. Simple install of a London mat or similar.

 

[washnshine]

I agree they are junk unless you want wheel and tire cleaner sprayed on your rocker panels or your ground effects scrubbed with stiff bristled brush. I cringe when I watch a new civic type r enter or something similar where the ground effects protrude further than anything else and are 8" off the ground.. but the memberships are sold, the signs printed, and if they are off for a day in between damages we get calls about them not working and people think they are getting ripped off.

That’s tough because it’s really a tunnel component that is being used in an IBA setting. I understand you are committed to them and I think soapy has a good idea. Let them extend onto the tire as it passes instead of before the tire reaches them.

 

[MW_Wash]

That's a good idea and after reading this I remember seeing a setup like this at another wash. They had it triggered off a hose and a pressure switch like an old full service gas station bell.

 

[soapy]

I would use a pressure plate over a air switch. In my experience the air switches are not as reliable.