Mitter curtain grab sh!t out of pickups?

[Ghetto Wash]

I am planning on converting a ss bay to auto and am leaning toward friction. Autec uses a mitter curtain instead of a top brush. Will the mitter fall into the pickup beds and drag through all the crap in back of pickups and potentially damage the cars behind it? I have seen some top brush machines that will sense when there is a pickup and turn off over the bed (PDQ).

What are the pros and cons of a mitter vs. a top brush?

 

[Jim L.]

This exact same thing happened to my closest competitor when he first opened. He has an Autec with the spinning cloth wheels on the sides. One of them got hold of the end of a rod & reel the customer had hanging over the tailgate. The hooks and sinker got tangled in the cloth and did a number on the side of the pickup.

 

[DiamondWash]

Unless Autec has engineered a pick up detect feature that would retract the cloth but if not then yeah it will snake through all that is in a pickup bed and as you say could potentially damage the next vehicle and possibly then next and next but Ryko, Belanger, PDQ, D&S units have top brush interrupt so it does not go into the bed.

 

[MikeV]

There were some recent posts about the old Slant machines. They had a pickup option on the entry box for pickups that would raise the top brush when it came over the bed..,,pretty cool for that old of a machine.

 

[Greg Pack]

Valid concern- I had a piece of barbed wire get stuck in a mitter curtain one day at a tunnel. I got lucky and found it before it damaged any cars.

 

[RykoPro]

Ryko has had a "top brush interrupt" for over 30 years and every Ryko since has it, even the tunnels.

 

[jfmoran]

The short answer is yes it will, and yes you need to be concerned about it. You either have to police your wash with signage and an attendant who makes sure beds are clear of debris, etc.. or get with a top brush that can be retracted.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

Thanks for all the input. I've got more homework to do.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I have 2 Tunnels with top brushes and 2 without.

Brushes will do a better job of cleaning per length of tunnel.

That being said. I will NEVER install another top brush.

Taxi Lights, police lights all sorts of roof racks as well as pickups present a much more intense issue for top brushes.

 

[RykoPro]

I have 2 Tunnels with top brushes and 2 without.

Brushes will do a better job of cleaning per length of tunnel.

That being said. I will NEVER install another top brush.

Taxi Lights, police lights all sorts of roof racks as well as pickups present a much more intense issue for top brushes.

Not all Top brushes are created equal. We have one on almost every wash we have sold. Compared to a shaker curtain there is no contest, a good top brush will out clean every time.