I think the pride thing has to go the other way too Chris; By the time I’ve been finished recently there’s no time to do a decent wash. Our head office has a pressure washer and detergent lance to service about 20 lorries based there plus the other 16 that are based elsewhere but call in to attempt to get on the wash. Once we’re parked up we’re only paid another 30 minutes which doesn’t leave much time after doing paperwork, tachos and wheelnuts.
Very true Nathan, most of your blokes must run back in fairly close together time wise I would imagine, all fighting to bunker etc, plus tipper work must be soul destroying if you are house proud cos within an hour of leaving the yard you could be plastered again 
I get down Dorset/Somerset way a fair bit which is serious tipper country, & I see some of them half-way though the day & they’re immaculate, I think how the hell do you do that in & out of quarries etc 
. Depending on the run we roll back into Air Products from 2 pm round to 8 pm, its only really a few of us that use the wash so there’s never a queue, the drive through is broke about 10 months of the year, the hose/brushes etc are there but its very rare to see a Wincanton wagon being hand-washed, in fact if you see one of them in the drive-through its cos he’s lost 
Regards Chris
I work for a farmer and he has five artic bulk tippers.They dont care if you dont wash off for two months as its not costing them then! When i used to be away my truck was always spotless inside apart from the footwell which used to get done at the end of the day.I used to wash off all the time.Now i have come to this company i do it when it needs doing either once a week or once a fortnight depending on the time of year.When i got the truck it took me four hours cleaning to get it something like decent but it will never be as clean as i would like it to be.I dont do nights out so doesnt matter as much nowadays.It only takes five minutes at the end of each day to do the footwell and go over the dash with baby wipes then some polish but by the time you have opened the door the dust can be all over again.Dusty when its dry and sh…y when its wet!
Years ago, my brother’s neighbour drove a Foden artic for a big firm. He used to go off in his car on a Sunday morning, fetch his unit, get it outside his house, wash, polish and vac it, then take it back to work. He had fitted house carpet in the cab, use to take his boots off and put his carpet slippers on to drive it, put his boots back on when he got out!
Bernard
Smiths had a Banbury-based driver on a G reg 4000 8wheeler who’d take his Mrs to help clean his lorry on a weekend He actually turned up at our stone quarry and refused to carry gabion (200-100mm) because he had an alloy body. Godfrey Smith agreed and ‘ollocked the weighbridge man and shippers for giving him the load 
My Dad had a D reg 6w Foden new and when only a few weeks old was asked why the wagon was dirty (“no time, Godfrey” said Dad)…“Then I’m making you time, chap!” was Godfreys’ response, and he marched in and told shippers that “my 'king new lorries aren’t doing that 'itty job!”
I did used to have a Scania 143/450 that I rate as the best wagon I have ever driven 
that I used to take home & wash on my driveway, my 1st Mrs used to say to me “You think more of that thing than you do of me!”. To which I replied “That wagon is the perfect Mistress, she keeps me warm in the winter, cool in the summer, she does as she’s told & she doesn’t f*****g argue!”
Regards Chris