carwash with a car roof box

How to Carwash with a Car Roof Box

Although it is easy to mount or disassemble a roof box on or off your roof rack, it costs your time and energy to do it. Smart product designer always thinks in the shoe of customers, so, in general, it is ok but not recommended to drive through an automatic carwash with your car roof box on top. In this article, you are about to discover that you can or cannot wash your car in a carwash machine without taking the roof box off the top of your vehicle.

We interviewed many roof box users about if they washed their cars in a carwash machine with the roof box on top, and they provided some answers and thoughts to us. They all refuse to use auto car washing services when their cargo boxes are on duty.
We have called many of the car roof box manufacturers about this question, and they provided almost the same answer you should take down the car roof box before using the carwash service.

What are the risks if you don’t take down the cargo box while using an automatic carwash?
You probably want to know the risks of going through a carwash with a roof box on top of your car, and you don’t try it for gaining experience. We will tell you the answers in this article. There are many potential risks for using a roof box that way.

Don't use auto car wash when it has a roof cargo box on top
  • Possibility of snagging on the surface of your car roof box
  • Chances of pulling off your cargo box and damaging your car
  • Possibility of breaking the rules of your roof box’s warranty policy
  • Chances of damaging the automatic car washer
  • Possible to fill with water

At this point, you have already known the potential risks of using an auto car washing service with a car roof box on top, so what can you do with the reality? We recommend you consider using a touchless automatic washer. There are many carwash companies in the United States, and you can drive around to require further advice on washing your car with a roof cargo box. 

Traditionally, car wash machines relied on physical wiping by using several huge brushes to clean the surface of your car with washing liquid and several high-pressure water guns from different angles. Those huge brushes were spinning and moving along the sides of your car body for deep and hard wiping the surface of your car. If your roof box is on top of your vehicle, the giant brushes can pull it off, and the falling box will scratch the surface of your auto. 

handwash is recommended for roof box owners

Fortunately, modern technology finds a solution for us to wash a car without disassembling the roof box. The touchless automatic carwash company is doing the perfect job for us. While you are washing your car in a touchless carwash store, you can do the car washing with your car roof box on. There is no possibility of damaging your car or roof box when you use a touchless carwash service.

touchless automatic carwash service
Touchless automatic carwash service will not hurt your car or roof box in the process of cleaning.

Hand-Wash is another Option for you

handwashing a car with these tools
what you may need to clean your car at home

If you don’t want any risk at all for carwashing your car with a fitted roof box, you can choose to order a hand wash service or do the wash yourself. Hand-washing a car is pretty easy but energy-consuming. You can prepare several pieces of automotive-grade towels, a bucket, a bottle of a professional cleaner, and a tap-water hose to get ready for washing your car.
If you do not have time to wash personally, you can order a hand-wash service from an auto-care company. Those workers will take care of every corner of your car until it is nice and shiny.

Car wash companies will take responsibility for damages?

carwash services are not responsible for the damages to your roof box

Most car wash companies will not guarantee that there is no risk of using their service with a roof box on the top of your car. They will advise you to take your roof box off before you use their services.
If you don’t obey their requests, they will refuse to serve you. You can not use their car washing service with a cargo box on top because your action can damage both your properties and their equipment.
Most car wash companies have clear signs about their rules; for example, a sign that indicates people do not sit in the car while using their services.

Ask First

When you want to use a carwash service in a company, you should ask the employees if you can use their service with a cargo carrier on top of your car or not.

In Conclusion

In this article, you can find answers about using a carwash service for your car when a car roof box is on top of it. Although you can enjoy an automatic carwash service with an installed cargo carrier, we do not recommend you to do that. If you want to use a carwash service, you can choose a hand-wash service or a touchless automatic carwash service to clean both your vehicle and your car roof box at once.

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