How To Clean The Tight Gap Between Your Truck Cab And Bed

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Anyone who's ever owned any kind of motor vehicle knows how much work can potentially go into keeping the thing clean and tidy, inside and out. You may assume that keeping the outside clean is a little easier, since you can just splash some water and soap around to get the large surfaces clean. However, some types of vehicles have more tight nooks than others that soapy water may not reach. For example, if you have a pickup truck, there's likely a divot between the cab and bed that you probably haven't cleaned in a while.

Even in such a narrow space, a lot of assorted crud can accumulate between your truck's cab and bed, and while it probably won't overtly damage your truck with its presence, it's unseemly and unpleasant. There's no "official" way to clean this particular part of a truck, perhaps short of removing the bed entirely. However, rather than any extreme options like that, truck owners and enthusiasts have shared all manner of tips and solutions for tackling that tricky spot, ranging from concentrated fire from a pressure washer to detailed scrubbing with tools like Swiffer wands and squeegees.

Your optimal avenue for cleaning that tight spot between the cab and bed will depend largely on the kinds of tools you personally have on hand, as well as the severity of gunk present in the divot.

For example, if there's just a few cobwebs and particulates lodged back there, the simplest course of action would probably be to employ some manner of wiping tool. Users of the Detailing Enthusiast Community Facebook group suggest using a Swiffer wand, preferably one with a microfiber cloth wrapped around it. Users on the r/TruckCampers subreddit offer similar suggestions, with a thin window squeegee being another thin tool. Users on the AutoGeekOnline forums add that there are specialized tools out there for this precise purpose, like the Stoner Reach & Clean tool or other highly-rated car wash accessories on Amazon. If you don't have any of these tools, users on that Reddit thread note that a sponge tied to a long stick would also work in a pinch.

On the other hand, if there's some serious crud caked into the gap between the cab and the bed, it may be time to break out the pressure washer, preferably one with an optimal PSI for cleaning cars. Users across all of those aforementioned forums suggest pressure washers to blast out stuck-on particulates in the gap. On the Detailing Enthusiast Community group in particular, though, users also suggest adding some thick, foaming prewash from one of the best car wash soaps into the gap to loosen things up, then finishing it off with the pressure washer.