Abandoned Car Washes: Ryko Rocket Conveyor

Another wash you may recognize from my older videos. Located at Love Buggs Car Wash in Sebring, Florida, this wash has been out of business for over a month, while the gas station next door is still operation.

Love Buggs originally opened in 2007. It is one of the few washes in Florida with a Ryko Rocket Conveyor. It is the longest of its kind, with a 135’ wash tunnel. The tunnel includes two sets of Ryko side washers, two top brushes, two sets of tall side wrap around washers, two spinning wheel blasters, two overhead thrust pro dryers, a MCWW Bulldog wheel brush, and a MCWW super shiner tire shiner. Most of the original Ryko equipment remains with the exception of a Sonny’s over under conveyor, Tommy storm shield arch, Sonny’s halo rinse arch, Sonny’s rinse system, and MCWW tire brush/tire shine. This tunnel in its early years also featured the rare Ryko oscillating high pressure arch before the triple foam application.

The Ryko Rocket Conveyor seized production in 2015, and NCS no longer supports the Rocket Conveyor, meaning spare parts are very limited and hard to acquire. Over the years, as parts became more unavailable, several components of this tunnel were decommissioned. Due to a bad motor, the first top brush was turned off completely, while the second top brush suffered a pneumatic failure and was brought down, losing it’s retract capability. The motor and hub assembly’s on the first set of wrap arounds were completely removed. During its last few years of operation, only the second set of wrap arounds and the second top brush were running. It should be noted that both sets of wraps around became stationary in their later years. The original Ryko oscillating high pressure arch features the same manifold design found on the Select-A-Wash. The arch was turned off as it aged due to manifold failures.

Much like the abandoned Select-A-Wash, this wash also suffered from negligence and lack of overall maintenance.