Abstract: A washing apparatus designed particularly for road transport vehicles comprises a washing station with a pair of longitudinal rails carrying a carriage for movement along the vehicle. The carriage carries a pair of depending side arms with spray nozzles on the inside surface for spraying the sides of the vehicle. A horizontal beam is supported on a pair of lift carriages to move vertically and can rotate about a transverse axis to point forwardly, downwardly or rearwardly. The horizontal beam carries spray nozzles. The system uses sensors carried on the carriage to detect the position of the vehicle and to generate a stored matrix defining the shape. A control unit in response to the matrix moves the carriage and vertically movable element to the required position to spray the front, top and rear of the vehicle.