Dust in van

Did you cover the 4 seasons hatch. We place a piece of foam in the opening.

Never had dust in the van after many miles of dirt road.

Sounds like something was left open somewhere??

Alan

Howdy Monica,
We have travelled many dusty dirty roads, including the route you write about.
The only time we have had dust inside was at Coen AQUIS Inspection point!
What an embarrassment! About a full dust pan of dust was cleaned out!
We had left the rear window open since our lunch stop at Archer River!
So I guess we are asking the same question - was something left open?
Is the rear window seal working?
We have the usual "Gaffa" tape across the top hinge of the rear window, and each trip after dusty roads we need to clean that particular part of the van as dust gets sucked onto the rear like you know what!
Sometimes it is a "him" outside to press the window fully in while "she" does the catches inside. Then we know it is time to do some house work and clean the whole window and seals etc good and proper!
Hope this assists with some ideas.
Cheers - Ian & Sally

Hi Monica

Check the hinges on the door, especially the bottom one.

Cheers

Thanks for your replies. Nothing was left open. We will check all hinges etc to see if that helps.

Cheers
Monica

Whatalife, In extreme conditions"ie" Bulldust. Apart from all that you have done, we turn the fridge off and place a block off plate over the lower external fridge vent, as some dust did enter via this and into adjacent cupboard. We have also had dust enter through the shower outlet hole. We now have a foam "cork" for this area. We have travelled the exact track that you took and really had no dust problem to speak of. good luck in tracing the source!!
Cheers Spydor & Robyn

We had a similar experience.Travelling to Birdsville via Lyndhurst.Found the wheel arch cover had come adrift ,cracked ,at the join.On both sides, 1 under the seat which housed 1 battery/ inverter/batterycharger. we were the last to go through Coopers Creek.3km of water over road,to just above running board on our .200 series.Water came in then mixed with dust.lost the inverter / charger.The underside of the cafe style seat looked like hanging style mud wasp nests.The other side came apart opposite end (to rear of van) We had noticed dust seemed to be coming from under fridge.But a few days later the water done the trick.Might pay to check your wheel arch (mud guards) a torch outside shining up to top corner where top meets side piece above wheel to right or left of wheels ,observor inside looking for light
all the best Clive.

Hello Monica.

Having travelled extensively on gravel/dirt roads throughout Australia in our BT over the last ten years, We have beaten the dust issue by:-

1. Closing the water tight door with a slab of foam covering the door's bottom vent.
2. Internal ventillation of the fridge and sealing both top and bottom external vents.
3. Installing a marine, rain-proof scupper vent through the roof of the van.

The scupper vent is at the front of the flat roof. It creates internal air pressure in the van and this air pressure ensures dust won't get in the tiniest openings, including those around the Camec Door.

Yes we have travelled both Birdsville and Strzelecki tracks, Oodnadatta/Pedirka Tracks, Mulga Park/Great Central Road, Gary Junction Road/Wapet/Scull Springs Roads, Gibb River Road, Mount Augustus - Kennedy Ranges, Plenty Highway, Diamantina Development Road, and Cape York to Seisia, and, lots more in between.

The deepest bull dust we have seen was on the Springsure to Tambo Road via Ka Ka Mundi and Salvator Rosa, and that was before installation of the fridge vents and scupper vent. That was when we started to seriously look at ways to reduce dust intrusion!

By the way, we learnt, and saw how these modifications were made at the early BOG Musters. These events are by far the best way to overcome problems. The collective experiences of many BOG seasoned travellers can be tapped into.

Try to get to Rydal and you will see for yourself!.

Safe Travels...........Rob

Here's some photos of a scupper vent.

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Two types of scupper vent. The one on the left is available at most caravan spares outlets. It is manually opened and closed, so if it starts to rain you would have to stop, go into the van and close it. The hopefully the rain will settle the dust and you won't need it. Be carefull you don't get bogged if the rain continues!

The one on the right is a marine scupper vent. Rain can get into the opening but a drainage channel disperses the water out the sides and onto the roof. This is how ours is mounted on the van.

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At speed, the scupper vent fills the van with air, creating internal pressure such that dust is not sucked in through tiny gaps,(four-way hatch, fridge vents, door, etc). It works even when you pass a vehicle going in the opposite direction - a short passage through dusty air is okay as the pressure is already in the van. If you are following a vehicle travelling in the same direction, stay back out of the dust. I tthink that sustained driving in a dust cloud is stupid, but if you do, the scupper vent will inhale dust, just to maintain pressure in the van.

Safe travels..........Rob