Driving on Dirt Roads

Lyn13 · Newbie

Driving on Dirt Roads

Tony Bev · Guru

Hello Lyn13

May I be one of the first to welcome you to the forum

Hopefully someone with experience of travelling on dirt roads will come along and give some good advice

Someone on this forum mentioned that if the vehicle is pressurised then the dust can not enter

I drove my RV same as picture in Avatar, on a (about) 10 kilometre dirt road, with front air vents open, and vent fan fan going to pressurise the vehicle
It did not work for me, so I must have been doing something wrong

Rongela · Veteran Member

You should have the front vent closed. All windows closed and recirculate on. Fan on. Will help keep dust out.

villatranquilla · Guru

Welcome Lyn
I guess you'll never know how well sealed your van is till you take it on a dirt road for 20k's or so. Then check inside cupboards at floor level and where the walls meet the floor especially areas around wheel arches. In our experience red soil country seems to be worst but certainly the easiest to detect. Start under the van and ensure all holes in the floor that have pipes or wires going through are well packed/ sealed with silicone or sealer.
It may take several attempts to eliminate or at least minimise dust ingress.
We haven't had issues around the door or windows except for when the rear window had not been locked.

-- Edited by villatranquilla on Tuesday 14th of March 2017 09:08:59 PM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

I use a wet cleaning cloth on vents. Find going slow helps too.. As said pressuring inside cabin if possible..

Vernleanne · Veteran Member

We have a pressure vent fitted on the roof of the van at the front I have also had 2 fitted to the canopy of my Ranger. With these open you will greatly reduce any dust getting into you van or canopy. I have driven from Adelaide to the desert onto Fink and back down to Adelaide with majority of the time on dusty dirt roads and dirt was not a issue with the vents open.

here is a link that will show you what i mean and no I am not affiliated in any way.

goo.gl/KyFS24

darjak · Senior Member

We have been living on the road for 10+yrs and most of our travel is spent off the Black Top. Red bulldust is the worst to keepout, Jenny and Barry have covered the start of elimanition. Your doors gas vent needs to be covered, if you have a 4 season hatch they're not dust proof ours has a recess where we put a piece of sponge to stop ingress of dust from passing traffic, also make sure fridge is completely sealed inside it's cabinet if it has external venting.
Car put vent on recycle and turn aircon on and don't open windows when travelling.
If travelling for extended periods (50k+)on dirt don't forget to lower your tyre pressure and speed plus drive too conditions and enjoy the journey. We normally run our tyres on about 25psi cold.

Darrell

Lyn13 · Newbie

Thank you to everyone who replied. I have summarised responses below in the hope that it will help another member with a similar question.

1. If van has a four season hatch, place piece of sponge in recess to stop ingress of dust. (We have two of these hatches so thanks for the tip Darrell.)
2. Put towing vehicle vent on recycle and turn air conditioner on. Don't open windows when travelling.
3. If travelling for more than 50 klms, lower tyre pressure and speed.
4. Research pressure vents to pressurise inside van and drive with these open. Can fit to towing vehicle as well as van. (Thank you Vernleanne.)
5. Place wet cleaning cloth on vents and drive slowly. (Thank you Aus-Kiwi.)
6. Start under the van and ensure all holes in the floor that have pipes or wires going through are well packed/sealed with silicone or sealer. (Thanks Jenny and Barry.)
7. Double check all windows are locked.

Travel safely
Lyn

JeffRae · Guru

And don't ever expect to keep ALL the dust out biggrin