How To Keep Dust Out Of Your 4x4
Dust is an iconic part an Australian road trip. Coming home to a vehicle covered in red dust is the expectation and usually something that keeps finding its way into cracks months after you’ve finished your trip.
There are two really simple methods that will keep dust out of your 4x4 whether it's new or old.
Method 1: Pressurise your interior to keep dust out of your 4x4
New vehicles generally have much better seals than older vehicles, so you’re already ahead if you’ve got a newer rig, but in the fight against dust, take every advantage you can get!
If you’ve got a ute with a canopy or an older vehicle pressurising your interior space will make a huge difference.
Find out how you can pressurise your interior to keep dust out of your 4x4.
How to pressurise your 4x4 cabin with air conditioning to keep dust out
Step 1: Close all of your vehicle's windows and doors.
Step 2: Turn your air-con air recirculation off.
Step 3: Turn your air-con fan speed up nice and high.
This will force fresh air into your vehicle, ensuring positive pressure inside the vehicle, which will stop the dust being sucked in.
How to Pressurise your ute canopy with by opening a window to keep dust out
A well-fitted canopy and tailgate seal will only get you so far in the fight against dust.
Step 1: Slightly open the small sliding window (built into all Ironman 4x4 Pinnacle II Canopies) by the rear of the cab to let fresh air is get sucked into the canopy and create positive air pressure.
That's it, it's that easy.
It may seem counter intuitive to leave a window open that can take in the dust – but if you’re leaving enough space so you aren’t in the dust cloud of your convoy, the window should be high enough to remain dust free, and the positive pressure will stop dust from being sucked in at lower points like the tailgate.
Method 2: Leave some space in your convoy
Driving in convoy is excellent for safety – but you don’t need to be right up the back of the vehicle in front.
Use your UHF radios for comms and leave plenty of space between vehicles to stay out of their dust cloud and leave plenty of space to stop in case of an emergency.
Hot tip: No one likes dust, but a cracked windscreen is worse. A good gap between cars also means you won't cop any stray rocks from the tyres of the car in front.