Dust in the back of our ute.
Submitted: Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 17:49
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Dave W
On our trip to
Birdsville and
Bedourie last year we had a real problem with dust getting in to the rear of the ute. We have a Mazda BT 50 dual cab styleside with a TJM canopy.There is a large gap in the tailgate area which would be almost impossible to effectively seal. Has anybody got any suggestions as to how we could overcome this problem (without having to trade it in on a wagon of some sort)? Any suggestions would be much appreciated
Reply By: Notso - Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 18:11
Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 18:11
I know Mitsubishi have a seal kit for the Triton, maybe Mazda has something similar?
AnswerID:
452284
Follow Up By: Dave W - Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 19:03
Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 19:03
Never thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have a word with Mazda and see what they come up with.
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724958
Reply By: Happy Frank - Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 19:59
Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 19:59
You need to create positive pressure inside the canopy by letting air in the front either by opening the sliding window in the front or installing a vent in the roof. This works.
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452292
Follow Up By: Dave W - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:01
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:01
This sounds like a good idea Frank, thanks for the suggestion. Talking to a mate over
easter about the problem and he suggested those little whirly bird type things you see fitted to the roof on some of the vans getting around the place. I guess the principle would be the same. Thanks mate.
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Reply By: Teraa - Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 21:25
Monday, Apr 25, 2011 at 21:25
Gees you must have been lucky to even get dust last year.
I have seen them run a pipe from the exhaust into a area to keep dust out.
also we use rubber cuttings that you can pot rivot.
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Follow Up By: Dave W - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:06
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:06
Not wrong about the dust last year Teraa, we seemed to be running just ahead of the rain for most of the trip. Thanks for your suggestion. I guess the bottom line is that you'll never stop dust getting in the back but it would be good to cut it down so that it doesn't look like the middle of the Simpson when you open the back up.
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725013
Reply By: Member - Dennis P (Scotland) - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 06:26
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 06:26
Hi Dave,
I had a TJM dropside tray on my Patrol and eventually had a TJM canopy fitted to it after a couple of years.
I used window sealing tape, similar to this,
Tape
Used it on both the sides and the tailgate, worked like a beauty, for any other gaps, I just used silastic.
With the vent/s others have suggested I never had a problem after that.
Cheers,
Dennis
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Dave W - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:12
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:12
Thanks Dennis, the roof vent sounds like a good idea so I'll try that as a start and see how it works out. Hoping to do the
Gibb River Rd in May next year so have a bit of time to work on the problem. Actually my mate was showing me some of that window sealing tape on the weekend and that sound like it would be worth a try. Guess I'll try anything once.
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725014
Reply By: gbc - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 06:44
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 06:44
Get a forward facing roof vent. Flexiglass sell them off the shelf.
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452316
Follow Up By: Dave W - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:13
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:13
Thanks GBC, I'll contact them and see what I can come up with.
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725015
Reply By: gv930 - Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:56
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2011 at 14:56
the revolving vents are good for circulation but not for pressure. tjm, arb etc people who sell canopies sell 2 position forward facing rectangular vents that work a treat if you arent following too close behind another vehicle
also clark rubber and similar
places sell weather stripping similar to the oe stuff in cars - cheaper idea go to wreckers and get a weatherstrip off a car and contact cement it to tailgate or mount on a metal strip each side of tailgate opening moulded to follow shape
a bit on opening and on tailagate works better
AnswerID:
452356
Reply By: Member - Bucky - Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 04:32
Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 04:32
DaveW
You need one of those whirley gigs on top of your canopy.
or
A top mounted pop up air vent.
Either will cause positive air pressure, and almost stop the dust.
I do not believe you can completely stop all dust getting in, but at least by using either of the 2 methods above, 99% can be eliminated.
Cheers Bucky
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Bucky - Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 04:35
Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 04:35
DaveW
I shoould have added.
It may pay to try and eliminate all tailgate gaps as
well.
Cheers
Bucky
FollowupID:
725090
Reply By: DaveO*ST-R - Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 11:13
Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 11:13
As mentioned, opening the front sliding window about 50mm will stop "most" of the dust, but I have not been successful in eliminating it totally. I also used a bit of (approx) 25mm x 8mm thick rubber strips from Clark Rubber to seal as much of the tailgate as possible. Only a small amount of dust gets in. I forgot to open the front window once on a trip and the entire inside of the canopy (and contents) was filled with dust, so I can attest to the window opening working at least to an acceptable level.
Cheers,
Dave
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 19:06
Wednesday, Apr 27, 2011 at 19:06
ARB also sell a flip up style forward facing vent which will fit any canopy.
Can be self installed with easy to follow instructions.
Tested mine out over the Easter/Anzac break and....not dust in the tub/canopy area.
My tailgate is also not sealed but positive pressure will stop any dust/dirt from entering.
Bill.
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