DRIVING WITH WINDOWS OPEN?
HELLO, IS IT OK TO DRIVE WITH WINDOWS OPEN IN A TRUCK CAMPER? THANKS FOR ANY INPUT, ANDY
Forum Discussion
I have the old style glass cranked / louvred windows.
I often leave them slightly open while driving - helps get some air through the camper to dry it out (camping as we often are in a damp climate leading to moisture building up on cold surfaces over night). I've done tens of thousands of miles like that - with the type of windows I have this has been no problem.
jefe's observation about dust is an interesting one and of course comes from his huge wealth of offroading experience, much with his hard-side truck camper; but I found it does depend on which windows are open.
My back door hardly seals. In the Sahara I assumed we would find a real problem with fine dust getting into the camper as we had in a different vehicle in the Namib. The latter supposedly sealed air tight, but on stopping everything was always covered in a fine layer of dust.
In our very-poorly-sealed Shadow Cruiser in the Sahara I accidentally left the over-cab side windows open very slightly. On stopping I expected to find dust everywhere, but there was none. Driving on our own, not in the dust of vehicles in front, these upper windows were in clean air and I suspect this clean air was pressurising the camper and driving air out of the rear door and with it any dust (like military vehicles use positive pressure for NBC purposes).
What I did learn was to be careful of backlash in the cranks. Especially after I oiled them. If I wind them out then there is enough backlash for the wind to pull them a lot further out - so I wind them out, then back in to take up any slack - that way they can only blow closed, not further open.
Steve.
I often leave them slightly open while driving - helps get some air through the camper to dry it out (camping as we often are in a damp climate leading to moisture building up on cold surfaces over night). I've done tens of thousands of miles like that - with the type of windows I have this has been no problem.
jefe's observation about dust is an interesting one and of course comes from his huge wealth of offroading experience, much with his hard-side truck camper; but I found it does depend on which windows are open.
My back door hardly seals. In the Sahara I assumed we would find a real problem with fine dust getting into the camper as we had in a different vehicle in the Namib. The latter supposedly sealed air tight, but on stopping everything was always covered in a fine layer of dust.
In our very-poorly-sealed Shadow Cruiser in the Sahara I accidentally left the over-cab side windows open very slightly. On stopping I expected to find dust everywhere, but there was none. Driving on our own, not in the dust of vehicles in front, these upper windows were in clean air and I suspect this clean air was pressurising the camper and driving air out of the rear door and with it any dust (like military vehicles use positive pressure for NBC purposes).
What I did learn was to be careful of backlash in the cranks. Especially after I oiled them. If I wind them out then there is enough backlash for the wind to pull them a lot further out - so I wind them out, then back in to take up any slack - that way they can only blow closed, not further open.
Steve.
