Interior dirt ingress?

[KinglouietheIII]

Hi everyone!

Currently, I'm driving a Honda Ridgeline. It's a 2022 that I bought new, since I was unable to get my hands on a Bronco in a timely fashion. Fast forward a year and 40K miles, it looks like Broncos are starting to appear everywhere and this Ridgeline I have as been the BIGGEST piece of crap I've ever owned. Here's my question.

I drive 25 miles a day, 7 days a week, on dirt roads in the summer. Before I owned the Ridgeline, I had a 2014 Subaru Forester. At the end of the week, the outside of the Forester would be filthy with mud, fine dust, etc. but the interior would be perfectly fine, and clean. The same can not be said about the Ridgeline. After a week of dirt road driving, every surface in the truck will have a thin/thick layer of dust on it. To make matters even worse, dust can be seen coming out of every crack or crevice of the door panels, an absolute mess.

For everyone on here that off roads their hard top Broncos, how has the dirt ingress been with them?

Thank you for your time!

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[MadMan4BamaNATL]

If a layer of dust bothers you, then steer clear of the Bronco my friend.

I wheel mine pretty regularly, have the washout interior and MGV seats, so I really don’t care about the dust since I ride trails with the windows down all the time. Seats wipe easily, as do the surfaces, but it would take some work to thoroughly clean the interior, so I won’t.

Hell, I barely keep the exterior clean as I wash maybe once a quarter.

Good luck with what you decide to do, but be careful with the carpet flooring.

 

[Beach_Bum]

You don't want a Bronco if that is your concern. You will hate the dust and dirt.

 

[BlueWaffle]

Only place on my rig where dust really manages to sneak in is the rear window.

 

[Brian_B]

Dust comes in everywhere with the top down, and most off-road tires will sling mud, gravel and snow absolutely everywhere. It’s glorious.

that said - with the hard top (or soft top really) and everything closed up - it stays pretty clean on the inside. The instant you open the rear door, or peak in at the weatherstripping/sills… there is a vent through the rear door but it’s fairly well baffled - everything else does seal up decently for dust / dirt

 

[RC Bronco]

With windows down or top off I get dust inside, otherwise the only place where it gets in through is the rear window area

 

[Bschurr]

Just be sure to keep the doors on…

 

[murphtron]

It’s not too too bad on the inside if you keep the windows up. But dust will get in. Probably not as well sealed as a Subaru. Of course all of the crevices around the doors/roof panels/hood/etc will be caked with dust. All of the edge liners. You see it when you open the doors.

If running with the roof/doors off it will be filthy on the inside. But with the MGV and washout interior (meaning no carpet) it can be cleaned. But it takes hours to do a decent job. I haven’t bothered to get out the toothbrush to detail it. Now I honestly don’t care after 6 months. Mine is all pinstriped to hell on the sides. For me it’s a utility vehicle. Meant to be used.

 

[TRACKTOY]

GOOD MORNING
For me the solution is ceramic coating at the dealership before delivery of my vehicles.
So when I go to my second house in the woods I do 110 miles of forest road dust, mud, rock, branches etc... So the vehicles are dirty. But, a simple hose or rain and they clean themselves. After 1 year of dirty road. look at the photos.
TRACKTOY

 

[Eroc88]

You are worried about dust and you want a bronco

 

[Cletus]

Dust comes in everywhere with the top down, and most off-road tires will sling mud, gravel and snow absolutely everywhere. It’s glorious.

that said - with the hard top (or soft top really) and everything closed up - it stays pretty clean on the inside. The instant you open the rear door, or peak in at the weatherstripping/sills… there is a vent through the rear door but it’s fairly well baffled - everything else does seal up decently for dust / dirt

^^^best answer. (And it is glorious.)

First time on trails was outside of Butte, MT. Dry conditions and lots of fine dust. Exterior turned an entirely different color, but interior was fine. Mind the HVAC settings.

 

[EasternSierra]

You are worried about dust and you want a bronco

Some Bronco purchasers want a pavement queen with good looks, some want a vehicle with a roof and even doors that can be removed for open-air driving, some want the Bronco's off-road prowess, and some want more than one of the above.

Out west where many of us are, sometimes there are months without rain. Dirt roads (depending on local geology, and recent weather and traffic) may kick up massive, choking clouds of abrasive dust when you pass through. If you want to revel in that, enjoy yourself.

Personally, my aging lungs can't take that, and I really don't want to spend my whole trip being a total dirtball. Some of us want to manage the dust so it's not too bad and so gear (in my case including camera gear) doesn't get rapidly degraded through abrasion.

The outside of the vehicle is going to get moderately to very dirty, but I'd rather the inside gets only a little bit dusty at worst. There's still going to be a cleanup when I get home but it's going to be reasonable. There are still going to be scratches and scuffs on the interior over time but not too bad.

Other people may deal with this issue differently and that's fine. It's OK for different people to have different styles - we don't all need to have the same likes or do things the same way.

This reminds me of the trip long ago where my truck was merely dusty inside but absolutely filthy outside from both mud and dust. Washing it off was going to be a big job. On a hot day with no a/c, I hit a desert thunderstorm just right on the way home and got the entire exterior, including the undercarriage, completely cleaned off. Free truck wash! That was fun and I sure enjoyed the natural a/c.

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