We turned on the air conditioning in the Bushtracker, but within an hour water was dripping into the van. I went back up onto the roof and may have unblocked one drain as there was water on the roof on that side.
I could not get my fingers into the gap between the air con and solar panel to guide the bent coat hanger up into the drain hole on the other side. I considered removing the solar panel, but when I tried to undo one of the 10 screws, it would not budge. I think the screws are stainless steel screwed into aluminium 7 years ago. There is a risk of galvanic corrosion when stainless is used with aluminium, and if that has happened, it will make it very difficult to remove the screws.
Plan B is to shift the van onto slightly higher blocks on one side, in the hope the condensation will run down the side where I think I have cleared the drain hole. The only dedicated caravan service business will be closed for part of next week, so I will look for a general repair place willing to tackle this job. If we take the van to a mechanic with tall workshops, at least they will not be working on a roof in the sun with the temperature reaching 35° in the shade!
We had to again remove the inside part of the air con system to dry up the water that collected in that unit. This equipment was not designed to be repeatedly removed and replaced, as there is delicate wiring that has to be connected. I cleaned this push-in fitting with electrical cleaner, but it was still a fiddly job.
Today we spent time in the motorhome cooling down, but tomorrow is forecast to reach 37° and stay that hot for much of the day and next week. Anita flies to Melbourne for her nephew’s wedding, so I will take Bluey for the drive to the airport in the air conditioned Toyota. I might find a cool pet store to linger in, and push him around Bunnings for a couple of hours, but there are very few public places that allow pets inside on hot days. We can loiter at the entrance to shopping centres for the blast of cool air, and spend time with our friends in the motorhome. We had tickets to the Beccy Cole show at 5 pm, but I stayed cool with the dogs in the motorhome, while Anita got a lift to the show with our friends. We have tickets for several shows, but won’t be able to stay here without air con.
Committed Travellers 