A sticky incident had the Huths readjusting their expectations and planning when it comes to black top touring

We have done quite a bit of dirt road driving over the last couple of years. The Gibb, Strzelecki Track, Innamincka to Birdsville, that sort of stuff. We got kind of used to the dirt and started to feel almost as if it was a normal road surface.

This year we haven’t been on the road much, we all have years like that, but a last minute trip came up and we went for it. It looked quite easy as it would all be on the Black Top. Obviously we didn’t worry about letting our tyres down and just needed to keep to the speed limits.

Broken Seals?

It was soon pretty plain to us that some of the sealed roads were about as good as some of the dirt ones. We had potholes galore, plenty of rough surfaces and one even had us going up and down as if we were sailing. No matter where we went there were roadworks. Back roads, main roads – everywhere roadworks.

Ok, we got used to all of that, but there was one outcome I hadn’t anticipated. And it was a first for me with 20 years of caravanning under my belt.

A Track-made Mess 

I went to get the washing liquid out of the drawer to do some washing. Well, somehow in a couple of days the lid had come loose, the bottle was on its side and the drawer was full of slimy clothes washing detergent. It was horrible.

What made it even worse was that this is the drawer with the small number of sometimes needed electrical equipment. Hairdryer, small vacuum, hair clippers, extension lead, you know what that drawer is like. Well, now it was slimy and so were all the things in there.

Our New Strategy

I had to take everything out, very carefully clean them, some things could be washed, others had to be painstakingly wiped, wiped and wiped again and again. 

Lesson learned – get rid of the liquid and buy the washing sheets! Done. 

Second lesson, black top trips can be as rough as some dirt trips, so be prepared for anything, anytime. 

Frustrating Fridges