Dehumidifier

[Sewhappy]

We visited some friends in their 5th wheel today and they run a dehumidifier all the time. They said they were told to do this if you don't have dual pane windows. Is this something we should be doing?

[mark0224]

Never heard that but I did use one late last fall when temp was down below 50 f and there was no condensation in the trailer on windows or anywhere. Makes sense condensation running down windows and walls makes mold.

[BigJohnD]

We recently put one in ours. Regardless of dual pane windows, it's a good idea. More than the windows can and will sweat, whether you realize it or not is a different story. I've had walls sweat a little, inside cabinets etc. All due to temperature difference and humidity. Mainly it's a problem in the winter, but wet towels, showers, gas heat, cooking etc can all contribute to the high moisture content in the RV. Over several years and 7 campers, we never had a dehumidifier, and now we wonder why we didn't do it sooner. With it running on 45%, our windows (now) never sweat and the interior feels better, as in dryer. And this is with wet towels hanging, gas heat going, and freezing temps outside. We full time, so fealt it was a good and necessary investment. You'll read a huge amount of debates on this subject. Though windows sweating is the obvious one you see, the interior of the walls can sweat as well causing rot from the inside out. All this depends on the trailer and the construction technique of course. Do a google search for camper walls sweating and see all the results. For what it's worth, here's an interesting article.

IS SWEATING A GOOD THING? : Good Sam Camping Blog

In closing, spend that +/- $200, and you'll like the results.

[Sewhappy]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

We recently put one in ours. Regardless of dual pane windows, it's a good idea. More than the windows can and will sweat, whether you realize it or not is a different story. I've had walls sweat a little, inside cabinets etc. All due to temperature difference and humidity. Mainly it's a problem in the winter, but wet towels, showers, gas heat, cooking etc can all contribute to the high moisture content in the RV. Over several years and 7 campers, we never had a dehumidifier, and now we wonder why we didn't do it sooner. With it running on 45%, our windows (now) never sweat and the interior feels better, as in dryer. And this is with wet towels hanging, gas heat going, and freezing temps outside. We full time, so fealt it was a good and necessary investment. You'll read a huge amount of debates on this subject. Though windows sweating is the obvious one you see, the interior of the walls can sweat as well causing rot from the inside out. All this depends on the trailer and the construction technique of course. Do a google search for camper walls sweating and see all the results. For what it's worth, here's an interesting article.

IS SWEATING A GOOD THING? : Good Sam Camping Blog

In closing, spend that +/- $200, and you'll like the results.

That was a very interesting article. Thanks for sharing. I think we will get a dehumidifier.

[RickV]

We just put one of those big tubs of damp rid in the 5ver and change it when the little gauge shows red. Lasts about 6 months

[BigJohnD]

Those do work, but no where close to what the dehidifier will do. When you empty a 35 quart bucket that's nearly full after 1 night, you know it's humid in there. On average, we dump 1/2 a bucket every morning, and about 1/2 every evening. All depends on the weather. The damprid buckets I had in the camper before, got moved into my storage cabinets in the cargo trailer. Figured they could help out a little in there.

[Sewhappy]

Are the thermal windows worth the money? I heard that the windows don't sweat and therefore no need for the dehumidifier. Any thoughts?

[RickV]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Those do work, but no where close to what the dehidifier will do. When you empty a 35 quart bucket that's nearly full after 1 night, you know it's humid in there. On average, we dump 1/2 a bucket every morning, and about 1/2 every evening. All depends on the weather. The damprid buckets I had in the camper before, got moved into my storage cabinets in the cargo trailer. Figured they could help out a little in there.

Are you camping under a waterfall or something like that?

I live in North Florida and the humidity is pretty high. We keep the 5ver in a pole barn when we are not using it so it doesn't get much sunlight and the damp rid tub keeps it dry.

[BigJohnD]

Nope. All I can tell you is what it does. Humidity, we are practically in a swamp, or around one anyway. I have seen as little as an 1/8 of a bucket, but usually more. Biggest reason is probably that we have it set on 45 percent. Set it at a higher percentage and of course it's less. Keep in mind, 4 showers (vent and fan open but it still contributes to humidity), 4 wet towels hanging, cooking, door opened and closed a lot, plus south louisiana humidity, every day. I guess it's the next best thing to a waterfall.

[Sewhappy]

What I worry about is the heat a dehumidifier puts out. We have one in our home and you could heat a small room with it! I thought about getting a new smaller one for the camper but our list to buy is so long already! I can't believe they pushed us back a week on delivery. Now they are saying, mid May. I bet it will be the weekend the NASCAR race is in Concord. That would not be a good weekend because we are planning on camping there the first night. My husband says, the longer the weight, the newer the camper.

[BigJohnD]

That's a fact. We've come out on the good end of the stick with later RV deliveries before. Ended up with a newer model with better features once due to that.

As for dehumidifier heat, it does put off some, but hasn't been a problem thus far. We'll see this summer. I haven't seen outside temps over 80 so far, but 1 AC still keeps it at 68 inside, with the dehumidifier running. Time will tell. We're still new to the world of dehumidifiers, but know it has made a world of difference so far.