Condensation

[cajunmansion]

2017 2906ws
Went camping the week after Christmas, temperature was in the low 30 had the propane heater running in the RV I had condensation build up in all the cabinets towards the ceiling. Anyone having this same issue.

[Cylee]

Have a fan running to circulate the air

[pismolocal]

Make sure to keep a window or a roof vent slightly cracked open. You need to have some sort of airflow to keep out the condensation.

[WFD]

Pretty common at those temps in these very thinly insulated units.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by WFD

Pretty common at those temps in these very thinly insulated units.

And when owners close up their rig tight as a submarine, with no air movement.
Gotta crack open a vent and window.

Generally doesn't happen when moisture breathing humans are not in it.

[Ggimlick]

My wife is worried about picking our new Mini Lite up tomorrow in VA then camping tomorrow night in 25 degree temps. She doesn’t want condensation ruining anything. We've had trailers and motorhomes for over 30 years but the new units are tighter than the old ones and seem to be more prone to it. I’ve reminded her about ventilation, etc, but ten years of owning the last motorhome and not having issues make her worry about the new little trailer. Naturally I can’t guarantee there won’t be damp walls, etc if we use it, but I hate to tow it four hours home after the PDI and not try it out.

[Hclarkx]

Originally Posted by cajunmansion

2017 2906ws
Went camping the week after Christmas, temperature was in the low 30 had the propane heater running in the RV I had condensation build up in all the cabinets towards the ceiling. Anyone having this same issue.

We have this happen on occasion. The problem is more moisture in the air than it can hold when cooled by a surface that is exposed to the outside temperature (such as windows). The ceiling area being further from the ground (where temps are more stable) probably cools more than the lower areas.

For us it's usually a combination of not watching moisture "input" from showers and dishwasing and number of people combined with a cold spell that provides cold surfaces for moisture to condense on. People emit moisture as do dishwashing and showers.

I think showers are probably the biggest source of moisture so we wipe down the shower well after each use, wringing the wipe-down towel well into the shower drain or bath sink. Hanging up damp towels after the shower aggravates the situation though we've found that if we are careful with other moisture sources the towels alone are not a problem.

Try opening a window while washing dishes, maybe also turning on an overhead fan to route that moisture to the outdoors. Running the bath fan also helps get ride of shower moisture generated during the shower (still need to wipe down afterwards).

It can take a couple of days of effort to bring moisture content down (bedding and such store moisture) before you hit the cold snap, so watch the weather forecast and try to dry out the trailer ahead of that.

We've never tried monitoring the humidity in the RV but that might be helpful.

We in CA now but lived in Upstate NY fir 20 years and had to learn about controlling indoor humidity. Until we did, we would occasionally have water running down the walls under windows. A dehumidifier helped, but alone wasn't enough.

I have read about RV'ers using de-humifiers of one kind or another, but they are slow and not all that effective from what I've read. Easier to just control the sources of moisture.

[Hclarkx]

Oops, remove the word "not" from the first line of the second paragraph above .........

[Hclarkx]

Originally Posted by Hclarkx

Oops, remove the word "not" from the first line of the second paragraph above .........

Or not, I guess it reads sensible with or without the "not."

[rusturm]

What happened to you is very common, leaving a window or vent cracked is the answer when camping and using your heater. I live near Houston Tx. and humidity is a major concern to our trailers when not in use. Invest in a good reliable humidifier or use the dry package type {damp rid}. The dry type will become expensive over time but it does work. Leave a window or vent cracked with either one and a fan is also good to eave running all the time you aren't using your trailer.

[cavie]

Go to Wallyworld and buy a 30 QT dehumidifier. Works great in my 27 5er.

[Cypressloser]

Originally Posted by cavie

Go to Wallyworld and buy a 30 QT dehumidifier. Works great in my 27 5er.

^^^^This ^^^^

[KnP]

I have a 2306 and had few days under 0F. What I use is an Electric Heater w/ Fan and used the Propane one as backup. The only problem that I found so far is where the Murphy Bed stores. There is no air curculation on that area. What seems to alleviate the problem is to open the Roof Vent with the fan off. We opened all the way and no draft was noticed since the TT is pretty darn air tight.

Also, bought some dehumidifiers but have not used them yet. Another thing that I bought, is a Thermometer, Humidity Indicator. As soon it reaches over 35%, we start opening the TT to get rid some of the moisture.

The lowest temp we ever encountered was -5 F and the TT stayed at about 68F. No water utilities were connected. We also have the Thermo Panes, they are not fully enclosed and has drain holes on the bottom of the outer pane. Window water condensation was not an issue.