Need advice for high humidity living

[clancythecamper]

Hello ~ we just completed our first campout in the new Roo

My question is for those living in high humidity areas. We have a concrete pad with cover for our unit which will help with the heat and Florida sun. I know to be sure the bunks are completely dry before storing them. What I did today was to pop out the bunks, get everything dry (rain last night) then fold in for storage. I also ran the air for a bit to make sure the inside wasn't damp ~ even so far as to dry out the sinks etc after cleaning.

What I'd like to do is to store my linens, etc inside the camper but things tend to smell funky when I've kept stuff in our campers before. This is a newer unit, so how do you keep your camper fresh and clean smelling inside? Do you used Damp Rid products? Do you leave a vent open for ventilation? what about baking soda or charcoal?

For those of you in other locations, keep in mind our humidity levels are about 80% + in the summer months.

Thank you for your input

[fritz_monroe]

Congrats on surviving your first trip.

I'm not sure that damp rid would work. Campers aren't all that air tight. Great idea about running the AC.

[Triguy]

Hi Clancy,
I'd say you are on the right track with controlling the humidity. We like the DampRid, but then I don't live in FL so not sure how effective they are in your neck of the woods. We use both a bucket and a couple of the smaller hanger ones in our camper. Our vents are always open with a Maxxair II cover for the main vent and a Fan/Mate on the bathroom vent.

Another idea that people use is to run a dehumidifer in the trailer, which will work if you have power and can run the water line out of the camper or into the shower to drain into your gray tank.

[normh915]

We also park on the driveway, and after washing towels, bedding, etc., we put everything back in the trailer. We do air the trailer out after we get back, and after we've cleaned it. But we normally close it up. Phyllis leaves the fresher open, which helps remove the campfire smells, and we check the trailer every few days. We have not noticed any odd smells.

[clancythecamper]

That's the tricky part ~ sometime conventional wisdom doesn't apply The dehumidifier would work...... Thankfully, I've never had a mold/mildew issue but am just hoping to tweak things a bit better..... Thanks for your input

[clancythecamper]

Norm ~ what is the fresher?

[clancythecamper]

Thinking a pan of activated charcoal on the counter can't hurt.......

[normh915]

Whoops - freshener, such as Glade. We just make certain that everything has been aired out before we shut it up. We have not had any problems with musty type smells or anything.

[clancythecamper]

Ah ~ very good Thanks for the input Thinking perhaps some of our older units may have contributed to the smell ~ just wanna get things off on the right foot

[ebemis]

Hey there....will watch and monitor with interest as you pose the same idea/question I was tossing around. So far we have made a single weekend camping run and did find moisture under our mattress along the metal support rod (the one the bunk cables attach to) I believe because it was warm and comfy inside but Florida Freezing Cold outside! ;-)

I did same steps you did without the AC run, had it in driveway for about 4 hours wide open with sun and breeze blowing and both ceiling vents open with the fans running. When we closed it up everything was dry as a bone and I just visited it a bit ago in our storage lot and everything is bone dry and still new smelling inside!

If I stumble across any drying tricks I will holler back to this thread.
HAPPY CAMPING!

[mshell56118]

I use a small bucket with charcoal in it. I never have noticed any smells. charcoal is great at absorbing smells and moisture

[MOD Guy]

You are going to have that "New Camper Smell" for a while, no matter what you do. We keep ours in a fenced in area/barn type structure with a raised cover over it. We leave a vent open (Maxx Air cover over it) and leave an air freshner open. No issue leaving bedding and towels in the camper. No smell issues. What you don't want to do is leave any food stuff that are not very well sealed. We remove all our cooking spices, becuase even in the mfgs continer, they will not seal good enough to keep out the moisture. Otherwise we have not had any issues since we started camping in 2002.

Even if you think you got the bed ends good and dry, check them a couple of days after your trip, just to be sure. I try to make a habit of doing a quick check every week or so to make sure there are not any suprises. We try and use our camper at least once a month.

Happy Camping!

[asquared]

We are in NC and have a travel trailer. We made the mistake of shutting it up tight last summer for about 2 months. We had also left some water bottles and drinks in the TT. When we came back to it, we had mold in one of the cabinets and along the floor. We bleached it and cleaned it out really well. Now we leave a vent open to help keep airflow going. We have maxair vent covers so we can do that and get good air flow without the rain getting in. Not sure how well this would work with your roo or your cover as I would think the cover would obstruct the air flow. When this happened many people suggested keeping the vents open and getting damp rid. You could try that. If you are in a position to run a dehumidifier then I would do that as well.

[statgeek]

I'm in Texas, so humidity is serious here too. I store mine in a garage and I run a good size dehumidifier set to 50* constantly. I have the benefit of an outlet in the storage garage that I rent...

[Joverseas]

For your linens I would recommend "Space Bags" or comparable vacuum bags. They come in all sizes, stuff plenty of dryer sheets in with them then vacuume the air out and they will be protected from moisture, bugs and just about anything. We live in very high humidity areas and this is what we must do with any fabrics that will sit in the dark for any amount of time. They come out smelling like they're fresh from the dryer.

[Smitty65]

Originally Posted by clancythecamper

Hello ~ we just completed our first campout in the new Roo

My question is for those living in high humidity areas. We have a concrete pad with cover for our unit which will help with the heat and Florida sun. I know to be sure the bunks are completely dry before storing them. What I did today was to pop out the bunks, get everything dry (rain last night) then fold in for storage. I also ran the air for a bit to make sure the inside wasn't damp ~ even so far as to dry out the sinks etc after cleaning.

What I'd like to do is to store my linens, etc inside the camper but things tend to smell funky when I've kept stuff in our campers before. This is a newer unit, so how do you keep your camper fresh and clean smelling inside? Do you used Damp Rid products? Do you leave a vent open for ventilation? what about baking soda or charcoal?

For those of you in other locations, keep in mind our humidity levels are about 80% + in the summer months.

Thank you for your input

When we come back from our trips we empty the trailer and totally clean everything, floor to ceiling, we wash all the linens and return them back to the trailer & air the unit out for a few days. I have a cheep humidistat inside that helps me keep an eye on that level. The dehumidifier is an awesome idea!!!! We also leave a few dryer sheets around the trailer after we clean it.

[normh915]

Exactly. We've had no problems and we follow the same routine each time.