Condensation on walls and windows

[DavidJ]

Hello,
We are camping at Gulf Shores AL. Last night the temp went down to 28 degrees but nice and warm in our camper using our furnace and a electric/oil heater.
This morning I noticed condensation water drops on our front wall behind our bed. See pic. The head of our mattered is now damp.
Additionally, every morning all of our windows on the inside are dripping with condensation.
Does anyone know a fix for tip to prevent condensation?
Thanks

[Mike134]

Need to get the moisture out, limit what you add to the air. Easier said than done in cold weather camping.
No heating water on the stove, Make sure keep the bathroom door closed after a shower till the fan has exchanged all the moist air. Keep a couple of windows cracked open. Once it warms you can air the camper out on a sunny day.

[Cabinfever97]

It will help to open a vent or two. Even then you may still get condensation. We leave our roof vent open all the time. On our old TT with more than 2 people I would open all 3. Yes you will lose some heat but we have never felt cold with the vents open. Another way is to have a small dehumidifier. I didnt want to have another appliance in the TT so I do the vent thing to allow moisture to escape.

[jeff64]

Dehumidifier and a fan to circulate the air

[Flybob]

Leave a window or two open a crack, add a dehumidifier, limit moisture from showers or cooking. Get a pool noodle and place it between the front wall and the mattress to allow air to circulate. Also if the area under the mattress platform is not heated, be sure to check the bottom of the mattress as the moisture from your body will travel trough it and condense there. If you have an issue, get a 1/2" piece of 4x8' foil faced house insulation board to place under the mattress.

[5picker]

As mentioned, you need to get rid of the condensation.

Folks mistakenly close up their R/Vs in cold weather as tight as possible to stay toasty warm. The problem with that is the moisture has no way to dissipate.

R/V walls have little R-value so any heat from the inside, produces condensation on the inner, cold outside walls.

We always leave a ceiling vent partially cracked all the time and often will crack a side window a small amount if necessary.

We ALWAYS shower with the bath vent running and leave it on for 15 minutes or so after showering to draw some moisture out of the towels. We also religiously squeegee the shower to get rid of any excess water. In heavy humidity areas we'll even take the towels outside after showering and hang to dry.

Two humans can produce several cups of water into the air by simply breathing.
It is a never ending battle.
Best of luck.

[NJKris]

30 pint dehumidifier works nicely in my 17.5' box. When it is 28 outside, indoor relative humidity should be no higher than 39%. Get an accurate hygrometer, I'll bet you were at least 70% inside, maybe more.

[bikendan]

Air movement is the key in humid conditions.

[DavidJ]

Thanks for all the great ideas. It all makes sense. We always run a small box fan for circulation. And don’t shower in our camper. But we did not have any of our ceiling vents open or windows cracked open. We will try that tonight.
We would rather not have to trip over a dehumidifier in our 25’ trailer, so we’ll see how tonight goes with all your suggestions.
Thanks!

[NJKris]

My 17.5' box is even smaller. The only way I can keep mine out of the way and not trip on it going back and forth to bathroom at night is we pull dinette table top off and sit it between the dinette benches. During the day, it sits next to our sofa (which becomes part of Murphy bed at night).

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by DavidJ

.....But we did not have any of our ceiling vents open or windows cracked open. We will try that tonight.....

Do give that a try and it should help. Realistically, it will be more than enough to let your trailer breathe a bit.

We live in the Seattle area and are very used to using the trailer in damp and wet weather. Leaving the three vents open a 1/4" all the time, we don't see moisture buildup inside the trailer. I think the interior acclimates to the humidity outside and it equalizes. We cook, shower and use the heater as normal and keep the trailer at 70 degrees.

As others have said, the key is air movement. When showering, crack the bathroom vent and run the fan. When cooking, use the range fan to exhaust any steam.

Even with the vents slightly open, the heat loss is minimal.

Let us know how it goes.

[Wandering]

We struggle with this as well. Even had ice form on the inside of the window when very cold. Plan to try a small dehumidifier for our next cold weather trip.

[jbrobson]

Our Rockwood has way more condensation than either of our two previous Keystone Passports. All our cabinets are left open now. I think the big plastic cap on the front with the window is a big culprit. At the state park in gulf shores. Way better than northern Illinois even with the condensation.

[rdolan5]

We have run a dehumidifier for over 15 years in our last 3 travel trailers. Our walls stay dry and our windows don't fog over! Only run when we are in the camper during cold or wet weather!

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by jbrobson

Our Rockwood has way more condensation than either of our two previous Keystone Passports. All our cabinets are left open now. I think the big plastic cap on the front with the window is a big culprit. At the state park in gulf shores. Way better than northern Illinois even with the condensation.

It may just be better sealed than the Keystone, which would result in more moisture trapped inside, thus more condensation. I did get more condensation inside front cap (no window) before dehumidifier, because that's where our bed was, and moisture from our respirations will condense first on nearby cold surfaces.

[jbrobson]

Originally Posted by NJKris

It may just be better sealed than the Keystone, which would result in more moisture trapped inside, thus more condensation. I did get more condensation inside front cap (no window) before dehumidifier, because that's where our bed was, and moisture from our respirations will condense first on nearby cold surfaces.

I hope it's better, it was definitely more expensive. 😀

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by 5picker

R/V walls have little R-value so any heat from the inside, produces condensation on the inner, cold outside walls.

Not to mention the R-0 metal window frames.

[Escapenrv]

Using propane inside produced water vapor. An electric heater is better than an open propane flame.
Escapenrv

[NJKris]

I haven't noticed a difference. The combustion gases that contain the water vapor are vented outside.

[TowPro]

All you need to do is open 1 or 2 roof vents about 2" and all the moisture will escape. Hi ahead and take a shower but run the bathroom fan.