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Old 10-09-2017, 10:15 PM   #1
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Question Condensation

We took our 2018 Rockwood Ultra Light Travel Trailer on it's maiden voyage last weekend. It was around 50 degrees at night and rained most of the weekend. We used the furnace occasionally or a small space heater and always had a fan on. When we were packing up we discovered water on the walls and bottom of the cabinetry in both slides outs.

We have had 2 discussions with the dealer. The first one we were told we should have had a dehumidifier going due to the rain, humidity and the fact that we were breathing in the camper. In the second conversation the dealer said he had contacted the factory and they recognize this has been a problem in this model and they recommend adding awnings (at our expense) over the slide outs to trap heat.

We have had 6 campers and never used a dehumidifier or had condensation build up in the slide outs. Now we are concerned about mold issues.

Has anyone else had this happen? Suggestions?
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:28 PM   #2
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Not on your RV, but on another. It was in the winter and Camping with 1500 electric heater and the LPG heater as auxiliary. One night my pillow was damp and I checked to find the front wall in the BR was actually wet to the touch. We used towels and fans to dry it out. After that trip we use drying agents continually...camping and not and try not to run the furnace. We don’t shower in the unit and try to limit boiling water and drying towels inside. I think running the vent fan helps as much as anything. Hope that might help a bit.
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:37 PM   #3
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Condensation is normal while camping in lower temperatures. Breathing out warm, moist air gets in contact with a colder surface will cause condensation.

If it's not raining out, leaving some windows cracked open at night will help. Exhaust fans too.
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:42 PM   #4
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I would take the camper back to dealer and get a refund, that is ridiculous and I would not stand for it. We have never had a moisture in either one of our RVs and have showered and ran the furnace. Take it back.
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:44 PM   #5
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The dealer told us if we had never discovered the water it would have disappeared during winter storage. However we took towels and wiped down all the wet areas.
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:49 PM   #6
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We did take it back to the dealer immediately. We don't want it and don't place much credence to his explanation/excuse. They will not refund us and we have owned it 10 days.
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Old 10-28-2017, 05:41 AM   #7
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Get a dehumidifier we had one in our Cottage but don't need it in our Landmark.
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Old 10-28-2017, 06:16 AM   #8
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Condensation is very common in RV's. If you haven't had it before you've just been lucky. You're living and breathing in a sealed box, so you're adding moisture all the time.

Provide for some airflow through the unit and/or get a dehumidifier. There's nothing wrong with your RV.

In recent years mfg's have done a better job of making the units sealed better and while that's a good thing, it does make it harder for the moisture to exit the unit.

You're the second person from your area to report condensation, so I'd say that your area is experiencing higher than normal moisture in the air.
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Old 10-28-2017, 06:27 AM   #9
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Only condensation I've ever seen was in our old popup. I think most of this now is due to the "Lack" of insulation in these trailers. I've looked into some of the walls in our 2018 Cherokee and could only find tuffs of insulation in some of the walls. These are not full bats of insulation, but look to be pieces torn off of full sheets and stuffed in. In one of my walls, I was fishing a wire thru and when I ran the fish tape I only hit a small piece on insulation towards the bottom of the wall between the studs. The construction quality of these trailers is beyond "Pathetic."
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Old 10-28-2017, 06:39 AM   #10
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dealing with forest river on slide out condensate issues right now on our 2018 2902ws trailer. so far there answer is a dehumidifier. not acceptable answer. the dealer said it was lack of insulation in the 1 inch square tubing used in the frame. went above the warranty dept. now dealing with the manufacturing dept.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:01 AM   #11
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What kind of space header were you using? Propane or electric?
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:13 AM   #12
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We were camping in Maine last month and noticed condensation in a closet. We picked up some Damp Rid bags and hung them in the closets and it took care of the issue. We also cracked open a vent.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:48 AM   #13
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We always leave our roof vents cracked, of course they are covered. When we first started camping we always condensation issues, four people and two dogs is a ton of humidity. Since we started leaving vents open 90% of issue is gone.
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Old 10-28-2017, 08:27 AM   #14
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Fix for condensation

Go to my post under "FORUMS", "GENERAL TECH & REPAIR", "SLIDE OUT"
DAISY BOYKIN, it will show the condensation fix for slide out I did for closet.
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Old 10-28-2017, 08:53 AM   #15
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I am interested in this post. We are in the middle of our first cool weather camping in our 2017 Rockwood 2902WS. Last night temps dropped into the 30s. This morning I notice condensation on the inside walls of the wardrobe slide. All other walls and cabinets are dry. In general the air in the trailer seems somewhat dry as we are experiencing some static. My guess is the wardrobe slide is more exposed outside then enclosed inside, causing it to sweat or condensate. Is this a warranty issue?
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Old 10-28-2017, 09:33 AM   #16
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Closet Slide Out

The outer wall of the closet has no insulation, just 1/4" outer wall or less. The insulation I install solved the problem. If you look at the part of closet
where the clothes rod is, look at how I cut the insulation to fit around the
rod bracket. Make sure you measure each of the Styrofoam pieces twice at
least especially the right hand side of the hang up closet. the roof of the closet has a slope to it.
The Styrofoam comes as a bundle with about six pieces in the bundle.
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Old 10-28-2017, 02:44 PM   #17
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The generic manual almost everyone complains about states to have a vent or window open to prevent condensation. At least mine did. I leave the 4 vents open all year, I just close them down to a crack during the winter. Never had a condensation problem since moving up from a pup.
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Old 10-30-2017, 12:33 PM   #18
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Condensation

St. Paul-
That’s what the service tech told us as well. That there isn’t proper insulation in the framing of the slide out as the company wants to minimize weight. When the dealer came out he evaded the techs explanation.

Later the dealer contacted us and said he’d been in contact with the company and they suggest awning over the slide outs, at our expense. $800.

We are going to contact the company directly.
Let us know how it’s going for you.
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