Condensation issue

[tjw0099]

My wife and I are living in our camper for the next 6 month's till our home is built.

I have a 2017 34RSBS.

We found that in some of the cabinets, there is a water condensation issue.

First was in the small cabiner above the bed. Her pj bottoms were wet. I checked the roof on the slide the next day, no issues.

That day as well, she noticed some condensation in the cabinet under the oven.

The temps are in the 20s and 30s at night. We run our heat on propane.

Any thoughts why this is happening?

We leave the cabinets open at night now.

Thanks!

[JFlightRisk]

It's the same process like a glass of soda with ice in it, on a hot day, It condenses on the outside of the glass. Now envision YOU are the hot day, and the trailer is the glass of soda with ice. Same process. The moisture you see on the walls is exactly like the condensation on the outside of a glass. Breathing, cooking, and showers contribute to the moisture.

A dehumidifier will decrease that humidity, and keeping the cabinet doors open does help. Also cracking roof vents open a little will give it an escape route.

[tjw0099]

Thanks!!!! That's what I thought but wanted some input.

Merry Christmas!

Tom

[JFlightRisk]

Merry Christmas Tom. I hope the new house is everything you expect, and goes smoothly!

[RogerR]

You may have to invest in a small dehumidifier to fix the problem.

A couple of things to do to help would be to always run the vent fan when cooking and showering. Add washing dishes or any other major humidity source.

[GHen]

My advice is to get a larger dehumidifier than recommended.

I started with a Smaller one and it did not have a big impact. Added a second larger one and started to see a difference.

I recommend you Calculate the square/cubic feet of the RV, add 20% and get a dehumidifier to handle the larger space. It’s amazing how much moisture they pull out of the air.

[JohnWedell]

you may also consider placing damp-rid in the cabinets

[Jagiven]

I would also recommend keeping your roof vents cracked open about 1/2 to 1 inch. This will give a path for the moisture to escape. We have a maxair roof vent

[CAG]

You will find a number of threads about condensation here and on various other web sites and it is included as a section in the owner's manual. Dehumidifiers are good especially if you are full timing. I have never had one and we do not full time so leaving a window or vent cracked open has always taken care of the problem. Run vent fans when showing and use the stove vent when cooking. That will help greatly.

Condensation is a part of living in a small enclosure that is closed up most of the time.

[travelingjw]

Hi Tom,
We also found that a 12 volt rotating fan that circulates the air is helpful. Good luck on the new house!

[tileguy]

if you have power at the home site try to use electric heaters. propane heat puts out a lot of moisture

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by tileguy

if you have power at the home site try to use electric heaters. propane heat puts out a lot of moisture

X2 I keep mine at 51deg. while running the dehumidifier 24/7.

[Vicr]

Stop breathing. You would be surprised at the amount of moisture breathing puts into the air. Crack open a couple of windows and a ceiling vent to get some cross ventilation and what the previous posters have said. Boil water and make coffee outside helps too.

[RetiredLEO]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

It's the same process like a glass of soda with ice in it, on a hot day, It condenses on the outside of the glass. Now envision YOU are the hot day, and the trailer is the glass of soda with ice. Same process. The moisture you see on the walls is exactly like the condensation on the outside of a glass. Breathing, cooking, and showers contribute to the moisture.

A dehumidifier will decrease that humidity, and keeping the cabinet doors open does help. Also cracking roof vents open a little will give it an escape route.

He nailed it perfectly. Use a larger dehumidifier than you think you need, a small fan to keep the air moving will greatly help. Good luck

[gunafulltime]

Our condensation issues have been reduced to nearly nothing. We stopped using the propane furnace as the primary source. The electric "radiator" style heater works great, and we have far less condensation, almost none. We use the gas furnace to knock the chill of if we have been the unit has been in storage, and we need to knock the chill off while the "radiator" heats up. But for overnight or extended day heating, NO more gas for us.

[redshift]

I fill a bunch of tupperware type containers with calcium chloride and drill holes in the lid. Place them in damp areas such as the bath and kitchen. Bedroom as well, we spend many hours exhaling moist air there. Calcium chloride is the same stuff as damp rid and ice melt. It's amazing how fast they fill with water.

[Lmdye]

We lived in our 2018 28RK White Hawk for four months in Chico CA after the Camp Fire and also fought the condensation issue. The one thing you need to watch for also is mold. As soon as you get a warmer sunny day the mold will bloom. Pull up you mattress and check, spray a mold killer under there. Go into the closets same thing and absolutely check the storage compartments. We didn’t right away and had all of the property in storage covered in mold. Our biggest issue was the new large window Jayco put over the bed at the front of the trailer, no method to remove the condensation was built into the window. The water leaked into the front storage area. So be proactive on drying out and watch out for mold.....

[RogerR]

We winter in Florida where mold is a permanent problem. I found one product, Concrobium, which is a spray on mold preventing product. You need to kill all mold and remove it as much as possible then spray this Concrobium onto all the surfaces and let it dry in place. No odor and no noticeable coating.

Seems to work for some time in drawers and cabinets for us.

[Cenvalleysteel]

In our experience a couple of smaller de-humidifiers and some moisture packs spread around work better then one large one. Leave closet and cabinet doors slightly open if possible. It seems to collect at the roof/wall intersection worse. If you install a small crown type molding there and silicone it in place it prevents the moist air from contact. If you have a Dollar Tree store in your area they are the best deal for the moisture packs. The Dollar Tree website will let you order ship to store for free in case lots.

[ruralIN]

Originally Posted by gunafulltime

Our condensation issues have been reduced to nearly nothing. We stopped using the propane furnace as the primary source. The electric "radiator" style heater works great, and we have far less condensation, almost none. We use the gas furnace to knock the chill of if we have been the unit has been in storage, and we need to knock the chill off while the "radiator" heats up. But for overnight or extended day heating, NO more gas for us.

Likewise, we exclusively heat with electric when on shore power. Two people add a lot of moisture to the relatively small living space with basic life functions. Electric heat is dry heat