Condensation issues - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Condensation issues

Niko · RV-Dreams Community Member

Full timing it (boondocking) since last May. Located in Alaska and I constantly have condensation issues. I have 4 dessicants in varying places that do what they are supposed to do yet, my windows are usually fogged! I crack a few wimdows when I leave for the day and everything is clear when I return. I run the fan when I shower and run the fan when I cook with a window cracked. Still have moisture! At this point it is an issue but it is going to be a PROBLEM soon if I dont get it under control! HELP!!!

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

What is a dessicant ? What type of RV do you have ? How old is it? Welcome to the Forum....

Niko · RV-Dreams Community Member

Howdy,

27' tow. 2012 Springdale. Dessicant is a moisture removal chemical. White powder that sucks up moisture in the air and contains it as a liquid. One brand name is DriZair.

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

Leave a roof vent open. Propane is a wet gas that leaves alot of moisture in the air, so you have the moisture from the food cooking and the gas. Leaving a vent open fulltime, at least till it gets cold (your opinion of cold here) will help some.
Are you using any electric heat? Depending on how humid your outside air is, an electric heater can help dry out the air. A dehumidifier works to.

Niko · RV-Dreams Community Member

Living in Southeast Alaska is living in a rain forest... Leaving a roof vent open is an invite for a wet floor. Does a roof vent cover that will keep rain out exist? If so, where can I get one? By the end of october things will have been freezing so this may be temporary. Im totally off grid so electric heat is available when I run my generator (once a week or so).

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

Camco and Maxair make vent covers that would work for you. Most are based on the 14x14 size.

Niko · RV-Dreams Community Member

I'll check out the vent covers. Sounds like they will work until it get cold. Then the open vents become heat escapements! Thanks all!!!

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

We use a dehumidifier and open our roof vents while cooking or showers. We have MaxAir vent covers and during a very wet winter in Long Beach Washington I never saw rain get through the cover.

If condensation still shows up we use paper towels to wipe and immediately throw them in the park dumpster, do not leave them in your trash can, you want to get the mositure outside the rig. Also, after showers, we leave the roof vent/fan running while the towels dry. It's important to get as much moisture outside as possible. If electricity is included with our site we also use a space heater to supplement the furnace and further reduce moisture.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Any time you breathe, you exhale moisture. I seem to recall something that says a human exhales over three quarts of water a day. I do know that the comment about propane is almost correct. However, propane in and of itself is not wet. Combustion (or oxidation) of propane (or any gas) results in H2O and CO2 and a bit of CO. Propane is C3H8. Add Oxygen (O2) and the result is as I said. All combustion yields water. I went to Wikipedia and entered combustion and got the following:

CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O + energy
A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, which is a commonly used reaction in rocket engines:

2 H2 + O2 → 2 H2O(g) + heat
The result is water vapor.

IN the first example, CH4 is methane, which is common house gas in most instances. gas plus oxygen yields (and that is the little arrow) water vapor.

With all that said, if you are in a moist environment, and you breathe, cook and just live, you are gonna have water in the rig. Dessicant is a pretty good first step, but proper ventilation is a much better route to take. We have Camco vent covers on all our vents and have never had rain defeat them. Having an open vent will allow some of the warm air to escape, but it also takes out a lot of moisture. With experience you should be able to find the correct amount of ventilation to overcome your problem, or at least get it manageable.

Dathan · RV-Dreams Community Member

I open the vent a little and use a small electric heater that seems to help.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dathan wrote:
I open the vent a little and use a small electric heater that seems to help.

Might be a problem since the original poster said he was a boondocker and only ran his generator once a week.

RVPAINTER · RV-Dreams Family Member

53 Merc- way too much useless info.

Niko - stop boondocking in Alaska and your problem will be solved.

53 Merc · RV-Dreams Family Member

RVPAINTER wrote:
53 Merc- way too much useless info.

Niko - stop boondocking in Alaska and your problem will be solved.

Your choice, read, don't read, but keep your snide remarks to yourself.

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We've found that if you leave a window or vent just very slightly open in the front of your RV and another in the rear, there's enough circulation that moisture is not a problem. Of course vents open and fans running while cooking or taking showers is a must like others have said.

Jim

RVPAINTER · RV-Dreams Family Member

"Your choice, read, don't read, but keep your snide remarks to yourself."

53 Merc - i was not trying to be snide - just joking around like many, many folks do - My apology - however I'll remember to use your phrase when someone jokes with me. Again my apology.

Ranger guy · RV-Dreams Family Member

I do alot of camping with no hook ups and condensation is going to happen when heating with propane. The times that we do camp with power and need heat we use 2 small electric oil filled rads that you can get for around 20 to 30 bucks and there is no condensation because the heat is more stable and the cooling and warming is not as bad only a 2 or 3 degrees and we are in canada. one thing that I would like to share with you is we try to keep a shammy in the trailer to wipe up as much moisture as we can and make sure that if your windows have drain holes at the bottom that they are clear hope this helps you out!! we lived just off the alaska highway back in the 90`s in Fort st john BC for about 8 years. would love to get back that way sometime.

Raytronx · RV-Dreams Family Member

RVing a lot on Vancouver Island, rain and cool humidity is very common, every RV I've had the first thing I get is vent covers.

I always leave them open and it really cuts down on condensation issues and I've never had them leak in water.

I would rather spend a little more on propane or electric than have to deal with rot and mold.

Dathan · RV-Dreams Community Member

I have purchased two dehumidifier's at Home depot that reqiure ac power; however when looking at their web site I noticed that they also have some that run on battery power. These may be a help, the ones I have work great. The web site www.eva-dry.com

-- Edited by Dathan on Monday 29th of October 2012 09:09:23 AM

Mark Serley · RV-Dreams Family Member

hope you have solved your problem by now, but here's what i've found about humidity in rv's, get your towels you use for showering and your dirty clothes hamper outside of your living area, hang towels outside and store dirty clothes in a locked area of somekind, i live in florida and that will help

pitbull · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have been in the Heating/Air Conditioning and Ventilation business for 40 years----------been RVing for 15 years. The advice of Jim01 is right. Open a ventilation point at one end of your RV and exhaust at the opposite end. This way you will sweep the entire area and allow the moisture to be picked up on its path to the outdoors. The max airs or equivelent is a must! if you can get a speed control exhaust fan its great. That way you can control the amount of exhaust as your outside temperature changes.

Good luck and you are amazing to boondocking in Alaska man!!!

Pitbull