Tips for avoiding Condensation?

[Longbeard87]

I did a quick search and not much came up on condensation under the FWC forum. I suspect there is a running thread somewhere. East of the Mississippi where we have humidity.....LOL...now that the seasons are starting to change a bit, we are noticing some condensation on the edges of the ceiling, on the vinyl walls and on the windows. So far we have tried some venting of the roof along with leaving one of the floor hatch / truck bed access panels slightly open. We have had to use the furnace recently (end Aug/Sept....geez, what will this winter be bringing?) We have also regularly wiped down the walls during use and of course completely dry everything before storage. Any further recommendations or is it just the nature of the beast....

Thanks

 

[longhorn1]

It is the nature of the beast. There have been several posts on this topic.

We us marine hypervent under our matress. It is cut to match up with the 1/2" bed pull-out so the bed is level. Opening of vents and windows will help reduce. There appears to be more in the bed area due to 2 humans. We keep a towel and wipe down each morning. jd

 

[Beach]

Air circulation is key for me. Keep a fan moving air and I get a huge reduction in condensation. I keep a small one on blowing into the cab over when the camper is closed also.

 

[cwdtmmrs]

I've never had a condensation issue in my camper. I keep a turnbuckle hole open and a window a bit or the roof vent open. Never run the fan either. I sleep down on the couch and I think that makes a difference. I also have an older model FWC with the 4 little "vents" on the outside side of the roof. Those might help as well.

cwd

 

[kmcintyre]

I've never had a condensation issue in my camper. I keep a turnbuckle hole open and a window a bit or the roof vent open. Never run the fan either. I sleep down on the couch and I think that makes a difference. I also have an older model FWC with the 4 little "vents" on the outside side of the roof. Those might help as well.

cwd

We try to keep our turnbuckle holes closed as we've had a few mice get through there. I've though about tacking up some screen/mesh to prevent that though.

 

[Advmoto18]

Not sure about leaving the turnbuckle holes exposed either.

At OX-West in '15. Ground squirrels devoured the under-the-hood insulation in my old Super Duty. I guess they used the material in their nest building. I now set a couple of rubber snakes under the truck. Seems to discourage critters from visiting now. Might want to do the rubber snake thing in the truck bed under the turnbuckle holes to ward off unwanted critters.

Attaching screen at the hole is a good idea. But a squirrel can chew through screen in seconds.

 

[Longbeard87]

I only leave turnbuckles open when we are in the camper. Amazing how much air the fantastic fan can pull through if needed and without the fan I suspect it keeps a gentle flow of air but still had condensation - high humidity here in the east.

 

[Advmoto18]

I only leave turnbuckles open when we are in the camper. Amazing how much air the fantastic fan can pull through if needed and without the fan I suspect it keeps a gentle flow of air but still had condensation - high humidity here in the east.

Wouldn't opening a screened window(s) serve the same purpose?

I think we are going to have condensation no matter what technique we use to counter moisture in the East during summer.

 

[Longbeard87]

Absolutely. I just figured the longer path of travel might be advantageous - cross flow from floor to ceiling. Probably the same outcome either way.

 

[cwdtmmrs]

Not sure. I can really feel the air rushing in from the turnbuckle hole. Maybe it is smaller and the air velocity is greater? As far as rodents go, Of course I only open the holes when I am in the camper and mine is an older model with the rear "wings", so there isn't an egress from the rear of the camper and the sides are sealed with pipe insulation foam. I'm not say'n a mouse couldn't get in, but he/she would have to have suction cups for feet and be willing to work at it a bit! I also have ridged foam inserts for insulation behind the turnbuckle sliding doors. The other disclaimer is that I only camp in the West and usually at altitudes higher than 5,000'.

cwd

 

[Squatch]

I cut a 1/2" piece of blue foam board to fill the space that's created when the bed is pulled out. Keeps things nice and warm in cold weather and seems to help with the moisture as well. I also insulated under the floor pack with the same in 3/4".

 

[Atlin]

Attaching screen at the hole is a good idea. But a squirrel can chew through screen in seconds.

Use metal mesh screen or even hardware cloth (coarse screen with 1/4" holes). No critter short of a bear will get through hardware cloth. I have used it very successfully to keep porcupines from chewing plywood around our cabin.

 

[paulclancy]

Two options for avoiding condensation. Keep air circulating or don't breath. The former is preferable.
Kidding of course. I have found that with 2 adults and one kid sleeping in the camper that leaving a roof vent and side window open on dry weather nights works well. Wet humid nights we leave the 4 top windows about 1/4 open as well. Pretty much the same as camping in a tent, no air equals condensation.

 

[badtoytrd]

We currently live in VA and understand the humidity issue you are having. He experienced quite a bit of condensation the first night out and have experimented with the vents and windows quite a bit since then. We just got back from a trip up to Acadia National Park and New England and did not have any condensation form in the camper even on the nights that it rained a bit. We regularly run the heater (set to 68-70) for our 18-month-old who sleeps on the couch. We found that leaving the roof vents open about an inch or two and the corner of the windows nearest our head completely solved the issue. Hope this helps.

 

[Bombsight]

Air circulation is key for me. Keep a fan moving air and I get a huge reduction in condensation. I keep a small one on blowing into the cab over when the camper is closed also.

+1 ... and while in storage, I use one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/DampRid-FG83K-Hanging-Moisture-Absorber/dp/B00R57QX20/ref=pd_sim_121_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00R57QX20&pd_rd_r=EYAR24099MDJ3DRAP0QB&pd_rd_w=ecnrz&pd_rd_wg=CveQl&psc=1&refRID=EYAR24099MDJ3DRAP0QB