What are Secrets to January 22, 2016, 05:00:16 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158282We haven't be successful with controlling moisture inside the RV during really cold trips. We're headed out next week and it will be a bit on the cool side, which means running the heater. So are there any secrets to controlling moisture inside a button-up RV? Thanks in advanceEd & Margee Fort WorthP.S. Gas Price Update: $1.43
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #1 – January 22, 2016, 06:25:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158285" So are there any secrets to controlling moisture inside a button-up RV? "Ed & MargeeUnbutton it. You need some ventilation to let the moisture out. As living humans, we expel lots of moisture through breathing and the skin. Cooking and the use of a catalytic heater are two other sources.. Crack one or two vents slightly. Live with it or live with the "rain". If you don't already have vents covers, get them, they allow the vents to be open in all weather conditions.Keep a couple absorbent towels and wipe any exposed aluminum, such as the window frames.Stay warm.Larry
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #2 – January 22, 2016, 10:04:53 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158287We have such an aversion to opening a window or vent when it's below freezing after we worked to cover and protect the windows and vents. I know it makes sense, but that doesn't make it any easier to let cold air into the coach. Maybe we'll try just a crack and see what happens to our heat and moisture. Thank you Larry for your guidance.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #3 – January 23, 2016, 06:12:29 am Yahoo Message Number: 158289Ed and Margee - I've been leaving one of the vents open all the time, and don't really notice any cold air coming in, although there's a cover on the outside and I made vinyl and Reflectix covers for the inside. The temps have got down to single digits at night. It's one of the vents with a fan, which I turn on after a shower or when cooking, and I leave one corner of the inside cover unsnapped most of the time too. Having said that, I still have a lot of condensation on the windows to mop up every morning, so I bought a small dehumidifier. So far it hasn't changed the level of humidity in the Pearl, and has collected no water. The humidity level has remained a constant 40% - somewhere I read that 35% humidity is the goal for an RV. And if you're getting a lot of dripping, you might want to check behind things - I found a major puddle behind the sofa cushions and behind the mattress. I'm still not sure if it was dripping from the windows above or just where the warm moist air hit the cold side of the coach, but a fan and/or space heater dried things out in a few hours. I've also noticed that there's a lot less condensation on the windows in the front where I use a radiant heater versus the bedroom where I rely on the furnace for heat.Just some thoughts...Pat The Pearl
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #4 – January 23, 2016, 11:29:13 am Yahoo Message Number: 158290Thanks Pat & Larry for your information. Margee found your posts and this thread helpful. At the least, we both understand the issue a bit better now. We'll crack a vent next week and see if we wake up frozen or dry. Take care.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #5 – January 23, 2016, 03:41:57 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158294Good information here. Even in below freezing conditions don't be afraid to vent- the LD that is! Be sure to vent the area where you are, sitting or sleeping, that is where the moisture is.The amount of moisture we give off each day- about 800 ml, or just under a quart. Half of that is from the skin, the other half the lungs. More is exhaled when it is more humid. Below freezing generally humidity is lower, so venting is even more efficacious then, but in the cool and rainy northwest, we are really fighting an uphill struggle as the air is charged with moisture that wants to condense on the windows as the temperature differential between indoors and outdoors is pronounced. Combined with our personal steam factories, venting benefits can be overwhelmed by conditions.In other words, sometimes we just have to squeegee and wipe windows to manage moisture. I think a heat strip or heat pump on the AC is helpful, but I don't have one, so I don't know. Electric heaters help, catalytic heaters are the worst.
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #6 – January 23, 2016, 07:10:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158296The two SOB Class Cs I've had came with single pane windows. I installed interior "storm windows" on both of them; basically, a 0.090" thick sheet of acrylic sheet over each window. What a wonderful difference they made in comfort when it's cold outside! The very worst we get in winter is occasional partial fogging on the two big windows (couch and dinette), never any dripping water or puddles. We don't use a catalytic heater, just the standard furnace and sometimes electric space heaters. They probably help in the 100 degree summer heat, too, but it's not as noticeable. Making them is straight forward, and the only cost is the acrylic sheet, about $60 or so for a sheet that fits one of my windows. The main disadvantage is the windows can't be opened for ventilation - not a problem in cold weather, but a bit in the summer. My mounting system lets them be removed in 10 minutes each, but I don't bother. We generally prefer to control airflow with the TurboKool fan and the roof vents. Less often, we'll put a screen on the driver side cab window to let the zephyrs flow through the vents and entry door screen.Eric Greenwell [lifewithalazydazerv] wrote on 1/23/2016 4:12 AM:
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #7 – January 23, 2016, 07:52:24 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158301I suggested to DW that if she bathed and cooked outside, we'd have less moisture inside The Coach. DW had some advice for me.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #8 – January 24, 2016, 06:10:59 am Yahoo Message Number: 158304Eric - Could you post a quick couple of pictures showing how you installed them? Also, I've been toying with the idea of adding a semi-permanent cover on the outside of the rear window, kind of like the slip on cover for the windshield and side cab windows, to keep the heat out in the summer and the cold out in the winter. Since I stuffed some Reflectix under that front cover, the condensation in the cab is next to nothing.Pat
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #9 – January 24, 2016, 11:24:13 am Yahoo Message Number: 158308"We haven't be successful with controlling moisture inside the RV during really cold trips. We're headed out next week and it will be a bit on the cool side, which means running the heater. So are there any secrets to controlling moisture inside a button-up RV? Thanks in advance" As others have said, ventilation is critical, even though condensation on metal weather-exposed window frames and bunk hatch is inevitable. However, if you keep it buttoned tight, the ONLY source of introduced moisture is your bodies themselves. We have left our rig buttoned up some nights when it was really cold and we were not in it. When entering in the morning, there was NO condensation anywhere. In general, we set the furnace at 45 overnight if it is cold enough the interior might fall below that, and bundle up in bed. we leave bunk windows cracked open, a powered vent open at the other end, and also run the fan on low if it is moist outside. We have an inside cover snapped on the escape hatch so our breathing does not condense out there.Steve
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #10 – January 24, 2016, 11:42:34 am Yahoo Message Number: 158309I sleep in the overhead bunk and find on really cold nights, the condensation on the metal rim of the escape hatch gets VERY thick. The droplets get bigger and bigger until gravity takes over - PLOP! I could probably put something over the whole of it, but I do leave it cracked quite a bit.Solution? I keep a terry washcloth at hand and wipe it down if I wake up in the night, and when I wake up in the morning. Of course this doesn't keep it from happening, but it does keep it from dripping directly on my sleeping bag.Another "trick" to help with residual shower moisture is to use your washcloth to wipe down your body before toweling off. You will be surprised how much water you can then wring out of the washcloth and down the drain instead of putting it onto your towel to fill your air with more moisture. Do the same with wet hair - huge amount of moisture there. Do the wiping/wringing routine several times for maximum effect.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.comToday: Twice-baked Potatoes - in Quicktime
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #11 – January 24, 2016, 12:18:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158312"I sleep in the overhead bunk and find on really cold nights, the condensation on the metal rim of the escape hatch gets VERY thick. The droplets get bigger and bigger until gravity takes over - PLOP! I could probably put something over the whole of it, but I do leave it cracked quite a bit." Judy, if you leave an exhaust fan running on low somewhere, this should not happen. If it is too cold for that, close and cover the hatch opening (e.g.the one from LD), open the bunk window at the head of the bed, and put a rolled-up towel under it to catch any drips. We almost always have both bunk side windows open a small amount, and the protected bath vent in our FL, since we use the cat heater a lot during waking hours anyway.Steve
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #12 – January 24, 2016, 12:25:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158313Thanks, Steve, for those suggestions. My goal is to NOT be out in such weather ever again! ;-> I hadn't thought of opening the side windows since they are covered with Reflectix, but should the occasion arise, I will definitely give that a try!Virtual hugs,Judie
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #13 – January 24, 2016, 05:11:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158327My solution is a piece 0f 2" foam cut with beveled edges for a press fit into the escape hatch opening. I taped the beveled edges so the foam beads wouldn't wear off. I also cut a hole on the top side for the crank handle to fit into. Below that is one of LD's insulated hatch covers. We get no condensation around the edge of the frame - no drips. And hey, where are the LD's? Almost halfway through our 6-month trek from New England to so-far Louisiana we have yet to see any fellow LD'ers.WxToad @ St Bernard SP, New Orleans, LA www.wxtoad.com www.ultimatecamppgrounds.comPosted by: "Judie Ashford" judilyn Date: Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:42 am ((PST))I sleep in the overhead bunk and find on really cold nights, the condensation on the metal rim of the escape hatch gets VERY thick. The droplets get bigger and bigger until gravity takes over - PLOP! I could probably put something over the whole of it, but I do leave it cracked quite a bit.
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #14 – January 24, 2016, 10:46:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158335I'll get something out tomorrow.Eric Greenwell [lifewithalazydazerv] wrote on 1/24/2016 4:10 AM:
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #15 – January 25, 2016, 12:15:48 am Yahoo Message Number: 158337We had a rare 2010 RB sighting in New Orleans just over a week ago. In Galveston now, heading west.Jay Carlson
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #16 – January 25, 2016, 10:26:23 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158356I've added an album - "Interior Storm Windows" - to the picture files, with three pictures of the installation. Let me know if more details are desired.Eric Greenwell [lifewithalazydazerv] wrote on 1/24/2016 4:10 AM:
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #17 – January 25, 2016, 11:31:48 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158357A very creative solution Eric. An interior storm window. And I like how you secured the panel to window. Thank you sharing those photos.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #18 – January 26, 2016, 05:36:48 am Yahoo Message Number: 158359Thanks Eric! They look great and I'm going to give it a try.Pat The Pearl
Re: What are Secrets to Reply #19 – January 26, 2016, 11:11:10 am Yahoo Message Number: 158362In Myrtle Beach last year, temp in the low teens at night. We would wake up with heavy frost behind the shades. As it melted we would mop and that was the end of it. Other bigger rigs had major moisture issues and were constantly running dehumidifiers. Only difference we think is we showered at the fantastic bathroom showers provided by the camp site. This year not an issue, down on the coastal area of TX, we haven't had weather colder than the high 30's and usually have vents, windows etc open. Sandy KalleAnka TK '96 VT
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