Condensation issues

[wozzukes]

We just returned from a very cold and wet weekend trip. This was really the first time we used the heat extensively, and it was very rainy and cold for the majority of the weekend. This led us to find we have some condensation issues.

The first issue was with the windows condensing. This was more of an annoyance issue, but the water was literally running down the windows. The second issue is a bit more bothersome.

We have a rear slide which contains bunks. The lower bunk is what they call j-cubes, which are basically foam blocks which fold up to make a couch like area and fold out and make a big bed. We had them folded out for our almost 2 year old to sleep on. In the middle of the night she woke and I went back there to lay with her only to notice a very strong musty/moldy type smell. I stuck my hand between the mattress and the wall to find it was very wet. We pulled it away from the wall, and you could see moisture all along the bottom and down the middle of the wall, exactly where there appears to be aluminum framing. You could clearly feel the temperature difference between the middle of the wall and where there was moisture. There was so much of it, that the carpet and mattress were wet.

We pulled the mattress out to try to dry it out, but are at a loss as to what to do to prevent this from happening. We inspected both the inside and outside of the slide to make sure the moisture wasn't coming from a leak and found no evidence of a leak. The fact that it seems to follow where the framing is leads us to believe it is in fact a condensation issue. Anyone else ever have a problem like this? Any thoughts on preventing it from happening?

[Festus2]

If you were using your propane stove often, that will cause condensation to form on your cold windows. You should crack open some windows or have a fan running to allow some fresh air in as well as move the inside air around the RV to reduce the condensation problem on the windows.
However, I have seldom seen condensation form around the interior walls where the aluminium studs are.. The condensation on the walls, plus the wet carpet and the musty, moldy smell tell me that you very well could have a leak somewhere in that slide/bunk area.. It is not usual for a smell of that kind to suddenly appear. Have you noticed this smell before? You may have had a leak for some time and have not noticed it before.

[wozzukes]

Thanks for the quick response, Festus. We were running the propane heater along with a small electric heater. We did have a few windows cracked, but it didn't seem to help the window condensation much. The window issue I can live with as it was more of just a nuisance.

The slide issue is a different story. I don't want my child sleeping near an area where there could be mold, and I agree that there may be something more than just condensation going on. I don't think it would have that smell after just one day of being wet, so I think it's been an issue longer and we just never noticed being that it's not an area that is usually visible with the mattress there. I do recall on one of our first trips getting whiff of the same type of smell back in that area, but I was never able to pinpoint where it was coming from and never noticed it again until this last trip. Of course DH thinks I'm off my rocker and just "smelling things", especially being pregnant right now, but hopefully others chiming in about it not being just condensation will change his mind.

[SteveC7010]

I have seen condensate form on the walls of TT's including our own. That one was a wood frame trailer, but was prone to the problem. The outside wall directly above our heads in the bed room regularly got damp in the colder weather. It would be nice and dry when we went to bed, and damp in the morning when we got up.

Anywhere there is enough temperature differential, condensate can form if the humidity is high enough. It is amazing how much moisture we humans and our pets will exhale. Cooking is the other big source of moisture in the air. Furnaces generally put out dry air as all combustion byproducts are vented to the outside.

Since you were running an electric heater, I am guessing that you had shore power available. A dehumidifier might solve much of the problem. You will want to run just the fan of the A/C to circulate air throughout the trailer as well.

[wozzukes]

Thanks for the tips. We're hoping to get back out in 2 weeks for what will probably be the last trip of the year before winterizing, so we will try running the fan of the a/c and see if that helps with the windows at all. After it finally stopped raining we took a good look around again and can't see any signs of where water might be leaking in if it is a leak. When I took a closer look after unloading yesterday you can see the moisture all along the bottom of the wall and can definitely feel a temperature difference, so maybe it is just condensation after all. I want to try to pull the carpet up in that corner and see if the sub floor looks wet/damaged at all or if it was just the carpet. Our warranty is up in March, so if there is damage this is going to be our last opportunity to find it and have it fixed under warranty.

[ktmracer]

With single pane windows, small space, wet weather, people in the trailer, you can build up lots of moisture in the air and end up with condensation problems. Running the propane FURNACE won't add moisture to the air, all the water vapor goes outside. The stove is another matter. For every gallon of propane you burn in the stove or portable propane heater you will dump almost a gallon of water into the air.

What to do? first, make sure exhaust fans are on when you shower or cook. However, the best solution we have found is to use a small portable dehumidifier. We have one in our trailer, on a humid wet day, it will pull 4+ gallons of water out of the air each day and keeps the windows dry even at night when we don't use the heat and the temps get down into the 40's. Figure about $100 and it should solve the humidity problem. Ours is a Heir (sp?) brand and works great, we carry it with us all the time.

[SteveC7010]

Haier 30 pint unit starts at about $143. Larger ones are available as well.

http://www.google.com/search?q=heir+...w=1188&bih=626

[cumminsdad08]

yea we had a ton of problems with that too. i just open roof vents and turn on air. seems to help a lot. i was out too in the rain this weekend, and that makes it difficult to figure out if it is condensation or what. i don't know your layout but i was having problems with my plumbing fittings coming lose while driving. about every other lengthy trip i usually run around the trailer and tighten the fittings back up. some of them are in some unusual spots. so that might besomething to consider. other then that if it is leaking in your slide, i would assume that the slide is leaking. on the other hand if it was only in the silde it could have been that the underside was getting a very cold breeze.

[camper 2010]

One thing I do to help find a small dripping leak in the water lines. Disconnect from the camp water and just have the pump on. Then set back and wait to see if the pump will come on ( this may take 1 hour or more). I had condensation in my 27RLS in the bedroom and found I had a small leak (1/2 cup per 24 hrs) in the water line this way.

[ktmracer]

Originally Posted by SteveC7010

Haier 30 pint unit starts at about $143. Larger ones are available as well.

http://www.google.com/search?q=heir+...w=1188&bih=626

x2 that looks exactly like the one we have. it works great

[dmax]

While camping in cold weather(Below freezing), I noticed condensation running down the bedroom front wall. The wall was very cold to the touch which lead me to believe their wasn't much insulation in the front. I researched this on this forum and another person with a similar Cougar had the same issue. He had a cubby in the head board which he removed and found little insulation. He filled it with new insulation and all was better. Mine doesn't have a cubby so I removed the cabinet over the bed and used a cutout tool (used for electrical boxes)to cut out a 12" section the entire width of the trailer. This revealed that some of the R13 insulation had fallen down. The aluminum framing for the front has about (6) 15" X 38" rectangles that I fitted 3/4" hard foam boards into. After that, I inserted R19 Comfort Touch (Plastic incased) Owens fiberglass insulation on top of the Foam using 3M 77 spray on adhesive. I used the little bit of old insulation to fill the bottom of the Cap area (Horizontally). This should give me about R24 in the front cap and hopefully eliminate the wet wall. I've also noted a cold spot causing condensation and bubbles on the wall in the bunkhouse while camping last November. I pulled the window ring off the inside of the window and found a large gap between the aluminum window and the styrofoam wall insulation. I believe the condensation was occurring on the inside of the window frame (inside the wall) and running down into the wall board. I have since used expanding foam to fill this gap around all of the windows (9) which had the same problem. I'll find out if this works this Thankgiving when we camp again. The definition of Polar Pack should be down to 50 degrees, I don't know if the high end trailers are any better but these are not made to camp in below freezing temps for more than a day.



Tim

[hankaye]

dmax, Howdy;

What year and model Couger do you have?
Thanks for your input, as I fulltime these are kinda nice to see,
will have to keep an eye out for such things.

hankaye