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Old 11-25-2019, 08:55 AM   #1
Barbie
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Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Langley
Posts: 22
Newbie fulltiming in British Columbia, Canada

In October hubby and I got a used 2011 Laredo 266RL fifth wheel. Needless to say, most days I feel a little overwhelmed trying to learn about things I took for granted pre-trailer living...

While our RV is supposed to be 4 seasons, I'm learning that doesn't add up to much compared to a home. It's single-paned windows and between R27 - R30 insulation. We are losing a lot of heat and it's drafty.

1. Yesterday I got the bright idea to put bubble wrap on all my windows except where the screens are. Closed my dark blinds and have put towels at the bottom to limit draft. Is this a good thing to do?

2. We are getting a lot of draft from our door. Yesterday got a thermal/reflective cover for the door and will be getting weather stripping to better seal the opening between the door and RV. Also have a blanket covering the door to try to limit draft coming in.

3. Condensation. While I know it's not that accurate, I downloaded an app on my phone to see what my humidity levels are at. They are ranging from 48 - 60% which I know is too high.

I have started using my fan over the stove when cooking and/or opening the vent in main living area when cooking. I have 3 non-electric dehumidifiers that I have put in the problem areas which are my bedroom closet, bedroom cupboard and a cupboard in my main living area. I now leave my closet doors and other doors open to allow air flow.

I do have the vent in my bedroom cracked to let moisture out as the bedroom seems to have the most humidity. My concern however is that living in Langley BC the weather outside is most of the time raining, damp and now this time of year falling before freezing at night. Should I still be leaving the bedroom vent cracked or closing it due to outside humidity?

I do have 2 oil space heaters and have the furnace set to 68-70. The space heater in my bedroom I keep at a lower setting as it's warmer in there anyways and the one in the main area.

I have checked the slides and there doesn't appear to be any leaks or openings that are causing drafts other than the very top of the main area slide there is some coldness so I have put a blanket along the inside of slide where it meets the wall. The slide walls and floor are cold due to outside temperature. We are looking into skirting the RV to help with this.

On a good note, I think I've finally got the hang of the black and grey tanks and rarely pop my breakers.

At the moment we have not had an income for 3 months so limited on what I can spend to fix some of these issues.

Any insights or tips welcome!
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Old 11-25-2019, 09:34 AM   #2
sourdough
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There are a lot of things you can do and others can expound on anything I post. While sealing up the trailer just remember that airflow, and the ability for moist air to escape is very important. You touched on that and seem to realize it. Here in FL where it is very humid I keep both vents cracked (bathroom/living room). I also have Reflectix in the big windows that face the sun (due to heat transfer, not cold, but would work cold as well). We also have a 35 pint dehumidifier that does wonders for the indoor humidity and we run it anytime it gets too humid. We have it set at 48% humidity and that seems to work well.

If you have leaking seals/weather stripping you might look into replacing those with the proper product vs towels when you have the resources. Between the fireplace and furnace we run no space heaters except at night in the bathroom prior to me taking a shower. We do have a 35k furnace and 50A service. Space heaters can be a big benefit if the electric costs are not significant and you keep in mind that the furnace heats the underbelly (if you have that) to keep things warm down there.

Depending on how cold it gets we use a heated hose which sure eliminates some problems and headaches during the cold spells.

Trying to full time in an RV in cold climates can present some problems but you just tackle each one as it arises....I did it for 3 winters with a non slide RV which had no "arctic/polar/etc." pkg. (if that means anything) in temps. with lows below zero at times, but the weather was very dry. I would be very hesitant to leave any space heater on for extended periods while you are away from the RV. I never have because I've seen failures of the electricals on them multiple times that could lead to disaster if left unattended. Good luck. Fire away with questions and I'm sure others will add to what I've mentioned. Oh, and Welcome!
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Old 11-25-2019, 10:04 AM   #3
Barbie
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We are 30A service. We do have insulated underbelly. We have winterized our incoming water hose. I agree with being cautious about leaving space heaters on while unattended. A lot of the times I turn them off or down when going out.

Thank you for the welcome!
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Old 11-25-2019, 05:24 PM   #4
JRTJH
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You might consider using some 1" building foam to place against the slide sides and under the floor (on the outside of the trailer). Possibly you might want to put a sheet of 2" foam insulation board on the roof of the slide as well. That will help insulate them and if cut properly, will also act as an additional seal/gasket along the trailer/slide opening.

If you can find them at WalMart there, you might also consider some "shrink wrap storm windows" to put on the larger windows that you don't open. They use double sided tape that you can apply to the window frame, then install the film and use a hair dryer to shrink them so they become "transparent". They will stop much of the heat loss that you have through the single pane windows.

As for ventilation, realize that an adult human will exhale about 3 pints of water daily and perspire another pint. That's half a gallon of water introduced into the trailer even before you cook or shower. ALWAYS shower with the bathroom fan on and with a window open at the opposite end of the trailer. That will allow some ventilation to pull the wet air out of the trailer and also prevent it from being drawn into the main living space.

Soon you'll need to start leaving all the cupboards open to allow heat to get into the spaces where water lines run through those "unheated areas".

As for your "insulated basement", that's more an advertising gimmick than a beneficial feature. The "insulation" consists of a sheet of mylar bubble wrap and a 2" heat duct from the furnace into the space near the holding tanks. All that is "sealed" with a 3/16" sheet of coroplast (corrugated plastic) that has "some dead air insulation properties".... When you look under your RV, you'll see that the "insulated basement" has 2 steel I beams running along the sides. Those beams are not insulated and they are filled with holes that allow cold air to freely enter that "insulated basement".... So, don't expect much in the form of insulated benefit.... Essentially the only protection from freezing in that "insulated basement" is the heat from the furnace, which must be running or you won't have any air blowing through that 2" duct....

You can expect to use a "tremendous amount of propane" to keep the trailer comfortable, so it's not going to be "cheaper than a house". Chances are you'll find that as "energy inefficient" as RV's are, you'll likely use more propane and electricity (for the oil heaters) than you would in a small efficiency apartment.
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Old 11-25-2019, 05:44 PM   #5
Barbie
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
You might consider using some 1" building foam to place against the slide sides and under the floor (on the outside of the trailer). Possibly you might want to put a sheet of 2" foam insulation board on the roof of the slide as well. That will help insulate them and if cut properly, will also act as an additional seal/gasket along the trailer/slide opening.
Yes hubby was talking about getting some of this...

Thank you for the other tips as well.
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Old 11-25-2019, 06:09 PM   #6
Ken / Claudia
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I had a 40 ft park trailer at the south Wa. coast for 7 years. Lots of moisture in the air year round. Not so much temps below freezing. I duck hunt and used it during winter months mainly for that. Normally we or I was in it 3 to 5 days a month thought winter. The trailer had dual pane windows that were removable for summer. Frame to ground was fully inclosed and insulated. Floor was always cold in cold temps. Walls were normally cold in cold temps. Same as in the RVs I have owned.
Moisture was a big problem, we did not want to leave the propane furnace on while not there. We actually would see mould starting to grow on the walls in a month or so without heat in the trailer.
What really helped was the plastic vent covers that go over the normal vents. There are easy to install and did work great. They claim no rain can get in while the vent is open and that was true even in high wind and heavy rain. We left the vents fully open to vent moisture year round. We ended up with a oil electric heater that was left on low. I think that is 600 watts. We tried the dri zee? air containers, 4 of them. They were normally full or near full in a month.
Nowadays there are better products than Dri-zee air. For us just leaving the vents left open really helped a lot with moisture. Yeah, it can get cold/drafty and for those times we closed at least the bedroom vent down.
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