I've been driveway camping for the past week, due to extreme humidity in the area. I've been emptying the 2 gallon bucket on my dehumidifier twice daily, and I'm very tempted to poke a hole in the floor for a drain line.I think I'd rather drain it to the ground rather than install a lift pump to push the water into the gray tank.I seldom stay in campgrounds where someone might be offended by water draining from my camper, despite it being "clean" water. If I am somewhere where someone might be offended, I can always disconnect the hose and go back to using the bucket. Then they can be offended by me dumping large buckets of water out the window instead of a slow drip.I have an enclosed underbelly, which I don't plan to remove for this procedure. I'll cut through the fabric with the drill bit, or a knife, and then caulk around the hose from the inside.Should I do something to attach the underbelly to the hose? It looks like Elkhart used sprayfoam to attach the other penetrations to the cloth, I don't really see what purpose that serves.What else an I not planning for?

There is likely wiring, plumbing, and duct work under the floor. I would not blindly drill thru there or you may end up with far more concerns than water. As far as dripping under the trailer, no different than the constant drip from air conditioners. Would not be concerned about that.

I think I'd try opening some vents and windows to get some air flow to possibly reduce the humidity instead of cutting a hole in the floor. How about running the A/C?If you don't have them the Maxxair covers over the vents are a good investment. It allows the vents to be open in all kinds of weather. They have a new one that is able to be tipped up for cleaning and has more openings for air flow.Just my $.03 adjusted for inflation.We are in the Chicago area having much the same humidity condition and there is no build-up of moisture in the RV

Can you get a piece of PVC pipe to go through the floor? You could put the drain hose in the pipe and have a removable plug where the pipe exits the RV. It would keep small creepy things from building nests in the drain pipe.Or could you snake a piece of PEX under the floor and have it exit at a convenient location for a plug or a catch bucket.Or just get a dehumidifier with a pump and drain it out a window.

BB_TX wrote:There is likely wiring, plumbing, and duct work under the floor. I would not blindly drill thru there or you may end up with far more concerns than water. As far as dripping under the trailer, no different than the constant drip from air conditioners. Would not be concerned about that.Good concerns, thanks for pointing them out.Ductwork - nope, not on this small trailer, the furnace and AC both vent directly into the living space. Wiring - that's a possibility, I know where the DC wiring runs, which is inside the box section of the frame. The AC wiring, that is an unknown that needs further exploration. There are outlets on either side of the bedroomPlumbing - there's a cold water line running from the bedroom water tank towards the rear of the trailer, I know where it is and will not be anywhere close. The city water and gravity fill line locations are also known, and will not be in the way. The gas line runs outside the underbelly straight down the middle of the trailer.

Check/research the manufacturer's data on this. It may be using the full container as a "cool down" period until its emptied. Worked a sail boat fire where the owner did this exact thing. Smaller unit though. It was a great idea until the unit never shut off, overheated and caught fire in the head. It was a new boat to him and because of the $ amount damage/repair the insurance company totaled it.

About to drill a hole | Good Sam Community

GordonThree
Explorer
Jul 22, 2018
Dick_B wrote:
I think I'd try opening some vents and windows to get some air flow to possibly reduce the humidity instead of cutting a hole in the floor. How about running the A/C?
If you don't have them the Maxxair covers over the vents are a good investment. It allows the vents to be open in all kinds of weather. They have a new one that is able to be tipped up for cleaning and has more openings for air flow.
Just my $.03 adjusted for inflation.
We are in the Chicago area having much the same humidity condition and there is no build-up of moisture in the RV

The outside humidity is the problem :)

I have the AC running, and it cools but it cools too quickly and I'm left with cold and damp, so I run the dehumidifier. I think if I were somewhere that the AC had to work a lot harder, fighting the sun, it would also dehumidify the living space. It's working fine, as it is pulling out lots of water draining off the roof, the air is just so very humid.
Larry-D
Explorer II
Jul 22, 2018
Check/research the manufacturer's data on this. It may be using the full container as a "cool down" period until its emptied. Worked a sail boat fire where the owner did this exact thing. Smaller unit though. It was a great idea until the unit never shut off, overheated and caught fire in the head. It was a new boat to him and because of the $ amount damage/repair the insurance company totaled it.
GordonThree
Explorer
Jul 22, 2018
BB_TX wrote:
There is likely wiring, plumbing, and duct work under the floor. I would not blindly drill thru there or you may end up with far more concerns than water.

As far as dripping under the trailer, no different than the constant drip from air conditioners. Would not be concerned about that.

Good concerns, thanks for pointing them out.

Ductwork - nope, not on this small trailer, the furnace and AC both vent directly into the living space.

Wiring - that's a possibility, I know where the DC wiring runs, which is inside the box section of the frame. The AC wiring, that is an unknown that needs further exploration. There are outlets on either side of the bedroom

Plumbing - there's a cold water line running from the bedroom water tank towards the rear of the trailer, I know where it is and will not be anywhere close. The city water and gravity fill line locations are also known, and will not be in the way. The gas line runs outside the underbelly straight down the middle of the trailer.
gbopp
Explorer
Jul 22, 2018
Can you get a piece of PVC pipe to go through the floor? You could put the drain hose in the pipe and have a removable plug where the pipe exits the RV.
It would keep small creepy things from building nests in the drain pipe.
Or could you snake a piece of PEX under the floor and have it exit at a convenient location for a plug or a catch bucket.
Or just get a dehumidifier with a pump and drain it out a window.
Dick_B
Explorer
Jul 22, 2018
I think I'd try opening some vents and windows to get some air flow to possibly reduce the humidity instead of cutting a hole in the floor. How about running the A/C?
If you don't have them the Maxxair covers over the vents are a good investment. It allows the vents to be open in all kinds of weather. They have a new one that is able to be tipped up for cleaning and has more openings for air flow.
Just my $.03 adjusted for inflation.
We are in the Chicago area having much the same humidity condition and there is no build-up of moisture in the RV
BB_TX
Nomad
Jul 22, 2018
There is likely wiring, plumbing, and duct work under the floor. I would not blindly drill thru there or you may end up with far more concerns than water.

As far as dripping under the trailer, no different than the constant drip from air conditioners. Would not be concerned about that.

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