Electric heater vs using furnace in fall?

Huntindog wrote:
As for the OPs question... Yes you can use electric heaters, and I too find the oil filled ones to be the best option... As others have said, when it gets really cold, then the furnace SHOULD be used to help keep the tanks from freezing... You can help it by using some electric heat.

I am glad that some have brought up the condensation issue, as it is far more important that what type of heat is used. And the OP being new to TTs needs to be informed.


Both of my new TTs came with warnings about this. My current one actually had a stand alone flyer to make the purchaser aware of it.

Condensation in the walls will cause delamination. How long it will take depends on many factors, but it will eventually happen, and can pretty much destroy a TT. It is a slow silent unseen TT killer.

When you have a iced drink in a glass, you get water drops forming on the outside of the glass. This water comes from the water vapor that is in the air touching the cold surface and condensing into water.

The same thing will happen inside a TT. The first sign of it is the windows fogging. When that happens, then in will take place inside the walls as well. It will take somewhat longer though as the insulation will slow it down.... How well it is insulated will determine how long it will take.... But just how long is not the important thing... What is important is that you take action to stop it from happening.

Crack some vents and windows to get some airflow and the condensation will stop. Of course this will let some cold air in..

Many including myself use a different method. I run a dehumidifier. It allows me to keep the TT sealed up tight to keep the cold air out as it removes the moisture from the air. As a side benefit, it blows out warm dehumidified air. This effect noticably cuts down on the heater run time and propane usage.
When doing high moisture producing activities such as cooking or showering, the dehumidifier cannot keep up, so some venting is still needed.

Because of the small interior volume of a TT, humidity levels can change quickly in a TT.
Your TT will become humid just from people or animals breathing. Cooking or showering will increase it faster.

When this moisture migrates thru the walls, it stops at the exterior fiberglass/filon outer skin as it cannot penetrate it. Since the skin is cold, the humid air forms water on the inside of the skin, just as it will on a cold drinks glass... But since there is luan glued to the filon, it will try to delaminate it. This is a very powerful force, that no glue is totally impervious to.

This is what causes most of the delamination problems.

All this from someone in dry Arizona. I'm going to guess you're a transplant :)

This is a great explanation and a great example as to why most RVs are not rated for full-time use. Bathing, cooking and just breathing generate a lot of moisture. Even a large RV has a small fraction of the cubic feet of the smallest homes. Just not enough air movement to dry out all that moisture.