2 year old camper..upstate NY. I took my camper home this past weekend from outside storage... of course its been cold as heck up this way all spring. Friday and Saturday night i worked in the camper while i had the furnace on heating it up(first time since oct any heat in camper). Yesterday and today were both finally almost 70 degrees up this way. inside of camper is around 45-55 degrees right now..OK. so i was out walking on my roof an hour ago. just checking the dicor like i usually do and i noticed that when i walk by the fantastic fan the roof creaks(not overly concerned as im sure this is just the plywood creaking). but just to check and make sure no leak i decided to take off the speaker inside the camper that is right next to the fan so that i can check around. I started to freak out when i noticed the top of the speaker seemed damp..same with the insulation that was touching the speaker... I instantly figured i have a leak somewhere.. I just took off the other three speakers for sh__ts and giggles and to my surprise noticed that all 4 speakers seemed alittle damp on the top and the insulation touching it was the same. two of the speakers are on the opposite end of the camper.. I now wonder if this could be a simple case of condensation. like is said its finally warm up this way and the sun is baking on the roof while inside the coach it is only around 45-50 degrees... NOONE is in the camper though.. is this possible that this could just be condensation or does this sound like a huge leak in the roof that is effecting the whole roof(I wouldnt think so)... what else can i check to confirm its not a leak? nothing else is out of the ordinary..thanks...

Hard to say .. but combo of squeak and moisture on speakers would give me enough concern to spend a $100 and have the rig pressure tested. These test will determine whether the rig is air tight and where the leak maybe coming from - takes the mystery out of the issue and might allow you to fix something that could get expensive if not addressed.

buy a gun that measures condensation, levels , me I don,t walk on the roof sure way to cause a leak. just my opinion.

I had the same thing a few years ago, and all the insulation was completely damp and in some places very wet. It was right after the trailer was very cold and we had the heat on. I know mine was condensation. I don't even check any more.Jack L

thanks for the replys.. I just spent some time out there. moving around insulation and looking at the bottom of the plywood from the inside, and it looks dry..no signs of leaks so far... it rained all last week so i would imagine I would see something... im gonna assume that it was just condensation that collected on each speaker.... I hope..LOL..thanks

It's just condensation. You are the perfect candidate for a pressurized leak test. The pressure test eliminates worries about leaks. You do a lot of worrying so an annual test with a blower would help you in that regard.

Roof Question.. should I freak out? | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

yankeeslover
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
myredracer, yeah, i took the trim down from around the maxfan...felt around and it was dry as can be... this camper has wood trusses and aluminum frame on the front, sides and rear...wood trusses though....
myredracer
Explorer II
Apr 14, 2015
For a better look at what's going on in the ceiling cavity, take down the AC or skylight trims so you see and reach right into the cavity. Aluminum or wood trusses? I'd assume trusses worsen a condensation issue? Some TTs don't have particularly well insulated ceilings and that won't help either. A hygrometer might be a good thing to use to monitor the humidity level along with a dehumidifier.

We used a couple of the Dri-Z-Air dehumidifiers this winter and was surprised to see them full in just over 3 months of use. Next year will use 1 or 2 more and get a hygrometer. Last November, once the rainy season started, the humidity level increase caused about 1/2 the trim around the doors to warp badly enough that they had to be replaced. Doesn't take moisture very long to start damaging things.
yankeeslover
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
ok, we had some rain during the night..not alot, but enough to get everything wet... i took a look this morning and everything seems dry...I moved around the insulation from the speaker holes and felt the plywood and all seems dry... I think i will check this one off as condensation on top of the cold speakers... Its a good lesson though. never run the heater without the vent fan on... I learned that last spring after waking up one morning with dripping corners in the camper... i just didnt think to open the vents when only using the heat for a short time this weekend..thanks to all for reading this..
Huntindog
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
It doesn't take long. Observe the outside of a cold drink on a humid day. Those water droplets are condensation.
westend
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
Well, everybody is right here. Yes, metal will attract condensation when the space around it is heated and the metal is cold. Yes, sealing the speaker openings will prevent humid air from getting into the ceiling cavities. Yes, moisture in the walls and ceiling cavities is a bad thing.

What the OP needs to determine is how much moisture is present and if it's a lot, how to keep it out. My guess is that over a New England Winter, all of the porous bits in a trailer tend to hold moisture. When heating the cabin for the first few times, the moisture is driven out of the porous bits and anything colder by a certain range of temps (like speaker magnets) will condense minute droplets of water.

My suggestion would be to open a vent or window, start the heater and see if everything gets drier. A humidistat and a dehumidifier could also be a couple of good things to have. Your AC is also a pretty good dehumidifier.
pira114
Explorer II
Apr 14, 2015
haddy1 wrote:
The magnets in those speakers will stay cold for awhile. If the moisture is just on the insulation that touches the speakers, I wouldn't be concerned. If it's a larger area, it needs to be checked out.

I was going to bring this up as well. When dense metal components get really cold, then get heated quickly in a humid environment, condensation occurs.
haddy1
Explorer II
Apr 14, 2015
The magnets in those speakers will stay cold for awhile. If the moisture is just on the insulation that touches the speakers, I wouldn't be concerned. If it's a larger area, it needs to be checked out.
yankeeslover
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
Yes, when we camp I open up the vent when the heater is on..I will admit though, while i was working in the camper this past friday and saturday night i had the heat on with no vent open.. probalby was in camper one hour friday and one hour saturday night... heat went off when i left camper.. yesterday(sunday) i opened windows to air it out... I guess maybe its possible that the condensation built up around the speaker vents in roof fri and sat while i was working and didnt fully evaporate yesterday...
I also opened up the fantastic fan and went back up on the roof and no more creaking...I think somehow the creaking noises i heard were from the fan unit itself...it didnt do it again when i opened the vent... ODD.
Huntindog
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
yankeeslover wrote:
2 year old camper..upstate NY. I took my camper home this past weekend from outside storage... of course its been cold as heck up this way all spring. Friday and Saturday night i worked in the camper while i had the furnace on heating it up(first time since oct any heat in camper).
Yesterday and today were both finally almost 70 degrees up this way. inside of camper is around 45-55 degrees right now..OK. so i was out walking on my roof an hour ago. just checking the dicor like i usually do and i noticed that when i walk by the fantastic fan the roof creaks(not overly concerned as im sure this is just the plywood creaking). but just to check and make sure no leak i decided to take off the speaker inside the camper that is right next to the fan so that i can check around. I started to freak out when i noticed the top of the speaker seemed damp..same with the insulation that was touching the speaker... I instantly figured i have a leak somewhere..
I just took off the other three speakers for sh__ts and giggles and to my surprise noticed that all 4 speakers seemed alittle damp on the top and the insulation touching it was the same. two of the speakers are on the opposite end of the camper.. I now wonder if this could be a simple case of condensation. like is said its finally warm up this way and the sun is baking on the roof while inside the coach it is only around 45-50 degrees... NOONE is in the camper though.. is this possible that this could just be condensation or does this sound like a huge leak in the roof that is effecting the whole roof(I wouldnt think so)... what else can i check to confirm its not a leak? nothing else is out of the ordinary..thanks...
When you ran the heater... Did you take any prevenative measures against condensation? Like opening some windows and/or vents, or run a dehimidifier? Have you ever done these things when running the heater? If not, then you are at risk of condensation, and the slow destruction it reaps. Condensation is like a slow silent deadly force. It's damage builds slowly imperceptibly. Take measures in the future to prevent it. Ignore it at your peril.
yankeeslover
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
the speakers have not been on... no one is using the camper yet... its the inside speakers on the celing.