Condensation inside trailer.

[Muddydogs]

Went camping this past weekend, temps were in the 30's with rain and snow falling and I had a lot of condensation on the windows and roof vent covers. Whats the best way to deal with the moisture inside without letting all the heat out.

[slarsen]

As was said earler: dehumidification, and/or venting.

Keeping the air in the trailer moving (fans) will help because the moving air keeps the exterior surfaces warmer, so less reason to form condensation.

Get a humidity gage. Have some idea of just how big your problem really is. They are cheap and easily found at Target, Walmart, lumber yards, etc.

BTW, it comes up every year: some people try to heat with propane heaters inside a trailer. The result will be lots of moisture. It isn't a good idea, just like 'ventless' fireplaces aren't a very good idea for more than occasional use. Use the furnace (combustion fumes are vented outside with the created moisture) or electric heaters.

[JIMNLIN]

Padlin wrote:
We started carrying a Newair 25 pint dehumidifier, obviously it's only for when we have hookups. Only down side is it gives off a decent amount of heat, which is okay when it's cold out.

We had to use two dehumidifiers for living one winter in a 5th wheel trailer with temps down to zero and 40 mph winds.....while the house was being built
The first thing we learned was forget about cracking a vent. All that did was cause a cold drafty camper and the heater running 24/7 and did nothing for our humidity problems.

Now for moderate temps and a dry climate cracking a vent may work.

My son lives in central FL. He uses several containers of Damp Rid in his 34' trailer.

[Padlin]

We started carrying a Newair 25 pint dehumidifier, obviously it's only for when we have hookups. Only down side is it gives off a decent amount of heat, which is okay when it's cold out.

[Lynnmor]

motorcycle jack wrote:
If you don't want to open and vent, the only option is to get "Stay Dry" and use it. It is slow acting though and may not completely stop the moisture. If not then you'll have to stop breathing about 2AM 🙂

If Stay Dry removes moisture, where does it put it? I think that it won't do a thing.

[pugslyyy]

We have a roof vent directly over the bed that we crack open at night, makes a big difference. When we cook we always have the hood fan on.

[motorcycle_jack]

If you don't want to open and vent, the only option is to get "Stay Dry" and use it. It is slow acting though and may not completely stop the moisture. If not then you'll have to stop breathing about 2AM 🙂

[RJCorazza]

Not an option for boondocking, but we use a small GE dehumidifier. 30 pints on wheels, lives in the bathroom during the day (when running it really helps drying out wet towels and clothes) and gets moved into the main area at night. We still get a small amount of condensation in colder temps but not nearly as much as without the dehumidifier.
In our previous rig we would crack the overhead vent and run the fantastic fan on low. I will be installing one of these fans in our trailer soon... Very nice fan.

[Us_out_West]

Yup you'll have to open a vent.

With our dual-pane windows we have never seen any condensation.

[Muddydogs]

I'll try the roof vent in the bedroom next time. Some engineer that designed my toy hauler decided it would be a great idea to put a roof vent over the bed in the back but the trouble here is I never put the bed down as its not needed and if I did I would still have to climb the ladder to reach the vent. Guess they figured no one would be able to reach the roof vent standing on the floor due to the high ceiling of the toy hauler but I guess they never met a tall guy with long arms.

I just hate to let any heat out when I am running off battery's and using the heater as little as possible but all the moisture can't be good for the walls.

[pugslyyy]

We always leave the roof vent over the bed open a crack at night. We figure we are generating the most moisture/humidity.

[army_guy1]

I keep the roof vent open a crack to help with air movement. We haven't had any issues this way. Love cold weather camping.

[robsouth]

Gotta ventilate to remove moisture. Just breathing creates a lot of moisture. Open vents just slightly, you will not notice heat loss.

[cyntdon2010]

wipe the windows off with napkins, open windows and doors.

[donn0128]

Ventilation and dehumidifier