Acceptable humidity level inside TT for winter storage?

[myredracer]

Just got a hygrometer to mount in our TT. I use a couple of dessicant dryers over the winter and have for the 4 winters we've had this current TT. Over the first winter, most the interior door trims warped liked crazy and had to be replaced under warranty. I thought it was just an anomaly and assumed the dryers were removing enough moisture. We get an awful LOT of rain here for about 6 months, Oct. - April.

The hygrometer is showing an RH of 65% at an outdoor temp. of 45F.

What should the inside RH of a TT, or any RV, ideally be during winter storage to prevent mold or damage to wood? Would getting it lower be beneficial or just forget about it? Not sure if adding any more dessicant dryers would do much and maybe a dehumidifier would be needed?

[Mark_and_Linda]

temccarthy1 wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:

temccarthy1 wrote:

Mark and Linda wrote:
Reading this post.....has anyone ever tried using the Damp Rid? We use it in a house in Florida to keep the moisture down.

DAMP-RID works great in a camper or cabin cruiser boat. I have 3 of the Damp rid big buckets in my 30 ft TT which is more than enough ( 2 would suffice) to keep it nice and dry! They will last the whole winter. They are disposable , stable so as not to turn over and have an indicator so you can tell when full and dispose of them. You can get them on Amazon for 9.99 ea. They work great!

To reduce the humidity inside the trailer, water needs to be removed and taken outside. Explain how Damp-Rid takes those many gallons of water out of the trailer.

DAMP -RID comes in one gallon buckets for large areas like a TT. The material which is sealed with an air permeable membrane, pulls water out of the air into the bucket and there is an indicator to tell you when it is full and to dispose. The gallon size I use in my 30 ft TT are hi capacity and I leave 3 in there for the winter/spring for the 7 months I am not using my TT> They pull a LOT of moisture out of the air and my TT is always dry and fresh smelling in the spring. I also use 1 in the cabin of my boat and it keeps that totally dry and fresh as well! You don't have to believe me, go online and read the hundreds of reviews on amazon!

We have used it and have not found any problems in the house. We close it up and sometimes it goes for months before being opened up in the summer. We have the small cannisters that we use plus the hang up bags that we place in the closets, etc. It works for us...since I mentioned it on here I am going to place a couple in our travel trailer.

[temccarthy1]

Lynnmor wrote:

temccarthy1 wrote:

Mark and Linda wrote:
Reading this post.....has anyone ever tried using the Damp Rid? We use it in a house in Florida to keep the moisture down.

DAMP-RID works great in a camper or cabin cruiser boat. I have 3 of the Damp rid big buckets in my 30 ft TT which is more than enough ( 2 would suffice) to keep it nice and dry! They will last the whole winter. They are disposable , stable so as not to turn over and have an indicator so you can tell when full and dispose of them. You can get them on Amazon for 9.99 ea. They work great!

To reduce the humidity inside the trailer, water needs to be removed and taken outside. Explain how Damp-Rid takes those many gallons of water out of the trailer.

DAMP -RID comes in one gallon buckets for large areas like a TT. The material which is sealed with an air permeable membrane, pulls water out of the air into the bucket and there is an indicator to tell you when it is full and to dispose. The gallon size I use in my 30 ft TT are hi capacity and I leave 3 in there for the winter/spring for the 7 months I am not using my TT> They pull a LOT of moisture out of the air and my TT is always dry and fresh smelling in the spring. I also use 1 in the cabin of my boat and it keeps that totally dry and fresh as well! You don't have to believe me, go online and read the hundreds of reviews on amazon!

[SoundGuy]

Lynnmor wrote:
To reduce the humidity inside the trailer, water needs to be removed and taken outside. Explain how Damp-Rid takes those many gallons of water out of the trailer.

Any desiccant absorbs moisture from the air ... I use Dri-Z-Air myself and find it does help control humidity levels inside the camper during winter storage. I place the container in a pan so if should overflow it will do so into the pan rather than on to the trailer floor. I try to replace the desiccant material periodically so overflow doesn't usually happen. Works for me. :B

[Lynnmor]

temccarthy1 wrote:

Mark and Linda wrote:
Reading this post.....has anyone ever tried using the Damp Rid? We use it in a house in Florida to keep the moisture down.

DAMP-RID works great in a camper or cabin cruiser boat. I have 3 of the Damp rid big buckets in my 30 ft TT which is more than enough ( 2 would suffice) to keep it nice and dry! They will last the whole winter. They are disposable , stable so as not to turn over and have an indicator so you can tell when full and dispose of them. You can get them on Amazon for 9.99 ea. They work great!

To reduce the humidity inside the trailer, water needs to be removed and taken outside. Explain how Damp-Rid takes those many gallons of water out of the trailer.

[temccarthy1]

Mark and Linda wrote:
Reading this post.....has anyone ever tried using the Damp Rid? We use it in a house in Florida to keep the moisture down.

DAMP-RID works great in a camper or cabin cruiser boat. I have 3 of the Damp rid big buckets in my 30 ft TT which is more than enough ( 2 would suffice) to keep it nice and dry! They will last the whole winter. They are disposable , stable so as not to turn over and have an indicator so you can tell when full and dispose of them. You can get them on Amazon for 9.99 ea. They work great!

[MKirkland]

Heated covered storage with the vents partly open works for us. The trailer still smells new after 7 years. We pay just under $500 for 5 months storage.

[Community Alumni]

From looking online you guys maintain a fairly high humidity average of 75%-80%. To hold off mold growth you want to keep it under 50%. A dehumidifier will be the most effective when pulling that much moisture out of the air. Place a dehumidifier on the counter top and place the drain tube in the sink. Drain the grey tank every once in a while.

[JWP127]

I'm going to store my TT in a storage facility without store power. Is there a way to keep the humidity down without power?

[Gdetrailer]

myredracer wrote:
Just got a hygrometer to mount in our TT. I use a couple of dessicant dryers over the winter and have for the 4 winters we've had this current TT. Over the first winter, most the interior door trims warped liked crazy and had to be replaced under warranty. I thought it was just an anomaly and assumed the dryers were removing enough moisture. We get an awful LOT of rain here for about 6 months, Oct. - April.

The hygrometer is showing an RH of 65% at an outdoor temp. of 45F.

What should the inside RH of a TT, or any RV, ideally be during winter storage to prevent mold or damage to wood? Would getting it lower be beneficial or just forget about it? Not sure if adding any more dessicant dryers would do much and maybe a dehumidifier would be needed?

Kind of depends on if you are planning to heat the trailer during the Oct- April time..

Dehumidifiers tend to freeze up the coils if the air temps go below 65 F. Some but not all dehumidifiers do have a freeze detection which cycles the compressor off when the coils freeze up, but at the expense of lowered capacity when that happens.

Then you have to issue of getting rid of the condensate, if not heated and you have freezing temps you now have to figure out a way to keep the condensate from freezing..

Dehumidifiers also have a bad habit of being insanely expensive $250+ yet have an insanely short life.. I have one in my sticks and bricks basement.. I can count on about 3-4 yrs average life of modern day dehumidifiers.

Were I live, I simply keep a couple of windows slightly cracked open, allows air flow to help keep the build up of moisture inside low when not in use.

[path1]

I aim for 53 to 57. No mold from to much.
No warped wood or pic frames falling apart from being to dry. No headaches or nose bleeds.
Have gauge on dehumidifier and couple portable by "aker" to find spots where air circulation is harder. Like closets etc
53 to 57 because retired Boeing told me so.

[WTP-GC]

The questions really has to go hand-in-hand with whether or not you have shore power available. You're extremely limited without it, as any form of desiccant simply isn't enough. In our first TT, we had several canisters of Damp Rid, and it would solidify the crystals in a few days, leaving it totally useless.

We have shore power and use a large stand-up dehumidifier. We leave the AC at about 80 degrees, which helps a lot when it's running. But without the AC, the dehumidifer will take out about a 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon a day to keep it at 40% RH. On the bright side, it never smells musty or moldy in our camper.

[westend]

Typical residential humidity levels are anywhere from 20%-45%, depending on climate and season. Up here, in MN, many houses have humidifiers to raise the level of humidity inside. The ambient cold temps and low RH are <15% in the Winter.

Most of the materials inside an RV are the same or similar to residential materials. I would think a target of 40% or lower will be adequate to not harm anything inside the RV. A dehumidifier would probably be necessary in the PNW.

[donn0128]

Mark and Linda wrote:
Reading this post.....has anyone ever tried using the Damp Rid? We use it in a house in Florida to keep the moisture down.

Used to when our trailer was 20 feet. Still had to be concerned about overflow. Switched to a dehumidifier years ago and would never go back. The dessicant crystals are only good for a few days and do nothing to lower humidity levels. A properly sized dehumidifier will keep most any RV at around 40% with no problem. Mine usually dumps a couple gallons a day.

[Mark_and_Linda]

Reading this post.....has anyone ever tried using the Damp Rid? We use it in a house in Florida to keep the moisture down.