Dehumidifies for truck camper

[brholt]

Getting into fall and starting to think about what if anything I should do for moisture in the camper. We are in Seattle so it's wet. We also plan on using the camper weekends.

Possibilities:

1. Just leave the vents open (they have covers) along with the pass through window.

2. Seal it up and buy a small dehumidifier.

3. Seal it up and put in a small heater like an oil filled heater and run it at 600 watts or so.

4. Seal it up and add some of the chemical water absorbers. If only a little moisture probably easier than 2.

5. Seal it up and buy one of those little heater thing they sell for humidity control at rv and boat supply places. Though it seems to me this is nothing more than a little heater or am I missing something.

Thoughts and comments?

[mooring_product]

I leave my AC set at 80 year round. Im in South Florida,,

[Bumpyroad]

big whitey wrote:

big whitey wrote:
just ordered a small dehumidifier from wally world ($59 plus tax). it works on 110/12v and is scheduled to arrive,on 9-20. i bought it to control humidity when parked at home,when using the wave 3 heater in the winter and when boondocking during hot/humid days in NC. i will post the results after i have used it for a while.

received the dehumidifier today. unfortunately it came without the 12v adapter and on 110 was noisier than i expected. long story short,back to wally world you go. thinking about just using a fan to keep air moving those times with high humidity and see what happens.

I predict that you will just circulate humid air.
bumpy

[big_whitey]

big whitey wrote:
just ordered a small dehumidifier from wally world ($59 plus tax). it works on 110/12v and is scheduled to arrive,on 9-20. i bought it to control humidity when parked at home,when using the wave 3 heater in the winter and when boondocking during hot/humid days in NC. i will post the results after i have used it for a while.

received the dehumidifier today. unfortunately it came without the 12v adapter and on 110 was noisier than i expected. long story short,back to wally world you go. thinking about just using a fan to keep air moving those times with high humidity and see what happens.

[Bumpyroad]

misterpat1975 wrote:

-Kevin wrote:
last fall/winter I sealed it up and put in a Eva-Dry 1100 and it worked great till the 362nd day and it died. I tried and was unable to get any help from Eva-Dry for warranty replacement (1 year). I have the 500 that I use when I am using it and it doesn't seem to do anything near what the 1100 can do.

I just returned from a quick trip with my wife and son in our TC. First time we left all the windows closed with the heat on. Heat worked great, only to awake in the morning to ALOT of moisture. I just ordered on of these to try out.

Eva-Dry 1100 on Amazon

Should be here by the time we leave for Gettysburg, so we can try it out.

a good price, wonder what the capacity is. does it have a hose attachment so you can just drain it into the sink? keep us posted, please.
bumpy

[misterpat1975]

-Kevin wrote:
last fall/winter I sealed it up and put in a Eva-Dry 1100 and it worked great till the 362nd day and it died. I tried and was unable to get any help from Eva-Dry for warranty replacement (1 year). I have the 500 that I use when I am using it and it doesn't seem to do anything near what the 1100 can do.

I just returned from a quick trip with my wife and son in our TC. First time we left all the windows closed with the heat on. Heat worked great, only to awake in the morning to ALOT of moisture. I just ordered on of these to try out.

Eva-Dry 1100 on Amazon

Should be here by the time we leave for Gettysburg, so we can try it out.

[Ski_Pro_3]

I've used the blue crystals you can restore by drying in an oven. They work. Sorta...
They absorb the moisture in the air of the camper, but use so much energy to dry them back out, AND I have to do it every week!! They go from a midnight blue to pink in 7 days easy. This is with a brand new Lance 855S with a cover over it too. Next, I tried a dehumidifier. What a waste of money! The crystals worked better. I'd weigh the crystals before and after use to see how much water absorbed. I weighed the water from the dehydrator and the crystals out performed the dehydrator by about 50%.
Next I used a heater. Not an oil filled but still, one that doesn't use a fan. Fans quit working. I wanted something with no moving parts like an oil heater but could be permanently built in. Found a baseboard heater that did the trick. Now it stays dry. How do I know? I put the blue crystals back in with the heater and the crystals stay blue for at least 4 weeks.
The small oil filled heaters that look like a radiator should do the trick on the lowest setting and the thermostat set for 62*.

There's a huge benefit to using a heater as well; water in my lines don't freeze up. It's much easier to toss in a heater than it is to purge the lines since I use my camper all winter long; at least twice a month.

[big_whitey]

just ordered a small dehumidifier from wally world ($59 plus tax). it works on 110/12v and is scheduled to arrive,on 9-20. i bought it to control humidity when parked at home,when using the wave 3 heater in the winter and when boondocking during hot/humid days in NC. i will post the results after i have used it for a while.

[Boatycall]

RichieC wrote:
I've heated for years during winter months - never a problem.

x2

[buta4]

Do what boaters do -- keep a 60-Watt light bulb on 24/7. Prevents mildew, etc. Works like a charm.

[Bwst]

Lake Stevens, WA just north. I keep it sealed and use a small electric heater on lowest setting, and a Dry-z-air chemical container. I dump it once a month. I used a tarp last year, but this year plan to get a standard RV cover, but for a travel trailer/MH, so I can use the front of the camper under the bed as a little garage for the riding lawn mower.

[bighatnohorse]

I've heated for years during winter months - never a problem.
Leave the window under the cabover open and use an oil filled heater.

Oil filled heaters will resume heating after a power outage.
Digital controlled heaters/etc. will default to the off position after a power outage.

[donn0128]

You are going to regret the electric heater. The temp difference between inside and outside air is going to create a lot of moisture on the walls and windows. Get yourself a dehumidifier, plug it in and set it for a comfortable 40% humidity level and close things up. When you get ready to go, no more damp bedding, soggy paper products, just plane comfort. BT,DT and the dehumidifier is the best thing I have done for comfort and peace of mind in the inside of our fiver after a wet winter. And yes, we are in the Portland area, so humidity is an issue here just like Seattle.

[brholt]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't think covering is going to happen.. I probably can't put up a car port and get it into it's parking place. I also am resisting the idea of get a soft cover. First, it's normally on the truck and the covers I've seen don't seem to be made for that. Second, and most importantly, it seems like it would be a big disincentive to using it. Our plan is to get out at least every other weekend if not more and climbing up in the rain to put a cover on and off seems like a major pain. One of the advantageous of the TC (from our old pop up trailer) is that it is ready to go at a moments notice.

I don't know, I might be making a mistake, but I think I'm going to try it without the cover. UV is certainly not the issue out here in winter.

From other replies I think I'll go with a small electric heater (we have a 120 volt connection) and maybe a vent or two cracked open.

[whizbang]

smooth1 is correct.

Cover your camper and leave the vents cracked and run a little heat.

This is what we've done the last few years before the electric dehumidifier. It works ok, and is A LOT less work than dumping the water tray every week.