RE: Help....DW says no more.....

[bikolee]

 
Camping until I can do something about excess humidity/moisture in the camper. Last time out the camper was quit humid. I had windows partly open to allow circulation, but it didn t help much.  She thinks that by having the windows open made it worse.  Has anyone used a dehumidifier in their camper? I ve been researching them, but can t find one that isn t just large and expensive.  I did find a mini-dehumidifier from WindChaser, but don t know anything about it, or that brand.
 
 Please, any, and all info is welcome.
 
 Do TT s or Hybrids have the same problem? We are tossing the idea of " upgrading"  around.
 
 TIA

[Cadeuses]

 bikolee
Bill;
 
   The best way I know of to reduce the humidity in a camper or even your home is AC.  I thought you had an air conditioner already?
 
   IMHO putting a dehumidifier inside the PU will reduce humidity, but the heat generated + the noise of the unit itself will likely drive you both out of your PU and back to the humidity outside.  [&:][: (]
 
   I wish you luck in sourcing out a viable solution to this problem.  HTH and have a great day!

[Ab Diver]

 bikolee
Bill, not knowing if you are dry camping or have hookups (pressurized water), but here s an idea that " might"  help: Ya know those *mist-er* spray nozzles you see at nurseries, outdoor events, and even some upper-end home decks? Could that help cool the air around your camper enough to drop the humidity in the camper? It should evaporate quickly enough to not make a muddy mess around the camper, or have soaked canvas when it s time to pop down. Don t know if they will operate at the 25 psi our RV hoses are rated for, but if the campground has enough water pressure, and you bring a regular hose...
 
 Just a thought.

[bikolee]

 bikolee
Yes, we do have AC, and we do use hookups. It just seems that the humidity level in the camper is way too high. Actually DW, has a thing with her throat/lungs right now due to the high moisture level. Is it safe to be in the camper while using that " Dri-It"  or whatever its called stuff?

[mike4947]

 bikolee
Bill, the Damp-Rid is just calcium cloride, like what they use on dirt roads to hold the dust down. It suck moisture out of the air. The problem being it can t be reused.
 A better solution is silica desiccant available at marine supply stores (what s wetter than a boat in water?) and believe it or not at most craft stores in bulk (they use it to dryflowers). It pulls as much moisture out of the air as Damp Rid but by just heating it up to drive off the moisture (warm oven) it can be reused over and over again. My can is over 20 years old now and still suck up moisture like it was new. As long as you aren t throwing the powder around there s no problem. A few minutes after the container is opened the tops already damp.
 We started using the Silica when we were in Florida, we got tired of becoming mildew removal experts.
 
 My ex MIL always had a problem with " dampness"  and what we finally figured out was my FIL was keeping the trailer TOO COLD. Brought the temp up just a couple of degrees and the " damp"  feel went away. Bunkend covers also help as they hold down the temp and the AC unit runs a little less and doesn t blow cold air (which feels damper for some reason) as much.

[Bearnkat]

 bikolee
Hi Bill and Donna,
 
 We too live in the Fort Worth area and really haven t experienced the problems you have written about. The week before Memorial Day, we spent at Inks Lake, and didn t have any humidity issues at all to worry about. I wish I could give you some insight about your problem.
 
 Chuck & Terry

[camper4pack]

 bikolee
Tia:
 
 We too had this problem with the high humidity in our pop up.  We only had this problem with our new Coleman Utah camper, the older camper we had was a palomino 1981 and we never had problems with the humidity.  
 
 Please notice I said HAD this problem.  We solved our problem by buying a small ceramic heater that oscilates.  (Overstock.com) You can get one for about $33.oo.  So far by using this every night on low heat we have not had a single night of the humidity.  In the summer obviously you don t want to use a heater, so we invested in a small oscilating fan in addition, we have a/c that runs quite a bit in the summer.  
 
 I hope this is helpful!  I know it helped us out and we have had 3 camping trips out so far this year.  2 times at Brookdale, Meadville, PA and 1 time in Mercer, PA.  
 
 Good Luck, and happy camping!
 
 Cindy

[fivegonefishing]

 bikolee
I found in our pop up, the only thing to keep the humidity down was to use an oscilating fan (even with our heater going) and keeping some flaps down.  If you had the bunk end fan/light combo s I m sure they would work as well.
 
 I did notice mosture on the top of our Hybrid bunk end the first night we camped out, the second night I put the fan on and it really helped to keep the fabric dry.

[campingboaters]

 bikolee
You will definitly have a moisture problem in Hybrid campers, but it s not in the air.  It collects on the inside roof of the bunk ends.  We ve only camped 3 times in our hybrid and have not come up with a system to prevent this moisture build-up, but by running the heater, the air in the camper was DEFINITLY VERY dry.  It even caused my infant to develop a croup cough.  We had to simmer water on the stove to bring the humidity back in at night.  The three times we ve camped, it s been cold and rainy and with the heat on, we still felt like the air was too dry.  Along with the heater at night, we use a small fan to have continuous white noise.
 
 As for the " dark side"  of travel trailers, I have never heard of moisture problems...  I m guessing it s because they don t have any canvas.
 
 

[4campinfoxes]

 bikolee
Mike 4947 - do you have to do anything special to keep the silica active?  I bought a small tub of it & put it in our camper at the end of last seaso, to make sure it stayed dry.  I thought I d have to pitch it & buy a new one.  
 
 Sharon

[wssfetch]

 bikolee
Had the camper out last weekend in Pensacola, FL.  The humdity was horrible.  Ran the AC day and night, but I did keep the canvas unzipped a little bit to keep down the condensation.   The best solution seemed to be keeping the temp more moderate instead of ice cold and setting up a big box fan to blow toward the bunk at night.  Also diverting the a/c runoff helps too.  If it runs down your bunkends it tends so increase the clammy feeling.

[mike4947]

 4campinfoxes
If it s really silica desiccant and not damp rid all you need to do is put it in a warm oven to dry it out and it ll be as good as new.

[Gone-Camping]

 bikolee
Mike mentioned in an above post about using bunk end covers (notably the ones sold by popupgizmos) as an added way to prevent moisture. While I haven t done this (YET), it does make sense. By adding the bunk end covers over the top of the bunk ends, you actually create a new space for the moisture to develop, which would be on the cover instead of inside your bunk end. While it may not stop it completely, it sounds like it would definately go a long way towards prevention. The reflectix covers that popupgizmos sells have dual reflective covering which sends heat/cold back towards it source from both sides, helping to keep sun & heat out while keeping cool inside, works opposite in winter. Between the two reflective coverings is a bubble wrap like affair, which works as insulation.
 
 Like I said, I haven t tried this yet, but common sense indicates it would be of significant help!