RE: First Weekend Trip Out This Season

[BaysideBruce]

 Just got back from out first trip out for the season.   Naturally we got bapisted by the rain on our first trip out.  Hope that was not a sign of things to come.  We camped at Newport News City Park in Newport News, VA.  It was the first time we were there.  I was a little afraid that it was going to be too close to the city, but it was not.  I would recommend this cg to anyone go to the Williamsburg, VA area.  Nice cg, the restrooms were clean but a little on the small size, however nice sized camping sites.  We stayed on site D112 which had to be the best site in the cg.  It looked right out on to the lake.
 
 It started raining last night and rained all morning.  First time we had to take down the camper in the rain.  I remembered some one on the message board suggesting to put plastic down over the beds to keep the wet canvas off of the mattress when packing up in the rain.  We did that and I m hoping for the best come tomorrow when I open it up. (It s still raining here.)  Any wise tips anyone can give me about airing out a camper that was packed up wet??  
 
 We did have a great time.  It s sure great to be back into camping season!!

[tlhdoc]

 BaysideBruce
I am glad you had a good time.  We put plastic on the bed if we pack up in the rain.  It really helps.  Just set the camper up and let it dry out.  You can even set it up in the rain at home.  If you are in a hurry to get the camper dry, you can run the furnace or an electric heater.

[wssfetch]

 BaysideBruce
Seems like I am always tearing down the camper or setting it when raining!!!  Well,not really, but it seems that way.
 
 As soon as you can,even in the rain, set up the camper and even if you have to leave everything zipped up because it is raining, run some fans.  If you have AC, then run that took to take some of the humidity out of the air.  When it stops raining, open everything up and keep the fans going to circulate air.
 
 I just spent an hour or so this afternoon on mildew patrol since I had to close the camper up damp the last time I used it and I was so sick with bronchitis when I got hom that I didn t get it popped up for a couple of days.  Found a couple of small spots (very minor) and hit them with mildew stain remover.  Tomorrow after those spots have thoroughly dried I ll spray some waterproofing on the small areas I cleaned, let that dry and close the camper up until the next trip.
 
 Generally if you can get the camper open and dried out quickly, you won t have to worry about mildew problems at all.
 
 Oh,by the way,makesure you roll out your awning too to dry if you put it away wet.

[CampNfan]

 BaysideBruce
Hate to echo everyone here, but they are right! You really should get that camper open ASAP! If it was closed up in the rain you should open it up as soon as you get home regardless of " weather"  it is raining or not!

[BaysideBruce]

 BaysideBruce
Thanks for the suggestions.  I just got back in from setting it up to " dry"  out.  The rain let up enough now to do it without wearing a rain parka.  I was surprised to see how much water was trapped inside, even though we tried to keep things as dry as possible when we closed it up.  The rain is suppose to end early tonight and be at lest dry if not sunny for the next 2-3 days.  Hopefully it will dry out by then.  Thanks again for the recommendation.

[cpine]

 BaysideBruce
So did the plastic on the mattresses work out? Would you do anything different?

[BaysideBruce]

 BaysideBruce
The plastic did work very well.  The mattrasses were dry for the most part.  There was one small area that was a little damp, but I think that was done while we were folding up the camper.  The canvas was very wet but I am assuming that will dry out okay since the camper is set up now (and since it s a Monday the sun is shinning!).  I would recommend the plastic over the matrasses if you have to fold down the camper while it s raining.  Saves a lot of work once you get back home to dry things out.