Condensation

[Renee]

I have a 2004 starcraft 21sb hybrid. We get a lot of condensation inside when we have the heater on. it is so bad the bed got soaked while we slept. it was like it was raining on us. does anybody else have this problem and why ? how do Fix it. and is this normal for a hybrid trailer. its not fun on those cold nights. and if it contunes I am going to have find a new camper.

[wavery]

I have a 2004 starcraft 21sb hybrid. We get a lot of condensation inside when we have the heater on. it is so bad the bed got soaked while we slept. it was like it was raining on us. does anybody else have this problem and why ? how do Fix it. and is this normal for a hybrid trailer. its not fun on those cold nights. and if it contunes I am going to have find a new camper.

Hi Renee and welcome to PUT.

This should solve that problem:
http://www.popupgizmos.com/

They'll keep you cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter and cut down on the condensation if not eliminate it all together .

Here's a pretty good discussion about them:
http://www.arveeclub.com/showthread.php?t=55581&highlight=condensation

[tlhdoc]

The reason you get condensation is that moist air hits a cool surface and then you get condensation.  Just like condensation forms on the outside of an ice cold cup.  The warm moist air hits the cold cup and you have condensation.  Breathing puts a lot of air into the air.  I forget the numbers, but it is a lot of moisture.  You can see the moisture you exhale when it is cold outside.  Well when you are camping that moisture that everyone in the camper is exhaling, along with cooking, wet rain coats, wet shoes, etc. put a lot of moisture into the camper.  The hard walls are insulated so you don't normally see much condensation in the main body of your trailer.  The bunkends are not insulated so that is why you get the condensation there.  The tenting has the warm (running the heater) moist air on the inside and the cold air on the outside and that causes condensation.  Ways to lessen or limit condensation are to provide fresh air (open a few windows part way, even if raining there is more moisture in the air in the camper than outside), circulate the air by running a fan and insulating the bunkend.  Pop Up Gizmo's solar bunkend covers provide a layer on top of the bunkend to help insulate the bunkend roof.  In a nut shell you need to increase the fresh AIR, CIRCULATE the air and cut down on the temperature difference between the inside and the outside.

[AustinBoston]

I have a 2004 starcraft 21sb hybrid. We get a lot of condensation inside when we have the heater on. it is so bad the bed got soaked while we slept. it was like it was raining on us. does anybody else have this problem and why ? how do Fix it. and is this normal for a hybrid trailer. its not fun on those cold nights. and if it contunes I am going to have find a new camper.

What kind of heater do you have?

If you have a Buddy by Mr. Heater, you are probably not allowing adequate ventilation.

If it is a built-in furnace, the problem may be a leak of combustion gas into the camper.  While this is very rare, it can be deadly and so you should have that checked out.

Otherwise, tlhdoc's suggestions are about all you can do.

Austin

[lmack]

What kind of heater do you have?

If you have a Buddy by Mr. Heater, you are probably not allowing adequate ventilation.

If it is a built-in furnace, the problem may be a leak of combustion gas into the camper.  While this is very rare, it can be deadly and so you should have that checked out.

Otherwise, tlhdoc's suggestions are about all you can do.

Austin

I use electric if I can and have very little problem, but when using a Mr. Buddy or anyother ventless gas heater I experince a lot of water on the walls of the camper, even if a window is open some for ventilation.  Propane gives off mositure when burning, if no vent it stays in the camper.

I still love to camp in the winter and so what if some water gets on the walls, I just wipe them before packing up and if very bad I will pop up when I get home and let it dry out....camping is too much fun to let that stop you.

[Renee]

What kind of heater do you have?

If you have a Buddy by Mr. Heater, you are probably not allowing adequate ventilation.

If it is a built-in furnace, the problem may be a leak of combustion gas into the camper.  While this is very rare, it can be deadly and so you should have that checked out.

Otherwise, tlhdoc's suggestions are about all you can do.

Austin

I have a furnace

[wavery]

I have a furnace

Renee,

We went camping at the beach a couple of weeks ago. I got lazy and neglected putting on our Gizmo bunk covers when we set up. I didn't think that it would get cold enough to worry about it. Our furnace is on the fritz right now so we didn't have any heat at all going. It got down to 46 that night and the condensation was so bad in our bunk, it was like raining in there. Our blankets got all wet and it was uncomfortable.

That morning, we got up and and wiped the water off of the bunk end top. I then went out and put on my Gizmo covers. The next night, we had zero condensation.

IF your furnace is defective and not exhausting properly, it would definitely cause even more condensation (plus high levels of carbon monoxide) and should be checked out. However, there is a very good chance that what you are experiencing is perfectly normal and may be resolved by installing the Gizmo covers.

[tlhdoc]

Renee one more thing about condensation.  I don't know what the tenting on your bunkends is.  On my PU except for the vinyl roof on the bunkend, the rest of the tenting is Sunbrella and it allows moisture to escape.  If your bunkend material is a material that doesn't breath you can get condensation on all sides of the bunkend, not just the roof.  So if you don't have breathable bunkends you need to vent more than if you have breathable tenting.

[Renee]

Hi,
I have Aqualon for my tent part.  know it is not my furnace, we just bought the trailer last year. The weekend we had the most trouble was in Oct when we had rain for most of the weekend. and we where in the mountains. I think it does have to do with the ventalation. I will buy those covers for the bunks also. Thanks all for your help

Renee

PS I am also looking for a website that has modifaction and ideas for your camper. does anyone know of one? I tried doing a search in this forum but came up blank.

[wavery]

Hi,
I have Aqualon for my tent part.  know it is not my furnace, we just bought the trailer last year. The weekend we had the most trouble was in Oct when we had rain for most of the weekend. and we where in the mountains. I think it does have to do with the ventalation. I will buy those covers for the bunks also. Thanks all for your help

Renee

PS I am also looking for a website that has modifaction and ideas for your camper. does anyone know of one? I tried doing a search in this forum but came up blank.

Renee,
A lot of the members here have modification ideas and pictures in their signature line.

I did a search on "modifications" and came up with a LOT of hits. Try this:

http://www.arveeclub.com/search.php?searchid=116007

[Renee]

Thanks for doing that for me, I am new at this forum stuff. still learning.

[tlhdoc]

If you click on links that people have in their signatures many members have mods posted on their sites.