Battling condensation when snow camping

[Airwave503]

We're boondocking in the snow every weekend and condensation is really bad. I've insulated the windows with 2 layers of reflectix. It's too cold to have anything open. So I mainly just pack a lot of towels and keep up with it.

I bought some damp-rid. It's says it's for RV us but then in parenthisis
"(storage)" not sure what that means. Anybody had success with damp-rid or anything else?

[ROBERT CROSS]

When we had our 22' Safari the only way we could slow the formation...small fan & crack a window. 🥴

Mouse-fur on the Classic's walls help a LOT. 👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[Daquenzer]

Dehumidifier?

[Mattirs]

What has worked for me was cracking the shower vent a little. Adjust according to how condensation there is. Don't run it. It takes care of all but cooking condensation.

[Adventure.AS]

When on shore power we love our EcoSeb Desiccant Dehumidifier. It is quiet and removes a lot of moisture from the air. Besides being quiet, another advantage of a desiccant type dehumidifier is that they work in low temperatures.

[KJRitchie]

Where do you place that in a 25fb without tripping on it when using the trailer?

[TheGreatleys]

What are you using for heat? We crack a roof vent and run our wood stove to keep us dry. Works great. I imagine you could do the same with any powerful dry heat source.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by TheGreatleys

What are you using for heat? We crack a roof vent and run our wood stove to keep us dry. Works great. I imagine you could do the same with any powerful dry heat source.

As long as you're not using an open flame or maybe a catalytic heater, most any heat source would be "dry" no? The propane furnace exhausts all its combustion gases outside, so there's no chance of picking up moisture from the propane burning. Your wood stove is probably highly effective because it draws some (all?) of its combustion air from inside (you said you run it with a roof vent cracked...) so you're introducing drier outside air that wouldn't happen as much with the furnace or an electric space heater.

[pjshier]

your issue is similar to the problem us cheapskates in Alaska discovered when we buttoned up our houses so tight (less heating fuel, right?) that the moisture of living couldn't go anywhere. Ended up living with towels on the window sills. Just breathing throws a LOT of moisture.

The Alaska house solution of choice is an air-air heat exchanger. Second solution is venting. Assuming breathing is a requirement, you will have to move the warm, moist air outside in moderation. As others have stated, open a vent up high. The heat you lose is likely easier to replace than having to deal with the moisture.

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

Where do you place that in a 25fb without tripping on it when using the trailer?

We have a 25RB Twin. During the day we leave it in the bedroom to make sure the bedding dries out and during the night we place it by the lounge. It can also go under the dinette table if you prefer, but I like to make sure it has good air circulation. After a shower or creating a lot of moisture the EcoSeb has a 'turbo' mode that will really wring the water out of the air.

[1973Argosy]

We run our roof top heat strips and furnace together when on hook ups. This saves on propane as well as producing less moisture (furnace runs about half as often). We always crack a top vent to keep the moisture at bay. It can become a balancing act of how much to crack the top versus keeping the interior warm.

[Tim A.]

Since our trailer was new, we (two adults and a large dog) have spent Septembers in West Yellowstone, Montana where temperatures at night can easily be in the teens. As pjshier mentions, our main solution is ventilation. We crack a roof vent and one window and run our propane furnace. Since hot air rises, it goes out the roof vent and draws in air through the window. Yes, we surely use more propane that way, but the inside of the trailer stays dry. Occasionally, we add an electric heater to the mix.

As ROBERT CROSS points out, the mouse fur on our trailer's walls helps. I also have made most parts of the windows double pane.

Tim

[waninae39]

in winter the RH outside is very low
ie in homes , that's why we have humidifiers on in the winter

if you have too high a RH inside the As, then you are generating too much humidity by breathing , cooking and propane heating

IMHO, the best way is too bring in fresh outside air (low RH) and
expelling the stale air (high RH)

crack open a window and exhaust the air through the roof fantastic fan.

yes it will use more gas, but you do need some means to exchange the air

we use an electric heater that does not add moisture unlike propane heat

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

As long as you're not using an open flame or maybe a catalytic heater, most any heat source would be "dry" no? The propane furnace exhausts all its combustion gases outside, so there's no chance of pickup up moisture from the propane burning. Your wood stove is probably highly effective because it draws some (all?) of its combustion air from inside (you said you run it with a roof vent cracked...) so you're introducing drier outside air that wouldn't happen as much with the furnace or an electric space heater.

Yes, exactly. We're only running it with a vent open when we need to get rid of humidity. I don't see any reason you couldn't do the same with a propane furnace to dry out your space in the Winter.

[Rocinante]

Airstreams are, at best, 3-season trailers. With single-pane windows and aluminum walls, camping in cold conditions will inevitably run into problems with condensation on windows and sometimes even on the interior skin.

Best solution is usually to crack some vents to allow more exchange of air. This of course drives up your cost of heating, but the relatively moist air you create by breathing and living in that Airstream has to go somewhere. If you don't crack vents, you'll continue to battle condensation. Cracking vents probably won't cure the issue, but it will reduce the volume.

Another approach is get a genuine compressor-driven dehumidifier. We run it next to the bed or under the dinette, and store it in the shower when not in use. Many dehumidifiers struggle to remove moisture from cool air, however, so be prepared for that little extra disappointment - you'll have to run it constantly to get any results.

Finally, the most effective way to solve this problem is to use a key component of your Airstream's climate control system: the wheels. Head south.

[Airwave503]

Thanks all, yes a key element is that we are boondocking. I have 2 dehumidifiers at home that I plug in as soon as we get back. I assume there's no 12V dehumidifiers out there I haven't found.

I've got 2 fantastic fans front and back. I will try occasionally cycling the air and see how we go. In the past whenever a "vent" is left open, you feel it!

I also have a polished aluminum interior when makes it worse. Plus skiers dragging wet clothes and snow inside. I'll also give the damp-rid a try and see if it helps and report back.

Yes, I restored this trailer and insulated it vigorously to keep out critters and cold...wasn't thinking about condensation.

Now, how do I keep my sink drains from freezing?! LOL

[quietguy]

Originally Posted by Airwave503

Thanks all, yes a key element is that we are boondocking. I have 2 dehumidifiers at home that I plug in as soon as we get back. I assume there's no 12V dehumidifiers out there I haven't found.

I've got 2 fantastic fans front and back. I will try occasionally cycling the air and see how we go. In the past whenever a "vent" is left open, you feel it!

I also have a polished aluminum interior when makes it worse. Plus skiers dragging wet clothes and snow inside. I'll also give the damp-rid a try and see if it helps and report back.

Yes, I restored this trailer and insulated it vigorously to keep out critters and cold...wasn't thinking about condensation.

Now, how do I keep my sink drains from freezing?! LOL

RV antifreeze in the Ptraps. Shouldn’t be an issue unless you turn the furnace off. I always keep a gallon around for winter camping.

[Adventure.AS]

I have two 12 volt Caframo Sirocco gimballed fans that I can aim at the windows that have condensation. This helps circulate the warm cabin air. Still air near the windows will cause condensation. Not good for privacy but leaving curtains open at night will stop that cold ‘micro’ climate forming next to the windows.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by waninae39

we use an electric heater that does not add moisture unlike propane heat

The propane heat built into your late-model Airstream does not add any moisture to the interior. The combustion air intake and exhaust are on the outside of the trailer... the moisture produced by burning propane is expelled outdoors.

[Rocinante]

Ah yes, boondocking, missed that. 🤣 Open air vents and hope for the best. If you don’t have more than a couple of standard batteries on the tongue of your trailer, it’s going to be quite difficult to keep the place warm enough to avoid freezing your water lines, so I’d recommend winterizing and using it as a “tin tent”, or leaving it at home and “camping” in the ski lodge.