text: Need advice for high humidity living - Forest River Forums
  Need advice for high humidity living
  02-24-2013, 02:56 PM #1
  Hello ~ we just completed our first campout in the new Roo
  My question is for those living in high humidity areas. We have a concrete pad with cover for our unit which will help with the heat and Florida sun. I know to be sure the bunks are completely dry before storing them. What I did today was to pop out the bunks, get everything dry (rain last night) then fold in for storage. I also ran the air for a bit to make sure the inside wasn't damp ~ even so far as to dry out the sinks etc after cleaning.
  What I'd like to do is to store my linens, etc inside the camper but things tend to smell funky when I've kept stuff in our campers before. This is a newer unit, so how do you keep your camper fresh and clean smelling inside? Do you used Damp Rid products? Do you leave a vent open for ventilation? what about baking soda or charcoal?
  For those of you in other locations, keep in mind our humidity levels are about 80% + in the summer months.
  02-24-2013, 03:31 PM #2
  Congrats on surviving your first trip.
  I'm not sure that damp rid would work. Campers aren't all that air tight. Great idea about running the AC.
  I'd say you are on the right track with controlling the humidity. We like the DampRid, but then I don't live in FL so not sure how effective they are in your neck of the woods. We use both a bucket and a couple of the smaller hanger ones in our camper. Our vents are always open with a Maxxair II cover for the main vent and a Fan/Mate on the bathroom vent.
  Another idea that people use is to run a dehumidifer in the trailer, which will work if you have power and can run the water line out of the camper or into the shower to drain into your gray tank.
  02-24-2013, 03:52 PM #4
  We also park on the driveway, and after washing towels, bedding, etc., we put everything back in the trailer. We do air the trailer out after we get back, and after we've cleaned it. But we normally close it up. Phyllis leaves the fresher open, which helps remove the campfire smells, and we check the trailer every few days. We have not noticed any odd smells.
  02-24-2013, 03:55 PM #5
  That's the tricky part ~ sometime conventional wisdom doesn't apply The dehumidifier would work...... Thankfully, I've never had a mold/mildew issue but am just hoping to tweak things a bit better..... Thanks for your input
  02-24-2013, 03:55 PM #6
  Norm ~ what is the fresher?
  02-24-2013, 03:59 PM #7
  Thinking a pan of activated charcoal on the counter can't hurt.......
  02-24-2013, 04:07 PM #8
  Whoops - freshener, such as Glade. We just make certain that everything has been aired out before we shut it up. We have not had any problems with musty type smells or anything.
  02-24-2013, 04:48 PM #9
  Ah ~ very good Thanks for the input Thinking perhaps some of our older units may have contributed to the smell ~ just wanna get things off on the right foot
  02-24-2013, 06:35 PM #10
  Fellow Florida Camper
  Hey there....will watch and monitor with interest as you pose the same idea/question I was tossing around. So far we have made a single weekend camping run and did find moisture under our mattress along the metal support rod (the one the bunk cables attach to) I believe because it was warm and comfy inside but Florida Freezing Cold outside! ;-)
  I did same steps you did without the AC run, had it in driveway for about 4 hours wide open with sun and breeze blowing and both ceiling vents open with the fans running. When we closed it up everything was dry as a bone and I just visited it a bit ago in our storage lot and everything is bone dry and still new smelling inside!