How to store at home?

[Car54]

We have a 36' Class A that we keep on a pad in our yard. It's in Florida and it's the hot rainy time. We've only had it since June.

I have 15amp power and water available where I store it.

At first we thought it'd be good to keep the air set on 80 when we're not using it, just one of the units. It seemed to run an awful lot so I thought we'd try venting. I opened all three vents and turned them on low. I then realized this sort of put the unit in a vacuum with no real way to get air in. I then ran two vents and opened a third to allow some air to circulate.

It's been parked for 2 weeks and we went in yesterday to start getting ready for a trip and found very light mildew on a lot of the surfaces. DW is now concerned as am I. I'm no longer going to draw in air and we plan to keep the air set to 80° and add some damprid (we had none). We always leave the refrigerator doors open when we come home but even there was a little mildew on some of the surfaces.

Any advice from someone with more experience? We try to use the rig every two-three weeks. We are still shopping for covered building to store it in.

Thanks in advance.

[Selah]

If storing in a high humidity environment with only 15 am service I would buy a small dehumidifier for inside the coach. Set it on the counter to drain directly into the sink, open gray valve.

[djbmsu]

If you are going to intend on storing your RV in Florida it would be to your benefit to invest in a minimum of a 30 amp service to keep an A/C running. Purchase from HD or Lowes, insulated aluminum for all windows . Once you mold your investment just took a potty.
Running an A/C on 82 will remove the humidity and the cost is minimal.

[KerrTx]

We have always kept all of ours plugged in with the AC on 75 and the refrigerator on. MH, TT, 5'ver all of them. We keep them under a cover on a slab. My neighbor has a Class A and does the same, always has. Now that's just us and we are fortunate enough to have a place on our property to stow it. But there are thousands of TT, MH and 5'ers that are stowed out in the open all over the country and are just fine. If it was built with quality material and well constructed you will have less trouble than if not. If it was me and I could not plug in, I would open it up when I park it so the moisture inside acclimates, then close it up. If there's mildew it has to have moisture.

[Pacakazz]

In Tampa area, covered storage is surprisingly less than abundant.
Try big toy storage on 301, or if you want to go to St Pete there is one there.
Cost about $240.00 per month but has cover, electric, dump station etc. included.
I keep a dehumidifier in my rig, and all keeps well without running the AC, but I run the AC about once every 2 weeks just because...

[Car54]

Good input already guys! Let me clarify...we are shopping RV carports, not storage places. Sounds like covering and running the AC is the norm. I have to check dehumidifier current draw vs A/C.

[Sweetbriar]

I would close up the coach and run a dehumidifier to keep the interior air dry. Keep the blinds closed and even consider reflective insulation between the blinds and the glass. The coach is going to get hot as in the high 90's up to maybe even mid 100's but it will survive. Keeps mice from moving in if the temps are too high. Better to wait until maybe a few hour priors to departure or once you load up the fridge or dry food items before powering up the AC to cool the coach down. Save a bit on the power bill.

Put the dehumidifier in the shower without the drain pan and just let it drain into the gray tank. Crack the dump valve and let the water drain on the ground. Shouldn't be much water that will evaporate quick enough to not make much of a puddle.

[vsheetz]

Here in SoCal we don't have the humidity issue but do have hot summers. In the hottest times I will turn on one air conditioner. I have a 30a service at my DG parking pad. I plan to have a RV carport up by EOY.

[Ray,IN]

Cover the inside of windows with aluminum foil, or something that will NOT allow sunlight into the RV. While wintering in FL one year we decided to go looking for a new 5er. One dealership in N. Ft. Myers had a left-over two years old already. When the salesman opened the door DW and I were shocked at the appearance. Sunlight had rotted everything it shined on, sofa was in shreds, maple kitchen table was broken (vs cracked) right down the middle, carpet was bleached to a light grayish brown, curtains were hanging in shreds-bleached to a light yellow, etc.

The aluminum foil will keep sunlight out and help with reducing your cooling bill.

Inflate all tires on the ground to sidewall listed pressure + 10#; OR, raise the RV off the ground once a month with the jacks(or drive) to turn tires and reduce stress on sidewalls in the same place; this should only be done one end at a time so you may block the tires on the ground for safety. If you choose to drive your MH, do so for at least 20 minutes to insure it reaches full operating temperature, otherwise it's best to not start the engine.

[Car54]

Originally Posted by Selah

If storing in a high humidity environment with only 15 am service I would buy a small dehumidifier for inside the coach. Set it on the counter to drain directly into the sink, open gray valve.

Looking into this now, do you think a 30 pint unit will suffice?

Originally Posted by djbmsu

If you are going to intend on storing your RV in Florida it would be to your benefit to invest in a minimum of a 30 amp service to keep an A/C running. Purchase from HD or Lowes, insulated aluminum for all windows . Once you mold your investment just took a potty.
Running an A/C on 82 will remove the humidity and the cost is minimal.

We ran it on 80 just yesterday and got like 5 inches of rain. The a/c never tripped on but it was humid in there. I think we need to go dehumidifier route cause it sounds like heat isn't the enemy.

Originally Posted by KerrTx

We have always kept all of ours plugged in with the AC on 75 and the refrigerator on. MH, TT, 5'ver all of them. We keep them under a cover on a slab. My neighbor has a Class A and does the same, always has. Now that's just us and we are fortunate enough to have a place on our property to stow it. But there are thousands of TT, MH and 5'ers that are stowed out in the open all over the country and are just fine. If it was built with quality material and well constructed you will have less trouble than if not. If it was me and I could not plug in, I would open it up when I park it so the moisture inside acclimates, then close it up. If there's mildew it has to have moisture.

You are lucky! We are already cooling a house and a barn.

Originally Posted by Sweetbriar

I would close up the coach and run a dehumidifier to keep the interior air dry. Keep the blinds closed and even consider reflective insulation between the blinds and the glass. The coach is going to get hot as in the high 90's up to maybe even mid 100's but it will survive. Keeps mice from moving in if the temps are too high. Better to wait until maybe a few hour priors to departure or once you load up the fridge or dry food items before powering up the AC to cool the coach down. Save a bit on the power bill.

Put the dehumidifier in the shower without the drain pan and just let it drain into the gray tank. Crack the dump valve and let the water drain on the ground. Shouldn't be much water that will evaporate quick enough to not make much of a puddle.

This sounds good...but will it keep the moisture from the front of the coach?

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Cover the inside of windows with aluminum foil, or something that will NOT allow sunlight into the RV. While wintering in FL one year we decided to go looking for a new 5er. One dealership in N. Ft. Myers had a left-over two years old already. When the salesman opened the door DW and I were shocked at the appearance. Sunlight had rotted everything it shined on, sofa was in shreds, maple kitchen table was broken (vs cracked) right down the middle, carpet was bleached to a light grayish brown, curtains were hanging in shreds-bleached to a light yellow, etc.

The aluminum foil will keep sunlight out and help with reducing your cooling bill.

Inflate all tires on the ground to sidewall listed pressure + 10#; OR, raise the RV off the ground once a month with the jacks(or drive) to turn tires and reduce stress on sidewalls in the same place; this should only be done one end at a time so you may block the tires on the ground for safety. If you choose to drive your MH, do so for at least 20 minutes to insure it reaches full operating temperature, otherwise it's best to not start the engine.

Good advice!

[ahicks]

Carolina Carports.... Carolina Carports - Homepage
MANY of the dealers in the area sell these. They're great. Make sure whoever you buy from pulls the permit. Some will try to talk you into either doing that on your own, or going "owner erected". Both bad plans. Could go further but wandering off topic.

Once you get your carport, betting you'll find you can set the A/C and it won't run nearly as much. Best of luck.

[nothermark]

Rather than aluminum foil buy a roll of reflectix at Home Depot or Lowes. It's the stuff that looks like silver bubble wrap. It gives your the reflectivity plus some insulation and is stiff enough to just slide under blinds and stay in place by itself. Roll it up when not using it. We leave some in place in places where we do not need or want folks looking in or sunlight.

[jondrew55]

I live in Orlando so I have a similar hot, humid storage environment. I currently have a 35' class A, but have had other class As and travel trailers over the years. I keep my unit in an open lot, uncovered with no power available. I leave the refrigerator doors open, close all the windows and blinds. It sure gets hot inside, but have never had any mold or mildew. If I had powered, covered storage I'd Erin my dehumidifier inside with a drain hose to the outside. But I don't currently have that operation and the only problem I've had recently is that mice had gotten in from the field near the storage lot.

[Dtwallace]

Close up, do not vent, use reflective material on the windows to keep out as much sunlight as possible, and use either your A/C or a dehumidifier.

Once the air inside has been dried, it will stay dry as long as you don't change the air, as in venting.

As mentioned above, keep the sun out as much as possible so you don't cook your interior.

We keep our frig running but you may not need to do this if you don't store anything perishable in it. But do keep it open if you don't run it.

Your A/C or a dehumidifier will do just fine to keep the moisture out and no mold will grow as long as you keep it dry this way.