Community Forums

Itasker · 11-02-2016, 11:13 PM

We live in wet, rainy and windy Port Townsend, WA outside of Seattle, and so I put a cover on our rig for the time between our adventures to hopefully protect it a bit.

I see ventilation flaps on the cover, but no information came with the cover and I'm wondering if those vents mean I should crack some windows? Or if because we live in such a damp place that would add more moisture?

As a short term solution I have 3 huge damprids in there, but once we get settled I'll figure out if there is a better solution.

Thanks!

funjnt · 11-03-2016, 05:25 AM

Vent on cover is to keep moisture from building up between cover and body thus clouding the paint. You might be able to crack windows for ventilation. I am always keeping windows open when weather is nice and unit is parked. If that rainy and wet you might put a small de humidifier in the rig and drop the drain tube in the shower and leave grey open. I hate the humidity smell...

Gary RVRoamer · 11-03-2016, 06:12 AM

Ventilation is always a plus. And those Damprids are going to saturate in a few days in a humid climate. We live in Florida and tried using them when the coach is not in use, but they needed to be drained or replaced far too often. Moist air seeps inside continuously, even closed up, so we were trying to dehumidify the entire state with them! Had better result just keeping windows & roof vents open a bit.

Itasker · 11-03-2016, 08:01 AM

I like the idea of a dehumidifier draining in the shower alot, great idea. I'll go with windows closed and look for a dehumidifier now, thanks!

Hurk · 11-03-2016, 10:04 AM

I live in Vancouver BC JUST NORTH OF YOU. SAME WET WINTER/fall climate. I do not cover RV mixed reviews on doing this. I open all windows maybe 1/4 inch and open both fantastic fans all way open. Lots of air movement. Never had a problem with moisture and smells fresh all the time!

Itasker · 11-04-2016, 09:53 PM

Wow Hurk, that would be a nice simple option, I suppose it's worth a shot.

marjoa · 11-05-2016, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjnt

Vent on cover is to keep moisture from building up between cover and body thus clouding the paint. You might be able to crack windows for ventilation. I am always keeping windows open when weather is nice and unit is parked. If that rainy and wet you might put a small de humidifier in the rig and drop the drain tube in the shower and leave grey open. I hate the humidity smell...

On this—small dehumidifier—suggestion...we live in Houston, TX where we have very high humidity & I've been trying to solve this problem. We currently use DampRid but want to find a better, more cost effective method.
1) This would be a self powered "D" cell battery operated unit right? I mean, you wouldn't something plugged into coach battery power and draining coach batteries right? I've looked around a lot for a good battery operated unit and find it very tough to find and none I've found have a drain tube. They all seem to have a water container of some type that—when full—shuts the unit off. If like most of us, you shut off all coach batteries during storage, as an alternative, could you run an extension cord plugged into the storage units electric outlet, through a window and power a regular 110 dehumidifier that way?
2) Along those same lines, do you think one unit in the shower (which ours is way in the very back of the rig) would be sufficient for our entire rig which is 36'?
3) And one last question, Why leave the gray valve open? having a hard time understanding this. In order to do this, the gray tank would have to be empty, the de humidifier water would just drain on the garage floor causing dampness under the rig, causing more humidity. Am I missing something here?

funjnt · 11-05-2016, 07:36 AM

Hey Marjoa. Good points there. Ultimately I wouldn't cover the rv at all and leave windows cracked if possible as that's what I do. In the event of a lot of rain and a cover being installed I based my opinion on what the owner wants.

I would put a dehumidifier in the coach with the drain going into the shower drain not necessarily in the shower. We have a huge basement and one dehumidifier is sufficient to keep our entire basement dry. Motorhome is very small and not an issue. As long as there isn't a huge or abnormal humidity load on the interior of the coach it should be more than adequate, IE: a direct leak that will supply lots of humidity.

The black tank open theory. I am assuming that the owners are covering the coach because it is outside and not in a garage or on a cement pad. Grey water is fine to discharge at grade. If on a pad I would drop the hose off the pad in the grass, no harm. The amount of water coming out of the black tank shouldn't be an issue to adding humidity to the interior.

I truly hate the humid smell in a coach.

marjoa · 11-05-2016, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funjnt

Hey Marjoa. Good points there. Ultimately I wouldn't cover the rv at all and leave windows cracked if possible as that's what I do. In the event of a lot of rain and a cover being installed I based my opinion on what the owner wants.

I would put a dehumidifier in the coach with the drain going into the shower drain not necessarily in the shower. We have a huge basement and one dehumidifier is sufficient to keep our entire basement dry. Motorhome is very small and not an issue. As long as there isn't a huge or abnormal humidity load on the interior of the coach it should be more than adequate, IE: a direct leak that will supply lots of humidity.

The black tank open theory. I am assuming that the owners are covering the coach because it is outside and not in a garage or on a cement pad. Grey water is fine to discharge at grade. If on a pad I would drop the hose off the pad in the grass, no harm. The amount of water coming out of the black tank shouldn't be an issue to adding humidity to the interior.

I truly hate the humid smell in a coach.

Yeah, I should of started my reply post with, "well in our case with a stored MH"....
Anyway, maybe some others can address the other issues I raised and I'm really not trying to hijack the OP's question.
Thanks for your input.

Redapple · 11-05-2016, 12:35 PM

I live in SoCal and a cover is a must unless you have a roof to protect from UV. The cover is not so much for weather but protection from harmful UV over time. We keep windows and roof vents cracked, more than enough airflow.

coupevilleDF · 11-05-2016, 02:28 PM

We live just east of you on the other end of the ferry. I cover our Georgetown and have never opened Windows or vents. I do have several of these Eva-Dry units but never have needed to recharge them.

I was concerned because we had condensation issues with our prior TT, but have not had with the class A.

I probably would not cover it if I could park it somewhere other than under some fir trees that generate a lot of sap.

funjnt · 11-05-2016, 05:26 PM

All good. I am trying to think and put myself in the position of the person asking the question. I never thought a cover would be more important for uv protection than for protection of the rain. Our coach came from AZ and it has clear coat damage but no rust, hmmmm. All valid opinions here. I read a lot of these forums on a daily basis and love it. Love the community as we are new to this. Love the random input from everyone. I have learned a few things here also.

John Jones · 11-05-2016, 07:06 PM

I live in Oregon and of course we have very similar climates. I use a full size house de-humidifier and I cover with a adco tyvek cover. it seems to work great, every week I get a gallon of water out of my de-humidifier. I do not leave any windows open.

LarrySharon · 11-05-2016, 08:48 PM

As for me this is what I was told for I asked a similar question. ( I also live in Oregon, Northwest) I will be doing the cover for my TT and I will be leaving a window or two or 3 cracked for air circulation. When I had my motorhome I always used a air drier (electric type) and closed up the MH for the winter. Now the reasoning for not using the dehumidifier: By keeping the temp. the same on the inside as the outside will keep the vehicle from having mildew. Have you ever seen a trailer on the RV lot mildew even when the vehicle has been on the lot all winter long. So I am going to cover and open windows.