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Old 01-12-2025, 10:29 PM   #1
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I have a major moisture problem!

I've tried everything i can think of to keep the moisture levels down but nothing is keeping me out of the wet air feeling. My moisture inside is at 60 on a good day and at 80 on a bad day. I have a large dehumidifier running and removing a lot of water from the air 24/7 (it's killing me on the power bill) and I have the dehumidifier beads in every nook and cranny. I open the Hatches every time we shower, cook, clean, etc. I bubble wrapped tge windows to better insulate them. And yet with all this I still watch the water running down my walls. I can't seem to win. Any suggestions?
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Old 01-13-2025, 11:38 AM   #2
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So what brand and model RV? Size? I can see from your name it's a 5th wheel but more info would help. Can we assume you're parking in a cold wet area? What's the humidity outside? Next to the coast or inland?

If it's cold where you are, are you using an indoor propane heater? Those pump out lots of moisture. I used one up in Alaska but had to dump it as it was just far to wet inside the RV. Changed to electric floor heaters.
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Old 01-13-2025, 01:09 PM   #3
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What does large dehumidifier mean in pints? What does a lot of water removed mean? How large is the tank?

Numbers are needed.

What are the temperatures where you are? If it's cold, near or below freezing, there may be no way to stop condensation in a poorly insulated RV. As Jim noted, what model year and exact model do you have?

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Old 01-13-2025, 03:04 PM   #4
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The dehumidifier is not wasting electricity, every watt it's burning is going into heating the air, along with the heat of the water condensation.



Moisture on the windows is normal, depending on the temp. 60-80% indoor humidity means there is way more moisture than the dehumidifier can handle. Why so much water? lot of people and pets? cooking? roof leaks?
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Old 01-13-2025, 07:42 PM   #5
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Things that produce moisture....
> shower (maybe run a fan immediately after for a few minutes and be sure to keep the showers short and the bathroom doors closed.
> cooking, making coffee, boiling water (cooking).
> exercising inside (sweating)
> keeping the inside temperature really high (compared to outside temps)

Someone said it - electric heat is a dry heat.

Consider if the dehumidifier is sized right for the square feet of the RV.
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Old 01-13-2025, 08:06 PM   #6
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.... Any suggestions?
I am in the Mojave desert and do not have that problem.

Many years ago when winter camping in Idaho in a TT designed for summer camping, I put plastic over the single pane windows.

However the moisture froze the door lock and needed to use a hair dryer to open the door.
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Old 01-13-2025, 08:17 PM   #7
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What are you using to heat with???
Electric
Propane furnace
Propane radiant type heat
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Old 01-14-2025, 07:34 PM   #8
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Brings back bad memories of our stay in a '96 29' 5th wheel camper with a super slide/bed room slide in 1999 winter with temps down in single digit
This trailer had R7 insulation in all walls/roof/floor.
The unit was a typical summer camper with 10 single windows/2 doubles/and the door.
I made 1/8" Lexan inside window covers for each window sticky back foam tape sealing all around the inside edges..
Mobile home skirting all around.
Thick pillow cover in roof vents.
But still had wet walls specially wet in closets.

WE tried the usual crack a vent and several fans to move air...resulting in a very cold drafty camper the the furnace running 18 hrs a day.
We bought a dehumidifier which helped. Bought a second one ...no more wet walls.

Google the subject has lots of input on causes and fixes.
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Old 01-14-2025, 08:14 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FT5thWheelrz View Post
I've tried everything i can think of to keep the moisture levels down but nothing is keeping me out of the wet air feeling. My moisture inside is at 60 on a good day and at 80 on a bad day. I have a large dehumidifier running and removing a lot of water from the air 24/7 (it's killing me on the power bill) and I have the dehumidifier beads in every nook and cranny. I open the Hatches every time we shower, cook, clean, etc. I bubble wrapped tge windows to better insulate them. And yet with all this I still watch the water running down my walls. I can't seem to win. Any suggestions?
There are Dehumidifiers and then there are dehumidifiers that can really pull humidity. Often these are known as low grain dehumidifiers. Normal store type units have limited performance at cooler temps and usually can't get below 50-60% humidity no matter how hard they try. They work best in hot humid basements. For my 2 homes I now use large Aloair units. I have seen them fill a 5 gallon pails in a day.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=alorair+d...s_ts-doa-p_1_6


If you do get down to 60% and still have water collecting on the walls that is due to the surface temp of the wall being below the dew point. Your trailer was not designed for winter use. Covering the outside walls with foam sheets or even heavy cloth tarps will help.
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Old 01-17-2025, 01:16 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek View Post
So what brand and model RV? Size? I can see from your name it's a 5th wheel but more info would help. Can we assume you're parking in a cold wet area? What's the humidity outside? Next to the coast or inland?

If it's cold where you are, are you using an indoor propane heater? Those pump out lots of moisture. I used one up in Alaska but had to dump it as it was just far to wet inside the RV. Changed to electric floor heaters.
It's a 1998 coachmen catalina 26' 5th wheel. I'm inland. I don't know the humidity. It's very cold here. I'm in Truckee, CA. And yes it has propane furnace
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Old 01-17-2025, 07:50 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by traveldawg View Post
Things that produce moisture....
> shower (maybe run a fan immediately after for a few minutes and be sure to keep the showers short and the bathroom doors closed.
> cooking, making coffee, boiling water (cooking).
> exercising inside (sweating)
> keeping the inside temperature really high (compared to outside temps)

Someone said it - electric heat is a dry heat.

Consider if the dehumidifier is sized right for the square feet of the RV.
More on this, we run the bath exhaust fan from the time we start to run the shower until after we are dressed.

Cooking our range hood exhaust outside, run anytime we are cooking.

We have a GE compressor style dehumidifier keep it at 35%


Interior plastic film storm windows on all windows.


Our furnace runs on either gas or electric and keeps air dry.
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Old 01-17-2025, 08:06 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by traveldawg View Post
Things that produce moisture....
> shower (maybe run a fan immediately after for a few minutes and be sure to keep the showers short and the bathroom doors closed.
> cooking, making coffee, boiling water (cooking).
> exercising inside (sweating)
> keeping the inside temperature really high (compared to outside temps)

Someone said it - electric heat is a dry heat.

Consider if the dehumidifier is sized right for the square feet of the RV.

And don't forget, the "average" human exhales over a pound of water vapor too every night ... by simply breathing! Add a second person, some children, and the pet dogs, and that's a lot of moisture being released into the air. Add that to a cold skin on the camper, and the water vapor has to collect somewhere.
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Old 01-17-2025, 08:42 AM   #13
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If it's below freezing, then the outside moisture is not the issue. It's coming from all the inside sources. You don't say if it's excessive water overwhelming the dehumidifier, or a dehumidifier failing to keep up with minimal cooking and one person. Beads are a gimmick, get a better dehumidifier if it's not producing the water it should based on temp and humidity.


The propane furnace does not add water to the inside, unless it's leaking very badly, you do have a CO alarm, right?



I don't know what your electric and propane prices are, there are calculators that will easily tell you which is the cheaper heat source with your prices. I'd figure 50-70% for the furnace efficiency, but some claim 80%. Running a better dehumidifier I'd count as 120% efficient compared to opening a window with the propane furnace.
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Old 01-18-2025, 02:35 PM   #14
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If it's below freezing, then the outside moisture is not the issue. It's coming from all the inside sources. You don't say if it's excessive water overwhelming the dehumidifier, or a dehumidifier failing to keep up with minimal cooking and one person. Beads are a gimmick, get a better dehumidifier if it's not producing the water it should based on temp and humidity.


The propane furnace does not add water to the inside, unless it's leaking very badly, you do have a CO alarm, right?



I don't know what your electric and propane prices are, there are calculators that will easily tell you which is the cheaper heat source with your prices. I'd figure 50-70% for the furnace efficiency, but some claim 80%. Running a better dehumidifier I'd count as 120% efficient compared to opening a window with the propane furnace.
Yes of course I have a CO alarm
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