Ventilation/avoiding Condensation - Question About

[CampyTime]

Hi Everyone!

Camping now in absolute miserable nonstop rain and cold. Yay! I need to run furnace to stay warm. When doing so, should I keep the little window over the stove cracked open a tad, and leave fantastic vent open but not running? Trying to do the right thing to avoid condensate concern.

Much obliged!

Wendy


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[Bob Miller]

You didn't mention what furnace you have or how old it might be. In a newer Scamp the Atwood (or similar ) furnace is designed to run without an outside vent open. Other kinds of furnaces and/or aged ones might call for an outside vent being open, as a precaution, if not a requirement.


In any case, opening a vent will reduce inside condensation as well as relieve the "stuffiness" one gets from continually reheating the same air.


Keep in mind, if you are not connected to shore power, that the furnace can be a battery killer.

[Evergreengirl]

It will help to keep a window or two and/or your vent open a little. When we camp here in the PNW in the fall, winter or spring, we often struggle with condensation in our trailer. Keep a microfiber cloth handy to wipe off the windows. Personally I think it just comes with the territory when you're camping in certain conditions. Where are you camping that it's rainy and cold at this time of the year? Send some of that our way!

[Stretcher]

Originally Posted by CampyTime

Hi Everyone!

Camping now in absolute miserable nonstop rain and cold. Yay! I need to run furnace to stay warm. When doing so, should I keep the little window over the stove cracked open a tad, and leave fantastic vent open but not running? Trying to do the right thing to avoid condensate concern.

Much obliged!

Wendy


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Fantastic Fan and others offer covers that go over the fan and allow the fan to be run in the rain. These covers can be installed directly to the outer portion of the fan and require no drilling into the roof. One of my favorite mods to our Scamp. The Escape came with the cover. The aftermarket ones cost between $25 and $50.

[mary and bob]

We always keep a window or vent cracked open, whether heat is on or not. I assume Wendy is camping in the Northeast, as it's rainy and cool here and the prediction is it will be for a couple days. We cut short a camping trip this weekend in Vermont so as to not have to pack up and travel in the rain

[CampyTime]

I have a suburban furnace and the trailer is a 2012. I have the fantastic vent open and the little window over the stove cracked, so sounds like I'm doing the right thing. I can't wipe off the windows as there are screens and it's raining outside so don't wanna crack them all to do it.

I guess I figured if the fan vent was open I'd lose all the heat. Never quite sure what to do/how to do things right. Always learning!

Much thanks,
Wendy. PS. I do have a max air fan mate cover. Love it!


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[Bob Miller]

Sounds safe to me....

[CampyTime]

Yes, I'm camping in Barker NY on Lake Ontario. So cold and constant rain. Ah well. Tomorrow is nice so I'll pack up at night and leave in the rain. Other question: can one actually hook hitch ball and trailer tongue together the night before to avoid rain, and still walk around and sleep in trailer or does that put too much weight on tongue and vehicle hitch?


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[cpaharley2008]

Yes, you will be fine, we do this sometimes when just stopping for one night, leave everything hooked up except for the electric. You can always drop the tongue jack to level it a little if need be, just remember to raise before take off.

[mary and bob]

Sticky notes on steering wheel act as good reminders of such things, like raise tongue jack, latch cabinets, remove wheel chocks, or whatever other things you may forget that are out of the ordinary.

[CampyTime]

I have all kinds of organization things to attend to with the scamp. For one, I need to type up a list to check off and call upon it before camping. Second, I need to get some order with supplies. Plastic bins to hold stuff that " goes together" to form a kit if you will. When I camp, it's different most every time because I can't seem to remember where the heck I put things! That causes me some annoyance and stress.

So OK then. Tomorrow night I'm going to hook up to the van so I'm ready to go in am. My van to trailer hook up is perfectly level, so no need to worry about tongue jack adjustments. I bought a special 2" ball from Curt with a 1" rise on the shank which gave me a perfectly level setup on a 2" drop ball mount.

Thank you all ever so much for your time and kind help. Hey, it stopped raining!!! (For now anyway)😃


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[Roger C H]

When I was 225 lbs, I needed a CPAP. Since I lost 15 lbs, no longer needed. YMMV

We found early on here in the great Pacific North Wet that keeping the roof vent cracked as well as a window helps the condensation issue. Happy we have jalousie style windows!

[Linda Stewart]

Roger what does YMMV mean?

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Linda Stewart

Roger what does YMMV mean?

Your mileage may vary = your results/ideas may be different

[Mary F]

Moderator's note: this topic moved into one on various lists and methods for organizing camping equipement. Rather than rename the thread to reflect the new topic, we have split it - as both topics are important discussions. Look for the rest of the original thread at Let's Get Organized.

Originally Posted by CampyTime

I have all kinds of organization things to attend to with the scamp. For one, I need to type up a list to check off and call upon it before camping. Second, I need to get some order with supplies. Plastic bins to hold stuff that " goes together" to form a kit if you will. When I camp, it's different most every time because I can't seem to remember where the heck I put things! That causes me some annoyance and stress.

So OK then. Tomorrow night I'm going to hook up to the van so I'm ready to go in am. My van to trailer hook up is perfectly level, so no need to worry about tongue jack adjustments. I bought a special 2" ball from Curt with a 1" rise on the shank which gave me a perfectly level setup on a 2" drop ball mount.

Thank you all ever so much for your time and kind help. Hey, it stopped raining!!! (For now anyway)��


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[CampyTime]

Hi Mary,

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to change the topic. I was just talking and writing and bam! There it was.

I will endeavor to stay on course in future.

Regards,
Wendy


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[Cathi]

Originally Posted by Stretcher

Fantastic Fan and others offer covers that go over the fan and allow the fan to be run in the rain. These covers can be installed directly to the outer portion of the fan and require no drilling into the roof. One of my favorite mods to our Scamp. The Escape came with the cover. The aftermarket ones cost between $25 and $50.

Our Escape had a Maxx fan and we would not be without it. Works so well in hot weather.

[Roger C H]

Originally Posted by Linda Stewart

Roger what does YMMV mean?

That is one of Donna D's favorite sayings. It means "Your Mileage May Vary." In other words you may get different results.


Oops. I see Borrego Dave answered already. :embarrased

[John Linck]

We keep our roof vent cracked all the time except when towing. Mainly to reduce condensation, but also to reduce indoor polution (read odors). The tiny bit of extra propane consumption is well worth it. Plus we are camping afterall, who wants to be hermetically sealed up out in the wild breathing cooking and bodily waste products and missing the sounds of nature?

If you "camp" in a smoky, noisy, tv, generator filled campground its a different matter, but I don't consider that proper use of a fiberglass rv. But as others say YMMV.

Happy independence day,

John

[CampyTime]

I keep fantastic fan lid cracked open a bit all the time also, except when towing. My last trip the weather was so cold, constant non stop rain, using furnace....the dampness in the trailer was hard to dissipate as conditions simply wouldn't allow.


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