Storage

[Dita Strutt]

HI,

I am sort of new to this RV camping thing, we bought a 1978 Trillium last spring, and have had it out 3 times, a week at a time. Love it!
Anyway, I have had it sitting beside the house, with a window (against the house) opened a crack. I have checked it a bunch of times, and all seems OK, I just don't want it to grow mould, or get too wet! We don't get much of a winter in Vancouver, it mostly rains and so far we had a few nights of just below freezing. Any input would be appreciated!
I am sure I will have many more questions ..

Dita

[pjanits]

My Burro is sitting out on the driveway like it has for the last 4 winters, all closed up tight as a drum.
Everything always seems fine come spring.
Maybe on a nice day I will go in it and sit and wish for about 15 minutes or so.
As long as you don't have any leaks you should be fine.

[Donna D.]

Welcome to FiberglassRV Dita, we're glad you found us

My Scamp is completely closed up here in rainy (flooding) Portland, OR. It's under a carport too. I have two canisters of Dry-Z-Air (one in the sink and the other near the door) to remove any left over moisture in the rat fur, carpet or foam cushions from the last campout.

At this time of year, I'd worry more about moisture coming in through an open window than the moisture that's already in the trailer....a dehumidifer like Dry-Z-Air (and other brands) would take care of that.

Others will pop in....

[Per Walthinsen]

Dita:

I'm a nut about leaks, don't like 'em, never will. I have just gone through a lengthy process of tracking down leaks caused by failing silicone sealants (that stuff is poison, if you ask me) used on the various hatches, covers and other fittings to the outside. Finally achieved dryness just before the deluge, and it stayed that way!!!

I recommend a routine of checking for leaks in the most vulnerable places.

My so far successful way of keeping excessive moisture in check has been to 1) keep a small amount of ventilation at all times, meaning a cover over the hatch to the fan, and 2) have a little bit of heat going. Electric heater with the thermostat set to 40-45 degrees F. Good for freeze protection too.

[Jackie]

A 60 watt light bulb helps to keep things dry. I do have an electric heater also, for when it gets really cold/icy out. The inside of the trailer seems to be nice and dry now that I found and fixed all the leaks!

[John & Sandy M]

You probably should have two sorces of ventilation or the air doesn't go anyplace. If it's convenient to do so I would open it up during nice weather too.

[MKohlman]

I'm pretty much like Pete. Our Burro is parked in our driveway, the jacks stands are lowered to take most of tension off the axle and tires, and then closed tight each winter (with the refridge-door propped open and a box of baking soda sitting on a shelf). I check it every couple of weeks to make sure nothing has gotten wet or soaked and in the spring open the windows and let it air our a week or so before our first trip. Never had a problem.

This may be as much due to the fact that Burro's have little to get wet inside (being fiberglass gel-coat inside as well as out) so about the only thing that can get damp are the cusions, but ours little egg is pretty tight anyway.

- Michael

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Having known many folks who have covers on their boats, I've learned a little about ventilation to prevent mildew. You don't have to have a leak for the inside to be wet. Condensation is all it takes. A Maxx-Aire window vent and a Maxx-Aire ceiling vent cover, allow the window and ceiling vent to be open all season.
As Jackie said, a lit light bulb is also of benefit, particularly if your TT is stored where the humidity is normally high. Heat rises, so a convection current will be established venting the warm air out the ceiling vent and drawing outside air through the window. As long as the air is circulating, the humidity will not continue to increase, thus preventing mildew.

Stay dry,
Kurt & Ann K.

[Gina D.]

Per knows about leaks.. he fixed mine! Sort of LOL!

If it wasn't for his kind gift of butyl tape and foil tape I would have been doomed this last week.

So far, I am holding dry.

My Burro sits outside all winter too, with nothing open. I take it out enough that it gets opened up a lot, except in the snow, and I don't find any problems.

We'll see when I get home. ALL the cushions are coming out. As I dry up here, I am noticing.. the "smell" start.

[Butch H]

My 79 Surfside sits out all the time. In the winter I have a small heater set about what you would for a small room. I've gone in there when it was 15 degrees out and the camper inside will be in the 50's. In the summer I leave the roof vent open a crack as well as a front window a crack and that seems to do it. The winters here are temperate most of the time but we have occasions where it will go to extrems.
Good luck with your trailer, happy travels.
Butch

[Dita Strutt]

This is great!
Thank you all, I am going out looking for a de-humidifier and a small heater (which I can use anyway). And I'll be washing off the green algae in a couple of months too, (It tends to accumulate on everything here in the winter) before I go camping.

Dita

[Frank Campbell]

I picked up a heater on sale at Canadian Tire when I was there to pick up some Dry-Z-Air, it has three heat settings, the lowest is 400 watts I think, seems about right for Vancouver weather. Output is comparable to fan on my G4 Mac computer, I actually considered using an old computer case with just a fan and a light bulb inside it. Heater fan is too noisy to use when camping, but on low setting the plug stays cool to the touch. Before I put them in I noticed the cupboard doors starting to swell a bit.

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