Is dampness a problem in new vans?
I have just returned to caravanning after 25 years and the changes in construction and facilities is amazing. In my earlier years, damp over the winter was a serious consideration and I remember lifting cushions and beds to try to minimize any effects.
We now have a new Swift Conqueror which we intend to use occessionally during the winter and therefore want to leave it equipped and ready to go with towels, bedding etc.. With the new type of construction, is dampness now not an issue or do the "old" rules
apply?
Thanks
Comments
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I don't think the occurance of damp or condensation has changed for over 50 years.
However, water ingress problems are possibly not as prevalent as they were, but some of the 'revolutionary new construction methods' still seem to let water in!
We do leave bedding etc in the van (Motorhome used for a few days every month) as we always have done...just ensure the air can circulate....we never have any heating or dehumidification.
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we use our caravan through the winter we always put cantainers with salt in around the van you will be amazed how much water you collect but just train it off and use it again we start in october and end in easter we have also started to put a few damp traps in
cupboards the ones you get from the pound shop hope this helps1 -
We remove all bedding and clothes. However, leave the seat cushions and mattresses. I personally don't think damp absorbing products do any good, as a van is not sealed and more damp air just replaces the moisture that has been removed. The best way to limit
damp is goood ventilation, so certainly no cover and van away from vegetation such as hedges etc. Our storage has a gravel surface, no trees and is fairly open, apart from the razor wire.0 -
We remove all bedding and clothes. However, leave the seat cushions and mattresses. I personally don't think damp absorbing products do any good, as a van is not sealed and more damp air just replaces the moisture that has been removed. The best way to limit
damp is goood ventilation, so certainly no cover and van away from vegetation such as hedges etc. Our storage has a gravel surface, no trees and is fairly open, apart from the razor wire.footnote: in our van, the design means that seat cushions etc do not touch the side walls of the van. Therefore they are not against potentially cold material.
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We remove all bedding and clothes. However, leave the seat cushions and mattresses. I personally don't think damp absorbing products do any good, as a van is not sealed and more damp air just replaces the moisture that has been removed. The best way to limit damp is goood ventilation, so certainly no cover and van away from vegetation such as hedges etc. Our storage has a gravel surface, no trees and is fairly open, apart from the razor wire.
footnote: in our van, the design means that seat cushions etc do not touch the side walls of the van. Therefore they are not against potentially cold material.
Our Swift is now sixteen years old, and has been covered for about eight or nine of those. The cover is a cheap and cheerful 'waterproof and breathable' one bought from ebay and we leave the windows on the 'winter' setting, so there is good airflow.
The caravan has no damp (last service 2015). We have always left the cushions in, and store our bedding and pillows in plastic zip bags. We don't use salt or dehumidifiers. When we have (occasionally) used the van in the winter we've never had a problem, apart from the fact that it takes a long time to heat through - so we resort to hot water bottles in the bed a couple of hours before bedtime to warm it up. If you're using your van during the winter, you will soon notice if there are any problems with the caravan feeling (or smelling) damp.
Our van is now in storage on a campsite in France but when we kept it in this country it was stored at the top of a windy, dusty and wet Yorkshire hill.
I have said in another post that we only ever read the stories on here about those who have damp vans, but there are probably lots more people out there who never write about their dry vans.
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We have used our caravan all year round since the 1970s including many winter and New year rallies most without EHU. Condensation was a major problem on the early single glazed and poorly Insulated caravans but has certainly improved over the years as levels
of insulation increased. Our only problem in winter in recent years has been condensation in the wardrobe. We have reduced this considerably by fitting a small electric heater.We do not empty the caravan which is kept at home but we obviously drain down and keep it well ventilated when not in use.
On the subject of dampness from leaks in the structure we have had caravans from 10 different manufacturers which we kept for between three and nine years and except for the last caravan an Elldis which was repaired twice for major damp problems under warranty
none suffered any structural damp.0 -
We have always stored all our caravans, our camper van and our motorhome beside the house. Never had any problems with dampness or mould in any of them.
Being able to open the van, check and open windows / rooflights when the weather is dry and sunny even although the temperature is around freezing IMO gives the van an opportunity to have air circulating and good ventilation.
Fysherman made the same point a couple of posts ago. I agree that the problem people are having with dampness could be due to owners leaving them unventilated for weeks/months on end in storage compounds.
K
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We don't empty our van and touch wood haven't had a problem. It faces south, so if the sun shines, even on cold winter days it can get nice and warm inside. As others have said, good ventilation and it's a waste of money trying to heat the van.
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We don't empty our van and touch wood haven't had a problem. It faces south, so if the sun shines, even on cold winter days it can get nice and warm inside. As others have said, good ventilation and it's a waste of money trying to heat the van.
No,that's just your opinion. The higher the temperature inside the more moisture the air can accommodate before condensing on hard surfaces and making soft furnishings damp.
Couple that with ventilation on a nice day works well. Another opinion.
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my coachman 575 is by my house and it would seem that most think this is good. as it can be attended to regularly. I believe the tachnical term for this is pottering about? i've just started with the caravan. Yes, I am pottering folks, all good so far. Not
had a winter yet though.0 -
Our caravan is at home with a hook-up on the wall. The Alde heating is set at 6 degrees as a frost stat with a dehumifier. We have no problem with condensation and have a supply of water for the iron and topping up batteries. The heating rarely comes on
as the sun normally keeps it warm enough to avoid dropping below the dew point (the temperature at which the air releases moisture)0 -
Our caravan isstored when not in use at Whitewater Cc site, it was our first year this year.
Our under seat dtorage was left ooen with a salt dehimidgier in eavh cushiobs anc seating left on end yo naximise air flow. Didnt feel or smell damp when we collected in Dec, after two monthx spprox in storage, though dhr wax cold the gurst night we pulked over to side of road with no heating.
Only real prob with condensation was from the roof and side walls of the fixed bunks, on the really cold nights. The bottom bunk found after the second or third night mould was forming on edge ov pillow afainst the walls.
But we wiped it over with a non chemical based moukd/mildew remover and found allowing air to flow during the day and having both windows there to be open a fraction helped stop anymore mould form.
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We would never touch a Swift or Sterling Caravan again. Our first Sterling in 2012 was so dampswu 48% from axle to rear bathroom and 38% in the front windows. The locker took half a litre of water in four days. Plus other faults too numerous to write down. We eventually went to Trading Standards and were sent a replacement Swift Challenger Sport in 2015 and this has let us down with the Truma heating system going wrong. i.e. Trip switch went in the first year and van had to go back to dealer for repair. This year the heat exchanger unit went and again back to dealer for repair. All this resulted in unfinished holidays and cancelled New Year holiday. Swift we never want to hear of again.
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^^^^ Not quite what the thread is about..... however we leave towels and bedding in our Swift van now. Always used to remove them for winter but with using the new van more frequently decided to leave it this year. i generally agree with those who do not cover their vans and rely on some element of heating from solar gain. Ours is on a farm storage, north facing but sheltered from the south by a barn building and a caravan on either side (east/west facing). solar gain will be limited but expect on a day like today (bright/sunny) will pick up sufficient heat to chase most condensation damp away.
Nevertheless and For what its worth we are on our third Swift van in just over 4 years, and our first to be bought new. Although the new van has had some faults including a shower not fully sealed and leaking profusely (which wouldn't have arisen had factory QC and dealer PDI been up to scratch, but that's another issue). This and the other relatively minor faults do not make me want to buy another brand.
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Not sure I would agree. By getting the new caravan given you were doing far better than most of the rest of us. The two faults you then refer to were on parts common to other makes so could have happened whatever you bought.
If you look at the statistics Swift do quite well for customer satisfaction and I would certainly not swap on the basis of what you have said. Frankly all makes have their problems and there does not appear a lot in it with most makes. Swift have done well with their Sprite brand in the PC customers surveys coming out top over the last two years and second before that. We just buy the model that suits us best at the time regardless of make although unless they show significant improvement in the latest survey I would avoid Eldiss.
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We also keep our van at home and it's permanently plugged into the mains and heating set to 10 degrees. It's always ready to go with bed made up and all the other bits and pieces in situ. All that's required is fresh food and clothing and we can be off. Although it's costing me a bit to keep the heat ticking over, its a small price to pay given the overall investment. No sign of any damp or condensation whatsoever.
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We have the Sterling version of the Conqueror. When we collected it pre Christmas we found a lot of the caravan to be feeling damp. For example in the kitchen cupboards, the bottom sheet of the bed and you could see a slight water film on the rear of one of the TV's.
Someone either on here or Swift Talk advised that we leave cupboard doors open and let air circulate. We did discover when we were just coming back from our Christmas trip that the central front window was in the vent position and we don't know if that the situation worse. What was worrying was that neither of us had opened that window since we collected the caravan in April.
We went back to collect it today to drop it back for warranty work and we found there to be no feeling of damp, cold yes but it was -3!
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We leave ours "ready to go", except for draining down in the colder weather and use it over about 10 months of the year . Tinned and packet food is removed and dates checked before returning but all bedding and cushions left in. However the van is at home and connected to the mains to run a small dehumidifier which circulates and dries out a lot of moisture which might otherwise be a problem. It is on a timer switch to cut out at night to prevent the element in the machine freezing up in extreme cold. We also leave drawers and cupboards ajar to allow the air to circulate.The dehumidifier makes the difference; much better than crystals which do not circulate the air with a fan motor. It seems to work well for us.
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Unfortunately we need to use storage for ours as our housing association doesnt allow caravans in drive ways (even if she could fit through the drive gates) so while I agree the dehumidifier is better unfortunately not an option for us
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The biggest factor in more modern 'van being less damp than years ago was the introduction of electric lighting to replace gas. When butane or propane is burned a large amount of water is produced as vapour and that will circulate and condense out on the cooler surfaces.
There is still a considerable amount of the cooking in 'vans done on hobs where foods are often kept at boiling point in open pans, which produces more water vapour. Even the humble microwave produces lots of water vapour (hence the sizeable ventilating fan) and of course, the kettle!
All this vapour has to go somewhere, and out through the extract fan is a really good plan - even if it makes the air inside colder overall and produces grumping noises from the member of the party who dislikes the fan noise.
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