seeking advice from van dwellers.

We somehow ended up in a super wet climate this time of the year, when we should be in a desert. So a few times we were slacking off and not leaving the windows cracked overnight. I blame the condensation issues of that mostly
A month into this weather and we are seeing some problems under the mattress and I sometimes find some dampness in clothing cabinets. I'm hoping cracking the windows will solve this issue, but would like to know if any of you who lived in vans in high moisture climates had similar issues and any tips on how to combat them. We keep the van well ventilated and just got a full zip waterproof cover for our mattress. Slightly worried about the insulation in walls. The ceiling at this point only has reflectic on it.
I can imagine you East coast peeps run into those issues quite a bit.
First hand experiences only, no hearsay.

Are you actually requesting no trolling on your thread or useless information?

This product is available at Home Depot:

homedepot.com/p/DampRid-64-…

The nice thing about living in a van is that you can drive it. Drive to the desert and the problem is solved.

s.price wrote:Ventilation is key. Drill some holes in those cabinets. Get the bed up on a lattice system to provide airflow. A twelve volt fan or two in the right place will do wonders. Run them when your driving. If all else fails take the above advice and head for the desert.

All good points. One PNW in limbo season is enough! Looks like in a few weeks we will see some ice and it will be all worth it.

Jake Jones wrote:Do you know how to use your computer for anything other than getting attention on MP? I'll break it down Barney style for you so you can understand. Moisture in the air is called humidity. Removing something usually appends a prefix of "de" to the word. Therefore, removing humidity is called "dehumidifying". An object that performs this function is called a "dehumidifier". Now, in between mindless, bullshit posts on MP, you can actually use your computermachine there to find information. A novel concept, true, but believe it or not, this is a primary function of a personal computer with an internet connection. A cursory search on the website google.com tells me that there are cheap, non electric dehumidifiers available for sale almost anywhere. Like this one: Common sense and logic. Try it.

Classic!

Lol!

Jake Jones wrote:Do you know how to use your computer for anything other than getting attention on MP? I'll break it down Barney style for you so you can understand. Moisture in the air is called humidity. Removing something usually appends a prefix of "de" to the word. Therefore, removing humidity is called "dehumidifying". An object that performs this function is called a "dehumidifier". Now, in between mindless, bullshit posts on MP, you can actually use your computermachine there to find information. A novel concept, true, but believe it or not, this is a primary function of a personal computer with an internet connection. A cursory search on the website google.com tells me that there are cheap, non electric dehumidifiers available for sale almost anywhere. Like this one: Common sense and logic. Try it.

"Guideline #1: don't be a jerk"

...since you seem to have forgotten

Muttonface is having a nervous tic... we don't have an inverter. And to all of you non van dwellers things like that may sound gebrish. That's why this thread is for van dwellers ONLY to post. If you are a van dwelling troll OK to post too.

All others, scoot!

Van trolls will have enough sense of humor and/or make sarcastic remarks regarding this matter. All others are obviously clueless and will continue with comments of a jerk.

To all of you non van people the concept of a power source is a receptacle in your house or an apartment. To us rubber tramps it's a constant juggling game with the power. That is why : no van, no post on this thread.

Crap. Too bad I used a truck instead of a van. I was going to give some advice on the cheap dehumidifies.

mustardtiger wrote:Crap. Too bad I used a truck instead of a van. I was going to give some advice on the cheap dehumidifies.

Van peeps preferred because truck bed rigs are a lot smaller volume. We want to prevent moisture with the least plug in gadgets we can for the obvious reason, to save power.

So Jake says there are cheap NONELECTRIC dehumidifiers, and Trollanor responds that she doesn't have a power inverter...ok then

mary j wrote:... we don't have an inverter. And to all of you non van dwellers things like that may sound gebrish.

No inverter, but we got 700 pounds of pressed wood cabinets salvaged from a 1960's middle school biology classroom, and a bunch of old to-go containers dripping with shellfish juice!

What could possibly go wrong?!?!?!?!

Use your imagine1!!!!

so I have a similar problem with my new Ford Transit Connect rig. Losts of moisture. I plan to get a small ceramic heater/fan thing-a-ma-jug for some extra air flow without cutting a hole in the roof for a vent.
Looking at the non electric dehumidifier I think it can't hurt. But, I think the moisture collecting on walls and dripping down into cabinets or the mattress is harder to dry up with that because it is removing moisture from the air.

I think one of these would be helpful to keep the drips from getting into the cloth goods.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamo…

If mold has begun to get into non-disposable materials, good luck. Yuck.

Putting a covering over a mattress that has gotten moist is just going to help grow the mildew.

In future:
Avoid cooking stuff inside the van when you can. When you do cook inside, use ventilation. Cooking, especially boiling water, adds....moisture. Cooking with oil adds moisture with glue.

When you have wet clothes or what have you - get them aired out asap, and keep them away from getting other parts of the van moist.

If someone is a sweaty type who practically allover-wets the bed - get rid of em! Just kidding.... Tell them to stop eating the crap that makes them sweat like a pig.If that won't work, make them wrap up in their own sleeping bag which can be frequently washed, for all but moments when a sleeping bag won't provide enough room(ie; intimate times). (No offense to people who sweat like pigs intended, and condolences to those who love pig-like sweating types).

mary j wrote:And to all of you non van dwellers things like that may sound gebrish. That's why this thread is for van dwellers ONLY to post. If you are a van dwelling troll OK to post too. All others, scoot! That is why : no van, no post on this thread.

1. It's "gibberish", not "gebrish"
2. It's an internet discussion forum; sorry - you don't get to choose who posts or what they say or where they make take the thread.
3. You're living in a vehicle and you haven't bought an inverter and installed a dual battery system???? Seriously??

PS: I've never owned a van.

Hey!

I got a bright idea.

Let's head up to the PNW in a rolling metal box with poor insulation and ventilation.

I'd wager the moldy vanslum will be for sale on craigslist after the year's end.

For the record I do not own a van but I work out of one 40+ hrs a week.

Tom-onator wrote:Hey! I got a bright idea. Let's head up to the PNW in a rolling metal box with poor insulation and ventilation. I'd wager the moldy vanslum will be for sale on craigslist after the year's end. For the record I do not own a van but I work out of one 40+ hrs a week.

Wow! All of a sudden I'm more than ever appreciative of my 3 day workweek.

This post violated Rule #1. It has been removed by Mountain Project.

Get power inverter. Problem solved. I mean, I have a power inverter and don't even own a van. Run the dehumidifyer when you are driving.

You ever watch Trapper John, M.D.? No, too young and culturally challenged. Get this. The show was a spinoff from M.A.S.H. I shit you not. Trapper was, and this is gonna kill you, an M.D. But he lived in an RV in the parking lot behind his hospital. So guess what he did? He ran an extension cord to the RV. Fu-king-genius.

You can probably figure out something like that. I would also suggest you troll some Indian forums about how to steal power from the grid. Or hey, how about solar to power some fans to keep the moisture out of your Vansion?

For the real RV beta on that stuff, you want the girl that goes by the name Mountain Barbie. She lives off grid in a small RV. I can hook you up on the FB.

Another option is to just run the A/C on full blast on high heat. A/C systems dehumidify the air, which is why on newer cars if you hit the defog button the A/C comes on automatically. This would probably be very effective, and it would likely remove most of the humidity from the air in the car in a minute or two. The downside is as soon as you turn it off the air is going to re-humidify, but the exact same thing will happen with a 120VAC dehumidifier as well. The best solution is probably some ventilation. Getting air flow through the van will drop the humidity.