Bad ceiling insulation

[Communer]

On the first night of my second camping trip in my Kestrel (Grandby), I discovered the ceiling smells like fish oil, and everything that touches it acquires the same smell. Anyone else experience this?
There was about 1.5 months elapsed between trips. The camper had been closed and under a carport during this time. There has been no water leakage.

 

[DirtyDog]

Sorry Communer, I've never heard of this problem.

 

[chnlisle]

Thats a new one on me. Was the garage fumigated with the camper inside? might there have been something in the rafters that could be the culprit? Have you checked inside the roof vent?

Jay

 

[Communer]

Thanks for replying. There was no contamination from anything in the carport, nor nothing stuck in the roof vent. The smell comes from the entire surface area of the ceiling. It is not a spot effect. And the smell rubs onto anything that comes in contact with the ceiling. I'm convinced that Four Wheel Campers got a shipment of bad insulation.

 

[simimike]

I have an odd smell in my new FWC too! It happened after my first trip in it. I thought maybe it was something I cooked. I only cooked vegetarian sausage. I tried everything to get the smell out. Frabreeze, baking soda, air freshener and washed every surface. It's not as bad now but I can smell it and it bugs me. I picked up my new camper at the factory in Woodland last May. Was your's built around then? Also when I tried the heater the first time it filled the camper with smoke. Maybe related maybe not. Either way we should contact FWC since there are now two of us with this problem. Anybody else?

 

[marty]

roof insulation

what year is your camper, do you have any outside vents in your roof (4) small vents two on ether side and have you been able to find any moisture or drops on or hanging from the headliner. i built a lot of fwc's in the past and even though i build my own version now i belive the fwc is a great camper.
i am interested in following your repair and findings with this oder problem.
good luck marty

 

[marty]

Bad Smell in roof

Hi,
This is Ben, former owner of FWC. I understand talking to Jeff that you may not have the roof vents in the roof. Take a look at our website at www.allterraincampers.com and look at some of the truck pictures. You should be able to see the roof vents that I am talking about. We put these in a few years ago to help with condensation problems that the roof has over time. This solved the problem for us. I am curious if you have them or not. If your camper does not, it could be a cause of the problem. Lets us know when you get a chance.

Ben

 

[Communer]

I took delivery of my Kestrel (Grandby) in August 2006. It doesn't have vents but huge screened windows. Frank at FWC suggested I air it out for 22 days, which I am in the process of doing now. Will advise.

 

[marty]

vents

the vents should be in the side of the roof above the sideliner near the hooks that latch the roof down. maby they discontinued them. some houses that are made of cinder blocks or bricks have condincation and there is a round ball looking thing with a crystall type filling that pulls moisture from the air and traps it in the ball or container. i will try to research this more.

a mini dehumidifier with water glass in it, i used to live in seattle, lots of moisture there. well good luck. marty

 

[captainkettel]

Dry Air

Have you thought of using a Dri-Z-Air to remove any excess moisture? I keep one in my rig during the winter to keep the moisture out. Don't know if it would work if your problem is between the roof layer and ceiling. But certainly couldn't hurt.

 

[Communer]

Dry-Z-Air

I used the camper twice within 45 days of taking delivery. During the first camping trip I did not detect an odor. On the first night of the second trip, it was very strong. These trips were during Labor Day and then beginning Oct 7th.
I live in the Mojave Desert, where serious moisture problems do not occur. The camper is kept in a carport. I think that if the camper needs dehumidification in my locale during that short of a time span during these times of the year, it has a serious design flaw.

 

[Kilroy]

I just bought my Hawk in August. I don't have a smell problem, but have noticed the camper is very air tight. If the door or a window is not open I cannnot get the camper up, and it goes down very slow as the air slowly leaks out.

It's great it's this tight, but after reading this topic, and can see the potential for a mildew build up.

Seems like we should make some provision for air movement when the camper is in storage.

 

[marty]

storage of camper

When you have the camper in storage I have always recommended that it be popped up at least every couple of months and aired out. You also want to wash the outside of the liner every 6 months and treat it with 303 product. This will keep the liner in great shape over the years.

If you take these simple steps the camper will last you a lifetime without any mildew build up or the damage that can happen if the mildew is allowed to grow.

Sincerely,
Ben
www.allterraincampers.com