Moisture inside- Leak or condensation?

[hughesj]

I'm a new relatively owner of a 2014 Fleet, mounted on a Tacoma. I'm not the handiest guy around but looking to learn.
Kept the rig on the truck this winter in Michigan and discovered moisture inside when I popped up in March.Cleaned it up and went camping . Camped in the south and had no issues.Came home and headed out again and camped in Tennessee following a rainstorm and more moisture showed up. Can't see any holes or caulking cracks on the exterior. Seems to have dried up OK in the sun..
Any suggested fixes? Or is it just normal condensation build up?

 

[Jon&Sue_DeArman]

FWC like all tents Condensate; especially with you inside breathing all night. The more ventilation the better.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

It is condensation, and I agree with the DeArmans. I’ll add that leaving it popped and ventilated while stored is a good idea. Under cover if possible.

When camping, try to mop up any condensation. The area near the lift boards is susceptible.

 

[hughesj]

Thanks. That's somewhat reassuring. Top right corner on roof is where it showed up most.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Welcome to the cult.
I get condensation also on the right front.
That's where our heads are so during the night as we breathe
the moisture condenses on the liner.
A quick wipe before the top is lowered does the trick.

Frank

 

[PaulT]

We have a 2014 Hawk that lives on the truck in the PNW. The first year, we got some mold on the wooden trim strips holding the headliner over the passenger side cabover area. Our heads are there when sleeping so moisture tends to accumulate in the area.

Since then, we’ve learned to do some things to reduce the possibility of too much moisture in the interior.
Open the front vent when sleeping in cool weather and open a corner of the passenger side window while sleeping;
Run the fantastic fan above the cooktop, when cooking, to remove moisture and minimize gaining a load of moisture in the interior fabrics;
Pop the top in dry weather after a trip with vents open to dry out the interior
Remove bedding and mattress from camper if it will be a somewhat long time until the next trip. This leaves a largish open area in cabover to dry out interior.
None of this is difficult or too time consuming and we have had no repeat of the mold growing scientific experiment.

Paul

 

[ckent323]

Relative to campers which evidence condensation while stored and for which no leaks can be found, I have a theory that I have not been able to prove that moisture condenses in the unsealed hollow Aluminum tubes in the roof due to temperature swings and then runs down to an end and drips out of unsealed ends of the tubes or from small holes in the joints or where the tubes have been penetrated by the headliner staples.

I have noticed that there is a particular place in the ceiling of our camper where we get drips that occur at the end of one of the Aluminum roof framing members. The drips happen even when the camper is closed and when it has not rained but when conditions are favorable for condensation to form. I have tried resealing all the screws in the Yakima rack that is above that particular tube in the roof but there is still a small drip that happens from time to time.

I have unsuccessfully tested for a leak with a hose a couple of times and there does not seem to be a problem after some rainy days so I am pretty sure it is a condensation issue.

I am now in the habit of removing the mattress whenever we store the camper (the camper is stored outside closed up). That way the drip mainly falls on the sealed over cab bed floor where it will not cause mold. Unfortunately, when the top is down the edge of the lift panel is in line of the drip and it has gradually degraded over the years. It is time to replace it with a composite lift panel which will not be susceptible to degradation by water.

I think FWC started addressing this possibility in late model campers by filling the hollow tubes with foam or something.

Is it also possible that there are leaks into the tubes where the screws in the roof penetrate the tubes that I simply have not located. Filling the tubes with foam may minimize leak issues from those as well.



To be sure that during cooler weather camping we often experience condensation on the walls and ceiling around the over cab bed area from our breathing as well as from the combustion product, which is water, from using the propane cooktop. We have a towel which we habitually use to wipe off the condensation before closing up the camper.

 

[scappoosebrad]

Like others above, we have to towel the moisture after each sleep...particularly where our heads lie (next to front wall)... at night we always leave the passenger side window cracked slightly open and set the fan at 10% ... if raining(the fan will automatically close) we try to crack the upper window corner over beds on the drivers side an inch or so (my wife doesn't mind the coolness when she sleeps)... plus the furnace maintains a temp (set at 62 degrees) year round... when we are NOT using the camper, we have two dehumidifiers we hang on one of the cabinet handles, check and either recharge (one has pellets that absorb moisture and charged overnight start over moisture free--recharge about 1x/month)...the other is a bag with granules that draw moisture...it fills up again after about a month to disgard and replace with dry one...finally, to let you know, our camper is outside year round -- no indoor area to park/dry it ... again welcome the 4-wheel club, the tightness of the inside and ways to ventilate as needed especially during sleeps... good luck

 

[rubberlegs]

For us it depends on temperature. A warm night results in no condensation (the walls of the tent don't fall below the dew point temperature, for you thermodynamicists). But that's rare and most nights we have it on all the tent walls, the ceiling where the frames are, and sometimes frost if really cold.

 

[daverave]

Lots of condensation wisdom in this thread. We deal with condensation after every night of sleeping also. The breathing and propane furnace seem to be the main culprits. Rarely in the desert we get a condensate free night.
It may also help to rig up a small computer fan that can blow moisture out of the camper at a slightly open window corner. Seems to help on those very wet nights and locations. Unfortunately our fantastic fan at it's lowest setting is too noisy to operate too much.
Welcome to the club and WtW.
Dave

 

[Lighthawk]

Unfortunately our fantastic fan at it's lowest setting is too noisy to operate too much.
Welcome to the club and WtW.
Dave

I swapped my not-so-fantastic three speed fan for a 12 speed Max-air. We've left it on overnight because we can't even hear the lowest speed settings.

 

[rubberlegs]

Doesn't the furnace exhaust all the combustion products (like water) outside?

The breathing and propane furnace seem to be the main culprits.

 

[hughesj]

Wow! Such wisdom and practical advice. Thanks for all your thorough and prompt responses. I'll follow up going forward.

 

[ckent323]

rubberlegs,

Yes, the propane furnace exhausts the combustion products out side the camper. The propane cooktop however is a source of condensable moisture.

Craig

 

[Beach]

I live in a humid area of the country(gulf coast Texas) and fought the condensation during storage for a long time with damp rid but hated the cost of doing so. A couple years back started using a electric fan placed in the sink aimed forward into the small space between the mattress and ceiling. I have not had any issues since.

 

[Jsoboti]

Beating the drum on ventilation while sleeping. I sleep in 15-20 degree F all winter.

Front vent open, rear powered vent on lowest setting blowing air out. Window by my head cracked.

0 degree sleeping bag and a down blanket keeps me toasty and I rarely wake up with condensation. Ear plugs totally cancel out the fan noise for me! Good Luck, just remember to keep the lid on your Nalgene unscrewed =)

 

[Vic Harder]

Doesn't the furnace exhaust all the combustion products (like water) outside?

Yup

 

[J D]

On a recent trip here in E. Washington with me, wife and pooch in the camper the vinyl had quite a bit of condensation in the morning. We have the thermal pack option and I wasn't too excited about wiping the vinyl . We opened all the upper windows in the vinyl then closed all the thermal pack openings. Turned both fans on and closed the door while we hung out outside under the awning as it was sprinkling off and on. While we had coffee and breakfast the camper was drying itself. With the windows open and thermal wall closed up the fans pull air through space between the vinyl and thermal fabric. Kinda creates a wind tunnel. The vinyl dried out quickly. It worked great under the conditions we had.

 

[ckent323]

J D did you check behind the thermal pack, between the thermal pack and the inside of the vinyl siding? Our camper gets moisture there and we always pull the thermal pack back and wipe in between before closing up.

 

[patcone]

Okay. For the past couple of years I've been trying to track down a roof leak. I assume it's a roof leak. This is a 1981 Grandby in decent shape. I've replaced all the screw holes on top with rubber washers then sealed. Roof edge looks good. No obvious perforations in the roof. yakima racks installed and I took those off and reinstalled with rubber washers and sealant.

But still, have water getting the canvas wet on front left and back right corners. nothing coming through the headliner. Don't know if this is water coming down the tubes or not.

Not too interested in putting a sealant on the roof, but can if I have to. This happens whether roof is up or down.

Any thoughts on where this water is coming from? It's driving me nuts.

Thanks