Open or closed Vents while not in use

[Northenhillbilly]

Good morning ladies & gents.

I've read quite a bit of threads on this topic, nevertheless i'll ask to my specifics.

I got an 31' 12 yo crossroad and it is parked up north. There's a big lake nearby so when the sun goes down the humidity is insane until the sun shows up again. Everything I leave outside is soaking wet the next morning.

When I am using the trailer the vents are open in the day and closed when the sun's leaving.

So my question is about when the trailer is stored and/or not in use. (I go there every w.e or 2 weeks to a month roughly)

I keep everything shut and was wondering if it is the best way. (No hookups when i'm not there) In a relatively dry weather I would keep at least some cracks in the vents but can't make up my mind on what would be ideal for now. I'm thinking about adding some solar to vent it out but still curious about opinions.

Cheers !

 

[EA37TS]

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have vent covers installed? If so leave the vents open for air circulation. If not get them.

My solar does nothing for ventilation when parked. What makes you think solar would?

 

[16ACE27]

So your question begs this question: WHY do you need to vent it?

Most people vent their RVs in storage if they are stored in sun beating hot climates just to vent the hot air; and that works OK unless you are in a humid environment. The heat and moisture are a recipe for mold and mildew growth. where we are in Florida we run a dehumidifier in our RV if it will be unused for over two weeks to prevent that problem.

In Canada, with no hookups, I can see no reason to vent the RV when not using it.

 

[ducksface]

Ask of your nearest RV owner/neighbor.

And
I have a 10lb container of harbor freight/princess auto dessicant in-line on my big compressor.

I think the dessicant was $30.
It cooks out FAST in a microwave(read, not verified)

 

[The Gritz Carlton]

A strong gust of wind could rip them off.

 

[16ACE27]

A strong gust of wind could rip them off.

If he leaves them open without a vent cover installed he has bigger problems just from rain intrusion.

 

[MJC68]

If humidity is your concern, I suggest getting some Damprid.

 

[Northenhillbilly]

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have vent covers installed? If so leave the vents open for air circulation. If not get them.

My solar does nothing for ventilation when parked. What makes you think solar would?

Thank you !
I believe the vent covers are what came from oem. I don't know if the maxxair vents are a world of difference. I

As far as solar I was thinking simply about the bathroom vent fan and/or the oven fan (depending on the amps)

 

[Northenhillbilly]

So your question begs this question: WHY do you need to vent it?

Most people vent their RVs in storage if they are stored in sun beating hot climates just to vent the hot air; and that works OK unless you are in a humid environment. The heat and moisture are a recipe for mold and mildew growth. where we are in Florida we run a dehumidifier in our RV if it will be unused for over two weeks to prevent that problem.

In Canada, with no hookups, I can see no reason to vent the RV when not using it.

Well humidity is my #1 concern. The trailer stays mostly in the 65-70% range unless I heat for the night it drops between 55-60.

We get both end of the spectrums in terms of temperature. This time of year we still get some 20-30c in the day and nights go down to about 10c
Peak temps are about 40c to minus 40c.

 

[Northenhillbilly]

Ask of your nearest RV owner/neighbor.

And
I have a 10lb container of harbor freight/princess auto dessicant in-line on my big compressor.

I think the dessicant was $30.
It cooks out FAST in a microwave(read, not verified)

Will do if i see one, most are around the lake and hooked up, i'm in the mountain.

So your line of toughts would be to leave a bucket in the trailer and dry it out as needed ?

(Could probably dry out in direct sunlight)

 

[blw2]

I tried the desiccant (damprid) thing years ago when i first bought a little popup tent trailer.
I soon realized that using that stuff in a humid environment (Florida in my case) is kind of like trying to dry up the Atlantic ocean with a small sponge. The environment supplies an endless supply of humidity day after day after day.... and the heating and cooling day to night is like a pump drawing that humidity in with every cooling cycle. No practical way to really seal that out.

I recon' about the best thing you can do is to open the vents (assuming they are covered to block out the rain). the moisture is going to get in one way or the other, but at least with open vents it's get out easier when it warms back up.....
that's my theory anyway....

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

If there's no food inside or anything that will "go bad"... like onions, potatoes, etc. just seal it up. Close all the vents, windows etc. and make sure there are NO LEAKS.

If you're not heating or cooling it, you won't have a moisture/humidity/condensation issue. My motorhome sits all winter in Ohio with temps ranging from 0°F to the mid 50°F range. It also sits between trips in summer SEALED UP with temps anywhere from upper 40s to over 90°F with 70%+ humidity.

It's the temperature/humidity DIFFERENCE between inside and outside that causes problems. Rigs sit on dealer lots for months on end with no problems.

Close ALL windows and vents... if there's no leaks, you should have no problems. Everything that is soaked outside is from dew and condensation.