First outing

Hi again everyone

I joined at the start of the year when we were looking for a Dandy and then went awol for a while - sorry!

Rosie our 1991 Destiny had her first outing with us this week and she is amazing!!! We went on a caravan club site and got a few strange looks from people with their brand new caravans and posh cars, but we didn't mind as she was warm and cosy and we had loads of space.

One thing i did want to ask was about the moisture inside. We knew the awning would get a bit wet inside as we had been warned, but with the frosts overnight, we noticed that any metal on the inside of the van was getting wet and the upholstery and our pillows at night got a bit damp too. Any ideas on how to avoid this, or was it just because it got so cold outside?

Pashrolo wrote:Hi again everyone

I joined at the start of the year when we were looking for a Dandy and then went awol for a while - sorry!

Rosie our 1991 Destiny had her first outing with us this week and she is amazing!!! We went on a caravan club site and got a few strange looks from people with their brand new caravans and posh cars, but we didn't mind as she was warm and cosy and we had loads of space.

One thing i did want to ask was about the moisture inside. We knew the awning would get a bit wet inside as we had been warned, but with the frosts overnight, we noticed that any metal on the inside of the van was getting wet and the upholstery and our pillows at night got a bit damp too. Any ideas on how to avoid this, or was it just because it got so cold outside?

Pleased you enjoyed it,are the walls insulated if they are then you should not be getting condensation on the walls unless you didn't have enough heat on,as for the metal parts thats one of those things that happens in certain conditions but again i find more heat cures it.

Condensation forms when your warm wet breath hits a cold surface so the answer is have only warm surfaces

Thanks Mike, yes, the walls are insulated but we did only heat it whilst we were in the van whereas our caravan friends left their vans heated all day and night.

There was no condensation on the walls, it was just the metal parts so perhaps it did just get too cold when we weren't there. I will try leaving the heater on next time

Michelle

Don't want to add to your concerns but if it's very cold do check under your bed for condensation. Upon first use of my Designer (Christmas 2011) I found that the bed base was very damp. I think the heat sink qualities of the aluminium add to this but owners seem to be very variable as to being afflicted with this or not. My use of an electric blanket probably didn't help. Well it helped me no end, I meant it didn't help the condensation. N.B. There are a few ideas on counteracting the under bed condensation.

As i say the metal parts can be a problem,any near the roof can get cold if the roof edges are not tied down properly,around the beds the bedding keeps the warm air off them then when you go to bed the bedding moves and lets warm air on to the metal.
We dont get condensation under the beds because we insulate on top of the mattress so our body heat cant get through to the bed base.

Yes, we did find the bed bases were damp and obviously the underside of the bed cushions were too. She is up and drying out now, but I would be good if we could prevent it

As just mentioned elsewhere the under bed damp was far less when not using an electric blanket.
Under bed or side wall insulation (On winterised Dandys the ends of the roof became colour co-ordinated but there is no insulation) could be of the silvered foil type or as both panels are recessed Celotex.

New idea
Instead of a hinged headboard a slot in head, foot and sideboard to stop the mattress touching the alloy bed frame as well as stopping the duvet touching the PVC sides!

Just worth a mention,damp under the bed is not just a dandy thing it can happen in all folding campers and trailer tents even some caravans,you need to find your own way to stop it to avoid the pain of having to lift the mattress daily.
Our solution after trying insulation under the mattress was the insulation on top of it,i put a self inflating mattress on mine (sim) my wife uses a air bed on hers as she gets too warm and this does two jobs keeps her cooler and stops the damp forming.
It wont be such a problem later in the year but can return on the odd cool night so a simple solution that can be used all the time is the best solution.

mike

In caravans they now have slats under the beds rather than the plywood they had in days gone by. They also have boards spaced half inch or so from the outside walls to keep mattresses & cushions etc from touching the wall. I understand these are both to stop condensation.