Overwintering

[AlanfromKent]

Could anybody give me any advice regarding overwintering my caravan. I only got my first van this year and because my workload is high from now to the new year I wont be using it any more until next February. Is it advisable to put a de-humidifier in the van to keep it dry? or is this unnesessary. Should I keep the windows and roof vents open a little or tight shut? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

 

[trevor123]

Hi Alan, is it a electric de-humidifier you will be using, I would't bother, Because you will dry it out too much and have dry rotton wood and keep all the window shut tight and the roof vent as well, air can get thro the roof vent, if you got your van stored at home on a nice sunny winter day open the door for few hour, we all way put two moisture absorber in a tub that will pick up the damp air and collect the water, you can bye them from any good hardware shop, I put one in the end wash room and the othe one in the middle of the van on the floor, some people use salt instead of the moisture but it will turn all your nice shining metal to rust, but that your choice? and keep turning the caravan cushions round time to time and open all the cupboards door to let the air flow round,

Good Luck, Trevor

 

[Bri-C]

Hi Alan

Trevor is absolutly correct that a de-humidifier will not benefit you at all. Your caravan by design has a defined area of ventilation built in both top and bottom, so the humidity of the air inside your van will track reasonable closly the humidity outside, any moisture your de-humidifier removes will simply be replaced by the general curculation of air through the van Exactly the same as running your fridge with the door open.

But aireing the van periodically on a find day is probably worth while..

Regards Brian......

 

[MikeJE]

And put a few mothballs in saucers or some such to deter mice if they are likely to be a problem.

 

[Bryn1]

What we do:

Cover the van during winter, after cleaning it. Saves moss and general grot accumulating.

We'll probably not use the electric dehumidifier again. It costs a lot to run and while it removes a lot of water it can't keep up with the through-flow of air due to the van's normal ventilation. And we don't want to cut that down. Doors and windows are shut, and roof vents shut but not otherwise sealed. Floor vents left alone but mattresses etc off seats to allow ventilation from vents.

Prop the fridge door open to avoid mould on the plastic surfaces, even though you've cleaned the fridge properly.

Drain all water.

And mousetraps! Just in case.

Bryn

 

[Essexeddie]

We put cardboard against the windows and roof lights to keep the daylight from bleaching the furnishings and curtains.

Saves useing the blinds.

Edd

 

[AlanfromKent]

Thank you all very much for your replies. That gives me a good idea what to do now.

 

[ValA.]

Crikey - we just park ours, clean it after our final trip, drain the water and leave it. Fridge door open, but everything else just as it is. We don't have any problems with damp (van is now nearly 8 years old), damp cushions, damp bedding, rusty anything, and no mice. We leave our washbags in, along with various non-perishable bits and bobs like washing up liquid, and even some tinned food. I realised other people appeared to be doing a lot more - now I know why!!!

 

[vernon]

I'm fortunate to store my caravan in my garden next to my garage.

I use a Protec cover to keep it clean and connecting an electrical supply via a timer in the garage so as to charge the battery and switch on an ocsillating fan to "air" the caravan ever week for about 4-5 hours.

Last year I left the windows on the "night" catches under the cover, even though it felt dry it seemed to attract some mould on some surfaces, so hopefully this won't happen this year.

 

[vernon]

I'm fortunate to store my caravan in my garden next to my garage.

I use a Protec cover to keep it clean and connecting an electrical supply via a timer in the garage so as to charge the battery and switch on an ocsillating fan to "air" the caravan ever week for about 4-5 hours.

Last year I left the windows on the "night" catches under the cover, even though it felt dry it seemed to attract some mould on some surfaces, so hopefully this won't happen this year.

I also remove the fuse in the 12v circuit, to isolate the radio and aerial amplifier, preventing a drain on the battery.

 

[Val & Frank]

A little like Valerie, give the van a clean, mind it's always clean on the inside .

We go away for two or three weekend during the winter, turn the Central Heating on etc. It keeps the van nice and dry, power system fully charged etc. Plus the fact we have some great weekends away in the winter

Frank

 

[Joyce_5063910]

Thanks Valerie and Frank for your postings I was getting worried as we too only drain the water and leave the caravan exactly as it is until we need it again.

I do not think Don has ever removed cushions or moved them about, used anything else but the blinds down and any of the other things mentioned.

We have never had mould that I have found or mice, maybe we have just been lucky.

 

[Val & Frank]

Hi

What I didn't mention was if the van is not going to move every couple of weeks, you may need to think about moving it a couple of feet so it's not standing on the same spot (tyres) etc.

I have also been told don't leave the blinds down for any length of time because it stretches the springs ?????

Frank

 

[UKHunk]

Dont pull your curtains as they will rot via the sunlight and dont pull the blinds down as this will weak the springs,Put cardboard up the windows,

 

[David.O]

Alan

Just to be different

I have today washed my van and given it a covering of Fenwick's Overwintering,I have used this for the past few years and found its keeps the van clean an free from green bits etc. I have also taken of the wheels and put on the winter stands. Sad really I was hopping to get out a few more times. Inside I do all the usual things but I install a small 500 watt greenhouse heater on a thermostat set at C just keeps the van aired in very cold weather.

Now to plan for next year

 

[David.O]

Alan

Just to be different

I have today washed my van and given it a covering of Fenwick's Overwintering,I have used this for the past few years and found its keeps the van clean an free from green bits etc. I have also taken of the wheels and put on the winter stands. Sad really I was hopping to get out a few more times. Inside I do all the usual things but I install a small 500 watt greenhouse heater on a thermostat set at C just keeps the van aired in very cold weather.

Now to plan for next year

That should be 3C

 

[Alison_374325197]

Alan

Just to be different

I have today washed my van and given it a covering of Fenwick's Overwintering,I have used this for the past few years and found its keeps the van clean an free from green bits etc. I have also taken of the wheels and put on the winter stands. Sad really I was hopping to get out a few more times. Inside I do all the usual things but I install a small 500 watt greenhouse heater on a thermostat set at C just keeps the van aired in very cold weather.

Now to plan for next year

We had an old Abbey Stafford for 15 years and never did anything (other than leave fridge open) re winter storage and had no problems. Bought a brand new Abbey Freestyle last year and put into storage after only 5 months use but when we opened it back up in the spring there was mould everywhere. I was distraught and would like to know why this should have happened and any ideas what I can do to avoid it this time?