Should heaters be used?

New Rover · 23-11-2007, 06:38 PM

Hi, I'm very new to motorhoming and just bought my first Motorhome. The thing is, how do I look after it during the winter. It will be parked outside so do I have it on permanent mains hook-up with an electric fan heater on every night (condensation problems) or do I fit a Dehumidifier. I don't intend to leave the "van " sitting do nothing and will have the wheels turning at least once a week. I have taken the normal precautuions of draining down the systems and emptying the Grey and Black water tanks and leaving all drain taps open. Should I take out the soft furnishings, seats/beds etc or leave them in the "van".
Any advice would be very grateful.

Diabalo · 23-11-2007, 07:07 PM

My Van is stored and we are not allowed to have a permanet mains hookup.

If I had it at home I would certainly have a small oil filled radiator on a low setting during the winter months.

pappajohn · 23-11-2007, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by New Rover

Hi, I'm very new to motorhoming and just bought my first Motorhome. The thing is, how do I look after it during the winter. It will be parked outside so do I have it on permanent mains hook-up with an electric fan heater on every night (condensation problems) or do I fit a Dehumidifier. I don't intend to leave the "van " sitting do nothing and will have the wheels turning at least once a week. I have taken the normal precautuions of draining down the systems and emptying the Grey and Black water tanks and leaving all drain taps open. Should I take out the soft furnishings, seats/beds etc or leave them in the "van".
Any advice would be very grateful.

hi new rover.
we dont take the furnishings out but its worth putting them on edge and drawing the blinds to prevent sun bleaching.
i just bought a full cover for protection from bird shit, tree sap and black streaks so this year ill be putting a de-humidifier in the van on a timer to come on maybe 1hr every day/2 days and as the timer will be on the hookup lead (my home lead has a domestic 3pin plug) this will take care of battery charging. you should NOT leave a charger running 24/7 as it will overcharge and damage the battery unless its a maintainance charger designed to be left on.
i also have a very small (60w 8" x 4" x 2") convector heater (B+Q)mounted on a bit of ply covered with foil which iv used in the past. just prop against a table leg ect and leave on.(look like ill need a second lead this year,) just keeps the chill off.
if possible tape something over the fridge/heater vents to stop snow getting blown in.
dont forget if you use butane (calor) gas it will remain liquid below 5deg c and will not turn to gas vapour so if you try to use the vans heating system it may not work.

hope this is of some use to you .
roll on spring.

john.

pappajohn · 23-11-2007, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diabalo

My Van is stored and we are not allowed to have a permanet mains hookup.

If I had it at home I would certainly have a small oil filled radiator on a low setting during the winter months.

never thought of that.

Jim · 23-11-2007, 07:37 PM

The best advice i can give is use it. Open it on sunny days and give it a good airing. But if its sunny take it for a spin. Some might use a dehumidifier or a very low heater. The first signs of too much damp will be smell or wood swelling, my old Bessacar loo door would only shut properly between April and September! Did i already say, the best thing to do is use it

keith · 23-11-2007, 07:51 PM

Use a dehumidifier all the time find it keeps everthing dry. I can even leave the salt in the van & it still flows.

In cold weather I put a small fan heater in just so it's not freezing when I go in, as I do regularly as it's parked next to our home. I also leave the fridge on as this saves having to clean it out when it's off.

As Geo said open up on dry days & run it

We tend to use ours through the winter so need it ready at all times.

I plug it in & keep it in when we are not using it. I have done this with all the motorhomes I have had & no problems have been found

Anita302 · 23-11-2007, 08:22 PM

Hi

We also leave a oil filled rad on a med setting inside the van.
Also, leave the fridge door open slightly to stop it smelling etc.

Anita

kands · 23-11-2007, 08:53 PM

Yep, we use a small heater left on 24/7 and a dehumidifier that runs away with a mind of it's own. Bus is always warm and dry......
Don't forget to leave any cupboard doors open so that air can circulate, otherwise you may get a bit of condensation in the corners causing you a problem after a while......
HTH

Keith

ScotJimland · 23-11-2007, 10:55 PM

Sorry guys , but I can't see the logic in heating a stored van.. warm air holds moisture and unless the van is hermitically sealed a dehumidifier will only pull in more moist air ..

Our RV was in storage for many months before we went fulltime and didn't have any damp.. or smell musty .. all I did was leave a couple of roof vents open.. AFAIK dealers don't heat vans in their forecourts ..

Rainbow · 23-11-2007, 11:05 PM

Although our MH has never been left standing for more than 2 months we take nothing out and have no heating or dehumidifier. Never had a problem in over 4 years. Just drain down and move slightly every two weeks.
As ScotJimland says, warm air holds moisture so you would also need a dehumidifier to remove the moisture, on the other hand - for a dehumidifier to work properly you need heat.
As for the fridge - we just leave it open when not in use.

Jean