Damp mattress in Autotrail (1 Viewer)

BudgiePadlow

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Nov 11, 2009
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WE have a 2 year old Autotrail Cheyenne 696G with a fixed bed over a garage and have severe problems with a damp mattress. where it touches the side and rear walls. There is no question of water coming through the walls but in cold weather moisture seems to cause condensation where the mattress touches. I have put some anti-moisture mesh under and around the mattress as recommended by a boat builder to increase airflow but with no visible effect except on my wallet. Has anybody esle had this problem with fixed beds and is there an answer? Any comments appreciated.
 

lunarman

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Sep 23, 2008
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To prevent this on our van there is a piece of ply fitted between the wall and the mattress using pieces of thin batten to create a gap of about .25"

Lunarman
 

pappajohn

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firstly....hi and welcome to the fun.

i also get this problem in my kontiki in cold weather.
mine occures at the end of the U shape lounge couch cushions if i use the couch for sleeping.

the side wall has a 'second' wall trim about 15mm from the wall so it only happens at the end (rear) where the pillow touchs the rear wall.
it needs a good airflow and the mesh just isnt thick enough to allow a proper air flow.

apart from spacing the mattress off the wall theres very little can be done successfuly.


mine is more pronounced if wind is blowing towards the rear of the van.


Ooops...same as lunarman but he can type faster than me..:Sad:

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Sundowners

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Oct 30, 2007
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Put thin polystyrene between walls and matress during the winter----during the summer just pull it away an inch or so when you can, or cover the poly. with nice material and fix it in place .:thumb::thumb:
 

teensvan

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Jul 25, 2009
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Hi.

We had a lot of condensation problems in our overhead lockers. What we did was to line them out with thin carpet. The carpet is only thin and is used by kit car builders for roof lining. Do not get a foam back carpet. We also lined out all the outer walls in the M/H garage. The carpet can be bought from most carpet shops along with the spray glue. Just cut the carpet to size and spray the glue onto the M/H walls. We spent £ 40 doing this job and has worked well.

steve & ann. ----------- teensvan
 

green machine

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Jun 9, 2009
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Dover, Kent
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Autotrail
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Since April 2009.
Water Leak or Condensation.

WE have a 2 year old Autotrail Cheyenne 696G with a fixed bed over a garage and have severe problems with a damp mattress. where it touches the side and rear walls. There is no question of water coming through the walls but in cold weather moisture seems to cause condensation where the mattress touches. I have put some anti-moisture mesh under and around the mattress as recommended by a boat builder to increase airflow but with no visible effect except on my wallet. Has anybody esle had this problem with fixed beds and is there an answer? Any comments appreciated.

Whilst visiting Wales and the Peak district this week, I noticed that under the rear lounge area in our Autotrail Apache 700 SE, that the carpets that touch the rear wall were damp. Also, the rear wall was also damp. The upholstered seat ends were also wet. I have been up on the roof and I cannot find any way that water is getting into the motorhome. It seems strange that it is only happening on the back wall. Could it be caused by to the blow heating ducting running through the rear lockers and under the rear lounge. (hot / cold air in a confined space)

I am going to try a dehumidifier first. Will I need to use my oil filled radiator at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any help / advice that can be offered.

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Braunston

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May 21, 2008
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Hi,

Just a point we have noticed, if we use a standalone heater e.g. Oil Filled radiator etc we find that in the extreme areas like the edges of the over garage bed mattress we can get some condensation,

But if we use the installed Truma heater we don't have any problems, as it has ducting withing the garage area and under the bed/mattress,

We also found a similar situation with regard to the pipework withing the floor, the standalone heater does not protect them but the main Truma ducting does as it passes through these areas.

Condensation is formed by warm air hitting a cold surface, where the water vapor in the warm air condensates out thus forming the wet patches that we find, warming up the cold areas and increasing the ventilation are the main things that will help to stop it happening,

Just some thoughts that may or may not help.
 
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BudgiePadlow

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Nov 11, 2009
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Thanks everyone for your thoughts which confirm what I have heard and seen in other vans. I think the installation of plywood plank to create a 1/2in gap may be the answer but the 'bed' consists of two sprung single mattresses which are fitted transversely and are a very,very tight fit. I am not sure if they can be compressed all along one side and one end with any success ( there is a headboard at the top and the other side is inboard and not touching outer walls.). Interestingly, the problem does seem worse if we are leaving the oil-filled radiator on during cold nights.
Thanks again
paul
 

ips

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Jul 3, 2009
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Have always camped, caravaned or had boats. Now in our second year with the motorhome.
I sympathise with this problem having had similar probs on various boats over the years. IMO the only guaranteed fix is to use a spray adhesive and put some headliner around the bed (as mentioned by Teensvan) you could either do the whole height or maybe just an inch or so above the mattress, Headliner can be bought from many car / boat upholstery places this one does mail order Link Removed
I have done a few boats and also the over cab locker on our MH due to damp / condensation. I dont think a heater will totally cure the prob unless its in the garage, we installed an additional blown air vent in the garage which is now loverly and warm so that would probably erradicate the problem.

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davetthedon

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Mar 25, 2009
141
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Malvern, Worcestershire
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MH
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We had a leaky locker door, which I eventually managed to fix, but to dry it out i disconected the heater conduit that blows through the locker and back into the rear of the van, so the warm air first heats the locker and then the back of the van. The upshot of this is that the bed is above the locker and gets very toasty and now stays dry, because we had a bit of condensation trouble the same. No more nasty draughts up the duvet!!! :Blush::winky: from the wall sides of course. Coupled with a nice electric blanket, cor bring on those cold nights!!!
 
Jan 11, 2010
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Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
condensation

Thanks everyone for your thoughts which confirm what I have heard and seen in other vans. I think the installation of plywood plank to create a 1/2in gap may be the answer but the 'bed' consists of two sprung single mattresses which are fitted transversely and are a very,very tight fit. I am not sure if they can be compressed all along one side and one end with any success ( there is a headboard at the top and the other side is inboard and not touching outer walls.). Interestingly, the problem does seem worse if we are leaving the oil-filled radiator on during cold nights.
Thanks again
paul

Hi, Of course the problem will be worse if you leave the radiator on, that creates warm air that comes in contact with the cold walls of the van, this equals condensation.
 

pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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Interestingly, the problem does seem worse if we are leaving the oil-filled radiator on during cold nights.
Thanks again
paul

warm moist air will condense on the cold walls a lot faster than warm wall.

it may be the radiator is warming the exposed wall slightly but the wall behind the mattress is still colder so the moist air will condense there only.

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