combating condensation in van dwelling

I live in a fully insulated van but we get a lot of condensation under the bed.

I have raised the mattress up on slats with a 2″ air gap but it still gets wet under there.

We have taken to putting baking tin with moisture crystals to suck up some of the water but I could do with a better solution really

mamos

hi rob and bec as too no toxic insulation try b&q as thay have loft insulation made from 98%recycled plastic bottles its really easy to use looks like fake snow and you can handle without masks etc.the trick is also not to leave any gaps as this will cause cold spots making problem worse.hope this helps.

from a cold van in england.

think about installing a small woodburner with a chimney, will warm the van (good) and the lower the humidity nicely. there are some suggestions here: https://www.stillstoked.co.uk/travel/autumn/travel_tips/

good luck

ax

Hi All,

I am living in a van here in NZ pretty much year around.

My van is Toyota Hiace which I have been building for 3 years while living in it.

I have used wool insulation on the walls and 10mm polystyrene under the floor panel. I would have put thicker insulation on the floor but it cuts into my headroom which is just enough for me to stand in.

On the roof I have 25mm polystyrene blocks under the felt.

Cooking causes a lot of condensation and before winter I should put in extractor fan over the stove.

One important trick is to maximize the heating effect of the Sun and park such a way that you get sun heating the van in the morning.

Also I try to chop my travel so that after cooking dinner I travel to another spot to spend a night. that way I can use the van heater to heat the van before I go to sleep.

I have thought about inventing a micro wood heater which would use small sticks, pine cones or saw dust? Feel free to steal this idea as I would prefer to buy one off the shelf rather than spending money on developing one.

I almost hate to admit this, but I’ve tried numerous systems for combating this problem and the best one I’ve found is also the simplest: Keep at least two windows cracked open sufficiently for cross-ventilation.

Hi all,

I am completely new to this site so go easy on me, I was looking for advice on alternative living, power etc, and then I see you lot talking about vans and condensation. this is a topic I am familiar with having lived in a soaking wet caravan and am working on my second van conversion.

Avoid foam mattresses, we had these in the caravan, and you could ring them out in the morning!!! for the base of our bed we used the slatted bed bases from Ikea and futon mattresses, these weren’t cheap but well worth it. Our last van had a small workshop wood stove, I work with wood so fuel is cheap, and if you run out you can always find wood to burn by the road. Never use gas for heating, terrible condensation and it’s not good for you. Don’t try to make your van air tight, JessenB is spot on, and finally curtains are good at stopping your bus heating up too much, you can line your ceiling with just about anything, we have a section in the middle which is just fibre glass and my wife has made a curtain for that too, amazing difference (I think bright colours work best hope that is of some help to someone.