Winter Camping with a Visa

[deltamark]

Wondering if anyone has done or plans to do any winter camping (dry camping, of course) with their Gulf Stream Visa? We were on vacation in New England at the end of October and when it got cold, we awoke to find a good amount of moisture built up on the inside walls and ceiling, particularly where the support beams were. Was wondering if there is any way to minimize this or if cold weather camping just isn't a good idea.

[tobor]

-
I don't think the Visa was intended to be used in cold climates, there's not much insulation (Probably to keep weight and cost down).

This spring we had a lot of condensation on some 'cool' nights when we used the heater, but then it was raining outside and the humidity was near 100%. If I was a guessing kind of person, I'd guess that the Visa is pretty well sealed so I think getting the humidity out is the key.

If you are going cold/winter camping you'll need to insulate the water lines that are outside the trailer. I just winterized our trailer for winter storage and seen the potable feed line and a large portion of the 'low point' drain lines were outside the trailer body. I can see them icing up fairly quickly.

Back to the humidity. Maybe you could find/make a desicant canister. There are humidity reducers that are used in food packaging and other items that need to maintain low humidity like wooden musical instruments, so maybe if you can find out who makes them or what's in them you could make a really large version of those.

Interesting question though. Hope you hear from others with more experience or suggestions.

[KristinU]

We went out a few times in cold weather in our previous trailer and while smaller, I think the same condensation effect is universal. With our Aliner the extruded aluminum edging would be where the condensation would build up the most. Caused by us breathing our warm moist breath all night agaings the cool outside, and especially those aluminum members that were colder...just like a cold drink on a warm humid day. What helped us is cracking the roof vent a touch, and just having a handful of microfiber towels to give it a wipe down in the morning. I think as long as you dry it off, it won't hurt anything...if you're cozy and comfortable I say go for it! Plenty of people winter/cool weather camp in tents and canvas pop-ups and get the same condensation issues.

And as Tobor said, the water system would be the biggest concern if the overnight temps are below freezing. If you really wanted to, you could insulate the tubing and get a tank heater pad to keep from freezing up, something like this mod: http://www.modmyrv.com/2008/07/17/rv-holding-tank-heating-pads