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Old 01-27-2016, 10:00 PM   #1
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Living long term in a Dutchman Denali TT

Hey everybody,
Just retired from the Navy, I'm planning on keeping my house in CA where I was stationed, and renting it out. I am going to be living in my TT in Ohio (yea from CA to Ohio brrrrrr) where my family is, at least for a couple of years.

Any advice for somebody who will be living in their TT?
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Old 01-27-2016, 10:56 PM   #2
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Well, first off... congrats & welcome to the retirement world!

As for living in the rig... well, as a navy man, you're already used to living long term in confined spaces, so that shouldn't be a problem. At least you won't be hot bunkin'.

The biggest issue as I see it, will be staying warm in winter. But I'm sure others on here with experience in that area will chime in to help.
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Old 01-28-2016, 01:13 AM   #3
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Welcome to the culb. Best job I've ever had.

The biggest problem with cold weather camping is humidity. The more humidity in the camper, the higher you have to set the t-stat to be comfortable. Humidity creates the perfect environment to grow mold and mildew.

You need to reduce the amount of humidity that you big into the trailer like snowy boots and shoes.

When we camp in the winter we keep the bathroom fans on to get rid of the excess humidity. We have a hygrometer beside the t-stat, as the humidity rises the bathroom fans go up in speed, to exhaust the humidity faster.

You can automate the process by using a humidistat. At home we have humidistats controlling the bathroom fans, as the temps drop you dial down the amount of humidity in the air. If you have a fan with a wall mount switch or controlled by a thermostat, it is simple enough to put a humidistat in to the circuit.

This site will give you everything you want to know about humidity. It's talking HVAC systems in buildings, but the same principles apply in a camper.

Humidity Control | Sustainability Workshop
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Old 01-28-2016, 01:19 AM   #4
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Wow never even thought that Humidity was going to be an issue. Will need to look into that. The trailer is brand new so I'm skeered to mess with stuff lol.
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Old 01-28-2016, 03:22 AM   #5
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It is, but it's manageable. We mop down the windows several times a day and get all that water out of the camper and leave all the doors open so you get air moving.

If you find that the humidity is getting ahead of you, you may need to get yourself a small dehumidirier.
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Old 01-28-2016, 09:43 AM   #6
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Look up Cale from this site. He's got it down to a science, including running propane from a larger, outside tank that he has a company refill. Stay warm!
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Old 01-28-2016, 05:28 PM   #7
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We use a small Dehumidifier, and like a few above, added Fan Covers to all the fan openings, so the fans can stay working during rain or snow
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Old 01-29-2016, 01:46 AM   #8
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My wife and I went full time in our Dutchmen Voltage for all of last year during a transition time for me in the Army. We also used a small dehumidifier, and put vent covers over our fans so they could be run regardless of the weather. I would also add that you need to become very familiar with the systems on board, and some basic repair and maintenance procedures. Being your home, if you run into problems you won't be able to drop it off for service, or even begin to deal with the enormous wait times if you must bring it somewhere for repair. You will quickly learn to be an electrician, plumber, HVAC technician, mechanic, and possibly a structural engineer! There are some good books out there on the subject, and this forum is an excellent resource. Best of luck, and thanks for your service!
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Old 01-30-2016, 03:55 AM   #9
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Thanks for the great advice. A dehumidifier and fan covers are totally on my list of items to get.

The good news is that I will be living near family that as their occupations are :Electricians, HVAC and sheet metal, mechanic, and carpenter. Only thing I wont have to hit up for help is a plumber.
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Old 01-30-2016, 08:00 PM   #10
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The good thing about full timing it that you can stay on top of every little problem. You are inside when it rains so you can check for leaks in real time and not have to wait until it stops or until you have time to go to storage and have a look. Same for electrical, plumbing and HVAC, real time monitoring.
So much better than waiting for spring to arrive to find out the pump went south or the mouse ate your couch or the windows won't open.
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Old 01-30-2016, 08:55 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeF View Post
Thanks for the great advice. A dehumidifier and fan covers are totally on my list of items to get.

The good news is that I will be living near family that as their occupations are :Electricians, HVAC and sheet metal, mechanic, and carpenter. Only thing I wont have to hit up for help is a plumber.
Maybe your HVAC/sheet metal guy can figure out a way to build you an air to air heat exchanger to help with the humidity. I used to have the formula to calculate the size requirements, but that box of papers is long gone.

They bring in fresh air from the outside and exhaust the stale air, in the process the intake air is warmed as the exhaust air passes though the heat exchanger. There is so much wasted energy in the closed combustion systems that the furnace and hot water heater, there is a potential to recoup some of it using and Air to air heat exchanger. That part of the equation needs the expertise of your HVAC guy.

I built one in an old house we had about 30 years ago. It worked well, but we were also living on the coast so we didn't get many days of freezing weather.
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Old 01-31-2016, 01:19 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hddecker View Post
Maybe your HVAC/sheet metal guy can figure out a way to build you an air to air heat exchanger to help with the humidity. I used to have the formula to calculate the size requirements, but that box of papers is long gone.

They bring in fresh air from the outside and exhaust the stale air, in the process the intake air is warmed as the exhaust air passes though the heat exchanger. There is so much wasted energy in the closed combustion systems that the furnace and hot water heater, there is a potential to recoup some of it using and Air to air heat exchanger. That part of the equation needs the expertise of your HVAC guy.

I built one in an old house we had about 30 years ago. It worked well, but we were also living on the coast so we didn't get many days of freezing weather.
Yea, that sounds like an undertaking for way down the road lol. Will have to see how it goes with a regular dehumidifier first.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sundancer 87 View Post
The good thing about full timing it that you can stay on top of every little problem. You are inside when it rains so you can check for leaks in real time and not have to wait until it stops or until you have time to go to storage and have a look. Same for electrical, plumbing and HVAC, real time monitoring.
So much better than waiting for spring to arrive to find out the pump went south or the mouse ate your couch or the windows won't open.
That is very true. Thanks for the input.
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