Aliner Roof Condensation Solution

[@jamescoombs4754]

I put self adhesive felt over the aluminum on the peak no more condensation issues it comes in various widths

[@CosmoWeems]

There are 4 sources of water vaper. You Hubby Ranger and the heater. Each human breathes out about a pint of water - that's a quart. Not sure what ranger is producing. The big producer is the Wave heater. If I did my research correctly one gallon of propane puts out 2 quarts of water. Not sure how much your are burning overnight. I am not in an aliner but my solution when I was using Mr Heater was to leave the top vent open (mine it at the highest point) that carried out warm moist air (unfortunately heat too). It was less efficient but helped me reduce condensation. I have since changed to a Propex HS 2000 (about $900) heater which emits no moisture but makes more noise. I have a video on that heater. Nice to see you producing videos again! Looking forward to more. -Cosmo

[@averagealice8877]

Hi Cosmo - I spent some time checking out the Propex heater which I wasn't familiar with, so thanks! It looks like a good unit and I'll definitely keep it in mind if we ever get even more serious about long winter camping trips. (Or I ever get to design my dream custom off-road van/RV). We always vent a window with the Wave 3 for safety, and yes, even NOT running that heater we get some condensation in cold weather. Our Aliner with double dormers has roughly 506 cu. ft of interior space to heat, and the Wave 3 doesn't add more than 20 degrees above outside temps in our situation. The pros are we can run it all night and it's quiet and uses very little propane, but interestingly it looks like it uses about the same as the Propex 2000 if running continuously. (4.1 oz for the Wave 3 on "high" vs. 5 for your Propex). The Aliner came with a Atwood hydro flame AFS forced air furnace which works somewhat like the Propex but is noisy and because of the thermostat location we can't run it all night. I think in our future we'll reconsider the Wave 3 and either get a Wave 6 or look at the Propex in more detail. And look into getting a different thermostat control. I think one issue for me, since I'm a light sleeper, would be the constant cycling off and on of the Propex fan...maybe there's a way to keep the fan running even when the heat isn't being generated? (Like in some hotels)? Thanks again.

[@CosmoWeems]

@@averagealice8877 Another popular far less expensive option are the crop of Diesel fuel forced hot air heaters. They sell for as little as $200 vs the Propex at $900. Thuy use these diesel heaters to heat the cab of trucks when parked overnight. Users love them. THey look and operate much like the Propex but rung on Diesel fuel. I have not used the Propex in very cold weather yet. The Fuel consumption may be the same as the Wave but in my case it turns on and off so the duty cycle (running tine) is not very long. Maybe 20 min over an hour but I am not sure yet. Sorry cant help with waking up when your snoozing. Maybe a glass of wine or a good time to give Ranger a hug,

[@CroakerOutdoors]

Great video. Can you speak to any water intrusion from normal rain? My SO and I are comparing a pop up vs aliner. I like how easy the aliner is but you are paying a premium for limited space. My concern is it’s more expensive and don’t want to get caught up with having to repair water damage. Thank you!

[@averagealice8877]

@@CroakerOutdoors We no longer have the Aliner but I can say that rain leaks can affect any rv/trailer unless you stay on top of them. Our Aliner had the Azdel panel ceiling which can’t be damaged by water, but the lower walls maybe had lauan. We had occasional issues in the corners in heavy rain but gorilla tape diverters worked ok. Fabric pop ups can be an issue in bear country.

[@pilgrimjane1]

thanks for posting Alice, always enjoy watching what you're doing with you A-van. We have a cruiseliner a-van which doesn't have the dormer windows but looks very similar. cheeers from Australia.

[@mickdill5469]

Thank you Alice! I've been working on ideas of how to resolve this.

[@susanpremo8068]

We just bought but haven't been able to use yet, a aliner classic, the woman we bought it from told us to make sure that one side, the top, is just a touch higher than the other, so it shouldn't leak. I just joined this Facebook forum, midwest aframe repair & service, no comments can be made, just a professional person that answers questions. I think she got that idea from him. Anyway thought you might like it.

[@averagealice8877]

Thanks. The only actual rain leak we've had has been at the lowest point of the side wall of our dormer. Also water gets in the peak of the roof when we hose it off sometimes with water spraying at the wrong angle. I'm not sure how raising one end of the trailer would change those - I imagine you'd have to really not be level to make a difference and we want it level for our refrigerator. The roof is made with an overlapping lip on the top panel to keep rain out.

[@responsiblelogic9478]

Thanks for the video! I camp in the snow when the temp never gets above freezing and use closed cell pipe insulation inside the roof peak, and on all the joints of the panels (inspired by S. Potato), to cut down on drafts. Works great but there's no water absorption capability and, since I can't dry something out (due to very cold temps) I deal with drips. The insulation helps keep the alum frame frozen, but behind the insulation, so it doesn't drip a lot unless it's allowed to thaw. Still working on this issue. It's one of the compromises that go along with having a folding trailer. Great input from you, thanks for sharing!

[@mikeboz4444]

Huge thanks for the heads up!!

[@popatop75]

thank you very very much for the idea. i have a aliner but my windows leaks will try this thanks again

[@mjbarran]

I look forward to your posts. Thank you!

[@marymichaels5434]

Uyu

[@xv9dl]

Good info. I too have a small Aliner and a Wave 3 and a Wave 6. The wave 6 really heats up the place but produces a lot of water. The wave 3 not as much. The problem is I often camp at 10K feet in CO where the weather can be very cold at night. Thinking of buying a Kifaru wood stove and using that to heat the place. The combustion takes place inside the stove and is vented out the pipe that exits from the open window. I would still have to contend with my own body water production. I will have to experiment this winter to see what works best.

[@averagealice8877]

Chuc Mung That’s very interesting about the wave six- we are thinking about getting one maybe. I guess my preference for a propane heater would be that we can run it all night. Not sure how you do that with a wood stove?

[@xv9dl]

@@averagealice8877 From my tent camping days, I never run a stove or heater all night. So a wood/propane stove is only for the early morning or evening. You can't feed it all night. I just make sure I wear military poly underwear inside my sleeping bag. My bag is a -10F Alps Redwood full size rectangle bag on top of a 6" memory foam mattress. The Aliner cushions are not really good for cold weather. I know all I listed helps you but not your pooch, So I guess you need to make a nice warm bed for him with blankets. I did that for my small dog. She was fine. Cute dog.

[@averagealice8877]

Chuc Mung Thanks- good idea on the underwear. To be honest we just wear stretchy clothes or sometimes wool sweaters to bed because it makes it easier to go out in the middle of the night if nature calls. Also use two heavy sleeping bags in top (one minus 10) and a home bedspread underneath. I have experienced a couple of nights where it seemed the cushions were the coldest! I was somewhat surprised.

[@flyfliker]

Easy solution, Great video. How does the trailer pull behind your SUV

[@averagealice8877]

FlyCaster just great! We can’t see over the top behind us but it hasn’t been a problem.

[@boba6776]

Hi Alice - Ranger looks like he is having a good time camping with you - hard to train a puppy in a small camper. Nice video and solution to the dripping problem. I wonder if you are planning on doing more camping as it gets colder. Bob

[@averagealice8877]

Bob A I’d love to but it’s really difficult with a puppy! Still considering our options. When they’re so young boarding them might be too stressful ?

[@axemanfishing2703]

Excellent ideas on the highest point center drip fix, I like it. Also, the one thing I hate about ALL RV's is the thermostat. They are useless, this is why I always install digital thermostats in my rv's. They are battery controlled, cheap to buy, the two wire works well for the stock wiring with no need for 12 volt power. Makes the LP stock heaters operate much more efficiently, less propane waste, they cycle less often, and make an rv way more comfy. I live in Canada, so when boon docking, its a must, otherwise, we use small electric heaters, no condensation issues but still keep the windows cracked slightly. Co2 detectors, a must must must at all times. We have NOT tried this in an aliner as yet, but have in much larger units. We get our basic aliner ranger 12 next week, and can hardly wait. :-) I plan to vapor barrier the floor underneath, then add 2 inch foam insulation between the frame cavities. Our last camper was an old coleman tent trailer that I rebuilt, and I gotta tell ya, it was no better than a tent for retaining heat in cold weather. Thanks for sharing your great ideas, its helping me plan for my project. :-)

[@averagealice8877]

Thanks. Our Aliner has a Dometic digital thermostat (12 volt) - we just need to move it - we'll probably store it loose in a cabinet and pull it out when necessary...maybe attach a longer wire. Yes we've run a electric space heater off of our generator on one trip (boondocking) but haven't figured out the energy use pros and cons vs. just using the RV propane heater & fan. Let me know if you've got a comparison on that! My guess: using the RV heater allows you to camp longer unless you're hauling a lot of extra gasoline for the generator... But we have 2 propane tanks... probably depends on your exact setup.

[@axemanfishing2703]

@@averagealice8877 Oh yes, the newer have the digital thermostat, but does it go below 40F? If not, replace it with one that does and you will be fine without having to even move it. I am going to try your trick with the shower bar, but will hang a piece of reflectix to cover a large portion of roof, as this will reflect the heat that rises back to us, while minimizing condensation, at least in theory. Will test it and see. Aluminum is an excellent conductor, so, using reflectix should lessen ice build up. We hate generators, will not use them. So, its either shore power, or boondocking with the LP heater, or a coolcat coleman that we have and use heavy sleeping bags. I am certain adding vapor barrier and insulation to the floor will achieve excellent results. I did this to my cottage many years ago, and could not believe how warm the floors became just by stopping moisture from penetrating through our floor. Happy trails Alice. Cheers Al

[@noniemcd]

I love your videos, Alice.

[@jonsmith2217]

I talked to several places about condensation on the inside of a roof of a cargo trailer. There has to be an air gap between the top of the ceiling and the outside of the roof. And they won't that are Gap space between the ceiling and outside roof vented to the outside. I hope I have enough of an air gap not to cause moisture on my cargo trailer project. And I'm not sure if I'll have space enough to vent that are Gap outside ideally. Most businesses in the winter time I noticed have condensation on the inside Windows a lot of them do on single pane glass. At Cracker Barrel in the winter time freezing cold outside there's no condensation on a single pane window on the inside. But they have the baseboard Electric heaters that's hot located under each window. And there's no condensation on the windows in the winter time. Moisture causes mold unless it's dried up and cleaned with bleach if needed. You just don't want to start a mold problem.

[@harrymills2770]

So the propane heat in the A-Liner is exhausting into the cabin? Doesn't use a heat-exchanger and blow hot air?

[@averagealice8877]

We no longer have this Aliner, but it came equipped with a standard RV propane heater with exhaust to outside, and then we added a Wave 3 catalytic heater.

[@SalmanShaikh-my8es]

can you plz show us how aliner roof mechanism actually works i want DIY Aliner..hope you reply with a video..thanks

[@herbclark2476]

That was an interesting suggestion!

[@chenwu9788]

Thanks for sharing the solution,

[@dtec30]

would putting a section of gutter with drain line help ? you could make a cup style holder on each side and slide it into place

[@averagealice8877]

Creative idea! I'm not sure how you would seal the gutter against the roof so it catches the water as it runs down the inside of the roof (not all of it drips straight down)

[@dtec30]

@@averagealice8877 add a drip edge with aluminium strip

[@Glock274Jimmy]

Have you tried a dehumidifier?

[@averagealice8877]

No. Are you thinking of electric, or chemical? Running a noisy generator isn't our favorite way to camp, but I"m not familiar enough with the chemical varieties and whether they prevent actual dripping condensation. Running the RV forced air heater would have helped but then we need to run the generator eventually.

[@susanpremo8068]

Hey Alice, do you know of what the best material is to cover an a liner? We have to store ours outdoors, thanks!

[@averagealice8877]

Sorry I don't. We haven't been covering ours and we probably should have!

[@susanpremo8068]

@@averagealice8877 do you store your outside? I'm in Minnesota, so snow. I suppose we'll get a tarp for it. Not covering yours, is your camper still fine?

[@averagealice8877]

Susan Premo we are in San Diego so no snow and not enough rain. There are lots of discussions about some of your issues on the A frame camper group on groups.io. We store ours open but I’m no expert on this!

[@lynnemartin910]

Thank You so much w have a pug to

[@jayjeep6178]

Another good idea ! I did use your grey water tank idea it works like a charm . Did a video giving you the credit. Also watch Slim Potatohead . Keep up the good work.

[@averagealice8877]

Old Man and a Jeep KJ So happy the tank has been helpful !

[@dkafsky]

The catalytic heater puts out H²O . A vented heater or more ventilation is needed.

[@BrandonViani]

Good to know thanx

[@HobbsHorror]

What a great idea could use that for my rig

[@larrymarkham2627]

Propane makes condensation I would switch to a diesel heater you will have dry heat then

[@f42un84u]

Possibly consider wireless thermostat located where you need heat and positive controlled ventilation via roof vent and fan. I find a slightly open side window and slightly open roof vent is enough. Very little condensation. Alternatively moisture absorbing devices(Dollar tree) and/or mini electronic dehumidifier (Amazon) do help. Hate to see you risk a fall or pole drop with that towel pole solution.

[@averagealice8877]

Wireless a possible idea. We ended up moving the thermostat (wired still) so we can pull it out and use it above the bed when we need to. Sorry to disagree about the venting solution though, especially if it's below freezing outside. It just makes it too unbearable inside the trailer. At my age my motto is "Use it or lose it" so it's good for me to do some acrobatics occasionally

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

we moved our thermostat to a fixed beside the light fixture above the rear bed, we can reach it from bed :-)

[@averagealice8877]

Good move. We did finally remove ours from the wall but kept the wires intact and mounted it in a plastic box in the cupboard. It’s a little strange but at least now we can get to it

[@cookiemonster93fly]

smart idea

[@garywells3874]

I like how you show how to do things and not talk about them. If we could use a very small wood fireplace the wet would go away because of dry heat. Propane heat produces water.

[@whatafukndick5660]

!00% correct, using the vented furnace is best. I remove my roof vent and run a small wood stove in mine for longer camping in the cold. I built a metal box that the pipe slides through, and fills the hole.

[@patrickmckowen2999]

Good info 👍

[@colinl9018]

I think you may be mistaking aluminium surfaces for 'steel'

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

your water problem may explain why another post shows two campers installing a temporary PVC and foamboard false ceiling - look for it - it may help you out. It was quite clever.

[@averagealice8877]

Yes I've seen that. I guess it's not my favorite because of the bulk of hauling the ceiling materials along with you and the time to put it up each time you move

[@mickdill5469]

Anthony, can you find/share this link you are talking about?

[@pizzafloof4253]

Oh, man, those catalytic heaters put out heat and water vapor. Not good for campers.

[@averagealice8877]

CharlieMonster We’ve had plenty of condensation even without the propane heater, just from cooking and breathing all night.

[@pizzafloof4253]

@@averagealice8877 Yeah, I get a lot too with 4 people in a cab over camper. I want to get a cubic mini stove to burn firewood.

[@susanpremo8068]

@@averagealice8877 I heard that ceramic heaters were supposed to help with that. No?

[@averagealice8877]

@@susanpremo8068 Yes but we're boondocking and a ceramic heater would require using a generator (we avoid it because of the noise and fumes)

[@susanpremo8068]

@@averagealice8877 yes, the noise from generators can be awful, we camped at a state forest campground, and the next morning, after listening to one all night, I spoke to the folks that were using one. I told them its against the rules , and he seemed really perplexed, but refused not to use it. Oh well, what are you going to do?

[@lindasue8719]

Sorry, the events of my day shouldn't have let me be crabby here. Apologies

[@johnnybx3254]

Great tips! Watch Slimpotatohead