Condensation under mattress when cold camping

McNutty195

Hi all, been a while since I've posted on here. Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready/already started their 2021 camping season!

tl:dr Major moisture buildup under mattresses when heating T@G with space heater with upper fan vent open. Looking for a way to eliminate or mitigate this.

We've been out twice now this year, both times in February. Stayed pretty close to home here in Ohio. Based on weather history from weather underground, we saw a low of 17 degrees F the first weekend, and a low of 12 degrees F the second weekend. Really enjoyed both trips as our little space heater does a great job of keeping the T@G warm.

I was reminded the second night of the first trip how important it is to keep the top vent open when heating this way. Needless to say, it rained on us some when we woke up the next morning. However, the reason for this post comes from something I discovered when we returned home from the second trip. When unloading and changing our sheets I discovered that a significant amount of condensation had developed under the mattresses. Both mattresses were wet on the bottom, and there was quite a bit of moisture to wipe up on the plywood underneath.

I can imagine that this problem is the result of a lack of airflow under the mattress combined with the cold air under the trailer, and probably in the underbed storage meeting with the warmth of the interior air and the top side of the mattress. I've got the mattresses flipped up and airing out. Hopefully, that doesn't develop into a mold issue. Any ideas on how to alleviate this issue? I was thinking about going out and buying some sheets of XPS foam insulation, cutting it to size and laying it under the mattress. Thoughts on this or better suggestions?

JamesDow

I have wall-to-wall indoor/outdoor catpet under my matresses. After camping it can be easily pulled out for cleaning or to dry. It is great for solo camping when matresses are stacked. It has worked well for many reasons, not including your issue.

You may want to give it a try.

McNutty195

@JamesDow said:
I have wall-to-wall indoor/outdoor catpet under my matresses. After camping it can be easily pulled out for cleaning or to dry. It is great for solo camping when matresses are stacked. It has worked well for many reasons, not including your issue.
You may eant to give it a try.

That's an interesting thought.

I found your post discussing it, definitely sounds like a nice upgrade worth considering. Completely agree on the knee pain when kneeling on the plywood in the T@G. I'm probably imagining things, but something about the T@G's plywood seems to make it much more painful than regular plywood! haha I didn't see any pictures in your original post. Do you by chance have any that you could post so I could see what the finished product looks like?

JamesDow

Here are some photos of my indoor/outdoor carpet. I believe I got it at Home Depot.
CostCo also had some that I picked up for my outside Clam screen shelter. (Never used that yet).
Your condensation form where cold meets warm.
The carpet may insulate enough to avoid. It also may allow some airflow around the edges to assist in decreasing condensation.
Good luck.

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zgfiredude

I went hunting for indoor/outdoor carpet or rugs and struggled to find any with a foam backing....I went with two 1" thick yoga mats. They were cheap, from Amazon, arrived quickly and offer kneeling support, and sleeping support, and seemed to work well. They are light and easily moved.

McNutty195

@JamesDow said:
Here are some photos of my indoor/outdoor carpet. I believe I got it at Home Depot.
CostCo also had some that I picked up for my outside Clam screen shelter. (Never used that yet).
Your condensation form where cold meets warm.
The carpet may insulate enough to avoid. It also may allow some airflow around the edges to assist is decreasing condensation.
Good luck.

Awesome, thanks for the photos! I will look into that and likely give it a try. At worst, it should protect the mattresses from the moisture, and be easier to take out and dry as you have said.

LuckyJ

I did have condensation isue in tghe lower wall and corners of the T@G that would reach the edges of the matress, but never with tge matress or under matress humidity. One thing ai did that might have help on this is that I was not happy with the texture of top of the matress, so I made water proof enveloppe from them form a nice material. That is also helping keeping the matress clean and protected.

So I do thing that the moist air or any air at all reach the floor, protecting them fro humidity. As for wall condensation, I just need to ventilate more. 🙄

McNutty195

@zgfiredude said:
I went hunting for indoor/outdoor carpet or rugs and struggled to find any with a foam backing....I went with two 1" thick yoga mats. They were cheap, from Amazon, arrived quickly and offer kneeling support, and sleeping support, and seemed to work well. They are light and easily moved.

That may be a good option too. I might even look into combining both the carpet and the yoga mats!