Winterizing a caravan in Melbourne

Rud · Member

Winterizing a caravan in Melbourne

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome to the gang Rud, enjoy here and out in the playground.

Mmmm, Rud hey, does your first name start with K by any chance confuse biggrin

I spent all winter during 2018 in Wonthaggi VIC and a month a couple of weeks ago in Young NSW during some pretty cold weather. My old stomping ground was Wonthaggi so I know how very cold and wet winter can be. Being Solo, living in the aluminium teepee full time and have single beds along side walls up front I discovered on those cold damp nights moisture beside the mattress of my bed the other side seemed OK. So I got two containers of 'Damp Rid' and a big bottle of refill. I put one in the foot end corner of bed against wall and the other in middle of van on a shelf to help. I also had the small window above my head open about 1" with aluminium cover closed up against that to protect from rain and it worked.

It was inconvenient but each morning I would lift the single mattress on it's long edge to allow things to dry out during the day and that also worked. I changed the 'Damp Rid' over every few days. It all helped and no damage has been noticed to date.

I am currently in Townsville and have no problems here as I have hatches, one window, little window above my head and door open 95% of the time.

I hope that is some help to your question.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

-- Edited by Dougwe on Sunday 16th of June 2019 05:13:53 PM

Meredith · Senior Member

We live in Melbourne and have stored our uncovered van in our yard over winter for the past 10 years without having an issue with mould. We do make sure the van is given a thorough clean after returning from the trip we normally do in autumn, wash all bedding and towels before putting them back in place in the van, really clean the fridge and prop it open. We just keep the van closed up and use a couple of Damp Rid containers, going out to the van every couple of months and replacing if necessary. Melbourne is wet and cold, but as long as you don't have any leaks the van should stay dry and the Damp Rid does all we need. I think there would be much more trouble storing it further north in the warmer months when it is humid.

Rud · Member

Thanks for the replies, they are indeed helpful (no Dougwe, my name does not start with a K, it's actually R) and thanks Meredith. I just added this to my edited post (preloved van) as I can't seem to find where to type when I want to reply, I'll work it out later!

I am new here and couldn't quickly find a search box so here I go;

I'm worried about having my preloved van parked at home without cover in Melbourne's weather for the winter months, how do I prevent the mattresses and curtains from catching a cold (mould that is), I have them inside the house at the moment but they're in the way.

So far I've read you can buy 2 kilos of renewable desiccant for about $60, I've read to leave the van sealed so humid air won't get sucked in, I've read people claiming they've never had a problem, just dry it out before shooting through, I've read some people have dehumidifiers, I think I have one, a reverse cycle 4kW portable from Kogan that has a dry air cycle and if I use that how long and often do I run it.

PS, the van is a 1992 15' Windsor Pop Top so I can drop the roof, I have a brand new full nylon cover with side zips that fits with the roof down but don't want to use it yet (don't want to get it dirty).

PPS The humidity today (15 June 2019) in the house is 53% and in the van 74% and I just remembered I was alerted because I have four bare cakes of Coles soap sitting in the corners of the van because they smell nice and when I picked them up they were super wet, all of them whereas the walls etc felt dry, maybe the soap is a super desiccant!

Rud · Member

Ahh, just found the reply box, I edited my post and included thanks to Dougwe (my name does not start with a K, it's actually R) and thanks to Meredith, both answers have the same solution so that will be good so thanks again.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

G'day Rud,
Welcome to the forum - spend an hour or so browsing the sections, finding the "Search" button, etc. There is a lot of useful stuff stored in it.

Doug (knowing our weather patterns) came to the right place to clear any mould out - had he been here in February when 1.6m of rain fell, it might have been a different situation & he might have grown webbed feet attempting to do a Stop The Rain dance!
However we were away ourselves. The house was closed up with only two windows partially opened & found mould only on two doors & the stair rails inside. The Damp Rid containers were all full of solution, so they did their job well.
You can get the larger refills from Bunnings

Rud · Member

Thanks Warren, will visit Bunnings soon.