Is this normal for Nuevo?

This has been my first winter owning a new Nuevo. I'd previously had a monocoque Clubman for 17 years. So I winterised the Nuevo as I did for the Clubman, draining down thoroughly as per best practice described on this Forum, and leaving all cupboard doors open, and so on. No heating left on. All seemed well. Until this morning. As I'd done in the Clubman, I left pillows and Duvalays up in the Luton, together with matress etc. To my dismay, I've just discovered mildew on the pillows. That suggests damp. I'm taking it for it's first annual hab service soon, and will get it checked.

I've also found a small pool of water in the under side-bed locker near the external opening hatch. That will be sorted at the hab service. The amount of water, and its location, suggests that it isn't the source of the mildew up in the Luton, but it won't help the overall internal humidity.

Whilst I suppose it would be better to bring soft furnishings and bedding indoors for the winter, I never had to for the Clubman. It was dry, though cold. Do other owners of a Nuevo leave such stuff onboard over winter without problems?

Wish I'd never sold the Clubman!

Hi Cymro, weve had 3 coachbuilt  M/Hs over 19 Yrs and rightly or wrongly I have always left furnishings in situ and never had any problems at all. But I will put a 900watt oil fired radiator on timeswitch for 3 hrs at night if we get really cold or exceptionally wet weather.Best of luck with it ,vans still in warranty so try and get it sorted ,I know the exterior lockers are always a weak point with water ingress but damp in the luton shouldn't be  Kind regards   Paul

We take all of the bedding in and leave a 2kw oil filled heater on 500w during cold spells, I.e now.
Never had any problems with damp in the Luton area.Sigma is nice and dry .
Boaby

We always leave everything in. Most weeks the van is used a couple of times and once the temperature gets to zero or below, the little heater in is on. Never had any problem with damp over the years except for a couple of (repairable) leaks and the occasional accident by one of the cats!

That's quite a worry Cymro.  

As you know this our first motorhome so anything we do is down to the advice obtained here, other forums and through reading as much as possible.  Our van is in storage and we went over today to check it for the first time since just before Christmas.  Unfortunately it's not possible to heat the van so we drained down, moved the seats to allow air to circulate and left the bedding stored in vacuum bags. Thankfully the solar panel has done it's job and the batteries are fine but the upholstery was definitely "damp" feeling (despite us leaving a number of dehumidifiers around). Big surprise was the amount of mould on work surfaces and, particularly, right across the dash.  We had all the blinds closed so it was probably not helped by the lack of sunlight.  It was pretty easy to wipe clean but perhaps a sign we need to visit more often. 

I hope you get the source of the water sorted out soon.

We have just had our first trip out in our Rienza and I must say the bedding stored above the cab in the Luton seemed cold. Our Duetto over cab locker must have been kept warm from the vans heater on the move or was better insulated up front.
 We keep the pillows and mattress toper in sealed bags. The rest of the bedding only goes in the van as we leave home.
 The living area of the Rienza is a lot cosier than the Duetto. Before leaving for the pub we made the bed up and left the heater on low to air the bed. Nothing better than a warm cosy bed on a cold night including a couple of pints on the way.

We leave bedding in the van most of the time. It does feel cold this time of year but never have found mildew or mould. We hang a couple of damp absorbing sand bags whenever we are not using it. We used them in the Symphony when we had it, maybe they work.

At a guess I would say condensation is your problem in the luton.
When laid up for any length of time, on a dry day I open all windows and  doors to get a good air flow through, it's not only about heat. 

We have never had a mildew problem.

Leighton.

I agree with Bad Penny. I keep our Nuevo in a storage compound, but leave the 2 side windows fixed very slightly open to allow air to circulate which I believe helps reduce condensation. I understand the Nuevo is very well insulated so in cold conditions I assume you will get condensation. I keep bedding on board and have not had any problem

Goodness me, isn't this Forum excellent!  Thank you all for your prompt responses. I'll get it chacked at the forthcoming hab service, and shall try some winter ventilation. But I won't risk storing bedding in it henceforth.

Most grateful for the replies.  Thanks to you all.
Cymro

Even though my van is bone dry there is sometimes condensation when the outside temperature changes, i use a couple of those plastic moisture trap containers, only about a pound each, its amazing how much water they absorb. Use those and open windows now and again and you shouldnt have any problems.

Dave

I have never had a problem with keeping the bedding in the Luton all the time, I don`t take anything out of the van, do  the Nuevo`s have more insulation than the Clubmans I wonder,? I have an oil heater on frost setting, do not have any windows open, last winter didn`t have the oil heater on and the bedding was still fine, no damp anywhere. Mine is kept at home. 

Hope you get it sorted soon.

I inadvertently left the drivers door window open during wet windy weather this winter. The drivers seat got a soaking. I put a fan heater and a dehumidifier in for a couple of days and it dried out nicely. There was some bedding in the overhead lockers but there has been no sign of damp or mildew since, thank goodness

The one and only time I had a trace of mildew in my Nuevo was the winter I had it under a cover. This was an expensive breathable cover, tailored for the van.
Never again. I sold it on, and since having the van uncovered it's been as dry as a bone. I leave my external Silverscreen on which cuts down hugely on condensation. I never put a heater on, I think they create more problems than they solve.
Al.

The Nuevo has a lot of fixed ventilation and I have noticed that over winter there is a HUGE amount of condensation on the inside of the windscreen. From time to time I mop it up. We have not had mould but the furnishings are certainly cold and feel slightly damp. I leave the settees propped up to allow maximum air circulation.