Cupboards left open?

It will be of no benefit if you don't have any heating.

If like many a small convector heating is left on to keep temperature above freezing and reduce humidity it is advisable to wedge the bathroom door open a little so that also benefits.

If any cupboards contain fabrics or anything else that would be impacted by damp it is helpful to leave them open as well.

Hi Sally,
we park on the road outside our house and only ever take the quilts in and have never had a problem with damp or mold in forty years, we don't put any heat on either. 
Pete

No heating and always leave the cupboards, loo door and fridge open and the seat cushions upended to maximise air circulation and never had any problems including with previous caravans.  We don't leave Duvalays and pillows in the motorhome.  I remain connected to an EHU but I now only switch the charger and EC700 on for a day every few weeks which I find more than enough to keep both batteries charged.  This stops the habitation step from working which I leave in the out position.

i know someone whose van is fully loaded ready to go at a moments notice.
not me 2 months since i have seen my van.

micky

RML wrote:I can't see the point of using external screen cover while the van is sorned, I just use it while it's occupied with heating on. Eventually the internal temperature will stabilise regardless of the insulation on the screen and it's not easy cleaning bird droppings of the fabric. I've just pulled the internal blinds and left everything open inside. 
Rich..

I'm the same.  I only use the external screen when I'm using the van.

In normal times, we would camp in every month of the year starting with the first full weekend in January and when at home I would use the van two or three times a week principally for the purpose of having a toilet available.

I would only fully drain the van if we were going to be home for a longish period of time and there was temperatures of 0 or below forecast for more than a couple of days. The toilet is always fully serviceable.

Around 15 years or so ago I suffered fairly minor frost damage during a prolonged severe cold spell in a van that was fully drained - well almost, the showerhead tap was closed with the head full of water that froze and shattered the head. That taught me how vulnerable our vans are to frozen water.

Since then, whether drained or not, when a prolonged period of freezing weather is forecast I activate my 500W oil filled radiator. It is not used to heat the van but to prevent temperatures inside going below about 1 deg. I wedge open the bathroom door and I close all the side and roof vent blinds to improve insulation (they do not impinge on ventilation) and if I'm not likely to use the van for a few days (eg over Christmas) I will also close the internal blinds on the windscreen. I have a max/min thermometer/humidity meter in the van and, when the freezing continues throughout the day the temperature will range between 0 and 2 deg, obviously if it warms up during the day, that temperature will rise.

Although the relative humidity is very high at these very low temperatures, the temperature differential at outside surfaces is too little to cause condensation so I don't have any damp problems.

If, like many who have posted previously, I was to store the van for three months or so I would drain everything very fully (disconnect the batteries), close all the blinds (to minimise light damage to fabrics) and be confident that the very generous ventilation features built into the van would minimise damp.

I do agree with Bolero boy the 'sleepy van syndrome' is a real issue and each year caravan and motorhome service agents are overwhelmed with work as units are brought out of storage and found to have faults.