Cupboards left open?

I’ve read somewhere that some owners leave the cupboard doors etc open when the van is in storage, particularly over winter. Can I politely ask, is this generally advised and if so, why?

Thank you in advance
Sally
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P.S. mine is in secure storage so no EHU or power to it.

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.

We bring in our bedding, leave all cupboards, doors and fridge open and no heating.  
Rich..

Peter Brown wrote:It will be of no benefit if you don't have any heating.

There’s definitely no heating, so I can see there would be no benefit to me.  Sadly I don’t have space to bring all the bedding home.
Many thanks
Sally
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RML wrote:We bring in our bedding, leave all cupboards, doors and fridge open and no heating.  
Rich..

Same here. It lets the air move freely within the van.

We’ve never put winter heating in any of our van either, dating from the 70s when we had caravans. I leave cushions and so on in the van, open all internal doors, drawers and cupboards to let air circulate and put the seat cushions on their side to let underbed spaces ventilate too. I leave blinds closed and curtains drawn closed as well. 

For the past 18 years we’ve stored our motorhomes a few feet away from the river on a farm in one of the wettest villages in Oxfordshire. We’ve never had a hint of damp or mould.

 A cold, dry well-ventilated van will have no problems.

Same again, cupboards and fridge open, all blinds shut and bathroom door open. Plugged in to mains on a timer switch to keep the batteries topped up. Put the ctec charger on the engine battery if we can't use the van for a long period every now and again just to keep it 100% charged. Heat only when it gets down to freezing with an oil filled radiator. Never had a problem yet.

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.

Thank you all for the input, it’s been most enlightening.

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

I dont really understand the logic in heating a van to get rid of damp. Heating it will not reduce the water content inside the van. It will raise the humidity off the air which will then condensate on cooler surfaces. Heating the van and then opening the doors/windows to allow the humid water laden air to escape would be helpful. Best to do on a dry windy day. The most important thing is to get a bit of air moving around the van. As others have said keep cupboards and internal doors open. This will allow air movement and help reduce damp patches. If you look around your home most people will find a corner that has a bit of mould on the wall. Caused by warm moist air condensation on a cold surface that gets little air movement.

The 'heating the van' debate is another of the polarising opinions we often get in Motorhoming...
Some use heat to protect the water system in the van when not in use and very cold weather strikes...however, a simple way around this is just to drain the system fully and leave outlets and taps open.
Others use heat to 'keep the van cosy' but, as has been mentioned, warm air meeting colder surfaces will always result in condensation of varying degrees. Unless the whole fabric of the van is brought up to the same temperature (which takes a fair bit of heating) condensation will always be a factor.
Of course, we humans are great generators of condensation, with our warm breath cooling on external surfaces.
IMHO, far better to keep all of the van at the same temperature and leave air to gently waft about with lockers (and fridge door) open, if required.
By all means use the heat if preparing to use the van but heating to 5/10/15 deg or whatever for weeks/months on end (when no water in the system) is probably a waste of money but might make you (one) feel better.
I don't heat my van, I don't have it plugged in...I just check the batteries a couple of times a week to ensure the solar is keeping them charged, which it is.
The van is dry and, by adding some internal insulated screens, not 'cold' despite the grey, damp weather....and earlier frosts.
I can't think what extra benefit heating it since (say) October would have given.
As I said, a polarising subject....

I think as you say Bolero boy, heating your van makes people feel good they are doing something positive and are unaware of the possible down side of this.

As Al posted earlier I find leaving the external thermal screens on throughout the winter helps enormously.

Yes, screens (interior or exterior) can certainly make the van feel less cold during winter. Whether it's 'worth' heating the van in top of this will be a personal choice.

When you are preparing your van for winter it’s worth putting something between the windscreen wiper blades and the windscreen to stop them freezing onto it. 

We used to use a couple of lengths of silicone oven liner lining until we bought a set of specially made waterproof bags from a craft sale in Spain. Useful in summer too to stop the rubber sticking. Some use corks but we found they distort the wipers. 

A note on the steering wheel reminds you to take them off before you drive anywhere.

For most winters since we've had vans, I have drained down completely, insulated as much as possible by fitting the external silver screen covers plus purpose made insulation (polystyrene panels covered in aluminium foil) above the roller screens on the skylights, closed the side window reflector blinds and curtains, then used a small oil-filled electric radiator to maintain a minimum background heat level. 

The reason for doing this was that we normally use the van throughout the winter for day trips, going for takeaways (eaten in the van) etc and this made it much more comfortable. I monitor the internal temperature and humidity using electronic data loggers (I used to have a business selling these before I retired) to make sure I'm not overdoing this and I have a plugin power usage meter on the EHU which showed that the cost of this, properly managed, was only pennies per day.

This year however, due to lockdown, there have been no opportunities to use the van in this way nor are there likely to be for the near future, so I drained down and insulated as before but have not used any heating. EHU is connected solely to supply the CTEK smart charger which I have on the engine battery to prevent the alarm from draining it.

I check regularly and although fairly chilly inside there is no sign of any damp or condensation problems so far. 

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..

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.

bolero boy wrote:Yes, screens (interior or exterior) can certainly make the van feel less cold during winter. Whether it's 'worth' heating the van in top of this will be a personal choice.

One of the 'worths' of running the heating 'occasionally' is to avoid the use-it-or-lose-it problems that could occur with a system being shut down for months.
Sleepy van syndrome is a real issue even in a normal winter break, but with the extended non use during the pandemic, many vans' systems/appliances haven't been fired up for months.
I'm certainly not advocating the unneccesary 'monthly' runs down the bypass mentioned in other threads, but if you have access to your van then a gradual run through (perhaps on the drive) of using all the appliances on electric and gas will keep them ticking over or identify any issues earlier than when it's next used for real.
Fridges, heaters, hobs, ovens etc will all benefit from a quick blast....and let you enjoy a nice warm cuppa on the drive.

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.

bikeralw wrote:

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've not found this to be the case.
Without the exterior thermal screen on, the windscreen condensates on the inside when the temperature drops towards zero after a relatively sunny day. This doesn't happen with the screen cover on. Also the exterior cover is an added theft deterrent.
I've done this for many years and far prefer the screen on than off. A wash down with a stiff brush is all it takes to get it clean in spring.
Al.

I agree about the deterrent but I've done both with and without the external cover on, while on the drive and never get condensation.   Each to their own. 
Thanks. 
Rich..