Topic: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Goodie for us.  We have an enclosed trailer now.   But, um, that means we're storing the car in it this winter, which is new to us.  It's, perspiring regularly in our lovely Pacific Northwest climes.  Anyone got suggestions on how to manage moisture in a trailer?  We can run power to run a dehumidifier, fan or heater. 

Send links to any products you've used/like/swear-by.  And thanks.  Hoping to avoid the "tubs of dessicant" route to eliminate the "sh*t, I forgot to change the tubs" inevitability.

Thanks.

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Have you checked whether the trailer is weathertight?

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Assuming this is condensation forming on interior surfaces, and not rainwater coming in, better ventilation might solve your problem.

Condensation is the result of warm air against a cold surface.  Warmer air holds more moisture and as it cools it loses its ability to hold as much moisture.  In the evening as it cools outside, the skin of your trailer will also cool, but the air trapped inside your trailer will not cool as fast.  As the warmer air in your trailer comes into contact with the colder trailer walls and ceiling, it gives off its moisture in the form of condensation on the cold surface.  If the warmer air in your trailer can escape fast enough, there will not be enough temperature difference between air and surfaces for condensation to occur.

basically, you need some roof vents.

4 (edited by jimbbski 2020-02-18 05:16 PM)

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

I would have to say that your trailer is not very "tight" as in the door seals are not weather proof. Do you have a roof vent?

I stored my race car (Non-Lemons) in my enclosed trailer for a year +3 months here in the Midwest. I'm near Chicago.
We may not get as humid as the NW but we're certainly not Las Vegas!  The car looked as good the day I took it out as when I put it in the trailer.
My trailer is sealed very well. The only vent is a roof vent.
What I believe makes the biggest difference is that the trailer is insulated with 2" of foam in the roof and 1" of foam in the walls. The inside temp doesn't change as quickly as the outside so condensation is not a problem.

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Thanks for the replies. 

Seals - OK, I'll check this though I think they are solid.  Trailer is just a few years old.

Roof Vent - Yes, has one,which could be the main culprit.  I think it's a cheap replacement and might not have a seal.

Insulation - Nyet.  At least not in the ceiling.  Unsure about the walls.

We're seeing overnight temps of 30'ish, daytime in the low 50's.  The trailer gets full sun most of our short days.  Moisture seems to mostly be the engine sweating, which makes sense if it's still in the 30 degree range while the air temp in the trailer warms up.  Damn thing needs a coaster so it doesn't leave a ring on the floor.

I'm guessing we'll need a de-humidifier.  Anyone got suggestions?  One that regulates moisture level and temp?

Thanks,

Dave

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Following this because I have a similar problem in my storage container. Metal, no insulation, shipping vents only.

That guy

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Airflow is better than Dehumidification in an open system like that. Swap your vents for fully covered units if they're clam shells and set the fans on a timer system to run every couple hours.

Desiccants and dehumidifiers are for sealed systems like intermodal containers only, which a regular trailer isn't.

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Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

bilcoh wrote:

The trailer gets full sun most of our short days.  Moisture seems to mostly be the engine sweating, which makes sense if it's still in the 30 degree range while the air temp in the trailer warms up.

Some shade on your trailer would probably help too.  If the trailer is heating up quickly in the morning the air inside will pull all the moisture out of areas that are warming up and deposit it onto your still-cold engine block.  You could also stuff some sort of insulation/filler material into your engine bay if that's where you're having the biggest issue.  If you can keep the warm humid air from touching the cold surfaces, no condensation will occur.

It also sounds like you have some other source of moisture inside the trailer besides just air flowing in and out for you to see that much of this type of condensation.  I would go over all the seams and joints just to make sure.

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

I live on the coast in the south. Lots of humidity and temp changes. Check for leaks but don't try to make it air tight unless you are going all in to create a climate controlled space. Uninsulated, no leaks and top vents that stay cracked open is the easy way to go. Temperatures and humidity will stay roughly equal with outside. When it is raining out and the temp shifts a good bit then the floor will be damp to the touch and something like the block will take a little while to catch up. Rain stops and you get a little breeze and things will dry out. Living with 80 - 90 percent humidity and a little salt in the air isn't bad Things are going to rust a little but it will be a lot worse if you seal it up and don't let it change with the weather. Where you and I live it has to be totally a climate controlled space or a space that can change with the weather. Anything in the middle is just going to make things worse.

Re: Help. My car is rusting! Trailer moisture.

Quick update here.  Since last post, I ran the car till hot to get rid of any condensation.  Then checked all weatherstrip and make sure all vents were closed.  We've had wet and cool weather, thought not super cold (night have been above freezing) and everything looks dry and toasty in there on last check.  I think I the condensation from earlier might have resulted from a side vent I didn't realize was open.  It was that way to let fuel smell out, but certainly let moisture in as well. 

So, hopefully solved without any need for air management systems.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Dave