Les Izmore
Junior Ranger
I’ve been working with Cary since early November, which was when we discovered that we had a leak in the galley hatch where the hinge meets the curbside wall. As we’ve worked to solve that problem, other leaks have been discovered and solutions have been attempted over the past weeks, mostly to no avail. But at this point I am cautiously optimistic that we’ve found solutions to every problem, though we won’t know for certain until we can road test everything in the rain (and there is none forecast for the immediate future for our area). Most of these issues have been covered in various forum posts. But the forum search function is frustrating at best, so finding those past solutions can be vexing. And this is chance to cover a large number of similar, somewhat inter-related issues in one post. As such, it may be that there is something of interest here for anyone experiencing a leak of some sort.
Before getting started, let me go on record that I feel Camp Inn makes a superior, high quality camper and I applaud their efforts in this forum at learning about and solving all known issues, and incorporating that knowledge into changes in their production procedures to eliminate similar issues for future owners. They are also human, and one leak is the result of a seal being incorrectly installed at the factory, leading to its premature demise. In short, mudflaps and routine maintenance appear to have solved most of our issues, so I’d like to share our lessons learned.
We had owned our Camp Inn trailer for three years with pretty much no issues or worries. So we were shocked when we stopped for the winter this year (after three and a half years of ownership and four solid months of camping on the road), finding leaks in our cabin, at the top curbside of the galley and in both of our deep storage compartments. One leak would have suggested the inevitable aging of the trailer, but this was at least four different leaks! So what has changed since all these problems started? The main thing is that we changed tow vehicles. The other is that something had been knocked out of alignment.
Window Leaks
We are on our third tow vehicle, and have finally found our Goldilocks solution - the first tow vehicle was not economical, the second was under powered and too small, and our current tow vehicle is just right (almost). Our first tow vehicles were a 2001 Nissan Frontier 4X4 Crew Cab and a 2013 Mazda CX-5. We know that we had no leak problems with those vehicles, because in 2014 we had a little mishap (written about in Camper’s Confessional) which required us to replace our onboard battery charger and battery. So we’ve been under the false floor in the sink side deep storage and into the battery compartment (including under the false floor there). We had no leaks there at that time. And we’ve regularly emptied out the cabin for thorough cleaning and found no evidence of any water getting inside and have had no condensation problems. All of these issues cropped up after we acquired our current tow vehicle, a 2015 Ford Transit Connect Long Wheelbase Cargo Van.
We love our new van in every respect other than these recent trials and tribulations. It averages close to 23 mpg while towing, it has plenty of torque for easily getting up the steepest hills (allowing us to tow in cruise control on moderate grades) and we can access any piece of our gear without having to unload some other piece of gear (and we probably carry more gear than the average Camp Inn owner). So why is it causing leakage?
It is well documented on the forum that certain vehicles with a wheelbase wider than the trailer cabin can cause water to be forced upward into the side window condensation drains and thus into the cabin. In our case, that issue was particularly acute because the rear of the van is lower than, for instance, a typical compact SUV. That low rear end means that as the tires pick up water from the pavement it is ejected backward toward the trailer at a lower angle than most vehicles. In our case, the bulk of the water was thrown almost directly at the drains, which was forced inside the cabin by the wind vortex created by the vehicle’s shape and speed of travel.
The primary cure for this problem is to install splash guards, and Cary recommended in our instance that they hang within about 2” of the pavement. There are several styles of splash guards, but the old school, wide, heavy flexible vinyl sort are the only reliable solution (as opposed to the newer sleek, rigid, molded plastic versions). The 9”x15” Ford splash guards that we installed came with very minimal instructions about proper placement, being a “universal fit” for dozens of different Ford models. As a result, on my first attempt they were installed a bit too far inboard. In that configuration, they cut down significantly on the spray hitting the trailer, but some spray got around the outside of the flap, so water was still able to find its way inside the cabin, though at a slower rate. I reinstalled the flaps so that they extended outboard beyond the edge of the tires and feel confident our cabin leakage problem has been solved (but I’ll only know for sure the next time we get a good rain).
Battery Compartment Leak
A related problem to the above is that the stream of water hitting the trailer was ultimately focused at the bottom rear of the trailer, as the wind forces it along the side of the trailer and over the fenders - the airflow over the fenders helps to direct and focus water flow to the rear bottom corner of each side. On the curbside, that water made its way around the optional solar panel plug and into the battery compartment. Thus it was at least partly responsible for the leakage in our deep storage compartments. Hopefully this leak has been solved by removing the plug and pumping a very generous amount of Lexan silicone into the hole before reinstalling it.
Early Warning Signs
It is worth discussing some early warning signs that we might have heeded about these particular leak issues. A classic sign with this problem is that the cabin curtains get wet. This didn’t happen for us, because we drive so few miles between campsites - we generally only drive a couple of hours per day, often at fairly low speed, generally covering only about 10 miles before stopping for ten minutes or more, and rarely driving over 60 mph. (So a leak could start, but a short time later we would stop, allowing some of the built up water to exit back out of the window vents before we started moving again.) Another sign is damp bedding by the doors. Again, our low daily mileage kept this from being a glaring problem. And with an active dog, some dampness in our bedding is a fact of life, though we do try to minimize it to the extent practicable. Another sign of this problem is dampness under the mattress, though this could as easily be due to condensation, water from wet shoes or rain coats being stored inside at night and various other causes. However, condensation shouldn’t be an issue if the side windows and optional roof vent are kept partially open at night (except in very cold weather or in exceptionally high humidity - look for Craig’s postings on the Camp Inn website on the causes of condensation for more on this topic).
In short, I think this water intrusion problem may affect other people who are unaware of it, because their tow vehicle produces less spray at the required low angle than is sufficient to cause the problem to be acute. Some perceived condensation issues may in fact be small amounts of leakage caused by road spray working its way in through the condensation drains. In many cases, any such leakage is likely to be small enough and intermittent enough that the water will evaporate or absorb into the bedding, so that no staining of the woodwork would result. And for weekend campers, there should be lots of opportunity for things to dry out on their own while the camper is sitting at home in the garage, further masking this problem.
My suggestion to all Camp Inn owners is that it is a good idea to install mud flaps when towing, even if there is no obvious benefit to doing so. For us, it also means the trailer doesn’t get dirty as quickly, so we don’t spend as much for car washes while on the road (and we have more time for more enjoyable pursuits). In our case, it won’t take long for those savings to cover the cost of the new mud flaps/splash guards.
In the interest of full disclosure, Camp Inn has a new window condensation drain cap that fixes the window leak problem in some cases. I’m told it is not a particularly aesthetic fix, but you can contact Cary if you are wondering if it might adequately address any problem that you are having. In speaking with Cary it sounds as though it is a less than optimal solution, that it is far better to directly address the real culprit - road spray. There also is one test that you would need to conduct in order to eliminate one possible cause of the condensation drain leak that would not be fixed with the redesigned drain cap.
There is also a TEMPORARY fix to the window vent problem - simply cover them with tape when driving on wet roads. But you need to remember to take them off every night, or you’ll have interior condensation with no place to go.
Deep Storage Leaks
Our main deep storage leak was caused by a maintenance issue and the fact that we were towing with the trailer’s nose slightly down (we were within a quarter inch of being perfectly level). Part of the dust seal along the bottom edge of the galley hatch had been knocked out of alignment. I suspect this occurred when we tried closing the hatch when something was in the way, and it unintentionally got pushed outward at one end. The result was that water was given a wider pathway into the galley. With our nose slightly down, it followed the drains around the deep storage lids until the water level got high enough to spill over into the deep storage cabinets. (It also seemed to push that end of the hatch up a tiny bit.) The fix for this was quite simple - pushing it back in, then assuring that the entire length of the dust seal was in contact with the hatch drain pan (the part in front of the deep storage lids, above the license plate bracket). This was done by pushing the seal in or out, as needed.
So our trailer’s slightly nose down orientation prevented prevent water on the drain pan from draining out the back as it is designed to do. We’ve ordered a new ball mount with an offset that is ¾” higher than our old ball mount, which should eliminate this problem.
In attempting to determine the source of this leak, we found two other minor leaks, both of which likely would NOT have introduced enough water into the compartment to cause any significant damage or staining. A small amount of water was getting into the sink side deep storage via the propane conduit. This conduit starts adjacent to the propane tank and runs under the trailer, protecting the propane line from damage by road debris. I suspect this is a variation of the road spray issue, that a small amount of spray would get in the conduit and travel down the conduit to the deep storage. The fix was to seal both ends of the conduit with silicone.
A small amount of water was also entering the deep storage via the hole where the air conditioner drain exits the bottom of the trailer (this is immediately below the sink). This looks like another road spray issue, and the amount of water getting inside wasn’t all that significant, and most of the water probably quickly drained back outside whenever we stopped. According to Cary this is not likely to be a problem on newer trailers, which have more precise, CNC machined openings. The solution was to seal the gap around the A/C drain with silicone.
Galley Hatch Leak
This was the first leak we had discovered. We had noticed some water stains in the cabinetry along the curbside of the cabin right next to the main shore power outlet. Cary suggested a fix that solved the problem of water getting into the cabin, but it didn’t solve a related problem of the same water getting into the galley.
The first fix is an issue on some trailers, and newer trailers have had additional silicone pumped into the top corners of the galley bulkhead to eliminate this as a potential issue. That fix was pretty simple, involving drilling some holes in the extruded aluminum at the top of the galley bulkhead and pumping silicone into them until it starts oozing out along the edge of the bulkhead where it meets the side wall. I won’t go into those details, as it should not be an issue for anyone as long as the external trailer seals stay intact (which wasn’t the case for us). If you have this issue, contact Cary, as there are different procedures for various trailer vintages.
Our issue had to do with the top and side seals of the galley being improperly installed. Along the top of the galley bulkhead is a cap seal that seals the gap below the hinge. This goes nearly completely across the hatch opening. The side hatch seals butt up against it and the intersection of the two seals is sealed with butyl (more commonly known as evil black stuff). In our installation, the side seals continued past the galley bulkhead and the cap seal was installed ON TOP of the side seal. It worked like this for more than three years, but the repeated opening and closing of the hatch meant the cap seal was continually being moved up and down very slightly (keep in mind we’ve camped about 300 nights in our camper). Eventually this caused the cap seal to tear, and once torn it started rolling off the top of the bulkhead. That cause water to enter the galley in heavy rain, where part of the flow followed the edge of the bulkhead into the cabin, though most of the water went directly into the galley.
Cary sent us a replacement cap strip. Installation was theoretically possible with the hatch lid attached, but that required a skill level well beyond what I was capable of. We unbolted the hatch brace, tilted the hatch lid up and lifted it off. Then we peeled off the old cap strip, trimmed back the side seal, installed the new cap strip, sealed the butt ends of the side seals with some auto glass sealant and cursed that evil black stuff for far too long afterward. Oh, and we put the hatch lid back in place (otherwise, we would have had a very big leak!). But after all that, the problem was not solved.
It is somewhat likely that the continuing leak problem may have been related to the bottom seal of the hatch lid being out of alignment, perhaps slightly pushing up in that corner of the hatch, creating a way for some water to leak inside. So there may have been two contributing causes to this problem.
After having addressed both issues, we followed Craig’s instructions for leak testing the hatch, which can be found here:
http://www.campinnforum.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=10877&page=3
The issue appears to be solved. Or at least it passed Craig’s leak test. We’ll have to wait for rain to know if it passes Mother Nature’s tests. Our fingers are crossed.
So the take away lessons from our experiences are:
Install mud flaps to cut down on the amount of water hitting your trailer.
It is better to tow your trailer with the nose slightly up.
Pay close attention to your trailer’s interior when you change tow vehicles. I’d recommend towing in the rain with an empty cabin and galley, as any issues will be very easy to detect.
HyperVent
In discussing our issues with other Camp Inn owners, a few suggested that HyperVent was the answer to life’s questions, at least in regard to dampness of one sort or another. While this was well intentioned and much appreciated advice, I felt that it attempted to cure the symptom, rather than curing the disease. For those who are unfamiliar with HyperVent, it is a roll material that is sort of like a large scale version of the hard, ‘hook’ side of a strip of velcro. So you have a sheet of fabric that holds a 1” or so mat of these stiff, squiggly plastic strands. Placing the mat with the strands facing down creates an air space, so that your mattress won’t come in contact with any moisture on the floor of the cabin, thus eliminating the potential for mold and mildew. The product is mainly marketed to sailors, which is appropriate, since a marine environment is far more extreme than that of a camper on land, since the difference between cabin temperature and water temperature can be enough to make it very easy for condensation to form. Camp Inn campers are designed for three season use, so it should be relatively rare that significant condensation forms, unless the cabin is closed up fairly tight at night (meaning any moisture in the cabin is very possibly from a source other than condensation) or you are camping at higher altitudes, where seasonal temperatures are lower.
So while I’m not convinced that HyperVent solves any problems, I do think it helps minimize potential damage if there is an undetected leak or unusual condensation, so we’ve ordered some for our camper. By providing air space under the mattress, it should help make it more evident when there is a leak, and if so make it more likely that the moisture can evaporate on its own, and make it a bit easier for us to mop up any rogue liquids on the cabin floor. But getting enough to cover our floor ran about $115, and that was at a discount price with free shipping and no sales tax. So it is fairly expensive insurance, thus probably only really practical when your camper gets used a LOT!
That’s all I’ve got to share. Hopefully this can help someone else solve their problems. And hopefully prospective Camp Inn owners won’t think leaks are an endemic problem with Camp Inn trailers. Most of our problems were addressed by taming road spray, plus we use our camper quite a bit more than the average owner. And my wife should have had a career in torture testing, so we are also a bit harder on everything than the average owner (I suspect if we had opted for a competitor’s fiberglass product that it would be in pieces by now).
Anyway, have fun and stay dry!
Before getting started, let me go on record that I feel Camp Inn makes a superior, high quality camper and I applaud their efforts in this forum at learning about and solving all known issues, and incorporating that knowledge into changes in their production procedures to eliminate similar issues for future owners. They are also human, and one leak is the result of a seal being incorrectly installed at the factory, leading to its premature demise. In short, mudflaps and routine maintenance appear to have solved most of our issues, so I’d like to share our lessons learned.
We had owned our Camp Inn trailer for three years with pretty much no issues or worries. So we were shocked when we stopped for the winter this year (after three and a half years of ownership and four solid months of camping on the road), finding leaks in our cabin, at the top curbside of the galley and in both of our deep storage compartments. One leak would have suggested the inevitable aging of the trailer, but this was at least four different leaks! So what has changed since all these problems started? The main thing is that we changed tow vehicles. The other is that something had been knocked out of alignment.
Window Leaks
We are on our third tow vehicle, and have finally found our Goldilocks solution - the first tow vehicle was not economical, the second was under powered and too small, and our current tow vehicle is just right (almost). Our first tow vehicles were a 2001 Nissan Frontier 4X4 Crew Cab and a 2013 Mazda CX-5. We know that we had no leak problems with those vehicles, because in 2014 we had a little mishap (written about in Camper’s Confessional) which required us to replace our onboard battery charger and battery. So we’ve been under the false floor in the sink side deep storage and into the battery compartment (including under the false floor there). We had no leaks there at that time. And we’ve regularly emptied out the cabin for thorough cleaning and found no evidence of any water getting inside and have had no condensation problems. All of these issues cropped up after we acquired our current tow vehicle, a 2015 Ford Transit Connect Long Wheelbase Cargo Van.
We love our new van in every respect other than these recent trials and tribulations. It averages close to 23 mpg while towing, it has plenty of torque for easily getting up the steepest hills (allowing us to tow in cruise control on moderate grades) and we can access any piece of our gear without having to unload some other piece of gear (and we probably carry more gear than the average Camp Inn owner). So why is it causing leakage?
It is well documented on the forum that certain vehicles with a wheelbase wider than the trailer cabin can cause water to be forced upward into the side window condensation drains and thus into the cabin. In our case, that issue was particularly acute because the rear of the van is lower than, for instance, a typical compact SUV. That low rear end means that as the tires pick up water from the pavement it is ejected backward toward the trailer at a lower angle than most vehicles. In our case, the bulk of the water was thrown almost directly at the drains, which was forced inside the cabin by the wind vortex created by the vehicle’s shape and speed of travel.
The primary cure for this problem is to install splash guards, and Cary recommended in our instance that they hang within about 2” of the pavement. There are several styles of splash guards, but the old school, wide, heavy flexible vinyl sort are the only reliable solution (as opposed to the newer sleek, rigid, molded plastic versions). The 9”x15” Ford splash guards that we installed came with very minimal instructions about proper placement, being a “universal fit” for dozens of different Ford models. As a result, on my first attempt they were installed a bit too far inboard. In that configuration, they cut down significantly on the spray hitting the trailer, but some spray got around the outside of the flap, so water was still able to find its way inside the cabin, though at a slower rate. I reinstalled the flaps so that they extended outboard beyond the edge of the tires and feel confident our cabin leakage problem has been solved (but I’ll only know for sure the next time we get a good rain).
Battery Compartment Leak
A related problem to the above is that the stream of water hitting the trailer was ultimately focused at the bottom rear of the trailer, as the wind forces it along the side of the trailer and over the fenders - the airflow over the fenders helps to direct and focus water flow to the rear bottom corner of each side. On the curbside, that water made its way around the optional solar panel plug and into the battery compartment. Thus it was at least partly responsible for the leakage in our deep storage compartments. Hopefully this leak has been solved by removing the plug and pumping a very generous amount of Lexan silicone into the hole before reinstalling it.
Early Warning Signs
It is worth discussing some early warning signs that we might have heeded about these particular leak issues. A classic sign with this problem is that the cabin curtains get wet. This didn’t happen for us, because we drive so few miles between campsites - we generally only drive a couple of hours per day, often at fairly low speed, generally covering only about 10 miles before stopping for ten minutes or more, and rarely driving over 60 mph. (So a leak could start, but a short time later we would stop, allowing some of the built up water to exit back out of the window vents before we started moving again.) Another sign is damp bedding by the doors. Again, our low daily mileage kept this from being a glaring problem. And with an active dog, some dampness in our bedding is a fact of life, though we do try to minimize it to the extent practicable. Another sign of this problem is dampness under the mattress, though this could as easily be due to condensation, water from wet shoes or rain coats being stored inside at night and various other causes. However, condensation shouldn’t be an issue if the side windows and optional roof vent are kept partially open at night (except in very cold weather or in exceptionally high humidity - look for Craig’s postings on the Camp Inn website on the causes of condensation for more on this topic).
In short, I think this water intrusion problem may affect other people who are unaware of it, because their tow vehicle produces less spray at the required low angle than is sufficient to cause the problem to be acute. Some perceived condensation issues may in fact be small amounts of leakage caused by road spray working its way in through the condensation drains. In many cases, any such leakage is likely to be small enough and intermittent enough that the water will evaporate or absorb into the bedding, so that no staining of the woodwork would result. And for weekend campers, there should be lots of opportunity for things to dry out on their own while the camper is sitting at home in the garage, further masking this problem.
My suggestion to all Camp Inn owners is that it is a good idea to install mud flaps when towing, even if there is no obvious benefit to doing so. For us, it also means the trailer doesn’t get dirty as quickly, so we don’t spend as much for car washes while on the road (and we have more time for more enjoyable pursuits). In our case, it won’t take long for those savings to cover the cost of the new mud flaps/splash guards.
In the interest of full disclosure, Camp Inn has a new window condensation drain cap that fixes the window leak problem in some cases. I’m told it is not a particularly aesthetic fix, but you can contact Cary if you are wondering if it might adequately address any problem that you are having. In speaking with Cary it sounds as though it is a less than optimal solution, that it is far better to directly address the real culprit - road spray. There also is one test that you would need to conduct in order to eliminate one possible cause of the condensation drain leak that would not be fixed with the redesigned drain cap.
There is also a TEMPORARY fix to the window vent problem - simply cover them with tape when driving on wet roads. But you need to remember to take them off every night, or you’ll have interior condensation with no place to go.
Deep Storage Leaks
Our main deep storage leak was caused by a maintenance issue and the fact that we were towing with the trailer’s nose slightly down (we were within a quarter inch of being perfectly level). Part of the dust seal along the bottom edge of the galley hatch had been knocked out of alignment. I suspect this occurred when we tried closing the hatch when something was in the way, and it unintentionally got pushed outward at one end. The result was that water was given a wider pathway into the galley. With our nose slightly down, it followed the drains around the deep storage lids until the water level got high enough to spill over into the deep storage cabinets. (It also seemed to push that end of the hatch up a tiny bit.) The fix for this was quite simple - pushing it back in, then assuring that the entire length of the dust seal was in contact with the hatch drain pan (the part in front of the deep storage lids, above the license plate bracket). This was done by pushing the seal in or out, as needed.
So our trailer’s slightly nose down orientation prevented prevent water on the drain pan from draining out the back as it is designed to do. We’ve ordered a new ball mount with an offset that is ¾” higher than our old ball mount, which should eliminate this problem.
In attempting to determine the source of this leak, we found two other minor leaks, both of which likely would NOT have introduced enough water into the compartment to cause any significant damage or staining. A small amount of water was getting into the sink side deep storage via the propane conduit. This conduit starts adjacent to the propane tank and runs under the trailer, protecting the propane line from damage by road debris. I suspect this is a variation of the road spray issue, that a small amount of spray would get in the conduit and travel down the conduit to the deep storage. The fix was to seal both ends of the conduit with silicone.
A small amount of water was also entering the deep storage via the hole where the air conditioner drain exits the bottom of the trailer (this is immediately below the sink). This looks like another road spray issue, and the amount of water getting inside wasn’t all that significant, and most of the water probably quickly drained back outside whenever we stopped. According to Cary this is not likely to be a problem on newer trailers, which have more precise, CNC machined openings. The solution was to seal the gap around the A/C drain with silicone.
Galley Hatch Leak
This was the first leak we had discovered. We had noticed some water stains in the cabinetry along the curbside of the cabin right next to the main shore power outlet. Cary suggested a fix that solved the problem of water getting into the cabin, but it didn’t solve a related problem of the same water getting into the galley.
The first fix is an issue on some trailers, and newer trailers have had additional silicone pumped into the top corners of the galley bulkhead to eliminate this as a potential issue. That fix was pretty simple, involving drilling some holes in the extruded aluminum at the top of the galley bulkhead and pumping silicone into them until it starts oozing out along the edge of the bulkhead where it meets the side wall. I won’t go into those details, as it should not be an issue for anyone as long as the external trailer seals stay intact (which wasn’t the case for us). If you have this issue, contact Cary, as there are different procedures for various trailer vintages.
Our issue had to do with the top and side seals of the galley being improperly installed. Along the top of the galley bulkhead is a cap seal that seals the gap below the hinge. This goes nearly completely across the hatch opening. The side hatch seals butt up against it and the intersection of the two seals is sealed with butyl (more commonly known as evil black stuff). In our installation, the side seals continued past the galley bulkhead and the cap seal was installed ON TOP of the side seal. It worked like this for more than three years, but the repeated opening and closing of the hatch meant the cap seal was continually being moved up and down very slightly (keep in mind we’ve camped about 300 nights in our camper). Eventually this caused the cap seal to tear, and once torn it started rolling off the top of the bulkhead. That cause water to enter the galley in heavy rain, where part of the flow followed the edge of the bulkhead into the cabin, though most of the water went directly into the galley.
Cary sent us a replacement cap strip. Installation was theoretically possible with the hatch lid attached, but that required a skill level well beyond what I was capable of. We unbolted the hatch brace, tilted the hatch lid up and lifted it off. Then we peeled off the old cap strip, trimmed back the side seal, installed the new cap strip, sealed the butt ends of the side seals with some auto glass sealant and cursed that evil black stuff for far too long afterward. Oh, and we put the hatch lid back in place (otherwise, we would have had a very big leak!). But after all that, the problem was not solved.
It is somewhat likely that the continuing leak problem may have been related to the bottom seal of the hatch lid being out of alignment, perhaps slightly pushing up in that corner of the hatch, creating a way for some water to leak inside. So there may have been two contributing causes to this problem.
After having addressed both issues, we followed Craig’s instructions for leak testing the hatch, which can be found here:
http://www.campinnforum.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=10877&page=3
The issue appears to be solved. Or at least it passed Craig’s leak test. We’ll have to wait for rain to know if it passes Mother Nature’s tests. Our fingers are crossed.
So the take away lessons from our experiences are:
Install mud flaps to cut down on the amount of water hitting your trailer.
It is better to tow your trailer with the nose slightly up.
Pay close attention to your trailer’s interior when you change tow vehicles. I’d recommend towing in the rain with an empty cabin and galley, as any issues will be very easy to detect.
HyperVent
In discussing our issues with other Camp Inn owners, a few suggested that HyperVent was the answer to life’s questions, at least in regard to dampness of one sort or another. While this was well intentioned and much appreciated advice, I felt that it attempted to cure the symptom, rather than curing the disease. For those who are unfamiliar with HyperVent, it is a roll material that is sort of like a large scale version of the hard, ‘hook’ side of a strip of velcro. So you have a sheet of fabric that holds a 1” or so mat of these stiff, squiggly plastic strands. Placing the mat with the strands facing down creates an air space, so that your mattress won’t come in contact with any moisture on the floor of the cabin, thus eliminating the potential for mold and mildew. The product is mainly marketed to sailors, which is appropriate, since a marine environment is far more extreme than that of a camper on land, since the difference between cabin temperature and water temperature can be enough to make it very easy for condensation to form. Camp Inn campers are designed for three season use, so it should be relatively rare that significant condensation forms, unless the cabin is closed up fairly tight at night (meaning any moisture in the cabin is very possibly from a source other than condensation) or you are camping at higher altitudes, where seasonal temperatures are lower.
So while I’m not convinced that HyperVent solves any problems, I do think it helps minimize potential damage if there is an undetected leak or unusual condensation, so we’ve ordered some for our camper. By providing air space under the mattress, it should help make it more evident when there is a leak, and if so make it more likely that the moisture can evaporate on its own, and make it a bit easier for us to mop up any rogue liquids on the cabin floor. But getting enough to cover our floor ran about $115, and that was at a discount price with free shipping and no sales tax. So it is fairly expensive insurance, thus probably only really practical when your camper gets used a LOT!
That’s all I’ve got to share. Hopefully this can help someone else solve their problems. And hopefully prospective Camp Inn owners won’t think leaks are an endemic problem with Camp Inn trailers. Most of our problems were addressed by taming road spray, plus we use our camper quite a bit more than the average owner. And my wife should have had a career in torture testing, so we are also a bit harder on everything than the average owner (I suspect if we had opted for a competitor’s fiberglass product that it would be in pieces by now).
Anyway, have fun and stay dry!
Last edited by a moderator:
