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Basically a waste of electricity. Heat will not keep the damp out. It will, however alter the temperature differential between the inside of the van and the outside which could cause condensation, so it might do more harm than good. The caravan has numerous vents which give a steady airflow through the van so the humidity inside the van generally will be the same as that outside whatever you do. 

Neither will it help any damp penetrating into the walls of the caravan from the outside, as the plastic lining on the walls acts as a waterproof barrierpreventing the damp evaporating to the inside.

It is cheaper still to just leave it and do nothing. Just make sure that the next time you come to use it that you air the van off by heating it for a day to the temperature that you would live in it, before you set off. I have never in 17 years had any problems caused by doing this and the van has always stayed pleasnat and usable

Damp from the air you will not have a problem with but damp that makes its way into the walls by penetrating in through the screw holes and past the sealant will in the end destroy your van, keeping the van warm will do nothing to stop this.

My van sits in my workshop so I have no problems with frost but the material does get that damp feel after a few months.

About a week before I want to use it again I put a dehumidifier in and that runs 24/7 until it does not pull out any more moisture.

During this time, all the cushoins etc are stood up on end so that the air can circulate around everything

My van is tiny (see gallery) so a bigger van make require a longer time to dry completely.

Quote: Originally posted by LobeyDosser on 27/10/2009

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I put a dehumidifier in and that runs 24/7 until it does not pull out any more moisture.

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Hi JTQU, I know when it has reached the max that it will pulled out of the van when the amount of water in the receptor tank remains the same for the same period of time.

From experience, I know that in my case, if the tank gets only one quarter full in a 24 hour period, then my van is as dry as it is going to get.

However, because I store my van in a garage/workshop, I use its kitchen and toilet facilities throughout the winter, but not the bedding or the lounge seating. It is these cushions that I am aiming the dehumidifier at to dry out before a trip.
Naturally the dehumidifier will also get used between trips some times, depending on what the weather has been like during these trips.

With 2 dogs, on wet trips there can be a fair amount of moisture brought into the van on 8 hairy legs.  

Quote: Originally posted by leccyshep on 27/10/2009

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we have a unibond chemical de-humidifier, no need for power of any sort and it draws the latent moisture out of the air inside the van pretty effectively.

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... and more water vapour comes in through the vents to replace that absorbed by the chemical dehumidifier. Therefore it will appear to make a big difference, but in reality will make no difference at all, especially as chemical dehumidifiers work so slowly

Lobey's solution is perhaps more sensible if using the van out of season. If you are going to use an electric dehumidifier, put it on a few days before going away to really air the van, and perhaps for a few days on returning to remove the excess  moisture caused by habitation.

Link this also to Lobey's comment on another post about how draughty many current caravans are on a windy day.

You do whatever feels right for you.

All I know is that my first trip away in my van after it had been laid up for the winter, I couldn't sleep the first night because the bedding was damp and that dampness penetrated the sleeping bag and I was chittering with the cold all night.

Now, because I use the dehumidifier, I sleep warm and cosy every night and as I spend more time in the van sleeping than I do doing anything else, I pay special attention to that side of things when I am prepairing the van for its caravan season.

Quote: Originally posted by jasonshort on 29/10/2009so iam i right in thinking that even dehumidifiers are a waste of time? at thats is best to do nothing?

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