Guest peter Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Hi folks hope you all had a good Christmas. I went away over holiday for a night in the van to give it a run. When we undid bed in the morning we noticed that the underside of the cushions were quite damp where they touched the plywood bases of lockers. Does anybody have any ideas of what material we could put under the cushions as a moisture barrier. Any suggestions will be gratefully received as it has obviously been a problem to the previous owner as their is black mould staining on the covering of the locker lids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Hi peter, This used to be a problem in the 'old days' with caravans having solid bed bases and is one of the reasons that slatted bed bases came to the fore, I have noticed lots of newer vans going back to these, can't for the life of me understand why might be a cheaper option. You can drill with a hole saw plenty of large holes to allow the sweat that is condensing onto the base to dissipate, you can use bubble wrap which makes a good barrier or you can use the roll up camping mats that tenters use for insulation under the sleeping bags all of the above work though I would go for the holes and the camping mats myself. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTORHOMER Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Hi If you have removable cushions then try some of that insulating bed roll that backpcker camper use. motorhomer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith T Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 We had this prolems sone years ago with teh overcab bed on our compass - and in fact it was on the walls of the luton as well. We put the motorhome type wall covering (ie as used by Autosleepers and others at that time) on the walls, plus a special underlay to go under the bed cusoions, and this solved it. Ther used to be a specail 'fibre' type underlay advertised, but haven't seen it lately. At present we have some bedboards made from ply, and which we covered with matching cushion fabric, and have never had any trouble. I think the worst 'offender' is the formica type table which is so ofetn still used as the bed base. I also think it helps on our present Rapido, and indeed have notices on some other motorhomes, that there is an air gap of about 1/2" created by a piece of plywood where the cushions would otherwise touch the side walls of the van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 we used the rush type rolls that are used for lying on on beaches, cheap and easy to get and replace if need be. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Mattress/cushion anti-condensation underlay still seems to be available. GOOGLE-search on "Ventair 15" or "Natural Mat" (omitting the quotes of course) for a couple of suppliers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Thanks for the replies folks. Very helpful, never thought of camping mats. As stated it does seem that the table is the main offender, as I also have a Rapido that uses this as a bed base. I would have thought that the makers would have got this problem beat by now. Even my 1997 Avondale caravan had a slatted bed base. I am half tempted to remove the plywood locker tops and replace them with Ash wood slats. But will try less drastic measures first. Once again thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Hi, It probably won't help but our Bessacarr not only has the slats under the mattress but it also has ducted warm air from the Truma to the gap between the base and the mattress and we don't appear to get any problems ? so it appears some manufactures take this problem seriously Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 peter, maybe a silly stupid suggestion but I'm trying, Yes I hear you say ;-) Ok daughter is an apprentice Farrier in the making obviously weather like now she get's soaked .........Not anymore . Go to any horse shop saddlery they sell this stuff in a bottle £5 it is a liquid I am sorry but have just used the lot and thrown the bottle so cannot give you the name . Anyways they make it for all different types of materials Wax jackets fleeces coats jumpers anything . What I propose you do is wash your cushions in it 2/3 cap fulls in the washer it waterproofs everything fantastically . So in her case when she is shoeing in this weather she cannot work in a big coat as obviously it restricts her movement. All her forging clothes are done in this stuff. Example she can just stand in the rain in her fleece and the rain runs straight off . REALLY like a duck's feathers / I realise may be of no help what so ever as your cushions may be to big for the machine. Failing that wash a fleece blanket in it and put under your bed ? anygood.? will find the name if you need it .........Goodluck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Thanks Michelle will explore that further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Peter Don't drink as much before going to bed. (lol) Docted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 docted - 2007-01-03 6:05 PM Peter Don't drink as much before going to bed. (lol) Docted You into watersports I see . Got that t shirt? (?) You could just keep taking the pills hehe.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank Wilkinson Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 michele - 2007-01-01 9:15 PM peter, maybe a silly stupid suggestion but I'm trying, Yes I hear you say ;-) Ok daughter is an apprentice Farrier in the making obviously weather like now she get's soaked .........Not anymore . Go to any horse shop saddlery they sell this stuff in a bottle £5 it is a liquid I am sorry but have just used the lot and thrown the bottle so cannot give you the name . Anyways they make it for all different types of materials Wax jackets fleeces coats jumpers anything . What I propose you do is wash your cushions in it 2/3 cap fulls in the washer it waterproofs everything fantastically . So in her case when she is shoeing in this weather she cannot work in a big coat as obviously it restricts her movement. All her forging clothes are done in this stuff. Example she can just stand in the rain in her fleece and the rain runs straight off . REALLY like a duck's feathers / I realise may be of no help what so ever as your cushions may be to big for the machine. Failing that wash a fleece blanket in it and put under your bed ? anygood.? will find the name if you need it .........Goodluck I use Nikwax, both for clothes and boots. They do a range of all different types for various items including tents, boots, anoraks etc. etc.Just Google Nikwax and you'll find it easily. It's available in most walking/camping stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 We had the same problem with our caravan where the table top was used to make the bed and also in our Autosleeper where the surface of the boards matched the furniture all laminate sealed surfaces, looked nice but when cold, any body moisture comming through the matress/ bed cushions condensed resulting in wet matress every morning. The solution we have used for 18years is to put pieces of 1/8inch untreated plywood under the matress, we use pieces about 2ft square that stay under the seats cushions during the day. We have never had a problem since. A simple solution but one that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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