moisture in urban minivan

[vango]

Hi,

I'm thinking about buying a toyota sienna minivan. For those living in a minivan or a vehicle with carpet or fabric-covered seats, how do you prevent moisture build up and the accompanying mold and odors? I've seen various solutions like calcium carbonate-based products like damp rid and dri-z-air and running the heater in the morning. Have they worked for you?

For background, I'll likely be in Los Angeles or San Francisco for the next few years, so I assume I'll use a propane heater for a few hours a day at most. I don't plan to cook or shower in the van and I would need to park in urban or suburban areas. I would prefer not to make any permanent modifications like adding a vent so that I can resell it later on. I also saw that some people recommended installing window rain covers and opening the windows an inch. I assume I'll stay in safer neighborhoods, but has that worked for you regarding noise and safety?

Thanks in advance!

 

[cyndi]

coincidentally, I just watched a video to make home made moisture wicking thingies

 

[highdesertranger]

another great pull from Cyndi. how do you come up with this stuff? highdesertranger

 

[vango]

Thanks, Cyndi. It's amazing how a british accent can make a sock full of kitty litter look classy.

coincidentally, I just watched a video to make home made moisture wicking thingies

 

[BamaDuke]

My C had a leak in one window, and it got the dinette seat and back cushion wet. I bought two bags of cheap charcoal briquettes, not the self lighting kind, and put a layer of them on a cookie sheet on the floor near the dinette. After a couple days I would reload the cookie sheet with fresh charcoal. After about a week, no more moldy smell.

Steaks cooked with the "used" briquettes tasted fine...

Bama

 

[MrNoodly]

I'll likely be in Los Angeles or San Francisco for the next few years, so I assume I'll use a propane heater for a few hours a day at most.

I've lived in both LA and SF and rarely used a heater in my apartments, even when I lived near the ocean. A propane heater warms my full size van in a couple of minutes. A minivan would heat up even faster. It wouldn't be necessary to run the heater hours a day. Besides, the trick is to heat yourself, not the whole vehicle. Dress warmer. Use warm bedding. Your body puts out 98 degrees, so trap some of that. Also, park in the sun when you can. The van glass will act like a greenhouse and the mass of the vehicle will hold heat for hours. I think the bigger issue is getting fresh air into the vehicle when it's raining. Window visors let you open the windows a crack, and that helps.

 

[vango]

Thanks, Bama. If I use charcoal, I'll hold my first barbecue in your honor.

And thanks, Noodly. I saw SF got down to 40F on average during the winter so it's good to hear from someone who's been there how much heat is needed. So you recommend leaving open the windows whenever I'm sleeping? Did you have problems with that in the cities or suburbs or have you always had vents?

 

[MikeRuth]

I have these on both my cars, wouldn't be happy if I didn't./

http://www.lundinternational.com/

Vent Visor, available from EVERYWHERE

 

[MrNoodly]

40° sounds bad, but it isn't, really. That's a typical desert winter night, and I cope just fine, sometimes using my heater for a couple of minutes. Like I said, use good bedding and take advantage of your natural body heat. Then get up and get moving in the morning.

Besides, temperatures along the West Coast vary quite a bit within short distances. It's coolest at the beach, but a few miles inland can be warmer. For example, it might be chilly in Santa Monica but warm in Hollywood. The same with San Francisco and, oh, San Mateo.

With window visors, you can have the windows open about an inch without people outside noticing.

 

[vango]

Thanks, Mike. I'll look into it.

And thanks again, Noodly. This site and comments like yours make van dwelling much more doable.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Hi[emoji2]
I have the rain guard on my front windows and have had them in the last few vehicles I owned, and I can tell you that sleeping in a vehicle no matter which kind without one is plain missery[emoji21] more so when it rains.

 

[vango]

Rain guard it is!