Mattress condensation FIX

[pawpaw]

Some good thinking there!

[Parkhoppers]

I have done a few mods in our AR-ONE 17RD, but I’ll post this one in case someone may find it helpful….

This is the first camper we’ve had where the largest portion of the bed was sitting atop an exterior access storage area. Since we do a lot of cool/cold weather camping, we had a major issue with condensation forming under the mattress.

My first attempt at a “quick fix” was during a month long campout in February. With no access to my tools at home, I purchased a 1” thick 4x8 sheet of foam from a home improvement store. My hope was it might help insulate us from the cold surface of the storage area. While it did reduce the amount of condensation somewhat, to limp on through our stay, it was not a long-term fix.

I looked into purchasing a mattress underlayment, such as that used in boats (Hypervent, etc), but that stuff is pretty expensive. Additionally, our bed is walled in on 3 1/3 sides, so that cuts down on the amount of air that can circulate around the sides of the mattress; which might make an underlayment product not as effective.

So I decided to attach a series of 1x2 slats to the plywood surface under our mattress. I ran them front to back, and for the completely walled in section, I ran the slats side to side. Creating breaks between the two sections to allow air into the enclosed space. I topped the slats with the previously purchased foam board, which keeps the mattress from sagging into the newly created airways.

My creation was put to the test in April, when we were hit with a Colorado snowstorm during our vacation. We had ZERO condensation. So that deemed it safe for me to purchase a decent mattress to replace the ridiculously thin cotton one which came with the trailer!