Storage - plugged in or shutdown?

[MemoriesByTheMile]

For those who have access to power when RV is in storage - do you run A/C to keep air dry and prevent mold/mildew? Or do you fully shutdown?
For those who store without A/C, do you have any issues with mold/milde?
We have an RV garage and currently keep unit plugged in and A/C set to 80F to maintain RH around 50% or lower.
Thoughts?

 

[sheridany]

Depends on if your unit is enclosed or not. My enclosed unit has a swamp cooler so I leave the ac off because it can get dusty in there and I don’t want that dust circulating inside the coach.

 

[J&JD]

Our motorhomes have sat plugged into 30amp shore power in our backyard for almost 20 years now. They have not been covered. Other than exercising the generator and a/c units every month or so when we are not traveling we don’t shut down anything except the refrigerator and Oasis. We have not had any mold/mildew problems at all. However, we do live in a very temperate area (SF Bay Area).

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Storage/barn is enclosed.

If we were in a dry climate the swamp cooler would be a great idea - but we are in the hot & humid Midwest where current dew point is hanging around 75F.


Can’t afford to pump more humidity in the air unless we want to grow mushrooms in a dark and damp coach.

You are right, running A/C, even set high at 80F, does move some dust around. End up checking air filters every month and then having to dust, wash bedding and vacuum seating before a trip.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Our motorhomes have sat plugged into 30amp shore power in our backyard for almost 20 years now. They have not been covered. Other than exercising the generator and a/c units every month or so when we are not traveling we don’t shut down anything except the refrigerator and Oasis. We have not had any mold/mildew problems at all. However, we do live in a very temperate area (SF Bay Area).

One of the benefits of living in that part of the country - temperate climate with lower humidity.

Trying to control the humidity in the Midwest summer is the challenge. Don’t mind paying to do it, just want to be sure we are not unnecessarily paying for something that isn’t providing a real value. Or that there isn’t a better way.

 

[osuallen]

For those who have access to power when RV is in storage - do you run A/C to keep air dry and prevent mold/mildew? Or do you fully shutdown?
For those who store without A/C, do you have any issues with mold/milde?
We have an RV garage and currently keep unit plugged in and A/C set to 80F to maintain RH around 50% or lower.
Thoughts?

We have enclosed storage but only have 20 amp, so can't really run an AC unit. We leave a dehumidifier running. We leave the half bath door open to help cut down on mold/mildew in the toilet. fortunately have not had general mold/mildew issues.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Time to learn! I'm in the dry country so have no concern, however, I want to know!!

If the dew point is 76, is it better keeping the rig hot enough so condensation will not form? I mean still use the AC, that would work as a dehumidifier, but wouldn't too cold defeat the reason for running it?

 

[John&Andrea]

We are under cover not enclosed. I don’t usually run the ac but leave two roof vents open during warm months. I keep a small heater on in winter months. Seems to do fine. We are in the southeast.
I may start setting the ac to 80 during the hottest times.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

NW Florida here. The RV is at home and under a pole barn/RV cover.
We leave in plugged in because it seems that once a week or so, I need to get something from the coach, put something in the coach, do some maintenance/modification, or just take a few hours to hang out and get some quiet time.
So the a/c is run periodically enough to keep everything dry, the cover keeps it relatively cool, and we put a small UV light/ozone generator in the bathroom to keep mold at bay.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

We are very fortunate. When we had our house built in St. Augustine, We built a RV garage home, so it is part of the house. The RV garage & the regular garage do not have a separate wall, which is quite convenient! In the garage, the interior of the coach never gets above 80 degrees.