19 Build Sheet: Bathroom Sink and Full Wrap Cushions

[gbaglo]

While you're waiting, I've had no mould issues in my trailer. It's spent every winter for ten years under a cedar tree, situated under the 'Capilano Cloud' in North Vancouver. It has no cover.

I set the cushions up on end, I open cupboards, I deploy a couple Dri-Z-Air containers and if the sun is shining, I'll open the MaxxAir vent and a window and turn on a fan. From time to time I'll tun on an electric heater.

[Donna D.]

I own a sidebath Scamp. Thank goodness there's no sink in there... the room is so tiny. Based on that, I thought I'd delete the sink in Ten Forward. Then I promptly forgot about it. So I ended up with the sink. Now, I'm glad. During travel, I put items in the sink to keep them from falling off the wall or rolling around on the floor. While boondocking and fresh water was at a premium, I've filled the sink with warm water in order to take a sponge bath. While the bathroom is small, the sink is in the corner and doesn't really take up much usable room. I'm glad I have it. YMMV

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by Merry

Ugh. I have to ask: How do you know? I sense a cautionary tale.

We’ve developed mold under our dinette cushions on two occasions. Neither were during storage but during actual use under protracted 100% humidity and constant rain winter Pacific Northwet conditions. We know and use all the ventilation tricks, which are normally sufficient to keep condensation under control, but in these instances, the world was wet and moist, inside and outside the trailer, and after about three days of this I noticed that both the bench under the dinette cushions as well as the vinyl wall around the cushion perimeter were growing things. The vinyl backing of the cushions, which was in direct contact with the ook, however, was mold free. I can’t imagine that even Sunbrella, with all of its textured surface, would ultimately be as waterproof or resistant to such growing things. Would hate to have something actually start growing in fabric.

The walls cleaned up easily enough, and at the first opportunity I stained the bench tops with a mold-resistant stain to hopefully prevent reoccurrence, as we are all weather campers.

The weirdest part from the most recent time this occurred (January) was the windows. Despite thermal windows and proper ventilation our windows were wet on the inside for several consecutive days. Again, 100% humidity outside, with a consistent flow of it falling from the sky, plus us bringing in wet outerwear to dry off with the furnace (still need to figure out a safe yet functional drying rack situation for in front of the furnace), plus cooking, plus all the water vapor that four people exhale while sleeping, equals the air is saturated and there’s little to be done about it until the weather changes or you drive somewhere else. So the weird part was after a few days of this when I discovered that every window in the trailer was growing black gook too. Gross. Fortunately, by this time we were headed elsewhere, to less humid climes, so the screens all got popped and windows cleaned and sanitized.

Interestingly, one typical problem area where we had no problems was under or around our main bed. I attribute this to the ventilation system I put in, and which we ran continuously, circulating air around and under the bed. System consists of hypervent under the bed and around the perimeter, plus two computer fans that draw air from around the bed underneath it and through two cutouts into the underbed space, plus a powered dehumidifier in the underbed space itself. Details and pics here if you’re interested: Mods I Haven't Seen Elsewhere
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sha...5&share_type=t

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by sclifrickson

Regarding the full wrap cushions, if you’re concerned about mold or mildew, I’d stick with the vinyl. It’s pretty resistant to such things. Moreso than the walls or the plywood of the benches. Ask me how I know.

I agree about the vinyl. I had to treat all the wood in the bed and dinette area witn Mold-Care. Within 6 months of Houston heat and humidity, the mold was starting to take over. Also, put a coat of urethane varnish on the wood as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Bora-Care%C2%.../dp/B004HFNGH8

[Merry]

Thanks for sharing your experience and the link to the under-bed modifications. I think one of my first projects is going to be getting some kind of air flow under the mattress and cushions. I think this is one of those circumstances where an ounce of prevention (and ongoing mindfulness) will help to keep the crud at bay.

[gbaglo]

If you take precautions, you'll never know if they were necessary or not.

[Lisajanrose]

Originally Posted by Merry

All, we're hammering out the final details on the build sheet for our 19. We have a couple of questions that we hope you can help us with:

Bathroom Sink: We are thinking about having the bathroom sink removed from the build, so that we'll have a bit more space in there. I know I've seen pictures on the forum of this being done by others, but now I can't find them. Joldie sent me a picture (see attached). If we go this route, then we can't have a drawer under the wardrobe because I suppose that the water lines will now run on the back wall, instead of the driver side wall. Personally, I could go either way. Do any of you have experience with or input regarding this modification? Is it working for you?

Full wrap cushions: We're going to use a custom fabric (TBD). If we do a full wrap, I think this will enable us to flip the cushions if they get worn or damaged. If I remember the shape correctly, we'd have to flip from one side to the other of the trailer to make that work. We're also thinking that being able to flip them will help to manage condensation underneath them. Are we right about this? Obviously, it will be more expensive to do the full wrap because we'd be paying for the extra fabric, but if it's more practical in the long run, then perhaps it's worth it. Setting aside the cost, would you recommend full wrap?

Thank you! We feel so lucky to have this community as a resource.

We’ve had our new 19’ Escape for 2 weeks now. We did order the full wrap; not for the logical reasons you described and for which I am now grateful. My reason is that we ordered beautiful fabric, and a vinyl back seems less attractive than matching fabric.