Tailgate Condensation Camper Conversion

[JimsT6]

Hi All, I have a condensation problem with the tailgate. This has just happened the last twice that I have been away in the camper, it’s been fine up to last month which coincided with fitting the kitchen furniture.
When I open the tailgate the collected water pours from the two bottom corner studs holding the door card on. Both times when I got home I removed the door card and insulation and ran the dehumidifier for a day to dry it out. After the first time I used closed cell foam insulation and foil taped the edges.
Now obviously single glazed windows will collect condensation overnight with two adults sleeping in it. At first I thought it was rain water running in through the rubber cable tube grommet thing so I smeared silicone around it but nope it’s condensation.
my theory is that condensation is running down from the tailgate glass and between the inner skin and collecting at the bottom of the tailgate.

Hope I have explained myself correctly. Has anyone else had similar problems with their T6 conversion.

Thanks

 

[Higgidav]

Remove the 4 small bungs at the bottom edge of the tailgate to allow water to escape and check your high level brake light for leaks. Also check the tailgate seal all the way around.

 

[Farnorthsurfer]

Probably not this but worth checking. My factory fitted tailgate window leaks because there are gaps in the window adhesive bonding. On mine it's at the top and when I wash the van I can watch the water running down the inside.
So possibly its leaking in through the window seal down into the tailgate.

 

[JimsT6]

Remove the 4 small bungs at the bottom edge of the tailgate to allow water to escape and check your high level brake light for leaks. Also check the tailgate seal all the way around.

I think you are on to something with those bungs. I remember now there was ice on the top of the bumper in specific places where water had run down and frozen. I’m now thinking perhaps it hasn’t been a problem before because the weather hadn’t been so frosty on previous trips. So the holes were bunged up with ice and so the water that had run down into the tailgate just collected.
Pretty certain there’s no actual leaks as the van sits under a carport and it wasn’t raining on our trips away.

 

[roadtripper]

If very damp air is getting into the tailgate then it will condense on the cold outer skin and water vapour will find the smallest gaps, so it may not be a leak as such.

Maybe try insulating the outer skin but with something water won't get behind, the sound deadening stuff maybe.

But I'd work on the principle of it's going to happen so do what you can to limit it but protect things (maybe waxoil or similar the inside) and give it a place to drain

 

[JimsT6]

If very damp air is getting into the tailgate then it will condense on the cold outer skin and water vapour will find the smallest gaps, so it may not be a leak as such.

Maybe try insulating the outer skin but with something water won't get behind, the sound deadening stuff maybe.

But I'd work on the principle of it's going to happen so do what you can to.limit it but protect things (maybe waxoil or similar the inside) and give it a place to drain

Yes there’s no real way to completely seal or insulate, it’s a best endeavour fix. Think the earlier suggestion about removing the little bungs is a good idea as instead of weeping out the collected water will hopefully run out. I think it was the water freezing and blocking the tiny drains that caused the water to collect and then run out of the clips and land on my neck that gave it away.
In fairness we have rarely camped when it’s been frosty so wont cause a problem very often. Definitely a good idea to treat with cavity wax

 

[stu the stud]

Hi, I am a bit late to this party but I have had a similar problem. Water drips out from the door card poppers when released. I know that it is condensation as it was cold and didn’t rain whilst we were away. And if you look carefully there are drain holes at the bottom of the rear window to allow condensation to drain away.

I have removed the big bung to little effect so I may be forced to drill a couple of weep holes lower down to rectify the issue.

The good news is that in effect there is a built in dehumidifier in operation but it still hasn’t prevented dampness so I open up the van on return to dry it out fully.

Hope that helps, S.

 

[cgtmiles]

We get a lot of condensation on the rear window when camping in winter. On the window but also on the exposed metal tailgate where the seal seals against the van. I try to mop it up each morning (mainly to avoid the bedding getting wet during the day when we just fold it all in the back. It is a lot but I’ve not noticed it coming out the door card. I do then have to find something to do with the wet cloth so it won’t just evaporate back into the air in the van and recondensate on the windows. Some people have the little window vac things for this purpose

 

[JumpShip]

Carpet the exposed metalwork, cut pieces of 'camping mat' type stuff and fit them each night to insulate the windows and carry a window vac for any condensation on other windows .
This is what we do and it works really well

 

[Green Giant]

We use a thermal cover on the outside of tailgate window when temperatures are really low, same type as the front windows/windscreen, (rainbow screens) we don’t get any condensation on the tailgate glass or the front windows screen, all the condensation goes to the two side windows doh! We use a window vac on these, front windows are open a few centimetres at night which helps

 

[JimsT6]

I had forgotten about posting this and some interesting replies today, thanks all.
Well since then I bought a window blind pod from THQ which helped but it didn’t seal the warm air from getting to the glass. So cut a piece of plywood to cover and overlap the blinds, then made some brackets from some plastic Ihad in the garage and bent them into hooks so that they hook over the bottom edge of the blind opening and stapled velcro along the top edge of the plywood, this fixs the plywood in place. I then got some spare foam closed cell insulation from when I converted the van and stuck this to the inside face of the plywood. Then 4 way stretch carpeted both sides of the plywood. So now when we go away to sleep in the colder months I close the blind before placing the insulated pad over the blind. This cuts down the condensation to very little so no longer causes me a problem and actually makes the van warmer too. The down side is that I cannot see out of the back window but to be honest the rib bed tends to obstruct the view anyway.
After each adventure we remove the bedding and matress topper and take them inside to air out and store. The dehumidifier sits in the van for 24 hours as well just for good measure.

 

[stu the stud]

So a wee update, I found the four tiny bungs and removed them releasing more water. I have left these bungs out for the time being.

We have found that our insulated front windscreen cover almost eliminates any condensation at the front (which is also drained through the wheel arches). So external or internal insulation to the rear may reduce the condensation there too but the same amount of water is still being produced though we do tend to sleep with the pop top vents slightly open allowing some moisture to escape (our side windows haven’t got openings which was a specification error by me when we ordered the van).

And we did wonder if it mattered where we slept- up top, or below with our heads to the rear or heads to the front….

So, is it best to have a warmer van with less condensation by insulating the front and back but drowning the side windows that don’t appear to have drains built in? Or do we insulate all the windows.

In the end we have decided that the condensation must go somewhere so it may as well drain out the back so we are trying that method now that the bungs are out and we will see how it goes. ….. though I am tempted to do the same modification that Jims has done to the side windows to keep the van warmer at night…..

Cheers Stuart

 

[stu the stud]

So a wee update, I found the four tiny bungs and removed them releasing more water. I have left these bungs out for the time being.

We have found that our insulated front windscreen cover almost eliminates any condensation at the front (which is also drained through the wheel arches). So external or internal insulation to the rear may reduce the condensation there too but the same amount of water is still being produced though we do tend to sleep with the pop top vents slightly open allowing some moisture to escape (our side windows haven’t got openings which was a specification error by me when we ordered the van).

And we did wonder if it mattered where we slept- up top, or below with our heads to the rear or heads to the front….

So, is it best to have a warmer van with less condensation by insulating the front and back but drowning the side windows that don’t appear to have drains built in? Or do we insulate all the windows.

In the end we have decided that the condensation must go somewhere so it may as well drain out the back so we are trying that method now that the bungs are out and we will see how it goes. ….. though I am tempted to do the same modification that Jims has done to the side windows to keep the van warmer at night…..

Cheers Stuart

Photo of four tiny bungs inc.

 

[Kind of Blue]

In this cold weather condensation will form whenever moist air comes into contact with a cold surface. So stop breathing ha. Naked flame Gas Burners also produce plenty of airborne water also on top of cooking and brewing up.. Obviously as you know insulating external surfaces on the inside help but covering any cold metal is a good idea if possible. Windows produce less condensation when covered but we nee to be able to enjoy a view but certainly at night wrap them up. Having ventilation is always a good idea in small spaces up to a point. Basically the warmer the air the more water vapour it can carry until saturated so humidity is measure in terms of Relative Humidity and expressed as a percentage. Keeping the internal temp up will allow a higher water content but RH % will be manageable once the temp drops the air becomes saturated and 100% RH and moisture or fog develops which is basically what happens when the warm moisture holding air touches a cold surface. Can not eliminate it completely. If you do not like heating in over nigh,t one little trick if your vehicle has climate is to run it for a while cold last thing. The unit purges more of the water vapour but of course then the inside is cool which some like and others do not. Some camper owners do spend a lot of time and effort with insulation. Not keen on porous insulated because it is a pain when wet and can and will form mould.

I guess with windows during the day if one could find transparent insulation or screening then that might be more tolerable. Good luck with your endeavours.