We have just come back of our first holiday in our new pennine fiesta folding camper. It has been great except the weather, rained most of the time, but at least it tested the unit out and there were no leaks. I have a problem with condenation. I raised this question before and as yet no one has come up with a reply which we have not tried already. We are having problems with condensation on the sleeping area. Every morning we have to air the beds which is a pain, because there is so much condensation on the underside of the mattress. We have as suggested kept the plastic/all weather sheet in place(between the wood and matress) which is used for covering the top of the beds if you have to fold the unit down when wet. This has made no difference, we thought the plastic sheet may have been making it worse so removed it and that left a stain from the wood on the settee. I am sure there must be an anwer to this problem if the problem persists it will cause the wood to rot. As we have paid nearly £7K I want to look after it as best we can. The company we purchased from said there will always be a problem with these kind of units as it is impossible to cure it altogether. Has any on else had this problem and if so how have you cured it. We don't want ot appear to be making a fuss over this if it is a common problem like we have been told, well we have to accept this, however friends of ours have the same unit and they have never had this problem. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi we have a pathfinder and were told by Pennine not to have the plastic sheets under the mattress or seats as the wood has to breathe, which is why there isn't any varnish on the bed boards and the moisture goes through the wood and escapes.
also we leave the window vents open at night which does help
the moisture is in the air and is getting trapped under your beds, i would try to limit the water in the air by what your cooking/how your cooking, get the vents opened up even if that means leaving the top of the door unzipped, and sleep with the window open, try and get some beach mats with the reflective foil on and put under the bed, and if you have the side skirts for the bedrooms then that will help, and during the day a few rolled up towels (that are dry) placed under the matteresses will allow the air to circulate.just a thought, you said that most of the time it was raining, where are you putting your wet stuff? this can also make things worse, try leaving wet stuff in the car even your damp towels after a shower,
We also have a new Fiesta and had some wet days, but with the plastic sheets rolled back we didnt get any condensation, though we had underbed skirts and groundsheets under both beds, Also as it was warm and wet we had the widows open most of the time.
My parents had a caravan which also had a similar problem so my Dad eventually drilled holes in the boards under the matress.
We have a Pennine Pathfinder but have never had the problem with condensation. The windows in the main area have been misted up but that is all. We always just close the curtain and do not zip the bedroom up and usually leave the window partly open with the Penvents on to get some air in.
We went camping in March this year and left an oil filled radiator on overnight. We were lovely and cosy, but still no condensation. We have alway had the underbed skirts at both ends so maybe that helps a lot as it would help stop the cold air meeting the warm.
Do you use a sleeping bag because a good sleeping bag would also help as it would help stop your body heat meeting the cold air under the matress as it would give more insulation. Might be worth a try if it is a sheet and quilt which you sleep in.
Just like to say thanks for all your advise. Will give the beach mats a try next time, as we are doing just about everythink else suggested. Thanks anyhow hope this will work.
we have a pennine sterling FC and have sometimes had condensation on the windows but never under the matress though we do notice a big difference if we are pitched on a hard standing hardly any condensation at all . more condensation if on grass due to the damp air given off by the grass .try a hard standing next time and see what difference it makes .
we have had a few folders now big and small and never had a problem, the condensation is normal and as long as the plastic isn't under the mattresses it works, never had an rotting even in the 1985 one....
I don't know if this will be of any help, but we have just bought a Pennine Stirling which we pick up this weekend. We have been advised to prop the mattress up with somthing to let the air circulate underneath during the day. You might have already tried this, but thought it was worth mentioning.
Hi we have a fiesta and never had a problem like yours. However we do tend to leave the top part of the door open until bed time because we like the fresh air. Also if we cook we open the window open a bit in the kitchen area. But it seems strange that we both have the same units but not the same problem. Maybe contact Pennine direct.
We have a fiesta as well and have had the condensation you refer to. Basically we just check it in the morning and if damp then prop the edge of the mattress onto the back of the sofa board. that tends to sort it out. Again condensation dependent on where we've been pitched i.e. grass/hard standing. Not a huge problem though
Our cruiser never suffered visable condensation under the beds, even with 4 of us sleeping in it. But we always left the outside bed windows slightly open, same with bed tent windows, and never zipped up the 'doors' of the bed tents. We camped in the frosty spring, the hot and sticky summer (honest lol), and the damp autumn too with no worries, but we always used our wash bags under the matresses as props during the day to let a bit of air circulate - better safe than sorry! Our situation changed so we ended up with a caravan - but we miss our super times away in the cruiser!
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Topic: Pennine Fiesta FC CONDENSATION
