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How an RV Dehumidifier Makes Camping Better

Published on April 21st, 2022 by Contributor, Let's RV
This post was updated on July 21st, 2023

You never know how essential an RV dehumidifier can be, until you land in a high humidity area. You feel moisture, smell it, and cringe when you see water running down the inside of your RV windows. Unfortunately, moisture and humidity in RVs is a fact of life if you travel in a motorhome, trailer, truck camper, or van.

If you breathe, you exhale moisture. Your pets do, too! And when you cook in the RV, water vapor is a byproduct of feeding yourself. Live inside the camper in a humid climate and soon you will have a condensation problem on your hands. RV dehumidifiers can get rid of that problem.

RV campsite humidity
Seaside camping is great. Mildew isn’t.

Why We Dumped the DampRid for an RV Dehumidifier

Our fifth wheel housed us during a warmish winter in the humid Florida tropics. And it’s traveled to the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest many times. Another muggy spring spent in the Texas Hill Country was ripe with humidity in the RV, too. Back then, our answer to the problem was to mop up the moisture with towels. And then beat a path out of there.

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We have minimal storage space though, and waited too long to carry an RV dehumidifier in our rig. By the time we got one, a lovely coat of mildew formed in our window sills. Aggressive spring cleaning in the RV finally got rid of the green slime. But to keep it away, we had to buy a small space dehumidifier.

clean RV mildew
Avoiding mildew in the RV is easier with a dehumidifier.

Why Use an RV Dehumidifer

All dehumidifiers remove extra moisture inside your RV, home, or other small space. Why bother with one? Because moisture generates ugly mildew inside. And dampness encourages allergy triggers to multiply. For example, dust mites are one type of trigger that love to reproduce in wet conditions. Extra moisture in RVs can also damage electronics, precious musical instruments, and fabrics, too.

The small space inside RVs provides excellent conditions for humidity to damage things you care about. Your job is to minimize the damage, and control the moisture generated during living, breathing, cooking, and when camping in wet weather. An RV dehumidifier is the best way to get that job done.

Three Different Types of RV Dehumidifers

Currently, these are three of the most popular types of ways to get rid of excess moisture. They are listed from cheapest to most expensive small space dehumidifer.

DampRid

DampRid RV moisture removal
The cheapest RV dehumidifier tool

Cheap and small, this RV dehumidifer consists of little silica pellets that absorb moisture, convert it into a slimy substance that gets trapped in a container. DampRid sells these pellets packaged in convenient hanging bags for closets, vented buckets and plastic containers for larger spaces. Purchasing DampRid was my first attempt to deal with RV mildew. It was cheap, and works better than nothing.

Conclusion: DampRid RV Dehumidifier

The liquid that DampRid generates must be disposed of somewhere. It claims to be non-toxic enough to pour it down the kitchen sink. But I learned the hard way that if you accidentally knock a DampRid container over, the clear goo it generates will damage wood surfaces and fabric. How is that non-toxic?, I wondered. And anything can knock DampRid over, especially if you’re moving and hit a highway pothole. This product is OK when you’re stationary. But NOT recommended for RVers on the move.

Eva-Dry E-500 Wireless Dehumidifier

Eva-Dry High Capacity dehumidifer for RVs
A second-best small space camper dehumidifier

This mini dehumidifer manufacturer makes a number of small space moisture removal gadgets. A friend suggested we try the Eva-Dry E-500 High Capacity mini dehumidifer for boats, RVs, and other tight spaces up to 500 cubic feet in size. Like DampRid, it uses little crystal pellets to suck in moisture. Unlike DampRid, you plug it in to “recharge” the pellets so they can continue doing their job.

Conclusion: Eva-Dry E-500

One big advantage to the Eva-Dry E-500 is that it won’t leak or spill the nasty liquid it generates. Hit as many bumps on the road as you want, there’s no damaging byproduct. I was suspicious why, but the company clearly explains how liquid is removed from this portable dehumidifer. In a less humid climate, this product is fine. But in very moist conditions, it’s almost as worthless as DampRid.

hysure Dehumidifier for RVs

Nearly three-thousand positive reviews on Amazon for the 700ml compact hysure dehumidifier convinced me to give it a go. Fifty bucks later, here’s why I’m glad I did:

hysure 700ml compact dehumidifier

This small RV dehumidifer is not the best, or the biggest. But I own one and love it for several reasons:

  • It does not have a compressor motor like larger dehumidfiers. The hysure gives off a 33 db noise, making it relatively quiet, even at night.
  • The unit’s 700 ml capacity tank extracts up to 300 ml (86℉,80%RH) of moisture every day. The moisture is pulled into a small reservoir.
  • You must keep it plugged in to work, but it’s energy-efficient design hasn’t kicked up our electricity bill one bit.
  • The unit has an auto shut off that works when the water tank is full and water is ready for removal.
  • Best of all: there are no silica beads or toxic residue as a byproduct of removing moisture from RVs and other spaces. The water it generates is safe enough to drink. I haven’t tested that claim, but I don’t feel bad about putting down our kitchen sink.

Conclusion: hysure 700 ml Dehumidifer

This small unit is perfect for our smaller fifth wheel. I keep it near my jewelry making tools to reduce moisture in that important part of the rig. If I wanted to use it in our main living area, I would probably get a second unit. So if your RV is bigger, and you only want a single unit, you may want to buy a larger version. But three years into using this RV dehumidifer, it’s still working and I’m happy with the money we spent on it.

Final Conclusion on RV Dehumidifers

Every RV owner should have a small RV dehumidifer on board. If you care about protecting your RV investment, a dehumidifer is as essential as an RV Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Not only does it keep moisture out of your home, but it keeps you healthy, and reduces moisture damage to your favorite camping gear.

This post may contain affiliate links or mention our own products, please check out our disclosure policy here.