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Originally Posted by wingnut60
I would question that dry rot is "so very common" as most of the instances brought to light on RV forums relate to unnoticed long-term leaks. If dry rot was 'very common' I would expect every RV would suffer from it? At what age would you expect this to become evident, or of consequence?
Joe
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Very good questions.
Yes, once wood has become wet (such as from wall condensation, a case where no leaks are involved) ---even just one time in an unusual dew point "climate event" -- the fungi get started eating the wood. Then the process continues, even very slowly if new condensation feeds it and speeds it up, for many years. From studying the insides of RV walls, I get the impression that a lot of RV owners are unaware that dry rot is underway. Not until they start feeling soft spots on the floor or notice that the condensation "lines" on the outside (as described by previous posts) start getting wider will they realize that they have a problem slowly developing.
I would bet that a lot of humid coastal areas have dry rot at work on RVs without owners' awareness. And for RVs with fiberglass and wool insulations, once they get wet, they tend to sag and develop "thermal paths" as well as new condensation-encouraging areas. And that is why the lack of wall "breath-ability" caused by vapor barriers concerns me. The laws of physics apply everywhere, so when RV manufacturers ignore what building codes force home-builders to plan for, dry rot is bound to happen. I've been fascinated to see that some of the companies that apply those codes properly in building their "park models" ignore the same laws of physics on the RVs they build. But as I said, a lot of consumers probably look at the RV brochures of walls and roof diagrams and think each layer shown is beneficial because it looks complex and positive.