I thought this would be helpful. I do run my own water damage restoration business and have used these. They do work and are worth it. I do have higher dollar meters I also use. If you are unsure if you have a leak or unsure where the water traveled this is a good cheap way to test or find it. Why I post this here instead of fifth wheels or travel trailers. It seems that truck campers prone to leak more. I don't know if it is because you use them off road or what.
Thank you. I think this is a really good tip. There are lots of places in a TC and other RV's that by the time you detect water it is too late and a lot of damage can result. Can you give us some percents that would indicate trouble?
Bob
Seacraft Skipper
"Semper Paratus"
2003 GMC 2500HD 4X4 ExCab L/b Air lift A/B.
2002 Lance Lite 915.
1972 20ft Seacraft Sport Fish.
Remember there is always moisture content in wood 8 to 14% anything over fungus can grow.
You can use the pinless meter. If you are buying a used camper and it has rain a day or a few days before you go take a look at it. Hopefully it was out side and not in a garage or building. You can run this pinless meter all over the inside walls, cabinets, ceiling areas. I would also run it on the outside of the camper fiberglass it should detect if there is moisture on the other side cardboard crap. I know my higher dollar meter detected moisture on the outside of my camper. A good way to check to see if it is working is try different areas and also check it on your hand it should detect moisture on your skin. Here is some good info.
Scale's Meanings:
Below 12 - Readings in this area are gathered from
kiln or oven dried woods and furniture
grades of wood, and represent very dry
conditions.
12-16 - Readings are common to construction
grades, air dried lumber and “healthy”
residential substructures (beneath first
floor in crawl spaces). These are the
readings desired.
16-20 - Readings indicate a possible elevated
level of wood moisture. Such readings
should alert the homeowner to look for a
source of excess moisture in the crawl
space, and to be sure that foundation
vents are opened for continuous year
round ventilation. The excess moisture
source should be corrected if found.
20-24 - Readings indicate a serious problem
somewhere. The excess moisture source
must be immediately corrected, and the
situation carefully monitored until the
WMC returns to the 12-16 range.
25-30 - Actual, and often extensive, damage is
evident when readings reach this level.
The substructure may show decayed
areas, ranging from small to very large, of
rotten floor joist, sills, and subflooring.
Often this is the “too late” level of
reading for correcting problem situations
without repair costs in the thousands of
dollars.
It is a fabulous tool & helped us prove that we had a lemon hybrid several yrs ago! We were able to unload it back to Jayco due to a full side of delamination.
'08 Toyota Tundra 5.7L with tow package/Prodigy
'12 Evergreen EverLite 31 RLS Compositek construction
Thanks to the OP for the meter recomendation and for the info on the significance of moisture values. I note that the two meters he recommended are both on theHome Depot web site and both are $50.I'd like to suggest a $12 meter from Centech that is sold by harbor Freight. I picked one upast year for use buying firewood. You'd be surprised (ok, maybe, not) what firewood sellers will try to pass off as "seasoned." since then I've checked a lot of wood besides firewood, and while I can't be sure about absolute accuracy, what I've been seeing has been in line with the data above. And you can't beat the price.
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