Cargo trailer plywood odor/fumes

[rollintent]

I purchased an Interstate 6x12 this past December new off the lot. The plywood odor was fairly strong the day I bought it but I figured it was just because it had been sitting closed up and had built up over time. Well...I have opened the trailer up and aired it out almost every day since then and it smells as strong as it did when it was brand new. It has the 3/8 plywood instead of the luan on the walls. I am a fair ways into this project and am thinking maybe I should have replaced the plywood before now. I have a bunk installed and a counter in the nose and ceiling in it and with 3/4' foam behind the walls and ceiling.

We just had our first few 80 plus degree sunny days here and the fumes will just about choke me when I open it up mid to late afternoon when it has had a chance to get nice and warm. It is far worse under those conditions. Hopefully it will go ahead and cook the odors/fumes out.

We have slept in it on some of the cooler nights and by morning it was getting pretty fumy (if that's a word) by morning with the doors closed and electric room heater running. Enough to concern me about health issues.

Anyone else have this problem or know how to solve it? I have painted the side entry door with interior latex and the odor from that is contributing to the overall problem now but I expect that to go away relatively soon as the paint cures out but the plywood odor has me concerned, it is definitely not getting better yet. I hate to start over on the walls but I don't think I can live with the odor and not sure it is the healthiest thing for the kids.

[Muddybike86']

Howdy "Rollintent"

I had a issue with offgassing with my trailer aswell for the first half of the year. It was so bad in the summer last year that i could not spend a night comfortably. Hi temps didn't help either, With day time temps in the 90's. Inside temps were oven like at 120' or more! So far to fix the issue i have, installed a roof vent with cover, Painted the roof white, Installed a 15x24 window and last but not least I painted the inner walls with water based paint to seal the fumes away . Painting the walls along with summers heat have baked the fumes out to the point were you barely notice anything. I know paint isn't the best looking but I didn't want to spend so much on adding dead weight and cost to my build. That and the fact that most of the faux paneling on the market will offgas more junk than the plywood. IMO


Best of luck on your build

[Shadow Catcher]

This may well be formaldehyde that is off-gassing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen. Formaldehyde can off-gas from pressed woods into the air, silently polluting your air for years. (The off-gassing rate is especially intense in new materials, and in hot, humid weather.) Formaldehyde free plywood is available but may be hard to find.
In looking for answers I saw a number of ideas i.e. using cedar oil which in reality just changes the smell and does not do away with the harm.
If you remember one of the problems with the FEMA trailers was the formaldehyde problem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMA_trailer

[aggie79]

Our teardrop has some off-gassing from the construction materials, glues, etc. it has diminished greatly over time. When we camp, we always leave the windows and/or the roof vent cracked open to get fresh air. When we are not camping, I leave the roof vent cracked open for the same reason.

Heat can help "bake out" the fumes. When you're not camping, you might want to open up your CT and air it out and perhaps use a box fan to get the air circulating.

Sealing the plywood should help too.

[rollintent]

Thanks for the info and comfort that this will subside over time. I intend to have doors/windows open when camping in warmer weather and I intend to paint with an interior, latex paint to try to help "seal" in some of the odors. It doesn't really smell like just wood odor and it does remind me of the odor of preservatives used in biology labs. I was always told was formaldehyde. It might not have any relation but it does remind me of that odor.

My thought process in regard to the paint is spot on with your opinion Muddybike. I like the looks of paneling but when you consider the added weight and likelihood of introducing more material that is almost guaranteed to off-gas more, the paint is a no brainer for my style. So, I am going to get creative with my paint in an attempt to mittigate the loss of aeshetics of wood paneling. I am going for a funky, 70's, retro look. I've always wanted a 70's theme room in the house but really can't justify the expense right now so I am going to get my fix with the camper walls. I will post photo when I figure out why my SD card slot isn't working.

Thanks for all the info so far! It's always good to get some first hand knowledge and the more the better.

[rollintent]

[milliejohn]

I hate to chime in after the fact, but cargo trailers are built for cargo, for others facing the same problems, either remove the existing plywood, or order it without inside skin, period. Then you can finish it your way without offensive odors from building materials, de-gassing from fellow campers is gonna take another thread.

[aggie79]

Is that the paint or photoshop? Either way that is cool!

[rollintent]

It's paint. I laid the white down first and masking taped, then the dark green then another round of masking tape, then the lighter green then pulled the masking tape. I wanted it to be "over the top" retro. I am very pleased with the way it came out. I am thinking about adding some bright orange and yellow flowers sparingly to the light green to give it that "what the hell were you thinking" look. My guess is most people will love it or hate right off. It's for profiling purposes.

I started out looking for some of the old original wall paper from the 70's with gaudy orange and green flowers or something. It is very expensive when you do find it. So... I decided to go custom with the paint. It will take a while but its all for fun!

[roadinspector]

IMHO you need to leave a vent open or at least cracked open all the time. The CT needs to be able to breath. This lets fumes and condensation out and fresh air in. I suggest getting a MAXAIR vent cover. You can leave roof vents open all the time and rain cannot get in.

Earnest

[Rainier70]

I second baking it out. A trick that people used to use in new campers etc, was close it all up, set out shallow pans of white vinegar, and put a heat in it on high to bake it that way. I am not sure that the vinegar helps as I haven't tried it, but they say it neutralizes or traps the formaldehyde. It might be worth a try.

Another thought might be to seal all the sides and the edges of the plywood with a finish.

[Rainier70]

Here is a site with some suggestions.

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-deal-formal ... html?cat=6

Interesting that they mention bowls of ammonia rather than vinegar.

Let us know how it goes.

[rollintent]

I tried the vinegar trick for about a week with no significant results. I had used an open bowl of vinegar in a used vehicle that the previous owner smoked like a freight train in, all day, every day on his delivery route. It works great for that by the way. The smoke smell was 99.9% eliminated overnight and it was a worse case scenario.

I am motivated now to find some scientific facts about this issue so I can know for sure. I will post links to any info I find that I believe to be legitimate or based in fact.

In the meantime it can't hurt to try the ammonia and or "baking" methods. I assume that baking it mostly accelerates the release of the compounds. If that's the case maybe there is a temperature at which the rate of volatilization really accelerates and may quickly drop to a level that would not realistically cause any problems or at least not any worry. And the other part of the equation is that I am not going to be living in the thing full time I would be surprised if I will spend 30 nights a year in it. There has to be a good amount of research that has been done on this topic somewhere that the average guy can wade through. I think I will start with my State's dept. of health and environment and see what they might know.

[roadinspector]

I have found 3 ways to remove the formaldehyde is heat and venting. The other is to seal the wood. Here is a product that say it can seal it in. http://www.amazon.com/AFM-Safecoat-Safe-Seal-Gallon/dp/B005QOHUVW An article on Ehow says to use spray varnish or urathane. Spray all sides including edges. Use multiple light coats. Good luck!

Earnest

[gregert12]

paint the walls/floor and the wood/glue smell with disappear