CDC report

[richfaa]

Holy cow...This mornings news the CDC reports finding high toxic levels of formaldehyde in those FEMA trailers and the folks "should move out quickly" How about us??? or did the RV industry deliberately use toxic materials in the trailers they provided to those
unfortunate folks??


http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/trailerstudy/

Apparently we do not count..

[old turbo]

Rich, FEMA is going to transport a bunch of those left over trailers to the tornado damaged areas in the midwest and south. A company should develop a formaldehyde detector for our rv's. I think mine leaks enough air that it is well ventelated, with all the wind down in south texas

[Exnavydiver]

According to the article, CDC hasn't done squat yet. They are "working with FEMA to investigate" Which in Govspeak translates to "we may look into it shortly with FEMA" (if they come up with the funding)... Am I becoming cynical?... Dave and Betsy

[richfaa]

No the actual news report today http://kevxml.windstream.net/_1_2NP7...&feed=ap&top=1


Said they did find toxic levels

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Didn't I see a Sprinter as one of those FEMA trailers?? Most of us are familiar with that brand.

Rich, your comments, pretty much echo what my first thought was the early AM when I heard that - - what about all the fulltimers in so many different brands - - ???????????????

By the way, maybe off topic a bit, but I heard yesterday that some FEMA trailers were purchased by campground owners to be placed on "lots for sale" and rehabbed and sold to Winter Texans. Source was one of our own MOCers, who I believe knows the scoop.

[Emmel]

Rich, when I posted about the FEMA trailers back on Jan 30th they didn't know they were going to have tornado's then. Maybe since they will be used by someone else and not just the people from N.O. they will do a better evaluation on the formaldehyde being used in the rv industry.
I don't remember any odor in either one of our Montanas and we used the first one the very same day we picked it up, same as the full timers do. Maybe it is because we don't only run the ac all the time and open up the windows for fresh air, I don't know.
In the report, did they say anything about airing these things out?

[richfaa]

I am going to call that CDC number and see what is going on...The fact is they use that stuff in the manufacturer of RV's and it bothers me that they never mention folks like us. It may effect folks in different ways..I know folks on this forum have been effected. I mean we were not in a hurricane..we did not have to live in a FEMA trailer ,thank God, but we do live in one so what about us....

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Steve,

What month was your 2004 manufactured? Ours was made just about June 1st (2003, it was a VERY early 04), and we had fume issues for the first summer, had to run A/C and have a window open.

Had a custom van once, took over a year for that nasty stuff to cookout.

[exav8tr]

Rich, Why not call your contacts at Keystone and see if they use it in there construction. I had a mobile home many years ago and remember the smell was quite prevalent. At no time have I smelled it in our Montana...

[VanMan]

It's used in our stick built homes also - just not in such concentration (smaller area in the RV). I remember several folks here having problems and having to air out their RVs for weeks before use. I think one even had the dealer exchange units. Remember the lady with the parrot? I think it was "ConnersMom" who had to move out for awhile and even feared for the safety of her pets.

[Emmel]

Carol, our 2004 was built in July of 2003 and we had no effects of the formaldehyde in our unit. This little tic that I have from time to time is nothing, trust me!

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Steve,

That really is interesting, just a few weeks after ours.

Ticks, ohhhhh, yea, I know, I thought Al and I were the only MOCers that had one!

(Off subject, you guys ready to come south next winter???)

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Our 04 2955RL came off line May 8th of 03 and we moved into it within the first week of owing it and never noticed any formaldehyde odor. No odor in our 07 either.

Personally I think this whole formaldehyde thing is being blown way out of proportion. When the FEMA trailers were built they were just thrown together in a hurry and shipped out with little or no consideration about the formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde usage is not new to the RV industry. What with the thousands and thousands of RV's built and sold every year for normal RV usage if there was a problem we would have heard about it many years before Katrina and Rita.
Personnaly I have many more important things to worry about such as where I will be taking Lorraine for Valentines dinner or should I just buyer her a box of chocolates (sugar free of course).

Having voiced my opinion on this formaldehyde thingy, this will be my last reply to this thread.

[stiles watson]

The industry does use materials that emit formaldehyde gas as the glues and plastics finish curing. I have read several articles about it. If you keep you unit well ventilated, there doesn't seem to be a real problem. As the gases leach out in well ventilated units, they are undissipated into the atmosphere.

As I understand it, the problem of toxicity comes when the units are closed up during the curing so as to retard the dissipation of those fabrication gases. Those FEMA units have been closed up, not ventilated so I am not surprised the higher levels have accumulated.

Dianna is highly sensitive to things like fabrication gases and fresh paint odors. We are full timing in a new unit. Neither the old unit nor this one has caused any irritation for her. We do keep the unit very well ventilated at all times. We work to create air exchange even in cold weather.

I will never buy into a conspiracy theory that implies that the government or the industry purposely put anyone at risk with the supply of services. That is the kind of stuff of which erroneous rumors are made.

[rames14]

Stiles, I agree with you. I know that most of the glues and solvents used in construction eventually cure out and that takes time and air. I believe the RV industry buys glues to do the work and aren't deliberatley doing anything to harm anyone. But, watch out for those black helicopters. Even the paranoid have enemies.

[pud2]

If you look a the brands they are the cheaper made and use a lot of pressed or particle board that have alot of different glues and chemicals in them. We don't notice it in the Monty's because they don't use these types of wood.

[snfexpress]

And, on the ABC evening news, it was reported that it is estimated that each trailer (basic box) costs us taxpayers $60,000! Everyone could have had Montana's for that price, with some cash left over!

While we were in New Orleans, most of the trailers had no graphics, but on the news this evening, they showed one with Wildwood graphics on the front - about $20k for a 29 footer from what I could see after a quick look on the web.

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

When we were still vacillating between buying a Cardinal or buying a Montana last year, we visited one of the bigger Cardinal dealers south of Houston, Texas, to familiarize ourselves with floor plans. It was in June, and I distinctly remember seeing the temperature flash on a bank sign in the town: 98 degrees. Our visit to the Cardinal dealer was almost over before it started because by the time we'd gotten into a trailer, the formaldehyde and/or other chemical odors caused our eyes to burn and start streaming tears, and we could not get a breath without coughing. The salesman admitted that the odor was bad but said that frequently airing out the trailer would eventually solve the problem. We weren't so sure any amount of airing out would dissipate the odor. When we went into the Montanas at Bish's in Idaho Falls, Idaho, later that month when the temperature was in the 90's, there was absolutely no odor--no burning eyes and no coughing even though the only ventilation for any trailer on the lot was what came in via the screen door. The Cardinals and the Montanas we looked at were all late '07 models. That chemical odor, or lack thereof, wasn't the deciding factor in our decision to buy a Montana, but we had a nice time "playing house" in the various Montana models, exploring where we could put our things, which unit gave us the room we needed, etc. We couldn't stay in the Cardinals long enough to even be sure which floor plan we'd seen. (Odors aside, the quality of the Montanas was first and foremost why we bought our 3585SA).

[Trailer Trash 2]

quote:Originally posted by snfexpress

And, on the ABC evening news, it was reported that it is estimated that each trailer (basic box) costs us taxpayers $60,000! Everyone could have had Montana's for that price, with some cash left over!

While we were in New Orleans, most of the trailers had no graphics, but on the news this evening, they showed one with Wildwood graphics on the front - about $20k for a 29 footer from what I could see after a quick look on the web.

Thats because they have a dummy in purchasing, probably the same guy that bought those hammers, and toilet seats years ago. they need to go to the school of "Street Wise". gets me sick to my stomic to see the waist in spending and the gulability of government officials that purchase anything.

[snfexpress]

And the amount of money that comes up "missing" in the transaction...