The traditional [Slur snip - luv4u] caravan, beautiful and ornate - how did they keep things from smelling damp in winter, and keep them warm? I'm looking at the most beautiful ones online and can't keep these questions out of my mind.

[Edited thread title. The G word is a slur. They prefer to be known as Roma. - luv4u]

How did I get to this age not knowing it was a slur?? Does anyone have any idea on this question regarding damp? I'm talking in old days and not of course now where modern methods would be used.
[Edited 5/24/21 9:11am]

Wtf is this thread about?

Mods, don't snip this. It's informative.

This exonym is sometimes written with capital letter, to show that it designates an ethnic group. However, the word is considered derogatory because of its negative and stereotypical associations. The Council of Europe consider that "Gypsy" or equivalent terms, as well as administrative terms such as "Gens du Voyage" are not in line with European recommendations. In North America, the word Gypsy is most commonly used as a reference to Romani ethnicity, though lifestyle and fashion are at times also referenced by using this word.

(from Wikipedia)

To the OP: you see something of beauty, with a rich (and often mysterious) culture, and you wonder how it smells or the dampness??? Those are the questions you can't keep out of your mind??? Not who they are, where they originated, their spiritual beliefs, their dress, food, or other customs? You are worried about humidity in a mobile home. OKAY THEN.

That's why they remain mysterious and hold close to their own. No respect!

jfenster said:

I'm refurbing a caravan. I saw the beautiful old caravans of old and wondered if if id missed any traditional tricks with damp and cold. Sadly my choice of wording, g*psy is a slur nowadays so luv4u corrected me to use the term roma which I will be using forever now. And that's where we are. So many different people are on here I figured maybe someone may have this anecdotal knowledge.

TrivialPursuit said:

I'm refurbing a caravan! To be exact, as a favour for a friend who needs accommodation and I looked at these beautiful people for inspiration!! I didn't go into such detail as it didn't seem necessary. If you read the original post you'd see it wasn't written in malice at all it was written in respect as the roma have lived successfully and happily for millenia. I was going to post pictures of the project but I can see this will somehow be offensive too
[Edited 5/25/21 1:52am]

R these the people from the Stephen king movie THINNER ?

coldcoffeeandcocacola said:

I'm refurbing a caravan! To be exact, as a favour for a friend who needs accommodation and I looked at these beautiful people for inspiration!! I didn't go into such detail as it didn't seem necessary. If you read the original post you'd see it wasn't written in malice at all it was written in respect as the roma have lived successfully and happily for millenia. I was going to post pictures of the project but I can see this will somehow be offensive too

In fairness you didn't mention the renovation in your original post. At. All. I believe it would've been more beneficial, instead of 2 or 3 days of "WTFery" if you'd stated you were working on a mobile home or trailer or something.

Yes they are beautiful. And it seems maybe you just need good ventilation and a dehumidifier if that's something that is a problem.

And where did you get a Romani caravan? Posting a pic of it isn't offensive. But just stating "how did they keep things from smelling damp in winter," with zero context is why folks were put off. You'd probably do well to just do some research into them before you start a rehab on one. There could be some particulars you'd wanna know before you get too deep into it.

A week or so ago I saw a tiny house episode involving one of these traditional caravans. Didn't mention dampness but she did show the vinyl windows that have zippers that open and close the windows and has fly screens in front of the windows