Is a heater necessary?

[SherryNPaul]

I know I spouted off last year about a furnace. Truly, it all depends on your camping style.
Resale doesn't really matter to us. We're quite positive that we've already bought our "last trailer", and who cares, but us?
My opinion? I'd live without a/c, but not without a heater. Because, we like shoulder season camping, and winter camping, and camp routinely without hookups. Our a/c is turned on a few times a year, mostly at home, to make sure it still works. Our heater is turned on at least a dozen times a year. Perspective: our trailer logs about 10k to 16k miles a year.
Sum it up? I hate the heat. Love cooler weather. However, I too love to shower and change clothes in a relatively hospitable environment.
As I said, it all depends on your camping habits.
Sherry

[Byron Kinnaman]

If you don't have a heating system in your house, if you only use your trailer in summer, if you always use your trailer close to home you might not need a furnace built in.
If you visit a lot of National Parks, travel a bit the furnace will be a very nice thing to have.
Super Bowl 2011 we were in Big Bend Texas throwing sticks into the Rio Grand River. Temperatures at night 5°F for 2 nights and in the teens for about 4 more nights. A nice little pond in to the Park was frozen over. The furnace worked, went through some propane but it worked.
The moral is that even though you think you're in a place where you don't need a furnace you can get surprised.

[john warren]

august in pheonix,,,no,,,,,january in maine,,,,yes

[Eddy Ann]

Taking mine out. Never used it. Not even sure if it still works. Want to buy it...???
Eddy Ann

[nlife]

We use ours and I'm glad we have it. The PO put a 12000 btu forced air heater in our Boler so we're able to get out early and stay out later in the year. Mind you we're also out with a 6 month old so I wouldn't want to go without a heater.

The second stop we made after buying our trailer had us camping at a site that had snow two days before. The heater kept us all warm. Not so much for the couple that had tented it across the road. They were up at 6am sitting in their car trying to warm up while we were sipping our morning coffee.

Mind you we're also in Canada where it's winter more often than not.

[AKSCAMP]

Love everything about my early Suburban gravity style: sips propane, no fan noise, and it helps with condensation by allowing it to get toasty enough for us to open the windows to ventilate. Unless I lived somewhere without temp fluctuation, I will try to never go without one. In AK, it's a must have.

[Byron Kinnaman]

To me the cost of purchasing and maintaining a trailer without a furnace is not worth the cost or effort. We moved from a tent for two reasons:
1. To have some warmth when it's cold outside letting us camp during the entire year.
2. To have enough standing room to get dressed.

I can get the standing room with a tent for a whole lot less. So that leaves the warmth and year around camping.

Even summer camping can be cold. Just last week in Newberry Crater the temperatures got below freezing at night. If I wanted to wake up to frozen water I would have stayed in a tent.

[David Tilston]

First camping trip ever in our 1978 Trillium 4500, was to the wet coast of Vancouver Island. We used the furnace. The gravity furnace in the Trilliums is bigger than a forced air model, and doesn't put out as much heat, but quiet heat is nice. I think I will explore a small fan to help with the output on a cold winter night.

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by AKSCAMP

Love everything about my early Suburban gravity style: ... In AK, it's a must have.

The first trip we took in our 1977 Scamp was the day after Christmas in MN.

We used the old Suburban gravity furnace and it kept us both alive and comfortable.

Although my son's sleeping bag froze to the front window!

[Weinel, Alan]

Cold is when she sez it is.

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Often in these threads about whether a furnace or heater is necessary , I find the phrase really cold in their post . When I look at the member's profile I see Florida , California , Texas , Alabama , ETC. listed. What temperature corresponds or relates to really cold ? To those of us who live in a northern climate 30 to 40 Deg is a nice Spring day. I do not have a furnace in my Scamp and I am pondering whether to install one . Actual temperatures expressed as a number would be helpful

Thanks Steve Dunham

[nlife]

Below zero. Or anything around the point where you can get snow is cold.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by nlife

Below zero. Or anything around the point where you can get snow is cold.

I tested my furnace last Christmas at -13 C. I slept in the trailer. Strangely, my wife declined the invite to join me. It was not warm enough.

[nlife]

When the PO bought my trailer the seller told him to not take his wife in it until he got a better heater in it. One bad experience and she'd never go in it again. That was enough for him to drop $4oo into a heater with thermostat. A 12ooo btu forced air heater keeps you plenty warm. I'm looking forward to some fall camping this year.

[JohnF]

If you are buying new, very little cost bump to add, not much space to sacrifice, and very little maintenance or chance of headaches over time. Integrated and easy for 3/4 of the USA where you will probably value it.

I'm one that did NOT go for roof mounted factory AC and instead opted for the tiny rear window $110 job that I might use once or twice or a year (except for this heat wave summer). But we used the furnace every time last fall and once this spring.

I'm in Wisconsin. If I lived in AZ it would probably be different, but I'd be more year around use and even in Jan/Feb down there I'm sure I value having it.