Safely camping in a 13' Burro (heaters, AC etc.)

[Anne Badgley]

I'm intrigued by Harry's solution. Is the solar tarp one of those silver survival blankets? How do you get the "blanket" and the tarp up over the rig? I assume you take it off in the morning (if the temp goes below 20 degrees) and put it up again at night. I always prefer the low tech way of dealing with issues.

[Craig D]

I'm intrigued by Harry's solution. Is the solar tarp one of those silver survival blankets? How do you get the "blanket" and the tarp up over the rig? I assume you take it off in the morning (if the temp goes below 20 degrees) and put it up again at night. I always prefer the low tech way of dealing with issues.

As am I, that's a pretty neat setup! How do you keep it secured, do you tie it down to the frame?

Thanks for all the tips guys. I think we will be camping with our 9 month old son this winter, but it will be in New Mexico and Arizona, so I would think the cube heater will be sufficient. We'll just dress him in something really warm I'd expect. Then again, it might not even be cold at all in late December in AZ.

[Pam Garlow]

I don't want to hijack the original subject, but I'm also intrigued by the idea of putting a blanket on my trailer at night - that's genius!! Its like wearing a hat in the winter Great idea for those of us with just the double walls (Uhaul for me) who don't have any insulation between the shells. I would think that an old comforter and a tarp tied down with bungies could work.

[Harry Young]

Below is a link to show what I use, Homedepots and Lowes sell them too, I buy one large enough, then throw it over the trailer with the blanket under it. I do cut to size, re grommet and use a double hem when I grommet it so it fits neatly.

Harry

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...Itemnumber=1433

I'm intrigued by Harry's solution. Is the solar tarp one of those silver survival blankets? How do you get the "blanket" and the tarp up over the rig? I assume you take it off in the morning (if the temp goes below 20 degrees) and put it up again at night. I always prefer the low tech way of dealing with issues.

[Harry Young]

Bingo Pam, I got inspired by a tea cozy my Mum uses.

Harry

I don't want to hijack the original subject, but I'm also intrigued by the idea of putting a blanket on my trailer at night - that's genius!! Its like wearing a hat in the winter Great idea for those of us with just the double walls (Uhaul for me) who don't have any insulation between the shells. I would think that an old comforter and a tarp tied down with bungies could work.

[Matthew A]

What about using the heater in the trailer? We just got back from our first ever trip and we used my Scamps built in heater that runs off of propane, but it vents to the outside. Are these heat sources for people without a built in heater or do people with with built in heaters not use these other means to heat the trailer?

Thanks

[Donna D.]

What about using the heater in the trailer? We just got back from our first ever trip and we used my Scamps built in heater that runs off of propane, but it vents to the outside. Are these heat sources for people without a built in heater or do people with with built in heaters not use these other means to heat the trailer?

Thanks

I can only answer for myself. But, I'm typically hooked up to electric. I find the Scamp's built-in furnace to be extremely noisy. Since there's electric available, and I've paid for it, I use a much quieter electric cube heater. Under this condition, why "spend" the propane is my thinking. The furnace is available... when not hooked up to electric though.

YMMV

[Dana T]

Instead of Harry's tea cozy you could use sprayon foam insulation on your trailer.

Here's an example:

[Tom U]

[quote]Instead of Harry's tea cozy you could use sprayon foam insulation on your trailer.

Here's an example:


Attachment 24971


I've heard of "mothballing" equipment but never seen anything like this. Wow.

[Donna D.]

I've heard of "mothballing" equipment but never seen anything like this. Wow.

The next owner of that trailer will come to FiberglassRV and ask members "what's the best wax to use, the gelcoat on mine is pretty dull."

I suppose if you were going to permanently park a trailer and use it for a survivalist camp the sprayon foam might work...

[peterh]

Fred Flintstone's camper!

[Dana T]

I guess I should say that it was set up for use in Alaska.

Here's a portion of the original craigslist ad -- I have left off the seller's phone number because the trailer is long gone.



Burning Man Special. Get Your Rock On, with this Mobile Cave! - $555 (Reno, NV)
Date: 2009-08-18, 12:24PM PDT

20 feet long Travel Travel.
Spray On Insulation 6" deep, keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Built for cozy camping in the Alaskan winter.
Axle is a 1-Ton Dodge Truck Axle
Tires are 235/85R16 Load Range E Truck Tires with Full Size Spare Wheel.
Clear NV Title.

[Roger C H]

We ordered our Trillium without all those messy appliances. We use a plain electric space heater we bought from Ace Hdwe when our other one died:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.j...clickid=prod_cs

The output rating (3 heat settings 600/900/1500W) is the same as for the ceramic. I don't really know why a ceramic would be any better. Besides, why buy a $30 heater when there are $20 ones available.

We only run it while awake. We had a toaster oven burn up the corner of our kitchen once, and so don't leave any electric appliance run unattended.

If getting up during the night to use the porta-potti, the heater heats it up really quickly, remember the Oregon Spring Nog last year?

We, too, have problems with condensation on the walls. We leave a window cracked and the roof vent open a little which helps, but doesn't eliminate it altogether.

One point I don't see discussed is when you have four people in such a small space, body heat alone will help a lot. The human body produces about 100 watts, so three persons, counting the two small ones as one adult, would produce about 300 watts of heat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(power)

[RSchleder]

We do have the factory installed furnace in our 13' Scamp. However, we do use a small cube heater whenever we're hooked up to 110V. I works great, saves propane and is much quieter. Good luck, Ron