Is a heater necessary?

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Is it less expensive than any of these?

DickinsonMarine.com - Propane Fireplaces

We have the Dickenson P-9000.

Check the fisheriessupply.com web site. Their prices are a little lower, possibly due to the Canadian vs American dollar exchange rate.

Yes, it is expensive compared to a standard heater that just heats. Our Force 10 range is expensive compared to a range that just cooks. We could have bought somewhere between ten and twenty porta-potties for what our composting toilet cost. Can the cost be justified. Not in any practical sense that I'm aware of, so I wouldn't attempt to do so. We just wanted them, simple as that!

[Trill136]

I have been using a 40 year old camper for the last few years. I took the furnace out of it, a "gravity" style, because I only camped/fished in the summer.

Since then, I have spent a week in weather where it snowed every night, in the spring/fall it has gotten cold enough to freeze water (on the picnic table) every night.

I brought home my first Trillium just yesterday. It has no heater right now.

It will before I use it in the spring!!!!!

[Joy A]

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.
Thanks Steve Dunham

Hey Steve, note my profile.....California. Not all of us live in L. A. It can get "really" cold in the northern 2/3's of CA. We even have snow, lots and lots of snow, for months and months on end.

I enjoy the cold temps. I love 40 degree weather. Some people think my house is like a meat locker. I never have the heat on while sleeping whether at home or in the trailer.

I wouldn't have a trailer without a propane furnace and also a small electric cube heater. Example, last February while camping in So. Cal. at Joshua Trees NP I awoke to 23 degrees inside my Scamp, with an icicle hanging from the faucet. Sure nice to have a furnace to take the chill off.

As far as the original posters goes....he mentioned Provencial Parks. I've been to Canada quite a few times and I have never been to a PP that had hookups, so my cube heater would do no good.

[john warren]

you have to define necesary i guess.

if you don;t camp in winter, probably a ceramic heater would take the chill off for you, and an electic blanket for sleeping.

if your married to a woman that has never been warm enough in her life like i am,,,,a furnace is vital

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by john warren

you have to define necesary i guess.

if you don;t camp in winter, probably a ceramic heater would take the chill off for you, and an electic blanket for sleeping.

if your married to a woman that has never been warm enough in her life like i am,,,,a furnace is vital

Your comments remind me of my sister in law who keeps her house in the low 80's during winter while wearing about 8 layers of clothes and complaining she is freezing . In the summer her AC is set to the high 60's as she walks around in shorts and complains of the heat. The family has long questioned her logic but all she says is we don't understand. I don't understand her wanting a $1000.00 / month heat bill in the winter but there are a lot of things I don't understand.

[rgrugg]

The answer for us is YES! Some sort of heater is necessary. Even in summer there are times (or places) where a heater is welcomed. Example: snowing on July 4 in the Canadian Rockies and sleeping under the topper on the back of our Ford Ranger and no heater and no place to use one even if we had one.

[Darrell O]

Originally Posted by Min

I have been using a 40 year old camper for the last few years. I took the furnace out of it, a "gravity" style, because I only camped/fished in the summer.

Since then, I have spent a week in weather where it snowed every night, in the spring/fall it has gotten cold enough to freeze water (on the picnic table) every night.

I brought home my first Trillium just yesterday. It has no heater right now.

It will before I use it in the spring!!!!!

We only had our trailer a couple of weeks when by chance we stumbled into the Bandon OR rally in 2010.

Frederick Simpson came over to see our 1976 Ventura and one of the ideas I ran by him was that I might remove the gravity furnace to recover storage space.

Frederick advised otherwise, informing me that the direct vented gravity furnace was practically irreplaceable as a simple, quiet heat source requiring neither fans nor electricity.

In BC the provincial CGs have no hookups so dry-camping is the rule. The furnace (and a campfire) makes winter camping in these parks quite comfortable for us. New Years Eve we camped at Goldstream (Victoria BC), for instance, then Rathtrevor several times since.

Thanks to the obsolete - but effective - gravity furnace design I think we may actually enjoy the adventure of off-season/winter camping more than the summer vacation period. And we can always find a site.

[Warren Shumway]

Hi Mike, I just got back from picking up my scamp (3077 miles) and loved having the heater. It actually worked better then our home furnace. I thought the sound would bother me but with a few really cold nights it was music to my ears.

Originally Posted by Mike Whitney

Hi all -

I'm hoping to get some opinions/info on having a heater in our trailer.

My original thinking was that we're not going to camp in the winter, and when we used it last summer before stripping it right down, we were cooking most of the time. That said, when I did all of the body work prior to painting, I filled the hole from the original furnace, thinking I'd gain some valuable cupboard space.

Recently a friend said I'd probably want to re-think the heater b/c things tend to sweat etc, and we'd be faced with moisture inside at one time or another. He went on to say the heater was more of a necessity in terms of 'drying things out' VS keeping you warm. Sadly, I tossed the old one, so I'll have to find a replacement if the consensus is a 'yea'.

Any thoughts on this? I'm at the stage where if I need it, I can still build it into my cabinetry.

Thanks in advance -
Mike

[Newfang]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Sometime in FL when on the rare occasion it gets down to the 50s, you see people dressed like Nanuk (sp) of the north.

Hey I resemble that remark! :-)

[Rene]

A heater is not necessary until you need one.

[Panoz77]

For under $150 you can cover your off grid and on grid heater needs. Get a big buddy for off grid and a good ceramic heater for on grid, easy as pie. This is what I use and they are both portable and can be used elsewhere rather than having a permanent install.

[PMWIZARD]

We used a milk house heater in a coleman popup and it heated the camper to a comfortable temperature. I will consider using one when I buy my new trailer. Just not sure what I want in the trailer, shower, ioilet, etc.

[Scouter Dave]

I was on Kijiji earlier today and someone is selling parts from a truck camper. I can't remember where but I will try to find it again. There was furnace listed.
Scouter Dave

[Scouter Dave]

I do not know how to generate links but I'm sure someone will attach them later.
There are two(2) Kijiji ads for parts, in Nova Scotia and Ontario
AD ID#387009484, Chester, NS
AD ID#392700605, Azilda, Ontario, north of Sudbury ___-587-2342

Hope this helps...
Scouter Dave

[ScampBum]

Originally Posted by Rene

A heater is not necessary until you need one.

My 82 13 foot Scamp came without heat.First owner was from MO,so I guess they didn't need that option.I travel prepared for all situations...electric heater when I have hookups,or a Heater Buddy when I don't.In the process of hooking up the Htr Bud to my twin 20 lb tanks w/auto crossover.I plan on doing winter camping in Northern WIS...Nothing like snowshoeing out on to a lake for ice fishing,catching some crappies,then heading back to a warm and cozy camp.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Rene

A heater is not necessary until you need one.

Ain't that the absolute truth!

[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