Heating while driving?

[Glenn Baglo]

Or, you could just run a hose from the tow vehicle exhaust.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Or, you could just run a hose from the tow vehicle exhaust.

And to think I was worried about someone taking MY post seriously...

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by gordon2

And to think I was worried about someone taking MY post seriously...

Ah, but I was careful not to say where the hose goes to.

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by gordon2

And to think I was worried about someone taking MY post seriously...

You Peeps aren't making fun of my VW beetle now are you? Jus' checkin' lol

[jcstanley]

small trailers require small heaters ... I am in the process of installing an Espar D2 truck heater under the front seat in my Boler . it runs on a small outside tank (11 litres ) and draws very little battery power to operate the blower . fuel consumption is 1 litre per hour , so 11 litres is good for the night . I have used one of these heaters in my big trucks for many years and I can assure you they are very reliable and safe . They also are repairable , and most truck stop garages can point you to some one who fixes them . they can be expensive ($1000 installed ) but it will give you years of reliable heat . just a thought !

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by jcstanley

small trailers require small heaters ... I am in the process of installing an Espar D2 truck heater under the front seat in my Boler . it runs on a small outside tank (11 litres ) and draws very little battery power to operate the blower . fuel consumption is 1 litre per hour , so 11 litres is good for the night . I have used one of these heaters in my big trucks for many years and I can assure you they are very reliable and safe . They also are repairable , and most truck stop garages can point you to some one who fixes them . they can be expensive ($1000 installed ) but it will give you years of reliable heat . just a thought !

Diesel? Fascinating. Here's a link to their site. Espar of Michigan > Welcome to Espar of Michigan. They look powerful.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by jcstanley

small trailers require small heaters ... I am in the process of installing an Espar D2 truck heater under the front seat in my Boler . it runs on a small outside tank (11 litres ) and draws very little battery power to operate the blower . fuel consumption is 1 litre per hour , so 11 litres is good for the night . I have used one of these heaters in my big trucks for many years and I can assure you they are very reliable and safe . They also are repairable , and most truck stop garages can point you to some one who fixes them . they can be expensive ($1000 installed ) but it will give you years of reliable heat . just a thought !

Intriguing. Where does fuel combustion occur (inside the cab?) and how are resulting exhaust gases vented?

[War Eagle]

Another tangential thought about heating the camper while driving. Growing up in Colorado, we often needed to operate field tractors in REALLY cold weather. To that end, we had canvas wraps that went around the sides of the engine, enclosing the engine compartment, which forced the warm air being drawn through the radiator by the fan, rearward through the wrap, and into the driver's station of the tractor. So the heat of the engine was constantly being blown into the operator like a big forced air heater. Granted that pulling a camper there is a flex joint at the coupler, but it would be interesting if one could capture the heat coming off the tow vehicle's catalytic converter and direct it through ducting back to the camper where it could then be used to heat the camper while driving. Needs more pondering....

[TomK]

Cold weather is a powerful motivator. When stationed in Ft Irwin, California in the Mojave desert, we lived in our wide open Hummers. No windshields. They got tired of changing them due to flying rocks. They did give us goggles. No doors either, but an overhead cover for the driver's seat to reduce skin cancer. We lived and slept in the open truck bed for weeks at a time. We had a sleeping bag and if you were lucky; a stretcher that substituted for a cot. It was my first exposure to a desert in the winter, and I was surprised how cold it was. 30º and winds as high as 50 mph take a toll. Not complaining, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Because the heaters were useless in an open cab, we put a 8' piece of 2" dia. scat tubing on the heater manifold under the dash and ran it under our coat in the daytime. If the sleeping bag wasn't enough at night; we jammed it into our sleeping bag and left the diesel engine run all night. It made it all bearable. Not sure what this has to do with this thread, other than to say where there's a will; there's a way.

Livin' the dream...

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Nancy C.

Hi all,

I bought a Happier Camper which has no propane and no tanks. Since I have tent camped for many,many years, I figured I could certainly make do. Unfortunately my first trip was from Colorado to Rhode Island end of November to spend Thanksgiving with family. Now I live high in the Colorado Rockies and am used to the cold but OMG first night was 4 degrees and humid. With no heater my son and I froze. Of course we had to drive through an epic snowstorm, icy roads and bitter cold the whole way out and back. I gave up one night and slept in the running car with the heater on at a rest area. That was NOT why I bought a trailer by golly! So my first trip with my very first trailer was pretty much the trip from Hell, frigid Hell that is. (long story with misadventures, inexperience and plain bad luck).

The Happier Camper is not the same as a more conventional camper with propane tanks and a heater. For it's intended purpose, it appears to be a fine rv, but it's hard for me to understand why anyone would consider it a viable cold weather alternative for a camper that has such equipment. You had to know that going in, no? I truly can understand inexperience, but without a viable heat source, it's gonna be pretty unpleasant when it's 4F outside.

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by TomK

Livin' the dream...

Truly, and because your work made that possible for me... and all of us really. Thank you.

What your post demonstrates quite effectively is what underlies my Grandma's favorite statement "waste not, want not". In other words when it comes to these micro systems we use in camping we find ways to make every bit of energy, or in this study - warmth, productive.

Hey kids shut that door!

[TomK]

You're more than welcome, Buggeee. I would have chosen that career if it was for free. I really did like every minute of it.

I have to admire your determination to do what everyone says is impossible. Stick to it. How many different filaments did Thomas Edison try before he came up with one that would last? Twenty years from now, people on the fiberglass RV forum will be recommending the "Buggeee Heater System" to all the newbies.

Tom

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by TomK

...people on the fiberglass RV forum will be recommending the "Buggeee Heater System" to all the newbies.

Tom

More likely warning of "Buggeee's Boondoggle” is more like it!

That's another thread now though, for Nancy's thread I'll offer this link to a product someone was talking about on yet another thread:

Propex North America • Propex Heatsource USA and Canada

They offer small self-contained propane furnaces that vent to the outside. They're expensive but one of them (2211) can be mounted underneath like they do on Volkswagen buses so could be added even to a camper that doesn't have a place for it inside. Plenty of instant heat when you stop for lunch

[Mikmay]

Originally Posted by Buggeee

More likely warning of "Buggeee's Boondoggle” is more like it!

That's another thread now though, for Nancy's thread I'll offer this link to a product someone was talking about on yet another thread:

Propex North America • Propex Heatsource USA and Canada

They offer small self-contained propane furnaces that vent to the outside. They're expensive but one of them (2211) can be mounted underneath like they do on Volkswagen buses so could be added even to a camper that doesn't have a place for it inside. Plenty of instant heat when you stop for lunch

As I have stated in post 11 and to answer Roberts post the HC1 does offer the Propex heat system as well as other heat sources the same as most other fg trailers. As well the HC1 has more insulation than most fg trailers mentioned on this site.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Mikmay

As I have stated in post 11 and to answer Roberts post the HC1 does offer the Propex heat system as well as other heat sources the same as most other fg trailers. As well the HC1 has more insulation than most fg trailers mentioned on this site.

What would those other heat sources be?

[Mikmay]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

What would those other heat sources be?

Was asked the same question in post 9 and answered in post 11

[Glenn Baglo]

Like these?

[k0wtz]

This is very interesting we camped in our A-Liner in Feb. at 20d wind, snow, sleet and ice. Wind blew so hard we had to find a semi to park by to tear down the A-liner the A-Liner is very drafty by the way.

our solution a wave 3 heater running on low output with our vent on the roof cracked a tad and a window cracked a tad. we were at 60d not bad with blankets.

The wind was the scariest part of this ordeal at least 40mph and I had visions of it being blown apart. I put a rope on one end and cinched it at the other end wife slowly let the rope out as I lowered the roof.

I am excited to try the Scamp out this winter we will see. One problem I did have was condensation I don't know if we will face that again or not!

bob

[k0wtz]

I had a chimney fire once I wouldn't want any wood fire around a fiberglass trailer. I have seen b/grills hung off f/glass trailers will not consider that either but to each his own if you want to do it!


bob

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

...our solution a wave 3 heater running on low output with our vent on the roof cracked a tad and a window cracked a tad...

One problem I did have was condensation I don't know if we will face that again or not!

The Wave heater was a big contributor to the condensation problem. Water vapor is one of the two primary byproducts of combustion. Being unvented, all that water vapor ends up inside the cabin. "A tad" might be not enough.

A furnace solves that problem by exhausting the byproducts of combustion- water vapor and carbon dioxide, mostly- outside the cabin.