Winter Camping - Helpful Hints?

[lfhoward]

Hi Everyone,

Last night my wife and I tried out our camper in our driveway to see how it does in the cold. The temperature was down in the 20's, but we had a ceramic space heater (and the trailer was plugged into garage power) and we thought we'd be ok in our snug little 6x8. We were back inside before midnight!

Here are some of the facts and figures about our trailer:
6' wide x 8' long x 5' tall
It is insulated. 3/4" foam in the walls and 1.5" foam in the ceiling. 2 layers of 1/2" interlocking gym mats on the floor.
We had both windows open 1" at the bottom, and cracked the roof vent about 3".

What happened was that the air in the trailer got stratified, so that it was probably 80+ degrees F at the ceiling and 50 degrees or less down at the mattress. I could raise my arm up in the air and my hand would be hot, but our bedding was cold down where we were sleeping. Heat rose out the vent, and cold came in the windows and settled on us. Our ears got cold, my wife's beeswax earplugs got hard and fell out, and my snoring plus the cold put an end to our experiment.

Does anyone have any tips and tricks to help us out?
-- Did we have the windows and ceiling vent open too much? (We didn't want to end up with not enough O2 to breathe.)
-- Is there a quiet 12 volt fan someone would recommend to circulate the warm air down to mattress level?
-- Any other tips from cold weather teardrop veterans?

Thanks!

[Camper Tushkeys]

Were you two using sleeping bags?

[lfhoward]

We had an IKEA mattress, sheets, blankets, and quilts. We were not too cold from the neck down.

[Dusty Mark]

Try leaving just one window open maybe 1/2" and run the vent fan at the slowest speed. We have a cellular shade that covers the window and the air flows around the shade. Tuck your comforter tight on that side to protect from the draft. That's worked for us down to 30 degrees, but we haven't been out in the 20's so far.

Great idea with top-down airflow. Our Max Fan reverses, so we might try running it in reverse next time out in the cold!

[tony.latham]

I suppose cutting it down a foot isn't on the table.... (What do you guys use that extra foot for anywho?)

Hmmmmm.... I do like our 12V electric blanket for pr-heating. Folks have modded their Fantastic fans to slow them down. No real-great ideas from this guy.

I just admire your tenacity to give it a go.

Tony

[lfhoward]

That extra foot comes in handy for cargo hauling. Here's what it looked like this summer (before I got the walls and ceiling finished):

Bed rolled up, benches for sitting.


Bed deployed.


Bed removed for cargo hauling.

[tony.latham]

I think it's a slick layout.

Tony

[TheBallew]

I'd say you could open the windows and vent less. The hotter air will rise and drift out the vent on its own and pull cooler air in somewhere. You won't suffocate, promise.

We just spent a cold weekend in NC in our tear with a ceramic space heater and we were fine. Was 24 degrees outside when we woke up Sunday morning. Ours doesn't even have insulation in the side walls or floor, and the space heater (on its lowest setting) was just about enough to run us out of there. We did, however, have a fan running to circulate and mix the air. I think that helps a lot. I do the same thing in the office because the heat vents are in the ceiling.

We had the roof vent cracked maybe an inch, and the only inlet for fresh air was one of the vents for the climate right unit I left open. We weren't using the climate right unit though. Just the little space heater.

[Socal Tom]

SInce it looks like you have 120V power, I would try putting an electric blanket between the mattress and you. That should keep the warmth lower. When its really cold I wear a stocking cap. I remember seeing pictures of folks from the 1800s that wore caps to sleep. A quick search found these that are designed for sleeping https://www.headcovers.com/headwear/sleep-caps/.
The last really cold trip I went on ( 17F), the best sleep came when I set up a propane heater and preheated the entire insides for 30 minutes or so before I climbed in. ( then turned off the propane). It warmed the bed and bedding much better and once I fell asleep I slept longer and deeper. If you do the fan idea, a small computer case fan would probably work well for pushing air back down. I really think the electric blanket with a cap of some type if you head is out would work best.
Tom

[bobwhite215]

Socal Tom beat me to it, but wear a hat. I've done lots of cold weather camping, and besides a good sleeping bag, a good hat is probably the best thing you can do. I've slept out in my hammock in single digit temps, and been comfortable. I have a down beanie. Possibly the best cold weather piece of equipment I own.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[bobhenry]

Little if any venting and a "ceiling fan" to force that hot air off the ceiling and wash it down the sidewalls with a fan pointed upward.


(Yes it is a see thru (very uninsulated) roof )
You haven't seen a thing until you lay snuggled down in your warm bed and watch giant snowflakes explode on your lexan roof.

A good zero sleeping bag can be your best friend. If you want to share body heat You can unzip them and sleep on one and cover with the other.


Here is a few shots of a couple of our Indiana Shivarees






My barn is 5x10 by 5-6 tall and even with an un-insulated rear door we are quite comfortable with a small ceramic heater much like yours !

[Cosmo]

First attempt I could not get the unpublished video to play. I think I fixed it
Please let me know if you can see this one.

The beginning few min are a repeat from another vid. This video shows Bert at Vistabule talking about how he installed the forced hot air heater.

https://youtu.be/PPjx9HB7VfE

This heater is a closed system. The moisture from the propane combustion is vented to the outside.
The cabin just gets the hot air - no fumes.

I don't have this option (yet). But Bert said it can be added to my trailer later. Better start saving Cosmo...

-Cosmo

[razorback]

we have a 250 watt flat panel heater under the shelf on my wife's side. 1 1/2 inches off the floor. 3/4 inch off the wall.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cozy-Heater- ... 3=&veh=sem
we also have a plugin outlet thermostat by my feet. plug the heat panel into the thermostat, then plug the thermostat into the wall outlet. Set to the desired temp.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lux-Products ... t/21799216
It is a soft radiant heat panel that does not get hot enough to combust anything. it does not dry out the air. my wife sometimes puts her socks up on the panel when we first get into the TD. Just crack the side window about 1/2 inch and the roof vent about 1/2 inch.
TD is 5 x 10. 4 feet high. 1 1/4 insulation in roof, 3/4 insulation in wall, 3 1/2 insulation in floor. memory foam mattress. We have camped as low as 22.
It is absolutely wonderful how well it works. No stratified air pockets.The temp at the top is the same as the temp on the floor. No condensation in the morning. We have used this for 9 years.

[yrock87]

What type of ceramic heater and where is it? I would think maybe out it as low as possible. Also close your vents some should help.

[pchast]

We have slept in ours on trips in the 20's so far.... Just crack the windows and No fan crack the vent 1/4 to 1/2inch...

It gets quite warm enough. we have a 12v electric blanket that we use to heat the bed for about 15 min when
we first lay down.