Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Yes I do remember the winds in Wyoming and for once they were behind us.
I think this comes down to do you have AC or not. With AC I have a ceramic heater if not I have an Espar/Eberspacher diesel heater, not cheap but low power draw and safe.




If I did not have this and wanted to build something my self inexpensively I would use a closed loop externally fired boiler and a auto heater core. That external boiler could be an RV gas water heater or home made wood/solid fuel fired. The home made version could also use a heater core. The one fly in the ointment would be feeding a small fire and regulating heat output and yes dampers can be used to lengthen burn time and reduce output. Or you could use a propane burner. Why a liquid heat exchange medium, there is no danger of smoke/CO inside the teardrop and hookup can use quick disconnect fittings.

Couple of sleeping bags, one rated down to 0 and the other -35F. Stays nice and comfy.

Heat?

Who needs heat? It's been about 100 degrees here the last couple days.. Ah, now I remember why I moved to the over-regulated, nearly bankrupt, jobless paradise that is California.

I recently moved my battery charger into some unused space behind the drawers in my lower galley, and noticed that it does heat up that space, so have thought of taking out my duct that I built for air conditioning(never bother to take the ac with anyway)and putting a small computer fan in the register to blow some of the warm air into the cabin. Wouldn't provide alot of heat.

Still the same old 120v AC ceramic heater. But the new spin is a ceiling fan. Since hot air rises , the teardrop is 110 degrees at the roof and drops 20 degrees for each foot from the roof so at my nose when sleeping it's 15 to 20 degrees. A small fan pointed up (think small ceiling fan) washes the stratafied air back down the outside walls and make it a lot more comfortable.

Small plastic shopping bags placed over thin socks then covered with a good pair of wool hunting socks help keep feet warm and dry.

And last but not least ....Yes still crack a window just a bit. Woke up a bit disoriented at the "10" shivaree. It scared me so I walked it off by getting out and the fog cleared instantly. Oxygen depravation is real!

got my Mr Buddy Heater used it last yr turn it on for about 10 min and sleep like a baby the rest of the night If we want to set outside under EZ up put 3 sides on and fire it up in back corner and it heats it up and everyone stays nice and toasty

On a recent trip to CA I saw a 200 watt ceremiac12 volt heater in a Target store in San Diego. It was less than $10 retail price but I was so close on money I didn't buy one so I'm not sure how well it would heat but I would think it would be enough in a well insulated tear. (ps. I made the right decision as I got home with $8 an less than a 1/4 tank of gas ).

Edit: I believe it was at at WalMart instead, I found a usb fan at Target.

We have a small 400 watt heater. It was 44 degrees outside, 68 inside and we had a door open with a 4x4 tent hanging off the door.

It doesn't take much to warm one of these. For the life of me, I can't understand why people wan to make it harder than it needs to be....

Bob is right....small ceramic, and crack a window....

We have a small 400 watt heater. It was 44 degrees outside, 68 inside and we had a door open with a 4x4 tent hanging off the door.

It doesn't take much to warm one of these. For the life of me, I can't understand why people wan to make it harder than it needs to be....

Bob is right....small ceramic, and crack a window....

My old truck had a leaking heater core so I by-passed it. In sub-freezing weather I ran a small Coleman Black-Cat catalytic heater inside to defrost the windows. It got quite warm inside when sitting still but wasn't much use while underway.

Last winter I camped in my TTT in sub-freezing weather. I am fully self-contained so do not use a 12 V battery or 110 V electrical connections. I used the same catalytic heater to take the chill off before going to bed but then turned it off. Stayed warm all night in a sleeping bag with a window partially open.

There was not a driving wind out of Canada so that would probably make a big difference in retaining the heat inside even though my TTT is well insulated. In that case would just throw a heavy down quilt over the sleeping bag and my head.

I would never feel safe with any type of heat source in such a small confined space while asleep.

Best advice for those times, Snuggle up with a good book or with someone who has read one.

M C

Has anybody used 12V heated mattress pads? They would put the heat where it would be most usefull.
Example: http://electrowarmth.com/12vbunkwarmermattresspad.php

For the one above, 6.3Amps at 50% duty cycle is around 25.2 Amp hours for an 8 hour night.

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We have a heated mattress pad. It s very helpful. We don't run it all night, just long enough to heat the bed.

Would like a little something to take the chill off the inside air. We've camped as low as 7 degrees. Anyone have any experience with 12 volt ceramics? We don't hook up to electric very often.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=322776421078315&set=a.206659206023371.51405.100000378802082&type=3&theater simple, cheap, light weight, no moving parts according to someone on here it works well

We use a Broan 6201when shore power is available:


And an Espar when boondocking:


Bruce