how do folks keep warm in a teardrop at nights.

[VijayGupta]

I've been brainstorming about this. I seem to remember my dad saying when he was a kid they wrapped a hot brick and took it to bed with them.


As it turns out, water has much more "thermal mass" than bricks, concrete, stones, etc. http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs49.html

Problem is, you can't heat water over 212F. Then I thought, hey - fill a pressure cooker 2/3 full, heat it on a stove or fire and when is starts rocking, wrap it in a blanket (whose purpose is to slow the heat transfer and keep yourself from getting burned. Set it in the corner and go to bed.


Well that's my brainstorm or it may be a brainfart. Any thoughts?

[atahoekid]

Here's what I would do. Insulate as much as you can. Get a real good sleeping bag (look at the liner carefully, plain nylon liners are cold to the touch, look for something with texture), wear a knit cap to bed at night and change into fresh clothing just before getting into that sleeping bag. The slight amount of moisture in your "worn" clothes robs you of heat and since you lose a lot of heat from your body from your head insulate that and you'll be warmer. Used those tricks when snow camping in tents for years and stayed pretty warm most of the time.

[NathanL]

I use my trailers during hunting season. I have done nights down to -25F with nothing more than a sleeping bag. The key is a quality bag, not something you pick up at wal-mart. I use a western mountaineering bag, however it cost more than some people possibly spent on their teardrop, but I also use it while backpacking.

[Socal Tom]

my thoughts are to upgrade the next teardrop with the room it affords to a little more rv like luxury than a normal teardrop. normaly teardrops don't come with any normal rv applances as they lack room for them and most folks want no hassle with rv applances.

rv furnaces are way easy to maintaine and are a cinche compared to something like a rv fridge wich takes keeping the hole camper leval every where you park or you loose the fridge.

furnaces if you get the right one can be very small and compact to fit most teardrops and they are vented and forced air so there is no open flames and you got good heat blowing out all night long on a small wattage drawing 12 volt blower fan using juice much like fantastic fan vent. they are not hard on propane.

and they are legal to be on all night long with no risk of carbon moxide poisining. you don't have to turn off a rv furnace to sleep at nights like other heators they are fully vented.

this mean you would need just normal blankets to sleep at night and no extra clothing or heavy sleeping bags.

if you get cold at nights you just turn up the themrostate in your camper.

if you get the right one they are automatic on lighting a pilot and the furnace with just a flick of the thermostate switch.

mike on here is a good avadicate of a rv furnace.

only real set back is they start out around 400 bucks but they are darn sure worth it. you won't get them in the smallest teardrop but most of the normal size ones will take a rv furnace.

slow

I hear what you are saying slow, but in my experience RV heaters are loud and those fans suck a lot of power. Another option ( that might be cheaper in the long run). Install a small thermostatically controlled 110V electric heater, and get your self a small generator that can pull it. That could also resolve your water heating problem. The 2KW honda's are very quiet, and with a spare tank could probably run all night.
Tom

[Bogo]

Of the major manufacturer propane RV furnaces, I only know of one that draws under 2 amps. Atwood's Everest II 8012-II. The rest in the line are 3.4Amps draw. It uses a smaller motor than the rest in the line, and can't have it's outputs ducted.

[asianflava]

Maybe I'm the only one that thinks this, however, if you wear little clothes and especially no socks, your body temperature will heat the bed and coverings. It's been my experience that a lot of clothes keep your body heat from radiating and warming the bed. Any latent moisture in a pair of socks will only keep your feet cold. I've camped down to the mid teens in my tears with only an insulated ceiling and been quite comfortable. For those of you that were at one of the early spring Glyphs gatherings, you know what I'm talking about. It always amazes me that someone will complain about being cold and then follow it up with...."I was wearing 2 pairs of socks, long underwear, undershirt etc...." As a side note...alcohol isn't your friend when doing cold weather camping when it comes to sleeping.

That's where those new-fangled "performance" fabrics would be good. They will wick away the moisture.

We just use an unzipped sleeping bag as a comforter. We do have ½ memory foam mattress, the problem with it is that when it's cold, it's hard as a rock until your body heat warms it up. Every panel (shelves, doors, walls floor, roof, etc) is made the same, 1x2 with 3/4in insulation with 1/8in birch or luan on the faces.

[Treeview]

The coldest night I've camped in...not in a trailer...out in the snow under a parachute shelter...was minus 35 F! Character building for sure!

Cotton cools
Kotton kills

Get rid of cotton fibers and you'll be warmer and drier. There is already lots of information about synthetics, wool, silk etc. and how they work better than cotton.

Wearing light sox and a balaclava works well when it's below zero. Don't cover your face and breath inside your sleeping bag or bedcoverings.

Tom

[celticquetzel]

All the above, plus a hot water bottle to warm up the bag and keep you warm until your body heat takes over. For occasional things like sitting in the cold without a fire I like a Thermapad disposable heat pad on my back. Keeps the core warm and lasts eight hours. A bit pricey, but I keep a couple around for just in case because if my backs gets cold I am miserable. And if Momma is miserable, everyone is miserable!
.

[Henry Benner]

What has worked well for my TTT is good old hardware store alcohol. Pour about an inch into a tuna tin, light it and you have great heat for more than an hour. It does not create fumes (but open a window slightly because it does create carbon monoxide). If it's a very cold night use 2 tuna tins.

Set the tuna tins on a flat piece of tin (approx. 12" square would be fine) for safety and keep another small piece of flat tin handy to snuff out the flame. (Just lay it on top of the tuna tin.) Be sure to keep combustibles away. This method is often used on boats because it is so safe. I have winter camped as cold as 8 deg F with this method. (My TTT is insulated.) There are also some web sites showing how to make miniature alcohol stoves and heaters...check them out.

I also pre-heat the bed in my TTT about 30 minutes before stopping for the night by using an old-style electric blanket, a light dimmer, and 120v power from the car (via a 12v - 120 volt inverter). Some of the new electric blankets are electronic and didn't work on my inverter. I used the light dimmer because the lowest blanket setting was still too much for my small inverter to handle.

Insulating the floor can make a BIG difference. An easy way is to install 2x2 foot by 3/8" thick interlocking foam pads that are often used on cement floors. Get them at Wal-Mart and such.

[hugh]

I,m gonna jump in on this one. I did not not get the chance to go out last winter but usually I take my trailer out for winter camping at least a couple of times. When it snows here it starts in November and stays till March. My trailer is insulated top, sides and bottom plus it,s only 8 feet long by 5 feet high and wide. Body heat alone will keep it warm any time down to freezing but it does take awhile for that to take effect. I have camped down to about 25 below Celcius. For that I put a little buddy propane heater on the shelf. I have no wish to die just yet so i have a battery powered co2 detector. Plus I put the chain on the door and leave it open, the chain allows a 2 inch gap from top to bottom which lets plenty of air in. It is important to have the trailer door side not facing into the wind. Anyway at 20 to 25 below the little buddy on the low setting without the fan kept the trailer almost too warm for a good sleep. I would use electric but no power where I go.

[Tinbasher]

I have no wish to die just yet so i have a battery powered co2 detector.

Carbon Monoxide is CO not CO2.

I am just really nervous about any heating device that kicks out Carbon Monoxide in a confined space. Even with open vents it can have a high enough concentration to kill you. As well as my own recent experience two families have died this year on boats locally from CO poisoning for devices located just outside the cabin.

Been thinking about an insulated box made to hold some heated bricks with a computer fan to blow air over them, like a storage heater. That should last all night and be safe and virtually free if you heat the bricks in the campfire.

[Socal Tom]

I was searching the web and I stumbled accross this.http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=24

Its designed for use in tents, and garages, it uses propane bottles but can be hooked up to 20lb tanks, and it has a built in sensor that shuts it off if the oxygen levels get low.
Tom

[bc toys]

thats the heater I have

[asianflava]

Several people use that heater, but some still take precautions and don't trust it 100%.

[Ron Dickey]

Been thinking about an insulated box made to hold some heated bricks with a computer fan to blow air over them, like a storage heater. That should last all night and be safe and virtually free if you heat the bricks in the campfire.

Make sure those bricks are not touching wood put some sort of heat sink below it or hang it. And if it gets to hot inside how will you cool it down. I have put something really hot on some dry wood once and it began to smoke. pulling a brick out of a fire means it is hot enough to start one. any way that's my think'n

Ron