Some tips for keeping cozy

Riwright · 01-16-2014, 01:49 AM

We've camped down into the 20's pretty comfortably. Into the 30's without an electric hookup.

A few things we do to improve comfort.

I cut pieces of reflectix to fit and close them in behind the curtains. This limits heat loss through the glass. You can get a roll that is already the right width. Just cut to length. Marking which window is goes in is helpful.

Glad press-and-seal over the inside of the roof vents works well. It lets the light through and keeps the cold air out. Cheap and easy to remove.

Three inexpensive fleece blankets used to seal around the edge of the bed really helps with drafts.

Spare towels go along the flap seals, under the door and under the slide.

I plan to work on the weatherstripping, it needs some improvement.

We have several sources of heat. We use the original furnace when we need a lot of heat fast. Really warms the place up. We also have a Platinum Cat. This is a permanently mounted vented catalytic heater. At 5000 BTU it's good for about a 20 degree bump from outside. With the venting you can run it all night. We also have a "Buddy" heater but we don't run that when we sleep.

When we come in from outside we run the furnace to get the place warm. We run the catalytic supplemented with the Buddy while we watch TV or read. When we go to bed we run the catalytic or nothing.

We have electric bed warmers but we've never used them. Big covers, double socks, sweat clothes and a knit hat seem to do the trick. We like to sleep cold!

We keep the water in the fresh tank, no water hookup. We try to keep the grey tank empty, especially overnight.

If you have electric, a space heater is a great thing to have. I plan to put an electric plug on the same circuit as the air conditioner. In the winter I'll use it for a second space heater.

All this can keep the trailer downright cozy.

tentcamper · 01-16-2014, 01:56 PM

All sounds like good information. Thank you

**B_and_D** · 01-19-2014, 08:32 PM

We went camping this last week and used our Portable Buddy at night when we didn't have hookups, no problems at all. The TM is not airtight and there is a low O2 sensor in the Buddy.

One of our camping neighbors came over to us and off the wall just gave us his Portable Buddy, he said that the instructions to it made his nervous. I plan on keeping it for a spare or in case our heater goes out in the house.

Upon edit, just to be sure, we kept a vent and the front window cracked a bit.

**kempert** · 01-20-2014, 09:01 PM

I don't trust the O2 sensor. They say that the heater doesn't work above 7,500' but I used it a lot (2+ months) at Bryce Canyon which is 8,000+' with no problems. I always crack a window near the bed & the door at night.

MT Camper · 01-20-2014, 10:33 PM

I used the Big Buddy heater last fall and crack 2 widows across from each other. I loved the fact that it kept the TM furnace from coming on during the night which always wakes me up. I am going to buy a hose and regulator to connect the Big Buddy to one of the 2 tanks on the trailer tongue when we need it. I use the TM furnace when awake but at night the quiet is better and the Wave six/eight were just to expensive when I was checking into purchasing an alternative heat source. Just my thoughts and am happy with the Buddy Heater.

johntrob · 11-02-2014, 05:44 PM

Riwright,

Do you have any pictures posted or available showing your install?

This sounds like a good idea for a backup heater as well.

Thanks,

John

scrubjaysnest · 11-03-2014, 07:31 AM

We will take along the Buddy heater for day time use only when we leave next month. We never run heat at night as we like cool sleeping. We used the Buddy in 2010 in a pop-up and it worked well at altitude but the LP bottle couldn't be close to empty. Also on the Buddy's make sure you have the in line filter if using a 20# tank like we do. The Buddy did a fair job in the pop-up at Craters of the Moon; 28 deg and blowing snow. That was a cold morning to break camp.

Riwright · 11-05-2014, 03:01 AM

This is the platinum cat heater installed. This was originally a corner cabinet that wasn't very useful.

mecicon · 11-05-2014, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riwright

This is the platinum cat heater installed. This was originally a corner cabinet that wasn't very useful.

Excellent idea, thanks.

**B_and_D** · 11-05-2014, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riwright

This is the platinum cat heater installed. This was originally a corner cabinet that wasn't very useful.

Looks great & a perfect location.

I miss our gas lantern that we had in our cabover camper & later moved to our "new" 60's Aloha. It worked great as a nightlight and also kept the chill away.