Remote camping heating solution

We're getting ready to do a bit of remote camping (no hookups) in cooler weather and are wondering how best to address the heating of the interior of the TM. The only thing we thought of was getting a Mr. Buddy Heater which runs off propane. Is anyone using anything different than this? What is the best way to handle this situation other than dressing warm? We prefer not to purchase a generator at this time.

Thanks,
Brigitte

[Northwoods]

Dressing warm is a good option, also wear a cap to sleep in (ala Twas the Night Before Christmas). We use the furnace - it's noisy, but amply warm and just makes white noise. Good luck and stay warm. If we have on site electric, we use an ancillary small ceramic heater and it is adequat, also and much quieter. Olga, Northwoods

'04 3023, 2000 Suburban
Missouri

Hi Northwoods... that is a good suggestion about the cap as the majority of the heat that escapes from the body is through the head.

We also use a ceramic heater as it is quieter than the onboard heater when we have hookups. But, I was under the impression that you can't really run the onboard heater without electricty hookup as the motor for the fan drains the battery real fast.... am I wrong?

Thanks,
Brigitte

[Northwoods]

Yes, it will use up your battery, but we set it quite low - just enough to keep the absolute chill off of us. Closing the curtains all around (plus my suncreens, if it's really, really cold) and the bunk curtain. It's all quite cosy. It might be harder if we had to keep some really little kids warm, but not for a couple of old folks like us.
Olga, Northwoods

Interesting.... can you tell me what type of battery you have? Maybe our battery (which was supplied by the dealer) isn't powerful enough because one day we used the heater, for about 15 minutes and it immediately drained our battery... well, not completely but enough to where the fan was slowing down when we turned it off completely. We did not check to see how much power was left on the battery but when we flushed the toilet I could tell there was significant loss of power... we were careful not to use the lights the rest of the weekend making sure we had enough power to at least keep the toilet operational. Perhaps we just need a more powerful battery.

Do a search for the Buddy heater/ Mr heater on this site. There are some folks that use that option with success. Grill-n-go and B&D both say they've used the Buddy heater with good results.

Thanks, Jim... it was through those helpful threads which I read as they were being posted where I got the idea from about the Mr. Buddy Heater. I was just curious if anyone had any other ways of heating their TM without hookups. It's a shame that the onboard heater can't be utilized more efficiently when without hookups because it works so well and we do enjoy camping during the winter months when the parks and campgrounds are not so crowded. Last year we went places where there are hookups but this year we are trying the remote areas more because the sites are larger and it feels more like "camping" rather than sleeping in a parking lot ;-)

Brigitte

I believe that the Mr Heater is your least expensive and simplest option. You won't be warm as toast on 40 degree nights but it should get you to about 58 degrees. It would probably do better but you have to have an overhead vent and window open a bit to vent the CO. The heater has an CO detector that is supposed to shut off the unit if there is an accumulation of CO. It also shuts off if the unit is bumped or tipped over. I'm into "overkill" so if your trailer doesn't have its own CO detector --- I'd install one from Home Depot, Walmart, or Lowes. You'd then have (2) units that could alert you if there was a problem. Oh, get some pipe-insulating, flexible foam segments (usually 6 ft in length) to stuff in the gap between the shells and around the underside of your bed. They're light and easy to store and they help keep out drafts. But cold nights -- there great for snuggling. Have fun, Eric

[Bill]

Originally Posted by BrigCA61

Interesting.... can you tell me what type of battery you have? Maybe our battery (which was supplied by the dealer) isn't powerful enough because one day we used the heater, for about 15 minutes and it immediately drained our battery.

Brigitte -

The furnace fan shouldn't drain your battery that fast. In my experience, the furnace can run for at least one night, even in cold weather. But maybe not two nights. I have to believe that your battery was not fully charged when you started the night.

As to the kind of battery, most TM dealers install and Interstate "Marine/Deep Cycle" battery, either a Group 24 (SRM-24) or a Group 27 (SRM-27) size. You can see and read about these at http://www.interstatebatteries.com - just keep following the "RV" links. I have the SRM-27.

Bill

[commodor47]

Brigitte,

Do you check the battery power level meter located below the sink? I have noticed that on battery power, the first 3 LEDs are lit (red, labeled L; red, labeled F; yellow, labeled G). Under shore power all 4 LEDS light up (upper most is green, labeled C). There have been occasions where the power level has dropped down to the 2nd LED (labeled F) at which time I became concerned about remaining battery power. But once all power usage (whether lights or fans) ceased for approximately 30 minutes, the 3rd LED (labeled G) was once again lit. I was amazed at this “rejuvenation”. I still hesitate to run too many devices while under battery power, not knowing when the battery will stop supplying power.

I can offer two suggestions: 1) If you feel your battery needs replacing, I would recommend the EverStart 27DC-6 from Wal-Mart (about $50??); 2) Replace the OEM furnace thermostat with a Hunter Model 42999B Digital thermostat ($19.95??), also available at Wal-Mart. The digital thermostat avoids large temperature swings and will cut down on continuous furnace fan run time.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559096485WItEbm

On our last winter trip to AZ (end of December) we stopped at a Wal-Mart parking lot in MD. It was after 10:00 pm and getting quite cold. I set the thermostat for 50, which was sufficient for sleeping. I checked the battery level meter at 5:00 am and found the battery meter reading level G (yellow).

At this point I feel confident that the 27DC-6 will supply enough power to get us through 2 or 3 days with judicious use of devices.