Heating your camper?

Thinking about winter camping? I am... Wonder how you guys heat your RV. Last year I did one camp in my popup when it got down to 32 degrees.. I used one of those $20 ceramic heaters from WAL-MART.. The inside temp stayed above 60. We slept in sleeping bags.. No problems.

I am thinking the ceramic heater will work even better in my little TT. Plus I won't have to go outside in the middle of the night to "take care of busines"..

In previous years with the pop-up, we have used 2 electric baseboard heaters that worked well. Now in the Hybrid, we have a furnace but, we won't know just yet how well it will work as it gets colder.

I think the ceramic heater will work great and we may even add one to save on propane in the hybrid.

Dave

Dave.. I have been told the gas furnace in the camper works great.. and really warms things up. However.. the downside is that they apparently can burn a lot of gas during a cold night. I am not saying I would never use the furnace in the camper.. but if the electric heaters do the job.. I would rather burn the CGs electric.. than my propane.

If you use ANYTHING that plugs in save youself and buy the upgraded commercial drop cord. Look for 12/3 , which means 12 gage 3 conductors. Most inexpensive ones are 14 or 16 gage. If this helps the smaller the number the thicker the wire. By getting the larger it will help in the heat going thru the cable. Someone we all know loaned their camper to a few Fireman and lets say they now have a new floor. I would say be smart and watch where you run the cable and what it touches. Well you get the drift.

Ask me anything...I ll help as much as i can.

I agree with saving gas and using/"burning" the CG electricity. I want to find out just how much gas it will use at least once because the hot water heater will use a significant amount as well, but that is another post altogether.
I also remember the incident where a pop-up almost burned because of an electric space heater. Nothing can beat due diligence and safety when using any type of heating unit.

Absolutely using a heavy duty cord is the safest way to add any type of alternate heat source.

I am wondering, if you use a plug-in electric heater...
What precautions do you take to make sure it is safe?
Which plug-in heater do you think is the best/safest?

Dave

I remember Jeff and Stacy's fire (ETNCC).. but am not sure of all the things in that mishap. I would think that the ceramic heaters would be safe.. even with a household type cord. They are designed for use in your home. But.. maybe someone else knows more about electric than I do.

I have just used the cord that came attached to the heater.. The cord didn't seem to "heat up" any.

Good idea to measure usage at least once.. I am going on what others say. I will be interested in hearing your results.

I have run the water heater (only gas) all the time.. every time. Camped in my TT 7 trips.. 18 nights. Using gas for water heater.. and for running fridge enroute to CG a few times. Still on same 30 gal propane tank.

I looked up Stacy's "fire" post over on ETNCC.. she says:

"...they were using a small heater with an extension cord(we use the same heater but we plug it dirrectly into the outlet)Well over night the cord overheated and melted a spot on the floor where it was coiled up."

So if you are using an extension cord.. craig's advice is on the mark!

When we had the pop-up, we just used the little ceramic heaters, with no special cords. I guess we didn't give much consideration to the potential dangers, but fortunately, we were blessed with safety, in spite of our lack of knowlege.

That's one thing that is so nice about communities like this message board. Those with more experience can share, and we can learn more and more as we go!

I have the propane furnace in my PUP and the electric heat strip on the AC unit. I use the heat strip a lot, and it does a fair job. Still, when it gets cold I don't hesitate to use the gas furnace (Suburban brand) that came in the camper. I've yet to have it use up my one propane tank. It's really not that bad. I agree on the part about using the campground's electric, thus the favoritism toward the electric strip. The furnace uses 12-volt for the fan, and when it kicks on, the lights dim, but the fuse doesn't blow. I've tried electric space heaters, and they just don't have the warmth that the gas furnace dies, plus I have to stay on the kids constantly to not throw stuff down in front of it. For some reason, they understand this with the gas furnace. After Stacy's fire, I'm thinking that I'm done with space heaters unless the propane runs out.

We used a small ceramic heater and left the furnace set at 50. We have camped and it was in the 20's and the furnace only kicked on a couple of times all night. I have used the same tank of propane since we got the trailer and use it for water heater, furnace and fridge when traveling. So far we are still on the same tank. We have camped over 40 something nights and some has been in cold weather too!

I agree on the use of the campground power as it is already accesible and payed for.

When we camped at Cove Lake.. last weekend, it got down into the 30s one night. After sitting around the campfire awhile.. I came inside and cranked up the little ceramic heater. I must have turned it way up.. because about 2am I woke up and it was 79 degrees inside the camper!!! That little heater works great for me!

Hey guys...

I was up the other night and found a new Heater that some may consider. Ill admit that it's a bit on the expensive side for camping. But it says it doesn't get hot or warm to the touch. I may consider one of these for my house since it was built in the 50's and the efficiency isn't that of a new one but ill say that I would not trade it being in the 50's they had craftsmen and not builders.


http://www.edenpure.com/heater/

Note there are 2 versions based on size

chuck wrote:When we camped at Cove Lake.. last weekend, it got down into the 30s one night. After sitting around the campfire awhile.. I came inside and cranked up the little ceramic heater. I must have turned it way up.. because about 2am I woke up and it was 79 degrees inside the camper!!! That little heater works great for me!

I liked the little ceramic heater that you have Chuck, we will probably pick one up real soon.
While we were there we used our furnace exclusively, it was the 1st time we used the furnace (also the 1st time we ever had one to use). It didn't burn anywhere near the amount of propane that I thought it would, we ran it from friday early evening through late sunday morning. I can't say exactly how much was used because I don't know how much we started with, we have 2 - 20 gal tanks, kept the thermostat set at 70, and have about 1/3 of a tank left. I am assuming that we had a little over 1/2 to begin with but, I really thought we would be changing over to the other tank sometime saturday. I was impressed. We were not using the hot water tank either, as I was trying to get a baseline on the furnace alone.

Dave

Th WAL-MART here in Clinton had these on display this week ($28).. it's the one I bought last year. It's omni-directional.. so I set it in the floor in the middle of the camper at night. If I use it during the day.. I usually set it up on the dining table.


here's a link to more info: HONEYWELL HEATER AT WAL-MART

Another trip to Walmart...I am really cold nature any way...
Dar

Darcamper wrote:Another trip to Walmart...I am really cold nature any way...
Dar

REALLY? I would of never guessed after seeing you guys at Cove Lake?

How was the Snuggle? I guess its highly recommended LOL

I really love that snuggle, It is almost my best buy. Now the electric blanket is also my best friend...But it will only allow so much moving around..


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Darcamper wrote:I really love that snuggle, It is almost my best buy. Now the electric blanket is also my best friend...But it will only allow so much moving around..


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Sounds like a few drop cords could take care of that issue.


Don't forget that they sell Battery Powered Socks LOL

Oh were can I find those, I have bigger shoes because I wear three pairs of socks.
Dar

chuck wrote:Th WAL-MART here in Clinton had these on display this week ($28).. it's the one I bought last year. It's omni-directional.. so I set it in the floor in the middle of the camper at night. If I use it during the day.. I usually set it up on the dining table.


here's a link to more info: HONEYWELL HEATER AT WAL-MART

Is it pretty quiet or pretty loud? The electric I have is a little too loud for my taste.

Richard.. I think it's pretty quiet.. I sleep while the RV AC is on.. and this little heater is nowhere near as loud as the AC.

chuck wrote:Richard.. I think it's pretty quiet.. I sleep while the RV AC is on.. and this little heater is nowhere near as loud as the AC.

How far dies it have to be from a good used port-a-potty, you know, for safety?

I think I would like a heater like Chuck's. It would help keep my furnace from running all the time to keep the open living room warm.

Coolbreeze1

to me.. the biggest plus to this model is it being OMNI-DIRECTIONAL. I have a little ceramic heater that just forces the heat in one direction. It works pretty good.. but not as well as the this one.

Cool.. I have a friend that uses one of these in the main part of his 30 foot TT.. and it works great. He uses a smaller "one direction" heater at night in the bedroom. Never uses the gas furnace.

Once my slides are open, my living/dining room are very spacious. The ceiling in the kitchen area is over 7 feet high. It takes my furnace a long time to heat up this much space. A heater like yours would supplement the running of the furnace. My bedroom and bathroom stay pretty warm.

Coolbreeze1