ARB RTT heater options?

ert01

Adventurer
I have an ARB RTT set onto my trailer... I tow it most of the summer and lived out of it for 38 days straight last summer. I love my setup but every fall I pack it all up and park it in the garage until spring rolls around (which can be a LOOONG time here in Alberta).

I do lots of winter camping in all sorts of weather (-32C last year in a lean-to was the coldest) and feel very confident in my winter gear selection, but I usually just use my small 2 man tent because it holds heat in a lot better then the big ARB.

Anyways, I have a bit of extra cash that I would like to spend on "winterizing" my ARB so I can enjoy it year round and I figure some sort of heater is the first step.

Can anyone recommend something? It doesn't have to be small, I could always mount it in my trailer and run a duct into the tent.

Propane might work but I'm thinking I might run into issues with the tank freezing up.

Any suggestions on what to look for and where to start?
 

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Palehorse1

Observer
I don't have any definitive answers yet but I have tried to study the issue as well for us and am very interested in these 12V Dielectric Membrane Heaters as it looks like it may be an excellent option. Regardless, I hope you find a solution that allows you to get out more often.
 

ert01

Adventurer
That does look interesting. I'm curious though what they are using for a mattress in that diagram and what other thing would work. I use an Exped insulated air mat in the winter so I would probably use that heater on top of my ARB mattress and under the Exped.

At only 14W though that doesn't seem like a lot of heat...
 

Palehorse1

Observer
...At only 14W though that doesn't seem like a lot of heat...

It appears that they intend for their product to be placed under some sort of mat or mattress in a camper. Agreed on the low heat output values but for my use - which I admit for the time being doesn't put me as far north as you - I feel that it might be worth it to consider as I'm one of those people that gets very uncomfortable when what I'm sleeping on gets too warm. I still intend to utilize my sleeping bags and other travel bedding when the Flippac is deployed but I'd like to have something to be able to mistakenly forget to turn off and not flatline my electrical system if I sleep through it. Obviously there are no guarantees but my logic is that if I hedge my bets I can increase the odds of me not goofing too bad. Unless I find an alternative I believe that I will be purchasing one once I take delivery of our Flippac and I will gladly let you know my overall impressions as well as provide pictures of whatever part of it you'd like to wrap your mind around as it were. I do have to say that I don't think that I'll be able to help you with this winter as we still don't have a delivery date on the Flippac yet. <sadface>

Another thing you may wish to consider if you haven't already is to insulate the inside of the base of your RTT. Possibly a closed cell foam or other material you feel comfortable using as a simple barrier between you and the wood panel below. I'm certain that someone somewhere has tinkered with this already and their results have to be posted up here somewhere. In the end no matter what you choose I look forward to hearing from you about your impressions.
 

Tim A

Adventurer
Maybe Scott Brady or Baja Taco will chime in. They did a trip to the Arctic Circle in the spring a few years ago and slept in RTTs. Not sure about actual temps but I'm sure COLD would be accurate :).

I've never camped in anything below 20F so I can't offer advice but I'm subscribed to see what comes of this.
 

beast1210

Adventurer
a friend of mine uses a 20 dollar, 12v electric blanket . He RTT's up on the mountain to get at the ski slopes earlier
 

Hill Bill E.

Oath Keeper
I use my Mr Buddy propane heater. I have a small plywood base I set it on.

I only fire it up to warm the tent when getting into/out of bed.

I can leave it on LO while I pop out to answer mother nature, and have a warm tent when I climb back in.

Been out when it's been -10* F at night, and had no problems.

I never run it all night, once I'm settled in, I stay pretty warm.

I use a self inflating sleeping matt under the RTT mattress, and a heavy sleeping bag and some blankets/quilts.
 

cruiseroutfit

Supporting Sponsor: Cruiser Outfitters
While I've not camped in -32C temps I've camped into the - teens C on occasion. For the rare instances it gets that cold, I use the Little Buddy tent heater. Its not something I would use overnight or unattended but for pre-heating the tent before bed and heating the tent in the morning it does the trick. Beyond that I've invested in quality low-temp camping gear. I have a -20F sleeping bag that is quite comfy at sub zero temps particularly when combined with my fleece tent liner. I'll turn the heater on for 10-15 minutes before bed so everything in the tent is nice and warm. We just don't get that cold here in Utah even in the middle of winter, positive teens are standard camp overnight lows for our winter camping. If I found myself in that cold of temps regularly I think I would look at the AT Tent Heaters: http://www.adventuretrailers.com/heaters.html
 

spressomon

Expedition Leader
Espar or Webasto diesel heaters are another option. You can pick up a new Webasto 2000 full kit for typically ~$1,000 on eBay. We have one in our Kimberley Kamper and it does a good job; it would keep your RTT toasty. The Espar and the larger BTU output Webastos have altitude adjustment...whereas its not available on our 2000...
 

shane4x4

Supporting Sponsor
We'll be getting into a Propex Heater when we get our RTT setup on a Trailer: http://westyventures.com/propex.html
Probably right around the $1000 mark by the time it's installed & working well, but sine there's a thermostat it should work pretty darn well.
This is the same heater used in the Adventure Trailers kit, which they charge a CRAZY $1700 for as a kit.
 

ert01

Adventurer
The only thing I'm concerned with in a propane powered heater is the tank freezing up.

If the heater is small enough to go in the tent with a small tank, that's no big deal but if it's a larger unit that needs to go in the trailer and duct up to the tent, then I could see the tank freezing very easily unless I split the duct to heat the inside of the trailer too. In that case though I would be wasting propane to heat an unoccupied space.

Are there any 12v tank warming blankets for propane tanks that are worth looking at?
 

ert01

Adventurer
As for sleeping gear I use a Mountain Hardware -30 Lamina synthetic mummy bag with my Exped air mat. I put both the bag and mat inside my Canadian Army issued goretex bivy bag. Usually wear thermal long underwear and a toque to bed.

It has been good enough to keep me comfortable at night most of the time but it still doesnt help when you have to crawl out of that in the morning to get dressed and get the coffee brewing.

As a side note, for those of you that haven't tried winter camping, just get some warm gear and go try it! I prefer it over summer camping since everything is so quiet and calm. Nobody else is out there... It's very tranquil.
 

austintaco

Explorer
I have a Mr. Heater Buddy, and we use it in the tent. However, our setup is a bit different, and it's not a RTT. Right now, we are using an SUV tent that attaches to the shell:
2009_1027BigBendRanch0339.jpg

We sleep in the truck, so the tent area is like our living room floor. We set the heater on one of the bins with a foil baking pan underneath it. The dogs sleep in their crate, away from the heater. The heaters are advertised as tent safe. If CO or fire are a concern, you could buy a CO/smoke detector and put one up at night.

Our first night camping, it got down to 18, and we were pretty cozy except the heater would run through one of the disposable bottles in a few hours. Now, I have it hooked up to a big tank outside and I run the hose into the tent. You have to use a filter so that the heater doesn't clog up, but now the heater can stay on all night.

This works for us, in our current setup, but with the flippac coming, I might rethink our setup.
 

getlost4x4

Expedition Leader
I do lots of winter camping in all sorts of weather (-32C last year in a lean-to was the coldest) and feel very confident in my winter gear selection, but I usually just use my small 2 man tent because it holds heat in a lot better then the big ARB.

As far as i know, it takes a lot to freeze propane. I know i've used a fork lift (propane powered) in -30 degree weather in Wyoming, while I was working in an oil field. it never froze up.

Propane Liquid

Propane exists in its liquid form at or below its boiling point (-44°F) as well as when it stored under pressure. To further explain, if the temperature outside is -45°F, propane will be a liquid and you would be able to pour it out of a bucket. But as soon as the temperature rises to -44°F, the propane begins to boil and thus give off vapor. If the temperature outside is colder than -44°F, propane exists as a liquid. It's still propane but it looks a lot like water while at this cold temperature. It's colorless, odorless and tasteless...but who would take a drink of a any liquid that is 45 degrees below zero? Who would stick their finger in a glass of anything that is 45 degrees below zero? Holding a handful of ice can be quite uncomfortable (or painful) after some time but think how painful it would be if that handful of ice was almost 75 degrees colder.

Because propane boils at a temperature that is over 70 degrees lower than the freezing point of water, it has the ability to freeze skin tissue in a very short period of time (severe frostbite). The temperature properties of liquid propane are such that being aware of possible danger when dealing with propane in its liquid state is extremely important.

http://www.propane101.com/propaneliquidandvapor.htm
 

Hill Bill E.

Oath Keeper
The only thing I'm concerned with in a propane powered heater is the tank freezing up.
As far as i know, it takes a lot to freeze propane.

I wouldn't worry about the propane tanks freezing up. I have used the 1 pound 'disposable' tanks, 5, 10 and 20 pound tanks while out deer hunting and ice fishing.

I've been ice fishing on Gunflint Lake, on the Canadian border, in -40* F temps, with -60*F wind chill, and my Mr Buddy and Mr Heater heaters worked just fine.


Yes, there will be frost on the outside of the tank, but that's from the LP turning from a liquid to a gas in cold temps.

As long as the tank stays upright (which it will be in normal operation) you won't have any problems.
 

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