How to heat a RTT for a 1-year old?

[duvinclunk]

My wife and I just purchased a Tepui roof top tent and are building a Tacoma for the sole purpose of getting out more as a family and to instill love/respect for the Earth for our 1-year old. We were sad that we didn't have everything ready to go before it started getting cold (we're still not quite ready), but we'd love to go south during the winter and play around a bit and would love to stay in the tent. Her and I will be fine in the tent with some blankets/bags but we're worried about the kiddo. We've considering trying to hang an electric heater in there and run it off a second batter but understand that heating like that could drain the battery quick. We're not sure we could keep him put in a little bag. Does anyone have experience with this or creative ways to heat up a RTT? Opinions welcome.

 

[emtmark]

Big bag or blankets and have him in with y'all will be fine


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[duvinclunk]

Big bag or blankets and have him in with y'all will be fine

Unfortunately this is a boy that refuses to allow anything to be on him when he sleeps.

 

[Victorian]

Ours is the same... kicks the blankets off.. When it's cold we put him in a sleepsack. They come in different warmth ratings. But other then that I can not imagine sharing a roof top tent with our 10 month old. He is amazing in handing out kicks and scratches when you least expect it But I agree with you, get the kids out and show them nature. We are building a expo truck in January and I can't wait to take him out when he starts walking and running!

 

[SnoViking]

I would suggest going with a 12V heated blanket or pad. It's going to suck a lot of watts but it would be the most passive, safest, and adjustable. There's a bunch of options on Amazon. Most of them have temp settings and timers. But you'd probably want to connect it to a second and completely isolated battery. Some of them draw 40-60 watts which will drain a battery overnight.

https://www.amazon.com/Roadpro-12-V...1478873322&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+heated+blanket

 

[duvinclunk]

I would suggest going with a 12V heated blanket or pad. It's going to suck a lot of watts but it would be the most passive, safest, and adjustable. There's a bunch of options on Amazon. Most of them have temp settings and timers. But you'd probably want to connect it to a second and completely isolated battery. Some of them draw 40-60 watts which will drain a battery overnight.

https://www.amazon.com/Roadpro-12-V...1478873322&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+heated+blanket

Thanks, I'll have to look into these. I likely will have a dual battery setup so this could work assuming we will only be out a night and won't need the battery in the morning.

 

[MicahB]

Any reason you couldn't grab a Mr Buddy Heater and call it good?

 

[duvinclunk]

Any reason you couldn't grab a Mr Buddy Heater and call it good?

That is an option. I'd need to figure out a way to hang it so the little one wouldn't be tempted to play with it and a way to protect against too much propane in the tent when sleeping.

 

[Joe917]

Any reason you couldn't grab a Mr Buddy Heater and call it good?

From the Mr Buddy manual:
"Never use this appliance in an enclosed space such as a camper, tent, car or home."
"NEVER OPERATE THE HEATER WHILE SLEEPING." (their capitals)

 

[emtmark]

Any thing that burns off gasses CO. I know the arguments made that they are rated for indoor use yadda yadda. But. It's a kid and a little one at that. Kids are respiratory driven and high speed metabolism, I wouldn't chance it with mine nor could i live with myself if something happened. You places your bets and takes your chances. My wood stove for my tent also comes with a co alarm smoke detector just like at home and I add an oxygen monitor. Paranoid maybe, but it's what I need to close my eyes at night in an assumed safe atmosphere. Trust it will work, verify as well. My 2c


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[Chili]

Just to throw this out there, RTT's, if all zipped up actually stay warmer than normal ground tents.. At least I know ours does.

That said, if he's bad about keeping covers on then it sounds like some good thick winter jumpers or a snow suit with a thermal base layer would probably be best.

No way I would try to rig up a heater of any sort. 12v or 110 heated blankets or pads would be good, but the pads alone don't help much without some sort of top cover.

 

[duvinclunk]

Just to throw this out there, RTT's, if all zipped up actually stay warmer than normal ground tents.. At least I know ours does.

Is this true? We haven't used ours yet so we don't have experience with them. We were thinking that it'd be like a bridge in the winter where it freezes quicker since air can flow underneath as well...

 

[Chili]

Is this true? We haven't used ours yet so we don't have experience with them. We were thinking that it'd be like a bridge in the winter where it freezes quicker since air can flow underneath as well...

The foam mattress insulates well for us. We haven't had any issue being cold from underneath at all.

FWIW I am comparing this to our large Coleman ground tent, and we always have the annex attached. The actual enclosed area is not very high (from mattress to roof) and the overall enclosed space is much smaller than our ground tent. It is also fully enclosed if you zip everything up, as opposed to the ground tent that is mesh above waist high, with the fly a few inches apart from that.

I have slept in ours with a 40* bag down into the 20's without issue. Don't get me wrong, it's not a hot tent or anything, but I would estimate a good 10* above outside, and no wind or breezes to deal with. Once the sun hits it in the AM it turns into an oven, of course, until you open the windows.. We do usually close the upper portion completely before the sun goes down, and it seems to hold on to some of the warmth.

The last time we used our ground tent in cold weather my wife (who gets cold very easy) said she only wanted to stay in the RTT in cold weather going forward.

This is based on my experience with our CVT Mount Rainier.

 

[rttz4me]

Look up 12 volt bunk warmer. Truckers use them so they don't need to leave rigs running while they sleep. Has a thermostat so that it heats about 50 percent of the time. Low voltage. You can also buy devices that will plug into your cigarette lighter, then plug items like the bunk warmer in and it will not let 12 volt items drain your battery so low you can't start your vehicle. Good luck

 

[eviioiive]

Hand warmers, some type of duct from the running car, or 12v blanket from running car? I have Left it running a few times over night for heat and it doesn't burn that much.