Habitat Owner's Thread

[brianjwilson]

I'd love an awning for my j30 to add to the poor weather living space (obviously it rains all the time in the PNW). But I agree, it would suck to break up the clean, streamline look of the top. I'd like to come up with a solid bracket set up that is easily removable and looks clean when removed. So far it's been low priority for me though.

 

[DingusKahn]

What I did for shade and rain protection was to buy a tarp, poles and guy lines. I started with a 9' x 12' and 5 poles, one was in the center. For three of us that was a bit small. Would be perfect for solo, so I can pack that as an option. Then I bought a 12' x 16' and 4 more poles. Nice for 4 or 5 peps.
Originally I attached one corner to the back of the Jeep on the tailgate side. But I can't drive off without taking it down. SO what I have learned is to park the Jeep but put the canopy up free standing. Then I can drive off and back up into the same spot. This is working really well, and I'm not sure I will spring for the zip on if it ever does come out for sale. It depends on the size (both deployed and packed up) and the price. Next time I go out I'll get pictures. I used this set up for my deer hunt. Good camping trip, not much of a hunt....
Oh yea, the poles are aluminum telescoping. I had bought a bat wing awning and the extensions, and just used those.

 

[TenaciousTJ]

I have this ridiculous idea for heating my future Habitat.... I was thinking of sewing in a stove jack, and running a wood stove in the Habitat, placing the stove itself on the "rear deck," the shelf above the rear seats in the deployed Habitat. Another thought was still doing the stove jack, but running a Zodi propane heater and feeding the duct through the stove jack.

 

[Ursa Minor]

Heating Feedback

I have this ridiculous idea for heating my future Habitat.... I was thinking of sewing in a stove jack, and running a wood stove in the Habitat, placing the stove itself on the "rear deck," the shelf above the rear seats in the deployed Habitat. Another thought was still doing the stove jack, but running a Zodi propane heater and feeding the duct through the stove jack.

I will officially discourage the idea of using a wood stove placed anywhere inside the camper or vehicle. The tent is flammable, the fiberglass is flammable and the Jeep is flammable. Nemo's fine print on the tent lists things like not smoking or cooking inside due to both flammability and carbon monoxide, and UMV is 100% in agreement.

With the Zodi Hot Vent, the unit and burner must be located outside of the tent, which works fine for ground tents but with the Habitat 5' in the air you'll need longer hoses or some sort of shelf off the side.

The AT Propex or Heat Source heater has been used for heating roof top tents and at least one Habitat. The hurdle with on-board propane systems is the propane tank must be in a vented locker or outside the vehicle, and then the line piped to per the specification. It's hard to do that in the Jeep, there's just not a lot of room, unlike in a big RV or boat.

cheers, John

 

[kb7our]

Nice to see you chime in on the heating matter, John! Sure love the Propex for heating the Habitat space. DK also has this setup with some custom brackets attached to the roll bar area.

Any update on your swing out awning? No status on the zip on so other options must be pursued.

 

[jrueppel]

A good place to wake up.
Dawn on the East Side.
Hot springs camp not too far from Mammoth.
Jeep and habitat made a good wind break between
the camp fire and the cold north winds.

 

[DingusKahn]

Nice pic. I gotta get out. Haven't been since my hunt in September...

 

[TenaciousTJ]

With the very cold temps up here in the PNW, I'm still trying to think up the ideal heat solution for the Habitat. I've gone through several ideas in my head, and I seem to have settled on the AT rear shelf with a Propex HS2000 mounted on it, the exhaust plumbed through a hole/fitting through the side of the Habitat top (maybe near the propane tank, or?). I'd opt for the set up AT sells with the heatsource mounted in the toolbox, then mount the toolbox to the rear AT shelf.

Those who have the Propex HS2000, is this enough heater for the Habitat? Would the HS2800 be a better option? I'd like to be able to camp in any weather, really. Just got back yesterday from camping in 19 degrees and it sucked. I'd rather have too much heater than not enough, I hate the cold.

 

[kb7our]

With the very cold temps up here in the PNW, I'm still trying to think up the ideal heat solution for the Habitat. I've gone through several ideas in my head, and I seem to have settled on the AT rear shelf with a Propex HS2000 mounted on it, the exhaust plumbed through a hole/fitting through the side of the Habitat top (maybe near the propane tank, or?). I'd opt for the set up AT sells with the heatsource mounted in the toolbox, then mount the toolbox to the rear AT shelf.

Those who have the Propex HS2000, is this enough heater for the Habitat? Would the HS2800 be a better option? I'd like to be able to camp in any weather, really. Just got back yesterday from camping in 19 degrees and it sucked. I'd rather have too much heater than not enough, I hate the cold.

DK has a pretty slick setup with the heater mounted to the roll bar and the duct right into the Habitat going through the rear shelf.

My heater is located in the trunk space of the Jeep (Warrior trunk) with ducting wrapped in high temp insulation and coming up through the floor into the top of AT stage 2 storage terminating with a rotating vent. Lately I've been carrying a section of high temp silicon tubing to bring the heat up into the Habitat from a removable vent on top of Stage 2 when it gets near freezing, otherwise having heat from the vent does just fine pushing air up into the Habitat. Pretty easy setup as all I have to do when camping is pull the thermostat out of a little padded case and set it up top then connect the LP, turn on 12v power and I have awesome dry furnace heat. If you can start with the heat up top you are saving some heat loss routing it up there so I like your idea about the toolbox. No need to mount it up there, why not just keep it portable for other possible uses? I've been very happy with the 2000 as I can live with its very low power and LP needs over the 2800, plus the size difference. If I was starting over (and I may as I am looking to sell my current Jeep to do another build), I would definitely get another Propex 2000 and probably the DIY toolbox kit AT sells for portability. It's a very nice unit and I actually like the white noise the fan generates. I also cut out some of the silver insulation you can get from places like HD and Velcro up pieces to the windows when it gets near freezing which helps with privacy and retaining heat inside the Jeep. A 12V heated mattress pad helps tremendously as well as a Heater Buddy to warm up the space nice while you are awake - don't like the moisture created though. I also keep 2 good quality CO detectors in the Jeep for added safety. I too enjoy cold weather camping to a point and keeping warm when sleeping is absolutely essential. A down comforter is also a great benefit as I no longer enjoy the confines of a sleeping bag. Hope this helps. PM me if you want to give me a call and I can send my phone #. Wade

 

[DingusKahn]

Heat

Having the hot air blow directly into the tent is a must, as far as I'm concerned. My setup works very good. On the trip earlier this year to Overland Expo we camped at altitude and it got into the upper 20s. My habitat never got below 56F. I have a dual temp clock/thermometer that I picked up at wally world. I attached the outside sensor to the tire carrier and put the display up top with me so I have a clock and can see what's going on. The thermostat is kept on the long cord provided and at night I run it upstairs and lay it next to my head. Rather than run it all night now, I turn it on when bedtime comes while I get undressed etc. I like to read for a while to get good and tired and I have it running then. I can feel the warm air blow past my little chair I keep up there for reading. Once it's lights out I get in the bag and once warm and cozy I shut the heater off.
In the morning I turn it on and let it warm up before I climb out. I don't like the fan noise all night, and I find lasting ??? 8-10 days vs 3 or 4 days makes me worry less. I have the 10lb can and I can get 3 nights if I leave it running all night, depending how cold it is maybe 4. That includes cooking of course.
I have a deer hunt in Jan so I will learn a lot more. I may take my second tank so that I can run it because it could be near ZERO up there! One thing I did that help A LOT is to put carpet in the "top" half where I sleep. They say when camping that it is twice as important to have insulation under you than over you. This is because gravity presses our body down and heat conduction (with this good contact) is way more than conduction and convection into the still air of a tent. Not to mention the carpet is nice on the knees.... Bought a "rug" (I think 5' x 8') at WalMart and screwed it down with the straps that hold my sleeping bag/air mattress.

 

[kb7our]

Having the hot air blow directly into the tent is a must, as far as I'm concerned. My setup works very good. On the trip earlier this year to Overland Expo we camped at altitude and it got into the upper 20s. My habitat never got below 56F. I have a dual temp clock/thermometer that I picked up at wally world. I attached the outside sensor to the tire carrier and put the display up top with me so I have a clock and can see what's going on. The thermostat is kept on the long cord provided and at night I run it upstairs and lay it next to my head. Rather than run it all night now, I turn it on when bedtime comes while I get undressed etc. I like to read for a while to get good and tired and I have it running then. I can feel the warm air blow past my little chair I keep up there for reading. Once it's lights out I get in the bag and once warm and cozy I shut the heater off.
In the morning I turn it on and let it warm up before I climb out. I don't like the fan noise all night, and I find lasting ??? 8-10 days vs 3 or 4 days makes me worry less. I have the 10lb can and I can get 3 nights if I leave it running all night, depending how cold it is maybe 4. That includes cooking of course.
I have a deer hunt in Jan so I will learn a lot more. I may take my second tank so that I can run it because it could be near ZERO up there! One thing I did that help A LOT is to put carpet in the "top" half where I sleep. They say when camping that it is twice as important to have insulation under you than over you. This is because gravity presses our body down and heat conduction (with this good contact) is way more than conduction and convection into the still air of a tent. Not to mention the carpet is nice on the knees.... Bought a "rug" (I think 5' x 8') at WalMart and screwed it down with the straps that hold my sleeping bag/air mattress.

DK makes an excellent point about floor insulation - critical for the Habitat and similarly made shells. You must have some good insulation underneath your sleeping area especially on the overhang which gets cold air underneath and the shell transfers that cold right to your body. A mattress like the Nemo Cosmo "Insulated" takes care of business and a piece of carpet on the rear shell makes for a cozy setup. Still, the Propex is definitely a winner.

 

[TenaciousTJ]

Thanks guys! If I'm understanding this right, the Propex HS2000 is really good, but not perfect by itself, and you need more heat options to supplement it? Also, I've watched the old AT video on the Propex a few times. In the beginning, he specifically says the heater must never be used indoors. I'm assuming this is not the case if you plumb the exhaust to the outside, right? Because a lot of VW vans guys use the Propex mounted inside.

 

[elcoyote]

Thanks guys! If I'm understanding this right, the Propex HS2000 is really good, but not perfect by itself, and you need more heat options to supplement it? Also, I've watched the old AT video on the Propex a few times. In the beginning, he specifically says the heater must never be used indoors. I'm assuming this is not the case if you plumb the exhaust to the outside, right? Because a lot of VW vans guys use the Propex mounted inside.

Tenacious you are correct. Combustion air intake and exhaust must be routed outside always. The reference made in our video is specific to our portable heater adaptation of the Propex for which the box with the heater must remain outside and the fresh air tubes routed into the area you want to heat.
The Propex is amazingly efficient. I use a HS2800 in my small (160 sg ft) cabin and it keeps us toasty in winter.

 

[Desert Magazine]

is any one selling a jk habitat ?

seeing if anyone is thinking of selling an at habitat or any of the products from at for the jk ? i have a 2007 jk rubicon that is in need of some upgrades -

 

[kb7our]

seeing if anyone is thinking of selling an at habitat or any of the products from at for the jk ? i have a 2007 jk rubicon that is in need of some upgrades -

PM sent. Possible new Jeep coming so another build likely. May part out some of the current build components from the listing I sent you. Love the Habitat so a difficult decision but I also love doing another self build. Not looking to make any profit on the Habitat itself if I do part it out as one component as I was an early adopter so would likely just try to recoup my input which is ~50% less than a new unit.

Wade