Well, it finally snowed in the Sierras so it was time to dust off the skis and introduce Pro-Rig to snow and some true cold weather. Sheri had to work so I went solo.
As it turned out, I wound up "camping" in the driveway of friends in Sunny Slopes for four nights.
I slept with the the pop-top down the whole time. Not much head room in the bunk this way but it was enough to sit up a bit and read or put my knees up. Might be a little more complicated with two people in the bunk and the pop-top down though.
Got about eight inches of snow one night on the flat roof. I was expecting snow so I brought some improvised braces to support the expected extra weight on the slide-up. Good thing I did. Snow is heavy! The weight totally overwhelmed the scissor lifters. Needless to say, I was up early that morning on the ladder brushing snow off the roof and already thinking of a more robust back-up support method for snow camping.
This was also a good test for the Propex heater. It got down to about 9*F on the coldest night. I had the heater on the lowest setting and slept very comfortably under a regular down comforter and sheet in my long johns and beanie. I was too hot at the second lowest setting. It cycled on and off all night - maybe 15 min off, then a 10 min cycle of warm up, heat and cool down. It drew about 20 amps total on the coldest night (9pm to 6am). It's amazing how little propane this thing uses as well. Still giving the Propex an enthusiastic 5 stars.
When we redo the canvas part, I'm thinking now of waterproof fabric with lots of ventilation/windows and maybe an add-as-needed insulated layer. Sleeping with the pop-top down is fine, but living in there that way is rough on the back.
I had been worried about condensation at night with the pop-top down. There was a little bit around my head in the mornings. Not enough to cause drips, just moist walls and ceiling. Not bad for a small space sealed up pretty tight. I'm starting research how to do a small DIY heat exchanger to bring in fresh but not frigid air.
The best news though, is that 8 inches of snow down in the valley where I stayed translated in to about 8 feet up in the high country. Four days of skiing nothing but powder with good friends, priceless!
matt
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