Safely Heating a Vehicle?

[bigHodad808]

Hello,

My son and I are taking a trip to Utah next week in our van. It's a 4WD van that is not fully camperized but the rear seat does fold down into a bed. I was hoping to camp in the van with my son in the Utah mountains so that we can get up the next morning, roll out of the van, eat breakfast and go snowboarding. I camped in a van once in the Colorado mountains when I was younger, and remember how cold it can get. Back then I had an electric blanket that worked well to keep me warm at nigh but we were staying in a campground with electrical hook-ups and I don't think that we will have that option this time. Is there a way to safely heat the inside of a vehicle without actually installing the type of heaters seen in campers and without running the van's engine all night? Somebody mentioned emergency candles, but that has me worried about carbon dioxide poisoning.

Suggestions please.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[robert]

Coleman makes several catalytic heaters that work pretty well. The Buddy heaters work well but they are NOT catalytic heaters; lot of folks seem to think they are for some reason. They have low oxygen shutoffs but you can have sufficient O2 and still have a high CO level so I always recommend folks carry a smoke/CO detector (about $40 at any big box store). Whatever way you go you will still need to provide them with fresh air which usually means leaving a window cracked (the Buddy heaters tell you in the instructions who much air they need). The buddy heater will suck a 1# cylinder dry in about eight hours IIRC. You can also get a hose to connect it to a larger tank.

Personally in my VW I'll run the heater as I get ready for bed then climb under my covers/in my bag and reach out and cut the heater off. In the morning I slide an arm out, cuss about how cold it is, and cut the heater on to warm the interior before I get out of bed. A good sleeping bag and some good socks, thermals and a knit hat make a big difference too. I'v slept in it down to around 12 degree F this way. If you do this remember your water is going to freeze* and you will have frozen condensation on your windows in the morning so you need to wake up earlier if you have somewhere to be.


*Before turning in for the night I'll typically heat some water and put it in a Nalgene bottle and toss it to the foot of my bag. It'll warm your bag up and you'll have water available in the morning.

 

[HenryJ]

A 12V mattress pad heater is one option to consider. 12 volt bunk heater
My truck has a "Little Buddy Cabin heater". We use these on emergency vehicles that must stay outside. It is a 120V heater made for big rigs by Zerostart and I have a small generator that will run it. Never HAD to use it , but have it if I need it. Plugged in at home it keeps the interior warm and the windows defrosted. A small ceramic heater works too. I have done that too.
The "Buddy propane heater" Is a good idea too. They do give off moisture though. Keeping a window or two cracked is a good idea.

Oh yeah! Grab a box of handwarmers. My newest secret weapon! Great as a small comfort item for the wife and kids.

 

[grimbo]

I've camped in the snow in the back of my Patrol a few times. First time froze my proverbials off but next time made sure I had a decent rated sleeping bag, a thermarest, a couple of blankets and a beanie. Very toasty. Main thing was I set a tarp up over the vehicle that came down to the window line. It didn't touch the vehicle but acted as a bit of insulation and allowed me to have a window open a crack. Had no dramas with condensation

 

[bigHodad808]

Catalytic Heater

Hi,

Thanks for the info. Can anyone explain to me how a catalytic heater works. Does it somehow convert the CO2 to another unharmful gas and water or something?

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Pskhaat]

Are you riding at a ski area? If so, there are plenty of ways of finding a live 120VAC outlet. These are handy to have around too.

Small electric space heaters work wonders inside a vehicle. Keep 'em off the 1500W setting as you don't want to be tripping any breakers.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/22580-quot-Cheating-quot-with-electricity.

Of course you'll want to ask permission.

 

[bfdiesel]

I am sure I will get something started, but a gas lantern has worked for me. I run it while getting settled in and if I wake up cold I will start it warm things back up then turn it back off. Then in the morning I start it a little before moving around if it is really cold, usually I just get up and around though.

For anything burning you will want a co monitor.

 

[kjp1969]

As above, I'd suggest leaving the heater off while you're sleeping. Standard practice when camping with my parents in a Westfalia was to put on a kettle for coffee or oatmeal first thing in the morning. That worked well, but you still needed a good sleeping bag for the nighttime.

My Dad once heated a rock by the fire and brought it into bed wrapped in an old towel. It kept him and my Mom nice and warm and melted a hole through the mattress. Now THAT was funny.

 

[wjeeper]

Where in Utah are you heading? I only ask because I am a local Utard living out on the road (or semi-homeless by choice, take your pick).....depending where your planning on staying I might be able to find you and your son a free place to stay at the mouth of the local canyons.....(maybe a PM would work best)

There was a post last year about a modified 'coleman sportscat' catalytic heater was available that you could roll up in your window. The set up kept made it to the combustion was all vented to the exterior of the vehicle.

I will say that a 12 volt mattress heater, thermals and a GOOD sleeping bag makes it bearable to live outside this time of year in utah.......its 8 degrees right now and I am writing this from my RTT as we speak........Laptop monitors are Black and white when its really cold

I use a 12v mattress pad when I sleep and coleman catalytic heater to take the chill off in the morning to put on my clothes and get the Jeep started/ RTT all put away for the day. A 12 volt mattress pad will pretty much kill off a battery in a night however

 

[bigHodad808]

Camping in Utah

Hi wjeeper,

Thanks for the input and offer. I am actually hoping to stay near one of the ski resorts, possibly even in the parking lot of one of them so that we can be the first up the lifts in the a.m. I would love to do more, but my son and I will be on a pretty tight schedule as we are expected back in SoCal to begin Holiday festivities with the rest of the family.

Bill

 

[robert]

Hi,

Thanks for the info. Can anyone explain to me how a catalytic heater works. Does it somehow convert the CO2 to another unharmful gas and water or something?

Thanks,

Bill

CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the stuff you exhale- CO (carbon monoxide) is the stuff given off by combustion that kills you. It's a subtle but very important difference. In simplest terms, catalytic heaters have a thin layer of platinum that helps break down the oxidizing propane into carbon dioxide instead of carbon monoxide.

Unlike propane and some other gases which have a chemical added so that you smell them when they are leaking, CO has no odor and continues to kill folks every year. Early signs are headache, cold/flu symptoms and confusion followed by death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning
The good thing is carbon monoxide detectors are pretty cheap- around $40 for a combo CO/smoke detector.

Several of my friends in the VW bus club run propane catalytic heaters like this one (incidentally, that's a really good price).
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-57331-Olympian-Wave-3-Catalytic/dp/B000BUV1RK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323393894&sr=8-1

Propexs are another popular choice as they vent the combustion byproducts to the outside of the vehicle.


I forgot to add- Your vehicle basically acts like a giant heat sink, sucking heat away from you. If it has any insulation at all it's minimal. Lots of folks pull the panels and place insulation behind them; note that you need to do some prep before doing this or you'll have rust issues due to the transpired moisture from your breathing condensing. Another popular option is to buy the silver bubble insulation and cut it to fit over your windows; it's easy to hold it in place with some magnets or Velcro. Your roof will generally have even less insulation in it than your side walls. Putting sound deadening and insulation above your headliner will help a lot in the cold and the heat as well as cut down on road noise from vibration.

Block off the front of the vehicle; there's not need to heat more area than you need and all that front glass just sucks away heat. I generally hang a blanket behind the front seats; it has the added benefit of providing privacy and for some reason, if folks see that no one is in the front they tend to assume the vehicle is empty. I usually use either a blue Mexican style blanket or an old OD green wool military surplus blanket- darker isn't as noticeable when walking by.

When it's really cold I drape a wool blanket over my bed like a kid's fort to further reduce the area I'm trying to heat as well as create another layer or insulation.

 

[magaw]

Has anyone used or considered candle lanterns? I've always wondered if they would safely heat a tent or vehicle.

 

[RockyMtnFamily]

Has anyone used or considered candle lanterns? I've always wondered if they would safely heat a tent or vehicle.

I have used this in temperatures down to the 30's with good results but do not know how well it would work in more frigid temperatures. The tent I used had a full rain fly also which helped retain the heat.

 

[AeroNautiCal]

Candle Heater!

Perhaps consider this.

http://www.heatstick.com/_KanHeet01.htm


Self 'build' detailed here.

http://heatstick.com/_Process.htm

 

[Jalapeno]

Can anyone think of any reason why this product would not make a great RV heater?

http://www.eheat.com/pages/Heating-Facts.html