post tips for heating your truck here
- Thread starter rdtrpn
- Start date
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
an espar heater does great
thermo king of ohio
3835 rockland circle
millbury,ohio 43447
1-800-230-8270
419-837-2108
ask for roger or chad
thermo king of ohio
3835 rockland circle
millbury,ohio 43447
1-800-230-8270
419-837-2108
ask for roger or chad
Mr. Heater propane used strictly according to directions.MR. HEATER - America's Most Popular Brand of Portable Heaters
I didn't know DOT allowed propane to be used in regulated trucks. Is this ok?
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
As Redytrk, I too use a Mr Heater, Big Buddy, with a 20 lb propane bottle, filter and 12 ft hose.
Oh and a really well insulated area that i sleep in, seperated from the cargo area.
Oh and a really well insulated area that i sleep in, seperated from the cargo area.
Jack_Berry
Moderator Emeritus
i don't knw.....i saw her about 20 yrs later and she had not aged well. otoh i THINK i saw my college sweetie and she still looked good. the wife keeps me verrry warm.
got a coleman blackcat. have not used it yet.
moose
Veteran Expediter
if your truck floor or sleeper get cold ,
you can try a bath-room rug.
it will stick well to the floor , and will absorb moister ,some toilet rugs fit well around the driver and passenger seats , and get a home felling , then they can easily thrown into the washing machine .
Moose.
you can try a bath-room rug.
it will stick well to the floor , and will absorb moister ,some toilet rugs fit well around the driver and passenger seats , and get a home felling , then they can easily thrown into the washing machine .
Moose.
flattop40
Expert Expediter
I used a Mr. Heater Big Buddy last year but became concerned with moisture build up inside of van. Would wake up every morning with lots of frost on windows even with reflectex covering them. It worried me that over time the moisture would start to play havick with the electrical aspects of the van.
I now have a small electric heater that I run off my spare battery thru an inverter.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
If you are getting alot of mositure on the glass , you do not have enough air circulation. I ran the mr heater big buddy oin med with the blower on and a fan on the ceiling to move the heat off the ceiling and move it around in the front area. It was on for 10 hours, I had moisture just at the butoom of the windshield that the defroster took care of within 2-3 minutes.
I don't put anything right against the glass, i have curtains that hang from the "A" pillar post off a bungie cord, there is 6 inches between the glass and the curtain at the top and a good 12 inches at the butttom. I also have side window curtains that are about 2-3 inches from the glass. I open both front windows about 1-1.5 inches and that along with the fan seems to work just fine.
Now as i said in another post, i have insulated the from area where my bed is and it is seperated with a removeable barrier to keep the heat up front.
The back of the van (cargo area) is NOT insulated at all, frost does form on the outside walls but not the ceiling.
I am not concerned with electrical issues at all.
Oh it was 6 degrees and the heater ran all night and is on right now and will be on till i get a load, no moisture at all.
I don't put anything right against the glass, i have curtains that hang from the "A" pillar post off a bungie cord, there is 6 inches between the glass and the curtain at the top and a good 12 inches at the butttom. I also have side window curtains that are about 2-3 inches from the glass. I open both front windows about 1-1.5 inches and that along with the fan seems to work just fine.
Now as i said in another post, i have insulated the from area where my bed is and it is seperated with a removeable barrier to keep the heat up front.
The back of the van (cargo area) is NOT insulated at all, frost does form on the outside walls but not the ceiling.
I am not concerned with electrical issues at all.
Oh it was 6 degrees and the heater ran all night and is on right now and will be on till i get a load, no moisture at all.
flattop40
Expert Expediter
Hmmmmm never gave air circulation a thought. That would also help with any fear of pockets of carbonmonoxide issues. I too would have both front windows down about 1-1.5". I knew that moisture was a byproduct of propane heat and just figured that there was noway to fight that. Will have to grab my Mr. Heater this weekend. It DOES do a much better job then my alternate method. Thanks for the tip Chef.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
No problem Flat! I really think the key to the moisture on the windows is keeping whatever you use to cover them, OFF or AWAY from the glass so that the air does circulate. Hanging the cover off a bungie cord 4-6 inchs away at the top and 12-16 at the buttom really works well. And The little fan i hang off the "S" hook on the ceiling, in line with the heat "pattern" coming off the heater also is a really big help in heating the lower part (ie: floor) of the van too.
One other thing, my heater at night blows from the front to the back, it is not blowing towards the windshield. Now during the day, I hang it off of a "eye" bolt that i drilled thru the top of the van and let it blow from the back to the front, but I don't have the windows covered at all during the day, so moisture isn't an issue at all.
One other thing, my heater at night blows from the front to the back, it is not blowing towards the windshield. Now during the day, I hang it off of a "eye" bolt that i drilled thru the top of the van and let it blow from the back to the front, but I don't have the windows covered at all during the day, so moisture isn't an issue at all.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
I haven't seen the heaters at walmart, but that doesn't mean they don't sell them, look in the outdoors / camping section. Walmart does sell the 1 lb propane bottles and they sell the 20lb tanks , the 1st one is like $40 , but then it is on an exchange basis and around $17-19, depending on the cost of propane.
I know you can get the heaters, hose, and line filters at Most bigger outdoor stores, Bass Pro, Cabella's, dicks sporting good, etc..........
I exchange my tanks at lowes....
PS: Mr. Heater makes 2 different heaters, 1 that holds only 1 bottle and does NOT have the blower, and the BIG BUDDY, that holds 2 bottles and has a blower to move the warm air a little (get the big one). I also use a small fan hanging off a "s" hook from the ceiling about 2 foot in front of the heater to move the hot air off the ceiling ov the van, works great!!
I know you can get the heaters, hose, and line filters at Most bigger outdoor stores, Bass Pro, Cabella's, dicks sporting good, etc..........
I exchange my tanks at lowes....
PS: Mr. Heater makes 2 different heaters, 1 that holds only 1 bottle and does NOT have the blower, and the BIG BUDDY, that holds 2 bottles and has a blower to move the warm air a little (get the big one). I also use a small fan hanging off a "s" hook from the ceiling about 2 foot in front of the heater to move the hot air off the ceiling ov the van, works great!!
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flattop40
Expert Expediter
I bought mine at walmart but had to go to an outdoor store to get the hose extention. The 20# cylinder is the way to go the 1 pounders will eat you alive and I get mine refilled at the flying j's that have propane.
Also as a safety note I strap my tank to my cooler that sits between the front seats that is strapped to both seats so the tank is in the center of the van. If I were in an accident and the tank got ruptured I figure at that location I was toast anyway.
Also as a safety note I strap my tank to my cooler that sits between the front seats that is strapped to both seats so the tank is in the center of the van. If I were in an accident and the tank got ruptured I figure at that location I was toast anyway.
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
Flat, thanks for the strapping the tank deal. I strap mine in the rt rear corner of the van. think ill be moving it now. thanks!
chefdennis
Veteran Expediter
Ok, as i have posted, I have been setting (securely) my Big Buddy on my adjustable RAM Laptop stand whenever i use it at night. NOW I've started wanting to idle the van less during the day, and since I my computer is on ALL the time, I needed away to position the heater so that it wasn't on my laptop stand, but safe from falling over in the confined area in my van.
So, I had drilled 2 holes in the roof of the van to install 2 "eye" bolts for another use, but decided that if i hung the heater from a GOOD quality STRONG tarp strap (not an old or even a new RUBBER one, but a good new quality bungie type cord) and made sure it was in a good position and up off the floor, i could get as much heat from it, as the van heater, without idling and with the fan hanging from the ceiling also as in the other post, I get the heat off the ceiling and moved around and stay nice and toasty warm.
Oh and the heater hangs over my buck, about 3-4 ft from any glass with good air circulation all around it, and i have NOT had any mositure gathering on the uncovered glass or anywhere else that is insulated.
Try it, it works!!
So, I had drilled 2 holes in the roof of the van to install 2 "eye" bolts for another use, but decided that if i hung the heater from a GOOD quality STRONG tarp strap (not an old or even a new RUBBER one, but a good new quality bungie type cord) and made sure it was in a good position and up off the floor, i could get as much heat from it, as the van heater, without idling and with the fan hanging from the ceiling also as in the other post, I get the heat off the ceiling and moved around and stay nice and toasty warm.
Oh and the heater hangs over my buck, about 3-4 ft from any glass with good air circulation all around it, and i have NOT had any mositure gathering on the uncovered glass or anywhere else that is insulated.
Try it, it works!!
Chevy Van with Adrian bulkhead. First I have the bulkhead, took out the door but have a heavy curtain which seperates the cab from the loading compartment. Installed a remote controlled starter for use when it got unbearable, but most of the time once in the fartsack, needed nothing but sleep, on occassion would wake up, hit the remote, heater was preset and became nice and toasty again, had to open the curtain for the air to get into the rear of the van. But....in daylight hours, when just sitting in the front seat, too keep from ideling, I ran an extension cord from my inverter to the front. Plugged in a high wattage incadescent lightbulb which was screwed into a reflector, moved and pointed it relatively close to my sitting position and found it was warm enough to sit without ideling.
But, obviously, after a couple of hours had to idle to charge up the backup batteries.
bigjoep89
Expert Expediter
We use a Honda 2000 watt portable generator. This gives us all the electric power we need. The Honda has a one gallon built in gas tank. You can find larger fuel tanks on e-bay if you find it necessary. This Honda has a factory built in fuel pump so the extra tank is not gravity feed. We have wired this to a battery charger so when the generator is running it is also charging the battery. With this gas unit you do not have the worry of fuel gelling in extreme cold weather. We have elected not to install the extra fuel tank so it can easily be drained of gas with little planning. Now running the electric heater,tv,fridge,charger and electric blanket it will give you about six hours of run time. If I do not want to get up at that time to refill the tank we just simply activate our little buddy until we decide to refuel the generator. This works very well for us.
Honda Generator $950.00 With two year warranty
Electric Heater $30.00 With one year warranty
Battery Charger $29.00 With two year warranty
We have been doing this for almost five years with no problems. Works just as well in the summer with the portable A/C unit. Joe and Robin C-2467
Honda Generator $950.00 With two year warranty
Electric Heater $30.00 With one year warranty
Battery Charger $29.00 With two year warranty
We have been doing this for almost five years with no problems. Works just as well in the summer with the portable A/C unit. Joe and Robin C-2467