Sleeping Solution For A van?
- Thread starter redytrk
- Start date
That is a pretty good idea. When driving a cargo van it makes for an uncomfortable situation in the cold winter months. Recently a freinf\d of mine offered me the following solution. A
-5F rated sleeping bag. I thought what a great idea! I use a double height blow up mattress and sleep inside the sleeping bag. I also have remote start to start my van and warm it up while still in the sleeping bag. Once the van heats up, I can then get out and put things away in relative comfort.
-5F rated sleeping bag. I thought what a great idea! I use a double height blow up mattress and sleep inside the sleeping bag. I also have remote start to start my van and warm it up while still in the sleeping bag. Once the van heats up, I can then get out and put things away in relative comfort.
It would easily be enough to drain a cranking battery overnight, especially a conventional electric blanket for the home. They have electric blankets at truck stops that use less electricity, but of course they take a lot longer to warm up. But, when they get warm, they're warm.
Anything that is a high amp draw or a constant draw should be run off an auxiliary battery and not the cranking battery. A cranking battery is designed to provide lots of amps for mere seconds, and are not designed to provide trickle amps for something like an electric blanket. The lead plates simply aren't thick enough for that.
But here's the problem, when it's colder, the battery has less amps available, and the colder it gets, the more amps an electric blanket will draw, so what little amps the battery has gets depleted even faster. You wake up in the morning and there's simply not enough cold cranking amps for the high amp punch needed to start the vehicle.
A cranking battery has one job, to crank the engine. Don't try and use a cranking battery for something it's not designed to do. At the very least, a marine "deep cycle" battery should be used for inverter usage. You need a separate battery, preferably mounted inside the van where it's warmer, and isolated from the cranking battery, from which to run an inverter. Yeah, people run all kinds of stuff on an inverter from the cranking battery. These are the same people who curse the POS battery for its premature death.
Let's see, a sleeping "solution" for a van, would that be a "Water Bed" ? LOL. Sorry, I just had to say that. I would have exploded if I kept it in. Layoutshooter
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Layoutshooter sez
"Let's see, a sleeping "solution" for a van, would that be a "Water Bed" ? LOL. Sorry, I just had to say that. I would have exploded if I kept it in. Layoutshooter"
The "solution" would more likely be an "Anti-freeze Bed". Water would possibly freeze up and burst the waterbed.
My own "solution" was a cold weather rated sleeping bag and every twin size blanket I could scrounge from home. Seven of them. One of the best was a blankie I got from a truck stop. It was made in Mexico and smelled like Mexican goats, but boy was it warm.
"Let's see, a sleeping "solution" for a van, would that be a "Water Bed" ? LOL. Sorry, I just had to say that. I would have exploded if I kept it in. Layoutshooter"
The "solution" would more likely be an "Anti-freeze Bed". Water would possibly freeze up and burst the waterbed.
My own "solution" was a cold weather rated sleeping bag and every twin size blanket I could scrounge from home. Seven of them. One of the best was a blankie I got from a truck stop. It was made in Mexico and smelled like Mexican goats, but boy was it warm.
arrbsthw
Expert Expediter
this looks like it would be a good idea but let me tell you..
cold air gets under the bottom of that cot and if you don't have something really thick under you..you will freeze to death.
We slept on cots similar to this in a tent in the dead of summer on a mountain at the race track.. coldest I have ever been
in my life. I got up and went to my car to sleep.
I don't use cots or air mattratess in cold weather. I the old days when we winter camped we used straw under the tent floor. Now I use closed cell foam pads. I like the Anti-Freeze bed. Layoutshooter
theoldprof
Veteran Expediter
Didn't mention earlier, but I had a plywood bunk about 24 inches tall, covered with carpet with a 6 inch foam mattress. THEN on top of that I had the sleeping bag, multi covers, etc. Someone mentioned a remote starter. Had one of those with the remote hung right over the bunk so I could reach my warm paw from under the covers, warm up the engine, go back to sleep until the truck warmed up.
late4dinner
Seasoned Expediter
The remote start works just as well in the summer to cool down things. I like the fact that the truck stops after 20 minutes. Sure keeps a driver from falling asleep and letting the truck run all night, or day long.
For winter weather I just use the Espar and sleep on top of the covers.
For winter weather I just use the Espar and sleep on top of the covers.
Jack_Berry
Moderator Emeritus
fella i know with a chevy van on with e-1 just uses a sub zero bag and lots of blankets...............................and a remote start.
try the reflective emergency blankets to keep heat in.
try the reflective emergency blankets to keep heat in.