Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I recently found this forum and have read some interesting posts. Several people mention that insulating their CTCs allow them to sleep comfortably even in cold weather. Could anyone quantify that for me? What interior temperatures do you get in your occupied, insulated CTC for a given exterior night-time low?

With two young children, we find tent camping a lot more difficult than we used to. It doesn’t take much of a temperature drop to give the 13-month-old a chill at night. She recently struggled with a forecasted 55 low. We’re wondering how much a 6x12 CTC might help with that. It would be very basic, no cooking or toilet facilities, just bed space and storage.

Thank you for your time!

Insulating a CT doesn't make it warmer, as it's interior will always equalize to the outside ambient temp after a time. What it will do is slow the transfer of heat that's generated inside of it. Much like changing from a lightweight sleeping bag to a winter bag. The heat your body generates is what makes you warm, the insulation of the bag is what keeps you warm. I've camped out in my insulated but unheated CT and woke up to 34 degree temp outside and about 38 degrees inside. A warmer bag kept me comfortable but a small stove warmed the space a lot more than it would have in a tent.
Tents, for the most part, just protect you from the elements and give you some privacy, but because they vent so well and don't retain heat, you're essentially sleeping outside. The heat from a few live bodies in a CT, insulated or otherwise, is going stay inside it at a much higher rate than in a tent. Same for using any heat source.
Sleep wise, an insulated CT is quieter. Especially in the wind and rain. I'm also inclined to believe that a CT is also going to have a more comfortable bed to sleep on, rather than what you'd have on your tent's ground.

that was the temp in the morning in my insulated 5x8 vnose with only body heat and residual heat from the previous hot day.

The air temp rise is limited by the amount of ventilation required in such a small space. That said it's much more comfortable inside compared to a tent. An example in my case: a sleeping bag that is OK at 15F in a tent was just fine at 0F inside my foamy tear. The extra humidity inside the tear was much appreciated too. Though the inside of a tent is covered in frost by the morning, the air is very dry.

Sounds like you can skip the CTC and just invest in some good sleeping bags if staying warmer is the goal and only insulation is considered.

Insulation is a factor for sure in the CTC, but if you are not going to add heat to the equation, just get really good sleeping bags for whatever the climate will be.

If adding heat, then you have a different discusion.. how much heat vs how much insulation to maintain comfort in target climate.

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There is a lot to be said for getting off the ground when sleeping. Also, the weatherproofing, security and utility of a cargo trailer come in handy all the time for families even if you choose not to do a conversion. They also seem to hold their value pretty well and you don't see a lot of used ones for sale. Probably a lot easier to sell than a traditional RV, certainly in the off season. I had mine for years before the conversion and never considered selling it.

McDave

Howdy All;

It was something my GGpap that lived his life in Maine used to say,
a wise man has generally 4 to 7 times under him then over him to stay warm when sleeping.
He used goose down mattress and quilts. When he went hunting he 'd stack
pine boughs to insulate under him and 2 wool blankets over himself along with
a tarp he could shape into any type of shelter he needed for the weather.

Think about the mattress you have under you and the blanket, quilt/duvet
over you ... heat migrates to cold so the cooler ground would suck the warm right out of ya.

Just throwin' a penny or two into the conversation.

hank

Thank you all for the quick responses! Protection from the cold was only part of the motivation for considering a CT, so we have a lot of thinking to do before deciding if we should go for it. If only it were easier to keep little ones inside sleeping bags all night!

A mentioned earlier... lots of good uses for the CT even if you do not plan much conversion. I agree it is still better than a tent. Good luck and treasure the camping with the little ones. They grow up too quick.

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check out my 5x8 tin-tent build

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=68016


i've done a few more things since i've last updated this thread

I moved from a tent to the cargo trailer specifically when the kids started hunting. I could not see being cold thru the night, sitting in a tree for 2+ hours in the cold, and then coming back to a cold camp. I have an insulated 6 x12 that sleeps a family of 5. If it is not colder than 45*, no heat is needed for sleeping. I run a small 12v fan inside to keep the air moving. The loft, where the kids sleep, gets significantly hotter than the lower bunks. When colder I run an EU2000 with a 1500 watt radiant heater. Outside cook station, outside heated shower, pop up tent for the toilet and we are good to go.

I think each adult produces 100 watts of heat.

The floor of anything is cold if not insulated.

Try sleeping on a pickup truck steel floor, way colder than the ground.

Insulate, but not excessively. use good mattresses well off the floor. The higher the better, as the heat is at the ceiling. Use rugs.

Right now I am checking 3 hour heat rise in my CTC. It's parked right out my back door. 30F to start. 1200 watt electric heater with fan is on. I want to get it warm enough to finish installing my 16K Atwood propane furnace.

I should have been done 8 months ago, but...

More later today.

In 3 hours my all aluminum 7X14 Legend with only Refectex in the wood walls and 7' ceiling went from 30 to 54 F.

No Sun, 2" of snow on roof.

I will check it again after 6 total hours.

NotJammer wrote:In 3 hours my all aluminum 7X14 Legend with only Refectex in the wood walls and 7' ceiling went from 30 to 54 F.

No Sun, 2" of snow on roof.

I will check it again after 6 total hours.

Thanks for the interesting data ... if you have time, it would be nice to know the cool down rate, including outside temperatures and inside temperatures over time.

We are neighbors. I am in Southern IL.

Today the 6 hour rise was to 58 F. I had the heater on low speed. It can heat right up. I tested it last year. Propane forced air furnace will be way better.

This model https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/produc ... ifications

I will be checking data again in February.

Right now i need to concentrate on getting my Film Darkroom done as I need to produce some prints.

The CTC will also have full blackout for mobile Darkroom. But I'm no kid anymore and have health timeouts. PITA!

featherliteCT1 wrote:

NotJammer wrote:In 3 hours my all aluminum 7X14 Legend with only Refectex in the wood walls and 7' ceiling went from 30 to 54 F.

No Sun, 2" of snow on roof.

I will check it again after 6 total hours.

Thanks for the interesting data ... if you have time, it would be nice to know the cool down rate, including outside temperatures and inside temperatures over time.