Teardrop heaters

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Teardrop heaters

Postby lacustom » Sat Apr 08, 2017 7:09 am

What do most of you use to heat your teardrop trailers? Elec, propane ?


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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Socal Tom » Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:45 am

When I've got electricity and I need heat, I have a small electric heater. Otherwise it's body heat, but I found preheating with propane helps a lot. Lucky for me, heat usually isn't needed.
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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby S. Heisley » Sat Apr 08, 2017 10:04 am

You're in Florida? Assuming your trailer is insulated, I'd be surprised if you ever needed heat. Body heat does it good enough for me. About 5 years ago, I bought an under-desk electric heater and stored it in my trailer. I've never even pulled it out of the box, even when it was 28 degrees outside. It is nice to have a little heat to get dressed by, though. Since my galley is inside, just warming water for coffee is enough for me; but, if you don't have that advantage, I would get a Mr Heater, or something like it. It uses those little throw-away propane bottles and is often used in tents and duck blinds, etc. There are also larger units that attach directly to your refillable propane tank. If you always camp where there are hook-ups, a small electric, portable heater would be fine.

Never leave any portable heater or propane heater unattended.

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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Andrew Herrick » Sat Apr 08, 2017 10:21 am

Here's a shameless plug. On the FAQ page of my website under the header "Questions About Using a Camper" is an FAQ article titled, "How Do I Stay Warm?" It's a basic synopsis of what lots of campers use to keep warm during cold nights. Myself, I just layer up.

Link: http://www.boondockcampers.biz/faq.html
A few of my builds:

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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Karen Clancy » Sat Apr 08, 2017 6:24 pm

Electric Blanket & when it gets too cold for just that I have a electric 400 watt heater , I believe the name on it is Handy Heater .
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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby lacustom » Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:21 pm

Thanks for all of the comments. My trailer is insulated , I just finished it this winter. Yes I am in Florida but I want to head to North Carolina mountains in the fall. I def keep the windows cracked.


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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby PKCSPT » Sun Apr 09, 2017 8:36 am

Winter I camp where I get electricity, small under desk heater. Above 30 the dog and I keep it plenty warm, have been known to keep a window wide open to keep it from getting too hot.
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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Socal Tom » Sun Apr 09, 2017 9:44 am

When I have access to 115, I use electric blanket. It's more controllable so you don't get too hot. But I also have a small electric heater to warm the cabin for changing clothes etc.
I got lucky and found one that has 350/700 watts, low is plenty in that small space.
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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Aguyfromohio » Sun Apr 09, 2017 10:57 am

Has anyone used one of these little propane heaters?
They have a low oxygen sensor that seems smart

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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby MADTRAPPER » Sun Apr 09, 2017 12:44 pm

Yea u can't control the heat either it's on or off. Find a good women!


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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby working on it » Sun Apr 09, 2017 1:08 pm

PKCSPT wrote:...small under desk heater... keep a window wide open to keep it from getting too hot.
  • My trailer is completely uninsulated, but I've never camped in it where the temperature fell below 40 at night, so heating hasn't posed a problem, yet. I have a comforter, and an unused 20 degree Coleman sleeping bag (emergency reserve; why open it until you need it? - carried it since 2000-). But, I've also carried one, or two, Lasko MyHeat ceramic heaters with me since they first came out. I used one in the old camper shell on my '75 C-10 while spending icy nights at work (sometimes the temperature was in single digits), to avoid a 120-mile round trip home, then in my '09 HHR Panel, when it became my DD and home-away-from home (I always parked near an outlet; I let my company pay for the electricity, after they quit giving us critical workers a per-diem motel room near-by).
  • Now, retired, I don't have to worry about car/truck heating, just my TTT. I transferred both the Lasko heaters to the trailer, and have used one twice, and both once (to heat up the trailer while running the A/C at the same time - to dehumidify my water-soaked interior {that's another story}). The trailer is only a 4x8, with about 88 cubic feet to heat/cool, and pretty air-tight, if all vents and windows are closed. It doesn't need much climate control, in the N.Texas area (A/C, of course!).
  • The Lasko heater is only 200 watts, so if park power (or my on-board generator) fail, then my Optima Yellowtop can run a heater thru my 400 watt inverter, if need arises. I also like their size, very small, and I can put them on my overhead shelf, easily. And they have tip-over shutdown, if dropped. I don't think I'd like using a catalytic heater, because they're very hot to touch, even if accidentally, and I think they need more venting than I would care to provide (I like closed windows).
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    low power consumption, tip-proof, enough heat for me
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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Shadow Catcher » Sun Apr 09, 2017 6:09 pm

When we have 120AC we use a marine heater, A Pelonius ceramic put out too much heat, when we are relying on 12V we are using the heat from our water heater.
I still need to make it a bit less awkward and neaten it up but it does work and others have tried it with success.

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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Syberia » Mon Apr 10, 2017 12:17 am

I plan to use a 12v electric blanket plus a good comforter. This setup (plus a flannel throw) kept the wife and I comfortable in a tent when it got down to 37 outside, so I expect it to be more than adequate in an insulated teardrop. The blanket only uses 55 watts, but the other blankets on top keep the heat in. Our battery can run it for at least 2 nights even without any solar recharge.

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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby JoyceB » Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:57 am

In the Dakotas in late September when the night temperatures fell to low thirties upper 20 I used an electric heater to warm up the inside before turning in under a down comforter with 2 fleece blankets over that. Heat got shut off for sleeping a window was cracked open. I was snug as a bug. When I had no power a cup of hot tea did the trick also before going under the covers. My tear is not insulated but found also that putting a throw right up against the door helped tremendously.

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Re: Teardrop heaters

Postby Socal Tom » Mon Apr 10, 2017 12:45 pm

JoyceB wrote:In the Dakotas in late September when the night temperatures fell to low thirties upper 20 I used an electric heater to warm up the inside before turning in under a down comforter with 2 fleece blankets over that. Heat got shut off for sleeping a window was cracked open. I was snug as a bug. When I had no power a cup of hot tea did the trick also before going under the covers. My tear is not insulated but found also that putting a throw right up against the door helped tremendously.

My coldest nights were sub-20F. The first night was in a walmart parking lot. I didn't pre-heat and I got cold!. I went inside and picked up some small fleece blankets to cover the un-insulated walls. It helped a lot. It cut the drafts from the gaps in the doors, and the walls stopped feeling like ice was radiating from the walls. By the third night I worked out that pre-heating added the final peice to the puzzle.
Tom

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