Alaska Winters in a Truck Camper

[austi003]

Looking for anyone with experience of living in a van or truck camper up in Alaska. I don't yet know if I will stay in Alaska during the harshest parts of winter, but I will definitely stay there at the beginning and end of winter when there is plenty of snow, but maybe not -40 degree temps. 

My current preference is a truck camper so that I have 4WD for exploring, but trying to learn about what I'll need to do to stay warm in colder temps. Hoping someone has experience with preparing a truck camper for harsh cold weather that could provide some tips and things to look for in a truck camper. For example, do I need to add some form of insulation or change out the windows? Would a standard heating system work to keep warm? What other things should I be researching?

 

[rvwandering]

I have no experience with living in a van or truck camper in Alaska during the winter but this guy's blog has a lot of good information - http://timmystoyota.blogspot.com/2012/12/cold-is-relative.html

 

[ByeBye]

Never even been to Alaska, yet, but Canadian built campers typically have better insulation, for the most part. Start with a good base so won't have so much extra work to do. One of the many reasons I chose a Bigfoot.

 

[B and C]

You will definitely want a 4 season camper to start so all water lines are inside and they have better insulation to start. Not sure what else you will need. I was only there for a Summer.

Watch out for the frost heaves going through Canada. I did almost a thousand bucks in damages hitting one at speed. The farther North you go the worse they get. The paved roads are way better in Alaska.

 

[austi003]

Thanks! I will check out that blog

 

[seak]

I live in the warm part of Alaska, but I've been to Anchorage a few times in the winter and I once spent a winter living in a truck camper in Wyoming. So, I'll offer a couple of thoughts I think relevant.

Your first concern is going to be reliable heat. Regardless how much insulation you manage to add, you'll need heat 24/7 to keep water and canned goods from freezing. Unless you are building from scratch or gutting an existing camper, I don't know how you add an effective amount of insulation.

You'll need a vented heat source. I don't see how a catalytic heater or Mr. Heater will cut it. All that water vapor has to go somewhere and it will work it's way out through the walls and ceiling where it will condense and freeze.

I'm thinking maybe a high quality parking heater might be the ticket. That will require a reliable house battery and a way to charge it. Probably not photovoltaics in an Alaskan winter. Better still, a pot burner like a Refleks or a Dickinson will pull moist air out of the living space and send it up the flue as exhaust gas, but you probably don't want to to drive with one burning.

I've spent some time thinking on how to build a small trailer for winter use in Alaska. I don't think it's impossible. But, subzero temperatures impose design requirements you don't need to consider in a warmer climate.

 

[John61CT]

Parking heaters not designed for 24x7 usage.

Look to marine diesel, maybe hydronics.

Not cheap.

3-4" foam all around, maybe 6" up top, all very well sealed up, sprayfoam in the gaps.

All plumbing in heated spaces, propane too but separate from living space.

Inside toilet & bathing, cooking, needs a lot of space, maybe 20' minimum?

Generator in the AM, solar rest of the day to try to get bank full, day's too short need 5x panelage what you would lower 48.

 

[seak]

Parking heaters not designed for 24x7 usage.

Look to marine diesel, maybe hydronics.

Not cheap.

Webasto and Espar are big names in marine diesel heaters. The heaters they offer for boats are the same heaters they sell to the trucking industry.

That's another reason in my mind to consider Refleks or Dickinson. No moving parts, if you use gravity to feed the heater. I can't imagine installing hydronics in a truck camper. To much $$$ and space required.

Maybe Bob Wells will chime in. He's lived in a vehicle in Alaska.

 

[seak]

Here's a handy calculator for the OP to play with while considering options.

https://www.chromalox.com/resources-and-support/calculators/comfort-heater

 

[skyl4rk]

I'm not in AK, but I slept in a van in freezing temps in MI last night. If you want to do it RV style, with tanks and pumps, it is somewhat difficult to deal with freezing temperatures. I have to winterize my class B so I can't use the water systems in freezing temps (faucet, sink, toilet).

If you do it vandweller style, without tanks, things will be easier when temps go below freezing. Also, less things to go wrong. If you don't know what vandweller style means, look through this website for examples of how Bob Wells converts his vans.

Look into the Webasto style heaters, they provide a more comfortable living environment than the Dickinson Diesel types. Do some research on youtube searching for "chinese parking heater". These have recently become available for about $200. I don't have one and probably won't get one until my RV furnace dies, but that is what I would get if I needed a new heater.

 

[John61CT]

Webasto and Espar are big names in marine diesel heaters. The heaters they offer for boats are the same heaters they sell to the trucking industry.

That's another reason in my mind to consider Refleks or Dickinson. No moving parts, if you use gravity to feed the heater. I can't imagine installing hydronics in a truck camper. To much $$$ and space required.

Maybe Bob Wells will chime in. He's lived in a vehicle in Alaska.

I was definitely **not** talking about a normal pickup-sized truck camper. For extended periods need lots more space than that for arctic climates. Even a tent system would work better.

There are cheap versions of the parking heater so can buy spares, but even the best are only rated for a few thousand hours lifespan.

I agree air heating is better when space is limited.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Why would a diesel furnace be better than propane, especially if you do not run a diesel engine?

 

[ByeBye]

This probably why OP asked for people w/ personal experience.

 

[skyl4rk]

The Webasto types (including chinese diesel parking heaters) are forced air with a thermostat, which makes for a more comfortable living environment.  They blow fresh heated air into the cabin.

The Dickinson diesel types are space heater that do not mix the air much.  I suppose you could add a fan.  

Both of the above are vented.  They have a dry heat and will reduce or eliminate condensation.

There are some vented propane heaters: Propex and RV furnaces.  The RV furnaces draw too much electric power to run constantly, unless you have a large battery bank and solar.  I have not used the Propex and don't know much about it, but if it is a vented heater, it should reduce condensation.

The unvented Mr Buddy and Olympian create too much moisture and the Olympian is more expensive than the chinese diesel parking heaters.

 

[John61CT]

Many trucks actually do run on diesel.

But more importantly, because afaik there aren't any propane-powered units with the sort of reliability and hours-longevity required for what I see as a mission- and life- critical use case.

Of course, carrying whole-unit spares is another option. But long-term, a lot more expensive.

 

[ByeBye]

"Looking for anyone with experience of living in a van or truck camper up in Alaska"
Too many theories. Propex is another option w/ no personal experience.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Many trucks actually do run on diesel . . .

My question stands.  OP did not specify he has a diesel truck.  And diesel has its own set of problems in below zero temperatures, something that the marine crowd probably doesn't encounter.  Not all marine craft are diesel powered.

 

[John61CT]

My answer, 2nd para stands.

Even if necessary carrying diesel just for that, in that kind of survival scenario, **for me** I'd consider it a trivial inconvenience.

 

[seak]

"Too many theories."

Three years off-grid in a cabin in Southeast Alaska. Three years living aboard a sailboat, heating with a Dickinson Bering cookstove, same locale. One winter in a truck camper in southern Wyoming (is 15 degrees in WY different than 15 degrees in AK?) Twenty-five years in the cold-storage industry working daily in and around temperatures between -10 F and -40 F. Other than that, no relevant experience.

"And diesel has its own set of problems in below zero temperatures, something that the marine crowd probably doesn't encounter. "

Up here the fuel distributers change their fuel blend in the cold months to keep the diesel flowing. You can also burn #1 diesel. On boats, fuel tanks are usually within a heated envelope (the hull). That would be a design consideration for me if building a camper for cold weather. And yes, boats in Alaska operate at temperatures where fuel gelling is a potential.

 

[ProfessorChaos]

Have never camped in Alaska in the winter but I do know that Southeast Alaska doesn't have the brutal winters that mainland Alaska has. Ketchikan stays mild with highs only going up into the 40's and lows in the 20's although yemps have been known to get down to zero. There are two campgrounds in Ketchikan. Clover Pass and Settlers Cove Recreation Area. Clover Pass is closed in the winter but I am not sure about Settlers Cove. There is also a Walmart which you can stay at. I will add that Ketchikan is dead in the wintertime with most places closed down until the cruise ships start showing up in May.