anyone doing it hard this winter living cold

[flying kurbmaster]

Just wondering if anyone is living in their van in freezing conditions and how are you managing to keep warm.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I can't even imagine trying to get by in such conditions. I've only seen more than an inch or two of snow a couple times in my life and never lived in sub-zero weather.
That would have to be pure hell living in a van.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I think so too these are pictures of last year waiting too long to get out, it was not comfortable. just wondering if anyone is doing it hard this year going through a hard winter.

 

[TMG51]

I know a girl who lived a full winter in Maine in a tepee made of sticks and a blue plastic tarp.

Not saying I'd do it. Just saying some do.

Where's that guy on the forum up north with the little marine coal stove in his van? I like his set up. If for some reason I were to spend winters in the cold I'd do something similar.

 

[Theadyn]

I know a guy that's been doing it 4 years around Idaho area, trying to get him on here, he'd have a lot of input. Mostly urban stealthing it. Some videos now, used to have a lot more. I will pester him to get on here, lol.

 

[SternWake]

I was in NJ one December early millennium, but able to plug into the grid.  I had a 800/1200 watt heater and practically zero insulation and could keep the interior about 15 degrees warmer than ambient temps.


One night I awoke overheated under a plethora of blankets and it was almost 60f inside.

4 inches of light snow had accumulated on the roof, and acted like insulation.

Right now my Van's floor is 48.5f
The asphalt outside my van is 41.5f
My ceiling is 59F.  I've got a napkin covering my 4" roof vent.
My walls range from 54 to 56.5f
I'm plugged into the grid with a 200 watt Lasko heater running since sundown 6 hours ago.

Still minimal insulation.  Feels colder than that.

 

[TheBlackLatin]

Mr. Buddy Heater, thermal underwear, 12v heated blanket (with additional blankets), or 0 degree feather down sleeping bag.

 

[rvpopeye]

While not exactly a standard van , I have and am doing it here in Maine.

In a 23' class C w/ maybe 1" or less insulation , lots of windows mostly covered with reflectix , a big buddy htr (4K-9K-18K btu settings) and layering layering layering clothes and bedding. Kinda mild right now (30s-40s) but typically -10 to+20 ,+ wind chill .I have 3 roof vents , 2 covered with reflectix , 1 for ventilation..

Snow on the roof usually melts off from heat loss and "frozen waterfall" is what that looks like ! I can keep interior temps as warm as I want if it is above +10 ......just depends on how much propane I want to use/buy.(20# a day if I want to be comfy all day 20# every 2-3 days if not) .

I just tried taping a sheet of plastic behind the cab seats and that has mede a huge difference in the amount of condensation in the cab area ( I have got up seeing 1/4" of ice on everything up front without it.

Hope this gives you a general idea of what it's like.
Personally I would consider the fuel to get myself to the desert preferrable.

 

[Gone Galavanting]

I spent several wonderful years of my life in some cold winter conditions (nice summers though!). I learned that how I dressed was critical to my survival. When you are in the cold NOTHING seems to work the way it should. Things break, or just flat out don't work. There is a survival book out, called 98.6 that was recommended by a search and rescue group. Having said that, I've never read the book. But I keep in mind ALWAYS, that the key to survival is 98.6 degrees (body temp). I quickly learned that "cotton kills". I have experienced mild hypothermia on three occasions, two were when I was wearing cotton clothing, jeans, sweatshirts, flannel, etc and doing things like.. going for a several mile long hike. Once however, was.. unavoidable, long story, broke down in the middle of axle deep ice water, had to get into the water in order to fix something so that I could get my vehicle out of it.
For anyone who is doing cold the first time, or who doesn't have experience with it:
1) Learn the symptoms of hypothermia and be hyper vigilant as to whether or not you could be experiencing them. If you are, get help FAST. In the cases of my mild hypothermia, I knew I was in trouble both times (hypothermia can be extremely insidious), was able to get where people were around me and gave them instructions on at what point to get me to the hospital if I wasn't getting better. These folks were also cold savvy. If they weren't, I would have gone to the hospital instead.

2)Don't wear cotton! The best way I can describe cotton clothing is that it is the essential component to turn your body into a swamp cooler type system.. and it works regardless of temperature.. right up until the time things freeze up.
Some suggestions for clothing: I used Helly Hansen "Dry" lifa or pro lifa as an underlayer. Acrylic sweaters (the cheap kind, available in second hand stores) Thermal fleece shirts/pants, wool socks and.. the very best cold weather boots money can buy (just my opinion and for my situation): True North Boots made by Empire Canvass Works. Boots are expensive, taken care of, they last a life time and any componant on them can be repaired or replaced. They aren't water proof, they breathe. They were designed for mushers in the Iditarod. They are so comfortable they are truly like going barefoot in the snow. They are super lightweight and I can't count the number of times I have slept with them on my feet, only to wake up the next morning and go looking for them so I could put them on.. they truly are THAT comfortable.

3) Good food and hydration.

4) Shelter, something that retains heat, the smaller area the better and easier it is to heat w/ body heat.

5) Companions, dogs/cats are great. I wouldn't have made it in my situation without dogs.

6) One thing to be aware of when in a vehicle is not to put your feet (or any part of your body) against any surface that directly connects with the colder temps outside. By that I mean door panels, floor, etc. I know a fellow who was sleeping in his car, BIG guy, small car. He stretched out as much as possible his feet, with his shoes on were against the door. He ended up with frost bite. Frost bite is something that lasts a lifetime.

7) Don't kill yourself with fumes, gasses, etc. There really isn't any point in trying to stay warm if you're just going to kill yourself anyway.
Depending on how cold it is, I came to find that I really didn't need heat all of the time in order to live. I realized that even though I spend a lot of time tent camping and in the out of doors, somehow this thought had gotten into my brain that I HAD to have heat. Not so. What I had to do was keep warm/dry/hydrated/fed. Big difference. Heat for cooking or thawing out food is essential. Water that isn't ice is essential. Heat all the time? Now that's a luxury.

I've entered a different phase in my life. One where I hope to have, appreciate and enjoy the luxuries, such as heat all of the time during the winter. But if I don't, I know that I can get by.

 

[Gone Galavanting]

I left off about bedding. Ya know those old cotton sleeping bags, the wonderful cozy ones with felt liners? Try getting some polar fleece blankets or synthetic fleece instead. If you absolutely HAVE to use the cotton stuff, and you have it, you can use it. But if you have a choice, go for the synthetics or wool.

Also, dont' forget to cover your head.. including your face (but not your mouth or nose) if possible. That means when you're sleeping as well as awake.

Gloves for hands, keep your socks (wool or synthetic) socks on when you sleep.

It's a lot easier to stay warm than it is to try to get warmed up after you're already chilled!

 

[mockturtle]

Here in AZ it is getting below freezing at night this week but, with the sun during the day, the rig is warm enough not to require any heating. I have a propane furnace with the thermostat set at the minimum at night so that my water lines/pump, etc., don't freeze. I have tank & pump heaters, too, but they use a lot of battery and I'd only turn them on in an emergency. I did use them near Big Bend NP when it was down in the teens. I don't think I'd even try cold weather camping in a regular van.

 

[minimotos95]

Colorado's valleys don't get that cold, so last winter I did just fine without heat, this winter is a little colder and I have a short coated dog staying with me that doesn't put out much body heat so I am running a portable buddy heater. Going through about 40lbs a months(2 and a half 20lb tanks) that's with a lot of being wasteful like sitting with the slider open and such nonsense. My van has no extra insulation other than reflection in the windows and a blue $1 tarp separating the cab from living area.

 

[bcbullet]

Insulated walls, a furnace and interior water tanks save the day. As a divorced dad living every second weekend with his kids three hours from home, I can say that being ready for it before it happens is certainly key. We have spent every second weekend for the last 4 years in our homebuilt (pics here: https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Anybody-convert-one-of-these?pid=177029#pid177029 ) in everything from -28C to +38C. We have been playing games on the Playstation and watching movies in T-shirts in the coldest of the cold days and have only been mildly uncomfortable parked in the shade in the heat.
IMHO it is all about planning ahead...

 

[jimindenver]

Colorado's valleys don't get that cold, so last winter I did just fine without heat, this winter is a little colder and I have a short coated dog staying with me that doesn't put out much body heat so I am running a portable buddy heater. Going through about 40lbs a months(2 and a half 20lb tanks) that's with a lot of being wasteful like sitting with the slider open and such nonsense. My van has no extra insulation other than reflection in the windows and a blue $1 tarp separating the cab from living area.

I salute you because I don't know what valley you are in but it has gotten damn cold down here. LOL

We don't winter camp but that doesn't mean it doesn't get cold where we go. We didn't have heat until the trailer so it was sleeping bags or down comforters at night and bundle up during the day. A few dogs under the covers wasn't a bad idea.

Now I set the furnace as low as 50 at night but 62 is better. The walls of the trailer are not well  insulated so I have to put throw pillows on the side of the bed or wake up shivering. Other than that we are wusses and stay nice and comfy.

 

[Willy]

Here in the Okanagan and, with subfreezing weather, I've been toasty warm. My steppie runs on propane with 2x50 Gallon tanks (40 Gal each at 80%), one of which has my propane furnace and stove plumbed in. Man, it's nice not having to worry about running out and having to haul tanks out to fill. My furnace is one of those 'old style' convection units, pumpin' out about 6000 Btu's, which is plenty for my reasonably well insulated rig. I also have an Olympian Wave 3, but stopped using it cuz of all the moisture it would release. I found that, while it DID warm my rig up sufficiently, it was a kinda clammy warmth. ..Willy.

 

[cognitive dissonance]

I'm fanatical about 2 lb. closed cell spray foam. You get: R7 per inch of depth, a complete vapor barrier, significant added structural strength & low frequency sound deadening. 

Two inches depth will suffice unless you're at high elevations or traveling pretty far north in the winter.  Then I'd do three inches minimum.  (Same goes for extremely hot areas, although that's off topic.)

There is NOTHING else you can do that gives so much comfort.

Get a Wiggy's sleeping bag.  The FTRSS system comes pretty close to making the cold irrelevant, and can save your life in an emergency. They are pricey, but they can be washed weekly and will still last decades.  You will never buy another sleeping bag (literally, because they have lifetime repair/replacement warranties!). 

I speak from personal experience on both recommendations!

 

[Txjaybird]

While not exactly a standard van , I have and am doing it here in Maine.

In a 23' class C  w/ maybe 1" or less insulation , lots of windows mostly covered with reflectix , a big buddy htr (4K-9K-18K btu settings) and layering layering layering clothes and bedding. Kinda mild right now (30s-40s) but typically -10 to+20 ,+ wind chill .I have 3 roof vents , 2 covered with reflectix , 1 for ventilation..

Snow on the roof usually melts off from heat loss  and "frozen waterfall" is what that looks like ! I can keep interior temps as warm as I want if it is above +10 ......just depends on how much propane I want to use/buy.(20# a day if I want to be comfy all day 20# every 2-3 days if not) .

I just tried taping a sheet of plastic behind the cab seats and that has mede a huge difference in the amount of condensation in the cab area ( I have got up seeing 1/4" of ice on everything up front without it.  

Hope this gives you a general idea of what it's like.
Personally I would consider the fuel to get myself to the desert preferrable.

hello... i am wondering if you park your rv for any length of time in one spot?  the reason i ask is i saw on you tube mos. ago a guy somewhere in cold country who had almost completely enclosed a van with straw bales and tarps & had a little wood stove in the van... . after my first spring in s.d. in my house that had had no heat for 8yrs...i learned a deep appreciation for the change in temps in march between n. texas & s.e. south dakota... i slept on 2 blue egg crate mats on the floor with a sweater tied around my head and a small elec. heater on a milk crate and there was ice on the side of the drapes facing into the room......it was ok because it was my house...the first one i bought by myself....... going between tx & s.d i've slept in the hardees lot in nebaska city ne in a datsun B210 sedan  & various store parking lots in pick up seats all with inches of snow/cold temp. & clear roads...it's a wonder i'm still alive     i certainly wasn't in texas anymore!          my hat is off to anyone that can winter in the "frozen north" in any type of vehicle        happy trails     TJB

 

[flying kurbmaster]

everything gets so much harder when it gets below freezing, thanks everyone for sharing, I have stayed in my Kurbmaster into the low 20,s f or minus 10 c, with my Dickenson heater and also plugged into the grid with an electric ceramic heater, found it bearable not sure if I would like it much colder but part of me would like to attempt it one winter, maybe the hay bail idea would be a good way, I thought of those big insulated tarps they use in the far north on construction sites, I remember working on a scaffolding with a propane blower under us and a big insulated tarp around the outside in - 40 in Whitehorse one winter always thought that if you threw one of those over your van that that would be a step in the right direction. Boy that was a hard job to get excited about getting out of bed for, I must of really needed the money. A pair of gloves inside a pair of mitts removed to handle screws and tools, never bare hands.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

maybe the hay bail idea would be a good way,

Haven't tried it myself, but I've read that the hay bails attract mice and other vermin, who nest in it because it is much warmer.  They are then near your wires, which apparently they like to chew on.  I would suggest you do a little research to see if that is true or not before you try it.

Regards
John

 

[rvpopeye]

I stay mobile . So , none of that for me.
I have seen people using hay bales around their mobile homes and travel trailers . It does help with warmer floors BUT.
The mouse , rats and squirrels love it ! Your exposed wiring wouldn't be the only thing in danger of getting chewed up either , they'll find their way in, in ,in.
Even without hay bales they will try to get in where it's warm !

I remember a guy in Knoxville that boxed in around the open bottom of his trailer with 2" foam insulation , said it worked real good.