Heating Your RV for CHEAP

[gcal]

Speaking of lowering heating cost, our slide walls are so thin that it feels like the wind blows thru them. We have inserts for the windows, but the walls, themselves need something. I thought of getting some quilted fabric from Joann Fabric and attaching it to the walls with velcro tabs. DH scoffs and says that insulation value will be low. I say that any little bit helps.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

Speaking of lowering heating cost, our slide walls are so thin that it feels like the wind blows thru them. We have inserts for the windows, but the walls, themselves need something. I thought of getting some quilted fabric from Joann Fabric and attaching it to the walls with velcro tabs. DH scoffs and says that insulation value will be low. I say that any little bit helps.

That will help but the insulation foam panels from home depot will work better. I've done both in the fifth wheel, the insulation panels are easy to put on the wall. Tape them with duct tape or glue and cut out holes for outlets and switches.

 

[jimindenver]

The walls of our trailer are not THAT bad but you don't want to be sitting next to the wall on a 20* night. Bath towels over the windows make a huge difference. Some type of blanket, quilt or even a half inch of foam would make a noticeable difference on the walls.

We both would love a slide for the room. We have learned to appreciate the simplicity and tightness of our non-slide trailer. Slides are not insulated well and in the winds we get the seals wouldn't hold out the dust or cold. The extended weight would make the rocking in those winds worse too.

 

[gcal]

The walls of our trailer are not THAT bad but you don't want to be sitting next to the wall on a 20* night. Bath towels over the windows make a huge difference. Some type of blanket, quilt or even a half inch of foam would make a noticeable difference on the walls.

We both would love a slide for the room. We have learned to appreciate the simplicity and tightness of our non-slide trailer. Slides are not insulated well and in the winds we get the seals wouldn't hold out the dust or cold. The extended weight would make the rocking in those winds worse too.

We started out in an old no-slide 32 ft Jayco. Never leaked, not that many cold spots. Now, we have a 32 ft class A with 3 slides. We don't seem to have that much more room and the poorly insulated slides leak cold like a sieve. If we ever change out, again, my vote would be for no slides.

 

[gcal]

That will help but the insulation foam panels from home depot will work better. I've done both in the fifth wheel, the insulation panels are easy to put on the wall. Tape them with duct tape or glue and cut out holes for outlets and switches.

Foam panels would be perfect, but storage is a serious issue for anything we get that is large and miles be stowed for part of the time.I wonder how they would look if I upholstered them and left them in place. I wonder how they would affect making the bed. Got some thinking to do.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Go to Living Free's YouTube channel and watch his above titled video. Of course, you will need a safe, secure place you can have an open flame. You may want to play around with various tweaks that make it work for you. You are not going to bring the inside up to 75 degrees if it is below freezing outside, but you can make yourself a lot more comfortable. We have an area in our RV that always stays cold. I might try this, there.

If someone has a chance, can you post a link? I am on my tablet because my computer is under the bed, and we know how that goes.

Sorry to keep beating a dead horse but this comes up every year, so I decided to do some calculations (it's a disease, I'm a retired engineer   )

Parafin wax:
 = 18,621 BTU/lb.
 = .25 oz. wax per tea candle => 64 tea candles/lb
 = $5.12/lb. @ 500 tea candles for $43 (Amazon)
 = $0.275 per 1000 BTU­
 
Propane:
 = 21,600 BTU/lb
 = $2.97/lb in 1 lb green bottle
 = $0.138 per 1000 BTU

Half the cost to burn propane  :exclamation: 

Propane burns clean with only small amounts of Nitrous oxide (~0.012 oz/lb) and Sulfer Dioxide (~0.001 oz/lb)

Depending on how pure it is, parafin wax will emit H2O, CO2, Formaldehyde, Acetaldehyde, Acrolein and soot.  Imported tea candles can also have lead in the wick.
Beeswax and vegatable wax burn cleaner but still emit more toxins than propane.

One does have a higher initial investment for propane, but just using a propane stove and green bottle is cheaper than tea candles.

-- Spiff

 

[jimindenver]

When I cut and add the foam sheets to the trailer they are intended to stay. The extra insulation helps with the heat too and we deal with the cold at night most trips.A/C during the day, furnace at night.

One I'll do here soon is cut custom foam covers for the windows and frames. The towels really help but the covers will fit tighter. Those metal frames just leach in the cold.

You could always use 3M removable tapes to hold the foam in place.