HELP: Condensation Problem & still very cold living inside my Truck Camper shell

[minivanFred]

My truck bed aluminum cap has a bed rug liner inside. My bed is a -20F sleeping bag on plywood platform which I can add an extra wool blanket. I pull out a 12V electric blanket on cold nights powered from 2 100W solar panels with 2 LIFPO4 batteries which also powers my fridge. I have Dupont SuperTuff 1in insulation boards cut around the truck bed walls. The metal floor of the truck bed is not insulated because most heat rises. I have thermal roll up curtains on the cap windows. I notice some condensation frost forms mostly on the metal parts of the truck cap.
I am working on installing same 1in insulation boards inside the cap roof and walls.

thank you, but what kind of small heater should i use? small ones.

Lots of people use Little Buddy easy to get online and althought it is rated safe for indoor you need to have a 1 inch window roll down for air. It will shut off for low oxygen or if it tips over. It runs on the little 1 LB propane bottles. I have one and I think it will heat up a truck camper shell in 5 mins easily. BUT insulate well to keep the heat in !!!

 

[tx2sturgis]

You're going to have to insulate or install a liner of some kind, inside the metal bed surfaces. All the unlined and uninsulated metal around you will always conduct any residual warmth away from the interior, and if the metal surface is cold enough it will condense moisture too.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

I used to live in a pickup camper shell like that. Even in Norcal summers it was cold as heck at night.
The metal pickup bed just wicks away all your body heat like a great big heat sink, brrr!
My best advice would be to go to Lowes, OSH or Home Depot and get some 2" foam board insulation.
(or 1" if you are desperate for every last inch of vertical space)
a 4x8 is roughly $20-30 varying with region. It will probably work best to get 2 or 3 sheets and insulate not just the floor but the sides as well.
I tried using the polyiso foam board because it has impressive R numbers for it's thickness. But it does not like to be cut up. I like the magenta "Foamular" foam board. It has pretty good R numbers and is easy to work with.
A trick I picked up on Youtube is to get a roll of the brown construction paper painters use to mask large areas with.
Use that to rough out a template that fits your area perfectly.
Then lay it on the foam board and trace that with a sharpie.
As far as Reflectix. It does help somewhat. I have that laid in every single area of my van.
In most places it's covered over with foam board.
But in a few areas there isn't the space to fit foam board so it's just the reflectix.
For instance on the sill over the rear doors I just have reflectix covered with automotive felt. Is it as insulated as my floor or walls? Not by a long shot.
But I am happier having that than the cold bare metal!
As far as condensation. You can cover your windows with something and that will prevent some condensation from forming as well as take care of some large heat loss vectors. However a human body expels warm moisture with every breath. It goes someplace.
For this reason pro van conversion guys and RV builders put a vapor barrier between the inside of the van and the insulation. To prevent moisture build up inside the walls and mold. You can buy plastic sheeting in the paint aisle of hardware stores. They sell it as a disposable drop cloth.

 

[elocs3981]

Everybody seems to want to make the back of their vehicle into a mini room like in a house, but I've gone the other way with my Honda Odyssey minivan and made mine into a sleeping pod area, tent-like, especially for the winter. Think "covered wagon" with 3 ten foot 1/2 inch pvc pipes bent on the inside and held in place mostly by the sides and roof. The first one is behind the front seats, the second in the middle, and the 3rd in front of where the rear back seat had been.
This provides a frame for an 8'x10' emergency blanket tarp to be pulled over the top to reflect any heat back towards me. Since the length of my space is 6', I use the 8' length from back to front so there's a foot of tarp that hangs over the front and back while the 12' length completely covers the side windows for privacy. I can also use black-out curtains threaded through the front and back pvc hoops to provide privacy where no light can be seen escaping the back of the van.

I am in Wisconsin and for moderate cold near freezing it is just fine and comfortable with a good winter sleeping bag. I also have a solar battery that will run a heating pad all night and when placed over my chest section keeps me nice and warm. But I also have a Buddy Portable that I have used--running for under an hour at a time until it gets warm, then in the night when I wake up and it's too cold I'll turn it back on for awhile again.
The back of my van is in no way air tight and I can feel cool air moving enough that I'm not worried about carbon monoxide when the heater is running. There is condensation on the front window and the side with the heater, but I just wipe it down in the morning.
The beauty is that other than the pvc hoops, which are not a big deal, can be taken down and put away after the night. In fact, in a half hour I can have the entire back of my van emptied out with nothing in it. But it's a sleeping pod, like a winter tent, and not meant to be a room or like an RV.

 

[CapeCod]

Fellow truck camper; … lots of awesome replies. I use a 0° sleeping bag (w/built’in hoodie) a wool’hat, a 12 V heating blanket (w/timer). I take initial chill out using a propane heater. Foam board carpeting and reflectics as my insulator. And there is the topic of how much $$ are you willing to spend (??)… I have 400w of solar on my roof rack (over my truck bed’cap) with 400ah’s (two 200 amp hour lithium batteries). I use that power source to run an electric heater
( @640/650w on med. (aprox.)which kicks off/on automatically -nice thing about an electric heater.. with no sunshine I can squeeze three evenings out of the 400ah).. And I have a Jackery 1000 for my electric blanket, refrigerator and charging my items etc…. I live in Massachusetts and here in the Northeast it is cold… good luck….

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

My truck bed aluminum cap has a bed rug liner inside. My bed is a -20F sleeping bag on plywood platform which I can add an extra wool blanket. I pull out a 12V electric blanket on cold nights powered from 2 100W solar panels with 2 LIFPO4 batteries which also powers my fridge. I have Dupont SuperTuff 1in insulation boards cut around the truck bed walls. The metal floor of the truck bed is not insulated because most heat rises. I have thermal roll up curtains on the cap windows. I notice some condensation frost forms mostly on the metal parts of the truck cap.
I am working on installing same 1in insulation boards inside the cap roof and walls.

Thank you so much for your advice. Merry Christmas & happy new year to you

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

Lots of people use Little Buddy easy to get online and althought it is rated safe for indoor you need to have a 1 inch window roll down for air. It will shut off for low oxygen or if it tips over. It runs on the little 1 LB propane bottles. I have one and I think it will heat up a truck camper shell in 5 mins easily. BUT insulate well to keep the heat in !!!

My truck bed aluminum cap has a bed rug liner inside. My bed is a -20F sleeping bag on plywood platform which I can add an extra wool blanket. I pull out a 12V electric blanket on cold nights powered from 2 100W solar panels with 2 LIFPO4 batteries which also powers my fridge. I have Dupont SuperTuff 1in insulation boards cut around the truck bed walls. The metal floor of the truck bed is not insulated because most heat rises. I have thermal roll up curtains on the cap windows. I notice some condensation frost forms mostly on the metal parts of the truck cap.
I am working on installing same 1in insulation boards inside the cap roof and walls.

Lots of people use Little Buddy easy to get online and althought it is rated safe for indoor you need to have a 1 inch window roll down for air. It will shut off for low oxygen or if it tips over. It runs on the little 1 LB propane bottles. I have one and I think it will heat up a truck camper shell in 5 mins easily. BUT insulate well to keep the heat in !!!

I have already screenshot all your advice. Thank you. I am gonna buy a better sleeping bag. My camper shell is only about 8” x 5”, I heard it is dangerous to use buddy heater inside a small space like this

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL_BZpt0J9Kqwy6YPWr30ow is Mav a youtuber in a F-150 with a camper shell. Almost all his videos are in the snow and you might get some ideas about staying warm.

Thanks for the link, I will watch it when I got home. Thank you, merry Christmas to you

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

You're going to have to insulate or install a liner of some kind, inside the metal bed surfaces. All the unlined and uninsulated metal around you will always conduct any residual warmth away from the interior, and if the metal surface is cold enough it will condense moisture too.

Got it, thanks for the information. Merry Christmas to you

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

I used to live in a pickup camper shell like that. Even in Norcal summers it was cold as heck at night.
The metal pickup bed just wicks away all your body heat like a great big heat sink, brrr!
My best advice would be to go to Lowes, OSH or Home Depot and get some 2" foam board insulation.
(or 1" if you are desperate for every last inch of vertical space)
a 4x8 is roughly $20-30 varying with region. It will probably work best to get 2 or 3 sheets and insulate not just the floor but the sides as well.
I tried using the polyiso foam board because it has impressive R numbers for it's thickness. But it does not like to be cut up. I like the magenta "Foamular" foam board. It has pretty good R numbers and is easy to work with.
A trick I picked up on Youtube is to get a roll of the brown construction paper painters use to mask large areas with.
Use that to rough out a template that fits your area perfectly.
Then lay it on the foam board and trace that with a sharpie.
As far as Reflectix. It does help somewhat. I have that laid in every single area of my van.
In most places it's covered over with foam board.
But in a few areas there isn't the space to fit foam board so it's just the reflectix.
For instance on the sill over the rear doors I just have reflectix covered with automotive felt. Is it as insulated as my floor or walls? Not by a long shot.
But I am happier having that than the cold bare metal!
As far as condensation. You can cover your windows with something and that will prevent some condensation from forming as well as take care of some large heat loss vectors. However a human body expels warm moisture with every breath. It goes someplace.
For this reason pro van conversion guys and RV builders put a vapor barrier between the inside of the van and the insulation. To prevent moisture build up inside the walls and mold. You can buy plastic sheeting in the paint aisle of hardware stores. They sell it as a disposable drop cloth.

Wow, thank you so much for all these advice. I will try everything you suggested. Merry Christmas!

 

[gizmotron]

Here's an old mountaineer's trick. You can go without any heat and deal with the built up condensation in the morning. We would just let it get as cold as it wants. It will condensate and freeze to the inside of the tent. So you just cover up inside your well performing sleeping bag and whack the side of the tent. All the condensation formed on the inside will fall to the floor where you sweep it all up, make a snowball out of it, and throw it out the door each morning. It's your own breathing that does it. If you wait for it to melt it's a horrible mess to deal with. Next you open up to do your cooking and ignore the cold outside. You have mountaineering equipment and clothing that will take you down to 40 below zero. That's the cheapest solution too, proper layering kind of stuff.

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

Here's an old mountaineer's trick. You can go without any heat and deal with the built up condensation in the morning. We would just let it get as cold as it wants. It will condensate and freeze to the inside of the tent. So you just cover up inside your well performing sleeping bag and whack the side of the tent. All the condensation formed on the inside will fall to the floor where you sweep it all up, make a snowball out of it, and throw it out the door each morning. It's your own breathing that does it. If you wait for it to melt it's a horrible mess to deal with. Next you open up to do your cooking and ignore the cold outside. You have mountaineering equipment and clothing that will take you down to 40 below zero. That's the cheapest solution too, proper layering kind of stuff.

. I am CA, no snow here, but it is still cold here. Thanks for your advice. Merry Christmas to you

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Wow, thank you so much for all these advice. I will try everything you suggested. Merry Christmas!

forgot to mention. The easiest way I found to secure the foam board to the sides of the vehicle is aluminum tape.
I tried using liquid nails etc, but it doesn't work so great. Aluminum tape costs more than liquid nails, but you can be sure that foam board isn't going anywhere. As far as the floor. I just laid my plywood on top of the foam board and secured it to the sides. So it 'floats' on the foam board.
Works great so far.

 

[hugemoth]

One thing that really helped the condensation situation in my metal pop top camper is insulation on the outside. A wool blanket or an old sleeping bag thrown over the top and held in place with those big paper clips made a huge difference. Much more so than insulation on the inside.

 

[doublegregg]

forgot to mention. The easiest way I found to secure the foam board to the sides of the vehicle is aluminum tape.
I tried using liquid nails etc, but it doesn't work so great. Aluminum tape costs more than liquid nails, but you can be sure that foam board isn't going anywhere. As far as the floor. I just laid my plywood on top of the foam board and secured it to the sides. So it 'floats' on the foam board.
Works great so far.

i'm in this same boat (looking into insulation). one guy on a post just jammed his polyiso in between ribs, members, etc - and i guess it stays put. but it squeaks... i'll have to try the aluminum tape, among other options (like the squeaky one).
in terms of heat and condensation, no one has mentioned the catalytic heaters. do they produce less water vapor than the mr buddy type? also, i've heard the mr buddy's (even the tiny ones) are like blow torches.... tons of heat, you're sizzling. you turn it off. then you're freezing. you turn it back on. repeat endlessly? and this guy is in a tiny space.
i've got a camco, and it's quite nice. i *think* they are more efficient than mr buddy's? the camco has hi and low settings... it's pretty comfortable heat , especially for a smaller space. i have a wave3.
then there's --- not electric blankets --- but mattress warmers. they're TERRIFIC. i had one (at home) and i left it on low. it keeps the bed --- not cold. that means a lot, actually, for (i assume) minimal energy use. one can always turn them up. i never bothered. i was fine with the bed just being not cold, meaning i could move around in bed and it was never cold. it was comfortable.

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

forgot to mention. The easiest way I found to secure the foam board to the sides of the vehicle is aluminum tape.
I tried using liquid nails etc, but it doesn't work so great. Aluminum tape costs more than liquid nails, but you can be sure that foam board isn't going anywhere. As far as the floor. I just laid my plywood on top of the foam board and secured it to the sides. So it 'floats' on the foam board.
Works great so far.

yes, i will do just that. thank you, merry Christmas to you.

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

One thing that really helped the condensation situation in my metal pop top camper is insulation on the outside. A wool blanket or an old sleeping bag thrown over the top and held in place with those big paper clips made a huge difference. Much more so than insulation on the inside.

wow, great advice, but i really don't want to draw attention to myself if i am in a public place. If i am at a national state park, i can do that. thank you, merry Christmas to you.

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

i'm in this same boat (looking into insulation). one guy on a post just jammed his polyiso in between ribs, members, etc - and i guess it stays put. but it squeaks... i'll have to try the aluminum tape, among other options (like the squeaky one).
in terms of heat and condensation, no one has mentioned the catalytic heaters. do they produce less water vapor than the mr buddy type? also, i've heard the mr buddy's (even the tiny ones) are like blow torches.... tons of heat, you're sizzling. you turn it off. then you're freezing. you turn it back on. repeat endlessly? and this guy is in a tiny space.
i've got a camco, and it's quite nice. i *think* they are more efficient than mr buddy's? the camco has hi and low settings... it's pretty comfortable heat , especially for a smaller space. i have a wave3.
then there's --- not electric blankets --- but mattress warmers. they're TERRIFIC. i had one (at home) and i left it on low. it keeps the bed --- not cold. that means a lot, actually, for (i assume) minimal energy use. one can always turn them up. i never bothered. i was fine with the bed just being not cold, meaning i could move around in bed and it was never cold. it was comfortable.

thank you, i will look up catalytic heater. Merry Christmas to you.

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

Everybody seems to want to make the back of their vehicle into a mini room like in a house, but I've gone the other way with my Honda Odyssey minivan and made mine into a sleeping pod area, tent-like, especially for the winter. Think "covered wagon" with 3 ten foot 1/2 inch pvc pipes bent on the inside and held in place mostly by the sides and roof. The first one is behind the front seats, the second in the middle, and the 3rd in front of where the rear back seat had been.
This provides a frame for an 8'x10' emergency blanket tarp to be pulled over the top to reflect any heat back towards me. Since the length of my space is 6', I use the 8' length from back to front so there's a foot of tarp that hangs over the front and back while the 12' length completely covers the side windows for privacy. I can also use black-out curtains threaded through the front and back pvc hoops to provide privacy where no light can be seen escaping the back of the van.

I am in Wisconsin and for moderate cold near freezing it is just fine and comfortable with a good winter sleeping bag. I also have a solar battery that will run a heating pad all night and when placed over my chest section keeps me nice and warm. But I also have a Buddy Portable that I have used--running for under an hour at a time until it gets warm, then in the night when I wake up and it's too cold I'll turn it back on for awhile again.
The back of my van is in no way air tight and I can feel cool air moving enough that I'm not worried about carbon monoxide when the heater is running. There is condensation on the front window and the side with the heater, but I just wipe it down in the morning.
The beauty is that other than the pvc hoops, which are not a big deal, can be taken down and put away after the night. In fact, in a half hour I can have the entire back of my van emptied out with nothing in it. But it's a sleeping pod, like a winter tent, and not meant to be a room or like an RV.

thanks for the advice, Merry Christmas to you.

 

[iluvyouthisbig]

Fellow truck camper; … lots of awesome replies. I use a 0° sleeping bag (w/built’in hoodie) a wool’hat, a 12 V heating blanket (w/timer). I take initial chill out using a propane heater. Foam board carpeting and reflectics as my insulator. And there is the topic of how much $$ are you willing to spend (??)… I have 400w of solar on my roof rack (over my truck bed’cap) with 400ah’s (two 200 amp hour lithium batteries). I use that power source to run an electric heater
( @640/650w on med. (aprox.)which kicks off/on automatically -nice thing about an electric heater.. with no sunshine I can squeeze three evenings out of the 400ah).. And I have a Jackery 1000 for my electric blanket, refrigerator and charging my items etc…. I live in Massachusetts and here in the Northeast it is cold… good luck….

i bought a battery station Bluetti EP70s, and i have one solar panel 100w only, but it is the foldable one. if i use electric heater, that would use up my battery fast, and then i have to recharge my battery probably the next day. Thank you for your iput though. You have a merry Christmas.