I know I am spoiled a bit

[vanbrat]

So just to be clear hubby and I do not live in our van, just road trip and camping.... He still has a REALLY hard time staying or getting warm. So I was worried that he would be cold on our first planned outing this spring. I have a Jackery and use it mostly on fridge and microwave, but this trip it was mostly used to keep him warm it would work for our little space heater but not for long. Neither of us want more then 2-3 good heavy blankets so I had along a couple of electric blankets. Those were the best thing we could have done he stayed warm and it did drain the Jackery a bit so we stayed mostly in KOA's for power and heated bathrooms. Now I will not go out any more without them. We went to Lake Tahoe and there was still snow on the ground and into some of the mountains just east of there. We did plug in the little space heater at night for a few minutes. but we had one night with no power and the Jackery did just fine with both the fridge and the 1 blanket plugged in. Now we can plan a bit more while I know I can keep him warm.

 

[tx2sturgis]

As you found out, a portable power unit wont run an electric space heater for very long.

There are several good options including very safe propane and diesel fired heaters.

Camping where there is snow on the ground also means you should consider the premium sleeping bag options on the market. 'Heavy blankets' aren't always warmer..what you want is 'loft' or 'fill'...in other words thickness, but without weight.

A good double sleeping bag for 2 people, or 2 separate solo bags, rated to minus 20 or minus 40, plus a thick, quilted comforter or two, should provide more than adequate comfort down below 32f inside your van.

I own and have used Big Agnes brand of sleeping bag 'systems' and I can attest they make good products. Most of the Big Agnes bags use an inflatable pad that is inserted in the 'bottom' of the bag, so you lay directly on the pad, and you can specify whether the zipper will be on the right or the left side. They are NOT the cheap sleeping bags you see at big box stores.

But they WILL keep you warm.

https://www.bigagnes.com/collections/below-zero

 

[Gr8ful]

Look at heated pants & a coat or other heated clothes sold my Makita & several others.

 

[NomadLife.wiki]

Here are a bunch of options for keeping warm in your vehicle.

 

[maki2]

Through experience I learned that a heated mattress pad underneath and blankets over me kept me a lot warmer than an electric blanket on top. You will also use less electricity as the heat does not escape from the bed nearly as quickly. Also if your partner gets restless in the night the heated mattress pad cannot be grabbed or dislodged the way a blanket can. Safety wise do not sleep on top of an electric blanket. You do need to be sure you have a real heated mattress pad so that the heavier gauge wiring and connections can withstand being underneath the weight of a person.

 

[jonyjoe303]

For cold weather lot of foam insulation will keep you warm. Also make sure no cold air can enter the van. In the back of my van I have foam everywhere, especially over all the windows. On the outside of my van I put duct tape on all the areas where air can enter the van. This keeps the inside of the van at least 20 degrees warmer than the outside. If the inside of your van is over 50F you don't need to sleep inside a sleeping bag, also you dont need a heater. I haven't used a heater in over 4 years. Without the foam insulation, inside and outside temps were the same and I had to sleep inside 2 sleeping bags.
This past winter was uneventful, didnt sleep inside my sleeping bag even once.

These pictures show the inside outside temps in the morning where its the coldest.

 

[vanbrat]

The electric blanket goes under 2 big fluffy quilts and over one heavyish flannel sheet. Very warm!! I am to old to sleep on the ground. So we have a good bed inside the van. We have some insulated window covers and we carry extra covers but this time because of the electric blankets we did not need them. We spent more time inside the van reading and listening to audio books then we have before. While parked with power we kept the van toasty and warm. I turned the heater off when we slept because I am paranoid about all the blankets to close to the heater. I would do more for a heater if we planned to live in it or do more time at a time in it but for now ......
I also made some pillow covers with fleece for covering our heads that someone on this forum suggested awhile back they helped too... Hubby is getting his hair back but slloooowwlllly.

 

[afblangley]

Unless you spend a lot of money on a sophisticated heating system (eg. Rixen, Timberline, Aquahot), the best (effective, efficient, safe) is a diesel (or petrol) air heater. They can produce enough heat to keep a vehicle comfortable regardless of the outside temperature, using minimal power and fuel. Chinese diesel heaters are available on Amazon for less than $100.

I was intimidated by the installation process and suffered through an entire winter trying other solutions (space heater, Mr Buddy, electric blanket) in a futile attempt to avoid it. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Temporary installation: get an all in one diesel heater, decide where it will sit while in use and drill a 1" hole in the floor of the vehicle to route the exhaust pipe. Plug the heater into your power station and you're done. When the heater is not needed, yank it out and put a cork in the hole.

Permanent installation: this requires some mechanical ability, especially if it's connected to a remote fuel tank. This is how mine is set up, plumbed to my vehicle's tank. I've just completed my second winter with it. I've gone through 2 heaters, probably the result of user error and hard use. Although I don't live in the van full time, there are electronics that do, requiring climate control. I keep the heater running 24/7 for months at a time when I'm in a cold climate. Except for the aforementioned hydronic heating systems, these are the only type of heaters where this is feasible.

 

[maki2]

The electric blanket goes under 2 big fluffy quilts and over one heavyish flannel sheet. Very warm!! I am too old to sleep on the ground. So we have a good bed inside the van. We have some insulated window covers and we carry extra covers but this time because of the electric blankets we did not need them. We spent more time inside the van reading and listening to audio books then we have before. While parked with power we kept the van toasty and warm. I turned the heater off when we slept because I am paranoid about all the blankets to close to the heater.

.Putting layers of other blankets on top of electric blankets creates a fire hazard. So while worrying about one fire hazard you may have unintentionally created a different one.

Electric mattress pads, the kind that cover the whole area, are made with heavier gauge wiring and connectors and temp sensors are designed for safe use under blankets as well as under people.

But maybe the electric blanket industry has now upgraded that industry and created some new versions that are safe to use underneath other blankets. It has been 5 winters since I went shopping for one and at that time I found all the different makes had that fire hazard warning not to put blankets on top of them. Be a label reader, watch for those safety warnings on products.

 

[jacqueg]

I own and have used Big Agnes brand of sleeping bag 'systems' and I can attest they make good products. Most of the Big Agnes bags use an inflatable pad that is inserted in the 'bottom' of the bag, so you lay directly on the pad, and you can specify whether the zipper will be on the right or the left side. They are NOT the cheap sleeping bags you see at big box stores.

But they WILL keep you warm.

https://www.bigagnes.com/collections/below-zero

Here's a second on Big Agnes bags. I have one where the zipper runs down the middle of the bag. This is VERY handy when you are sleeping on a bed that is against the wall - it doesn't matter if my van is on a slant, I can sleep with my head at whichever end is higher and still easily get out of bed in the middle of the night.