New VanDweller

[KarenTaos]

Hello! I bought a 1986 Ford Econoline about a month ago. It's great. It has two solar panels with an inverter. One thing I'm worried about is travelling in the winter and keeping warm at night as the solar does not support a small heater along with the fridge, etc. I had bought the 2000 watt Honda generator, but I'm sending it back as it's too big. Does anyone have any suggestions on smaller but still quiet generators or any other way to have a heat source in the van? I plan on heading to Texas from New Mexico and through to North Carolina for my first trip in about 2 weeks. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated as I don't know what I'm doing, Ha! Thank you so much!

 

[Garrettwolf]

2 words,. Little buddy heater, ok 3 words lol .

Propane tank, great little heaters, the smaller one is the one I have personally.

Wolf

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard Karen !
Generator smaller than a Honda EU2000i?..........Honda EU1000i
Portable heater?...........Mr Heater Buddy

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Karen to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

the trick to the heater is to stay out of the cold weather. most here use a propane heater. heating with electricity is very inefficient. highdesertranger

 

[KarenTaos]

Thank you all so much! As far as the little buddy: you have no issues having it close to your bed at night?

 

[Almost There]

Thank you all so much! As far as the little buddy: you have no issues having it close to your bed at night?

Welcome to the forum Karen!

Most everybody don't run the propane heaters while they're sleeping. You use it to warm the van in the evening, turn it off when you go to bed and fire it up again when you awake. There's too much chance of carbon dioxide build up which is odorless and a killer.

We've learned that fleece thermals, an extra heavy blanket or a down comforter, maybe a hat will keep one warm in bed at night to the point where there is no point in taking a chance on the heater.

Some have it set up so that they can reach the Mr. Buddy heater to turn it on without having to get their whole body out of bed..so they fire it up, cover up and wait 10 minutes until the van is warmed up before getting their 'lazy butts' out of bed....

 

[rvpopeye]

I'm also in the group that doesn't leave the heater on while I sleep. But I do layer up with fleece and poly pro undies when it gets down to the zero +/- 20* range !

I'm not saying this is the rule but using my Buddy has never changed the display on my CO detector from zero. (I used over 80 gallons last winter.= 20 , 20# tanks )

Maybe I just have too many air leaks ,,,errr I mean adequate ventilation !

Sometimes just for peace of mind I will open my door for a minute after the rig has been heated up for a while just to make sure I have extra oxygen......I do believe the Buddy htrs have a low oxygen shut off feature though..........

 

[eDJ_]

I have a smaller Mr Buddy and agree that it can heat the inside of a Van.  The newer ones have an auto air sensor shut off.  Model  MH9BX 

These run at 4000 & 9000 BTU output.  It can run on cylinders of Propane or you can get a hose to run it to a BBQ Grill Tank for bulk gas.   When you do this there is a filter you should use (I've even seen these at Lowe's)  for less than $15 dollars.

The newer Mr Buddy heaters have low oxygen shout off as well as tip over shut off switches.

If you sleep with it heating,  you should keep a window or two rolled down a little.  If you choose not to heat while sleeping,  you may want to invest in something that will keep you warm in your sleep.

Dacron 88 hollow fill bed comforters are nice to have for this purpose. 

It is quite worthwhile to have 3" or more of foam rubber under you for cushion and
a barrier from the cold.  Foam comes in different densities and you'll want something
firm enough to support your weight without "bottoming out".  Where part of you is
resting on the ply wood base your bed is set up on.  That can be painful when you wake
up in the night. 

As for the Honda generator,   Harbor Freight sells a clone of those for about $500 or so dollars.
(basically the same thing)

 

[WriterMs]

Welcome Karen!

I used to live in the East Mtns of ABQ... and so miss drives up into the Taos area. The whole enchanted cirlce.

Looks like everyone has supplied the best info already. I use the Mr. Heater shown in the pic myself.

 

[#1BonBonQueen]

Welcome Karen, from one newbie to another.
We have camper for over 40 yrs, and the Little Buddy heater is the best answer to your question. We have a hunting camp and it is a great addition to our furnace. We use it when we don't want our furnace to drain our battery.
We have used it all night, but it does get too hot for us anyway. So we use it like it was described in other posts. We do like to leave a vent or window for our thoughts of being scared of loss of oxygen.
That Little Buddy will be your very best friend when you are cold and just want to warm up. They don't seem to be bad on the LP either. We have used one, 1lb tank for all night, and still had enough for the next morning, to start the day.
Good Luck and God Bless you on your travels.

 

[KarenTaos]

Say! Thanks! That's exactly what I was worried about. I appreciate your time!

 

[KarenTaos]

Than you all so much! What a lovely and helpful bunch of people. Little Buddy it is! I appreciate your advice so very much!

 

[rvpopeye]

FWIW
I just got a sale flyer from Tractor Supply and the Buddy is $70 , the Big Buddy is $90 11-16 to 11-20.
You can also check Bob's Amazon link.....Lowes and Wally World and probably Home Depot ,,,,look for sales !!!

 

[Solitary Spell]

Hello! I bought a 1986 Ford Econoline about a month ago. It's great. It has two solar panels with an inverter. 

Welcome, Karen! I am very curious about your 1986 Econoline! I've been pondering whether or not to buy a 1991 same van with a hi-top already on her, the van has 50,000 miles and supposedly was owned by a mobile dog groomer who didn't drive long distances. But I was worried it's too old and the owner wanted $5000 for a 1991, I wasn't so sure. So did you get yours checked by a mechanic? And if you don't mind my asking, what city/state did you buy it in, and how much? Oh, and Mr. Heater Portable Buddy is definitely the way to go for van, RV and even tents! Thanks!

P.S. as long as you have adequate clearance around the heater (I think it's 6-8" front, back and sides?) there is low risk of fire. It has a fall-over shut off and a low oxygen shut off. Many campers and van dwellers swear by them. 

 

[TooManyDogs]

Welcome Karen. Thanks for asking the question, as I was wondering the same thing.

Welcome, Karen! I am very curious about your 1986 Econoline! I've been pondering whether or not to buy a 1991 same van with a hi-top already on her, the van has 50,000 miles and supposedly was owned by a mobile dog groomer who didn't drive long distances. But I was worried it's too old and the owner wanted $5000 for a 1991, I wasn't so sure. So did you get yours checked by a mechanic? And if you don't mind my asking, what city/state did you buy it in, and how much?

SS-
I just bought a 2004 Econoline with a high top that has 117,000 miles for $3100. I think the 1991 is overpriced.


Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[KarenTaos]

Welcome, Karen! I am very curious about your 1986 Econoline! I've been pondering whether or not to buy a 1991 same van with a hi-top already on her, the van has 50,000 miles and supposedly was owned by a mobile dog groomer who didn't drive long distances. But I was worried it's too old and the owner wanted $5000 for a 1991, I wasn't so sure. So did you get yours checked by a mechanic? And if you don't mind my asking, what city/state did you buy it in, and how much? Oh, and Mr. Heater Portable Buddy is definitely the way to go for van, RV and even tents! Thanks!

P.S. as long as you have adequate clearance around the heater (I think it's 6-8" front, back and sides?) there is low risk of fire. It has a fall-over shut off and a low oxygen shut off. Many campers and van dwellers swear by them. 

Hello! Thank you! So, mine is a 1986 with 75,000. I paid A LOT for it and it hurt, but, it came ready to go. Already converted, had solar, extra cargo, top of the line pull out awning, new tires, battery, bike rack, etc. Mine is not a high top and I wish it were. I would say that that is a great deal. The Ford Econoline's have great engines and can run for a long time. I am worried about the age of mine, but if I had a 1991 with only 50k on it, I would be much more assured. I'd say go for it! I did not have mine checked by a mechanic as the man I bought it from worked at a dealership and had all of the recent paperwork from a check over. I bought it in Flagstaff, AZ. I hope that helps, let me know if you need anything else!

 

[Solitary Spell]

SS-
I just bought a 2004 Econoline with a high top that has 117,000 miles for $3100. I think the 1991 is overpriced.


Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Thanks TMD and Karen! I emailed the guy with the 1991 and he just sold it so that takes care of that. Both of yours sound great, I will keep looking.....who knew a reasonable van would be so hard to find??

 

[95Astro]

Hi Karen, i'm not out there on the road YET but someday soon. in preparation, i've been doing a lot of reading and i keep seeing the mister heater buddy being mentioned. However, what i really wanted to stress was the suggestion to keep a window cracked when heating with any propane heater, not only for oxygen depletion but also, apparently, heating with propane results in condensation build up to the point where even your bedding can become soaked. That sure would be unpleasant to wake up to. Have a great time.

 

[nadine]

Hello! I bought a 1986 Ford Econoline about a month ago. It's great. It has two solar panels with an inverter. One thing I'm worried about is travelling in the winter and keeping warm at night as the solar does not support a small heater along with the fridge, etc. I had bought the 2000 watt Honda generator, but I'm sending it back as it's too big. Does anyone have any suggestions on smaller but still quiet generators or any other way to have a heat source in the van? I plan on heading to Texas from New Mexico and through to North Carolina for my first trip in about 2 weeks. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated as I don't know what I'm doing, Ha! Thank you so much!

hi Karen, just curious I see how you will deal with keeping warm, what about food, and the bathroom.  I want to go to AZ and rent a van, I would have to make do- as whatever I would end of buying either when the trip was over I would have to sell it, ship it back to me because I would be flying to AZ.  Not ready to make a driving trip from NYC to AZ.

 

[Almost There]

Nadine, when I flew to Vancouver from Toronto it was for a camping trip for 3 weeks.

I bought the largest suitcase I could buy. It had the zipper to allow for a couple of inches of expansion and of course was on wheels with a pull out handle.

I hammock camp so I packed my hammock, my tarp, my underquilt and protector, my top quilt and my fleece liner as well as all my clothes for two weeks. Also in the suitcase were my hiking sticks and all the stuff I figured I'd need for camping.

I packed my electronics (camera/laptop etc) in a day pack that I used as carry one luggage.

What I'm saying is that if you're flying out to AZ to rent a van about the only things you won't be able to put in your luggage are the stove, pots/pans and a cot if you're using one.

If there's some stuff you end up buying in AZ that you can't take back on the plane, you can always ship it home to yourself if you really want to keep it. The other choice of course is to donate it at the end of your stay.