Readying for the Cold

[islanderxx]

Hey.....

Looking for answers and ideas on surviving 5F (not counting the wind) Temps that are set to arrive December and January.

I am in a Grand Caravan.... We kept pretty toasty with zero insulation in Last winters Seattle snowmageddon down to about 20f without issue.
I know the general belief is that you should not run your Big Buddy heater while you are sleeping. Well, I have done that exact thing for the past 13 winters in RV and past one in this van, not an issue. Yes it adds moisture and I am dealing with the places that last winter leaked air, like a few tears in door seals, one which would freeze rear lift door frozen shut. The rear wing windows work well for controlling fresh air
The metal bars where the seats connected have little metal wells I found filled with moisture, as well the passenger seat base, metal dripped moisture, clueless about how I stop that .. The seat connector wells are soon to be filled with spray foam.
48" x50 feet of Double Reflectix sitting at the Post office awaiting pick up. That will do the windows(maybe double layers) and a layer the length of the interior roof. Moisture from the stupid roof console poured out if I drove off in the morning, blew out interior lights.... Not great insulation for R value but it rolls up and I can buy a ceiling pocket for storage.... I have a small 12v fan and a motor controller coming so I can slow it down to circulate warm air in van.... I tried it one night it moved warm air off the ceiling... And the Dog lol

I am 30 years off grid and in snowy places. The Van has 4x4 tires that did well in Washington slush.. NM powder snow unless deep is not an issue. I have a $500 Canadian Down super jacket and new Sorels on the way.... And 2 new 20lb tanks, give me 4 and 2 weeks of heat... 370 watts of solar and NM Sun, should be fine there.

I am not interested in taking walls apart but I will insulate inside where the tire jack is stored

Am curious.... I can take everything out of the van and put underlayment between the original carpet and the area rug I cut to fit, and I might buy new area rug.
My question is will that cause the original carpet below the vapor barrier to get soaking wet? I realize that the vapor barriers should be below all of it.

Have I missed anything except for the fact that this is a crazy plan at best

I grew up on Race Horse Farm and am deathly allergic to hay and straw, so that is out around the van. I could see if it was stationary putting on skirting or something but....

So... Am I going to freeze to death

By not having insulation, you can keep yourself toasty, but the other issue is the moisture. Without insulating, you may be using 5 times the amount of propane to maintain a toasty interior. I believe the reason why your van interior has so much moisture it's because you are using too much fu

 

[islanderxx]

Oops, it was not ready to send yet. I believe the reason why your van interior has so much moisture is that you are using a lot of fuel, whereas, with insulating, you will only need to burn 1/5 of the fuel, hence the excess moisture.

 

[Happy Camper]

 

[maki2]

Oops, it was not ready to send yet. I believe the reason why your van interior has so much moisture is that you are using a lot of fuel, whereas, with insulating, you will only need to burn 1/5 of the fuel, hence the excess moisture.

They person stated they found a solution. So no need to respond further to them. But if you want to catch up on what that member has been posting this last fall just click on their name and look at their recent activity.

 

[Gr8ful]

Monday will be in the mid 50s & no snow. Last year we only plowed once or twice. Way better than when I was younger. The lake effect snow hits Grand Rapids north of us & South Bend south of us. No soup for us anymore

 

[bebewanna]

Well....

I am on Winter #2 in the van here in NM. So far other than shoveling snow. It is OK.
I have 6 20lb propane tanks and I can last out here after a stock up run for well over 2 weeks, almost 3.
Now have 5-100 watt solar panels.

Yes it is cold lol... Minus 12 this last week. But in NM sunshine I can almost turn off the heat during the day and let the sun warm the minivan.

I think in a big blizzard I would have a problem but, so far so good. 12"of snow is max so far.

Neighbors/friends who are better set up than I am paid tens of thousands of dollars this past summer and had the horrible road from US HWY 64 totally redone.
I do need chains to get to the highway safely and back up the hill but that's not an issue.

Still alive and well

 

[WanderingRose]

You are braver than me, bebewanna, and I admire your choice to deal with those temperature extremes.

Stay warm.

 

[mpruet]

It snowed in Dallas.

 

[Gr8ful]

-7 at 8AM 6" of snow on the ground but this is about done. Blue sky & sunshine again today. 40 degrees next week!

 

[bebewanna]

You are braver than me, bebewanna, and I admire your choice to deal with those temperature extremes.

Stay warm.

Thanks.... Sometimes, usually when I am gasping for air shoveling snow at high altitude with severe respiratory disease lol, or when last summer the no see um ate me alive for 2 weeks, I ask myself WTF are you doing dude .

But I found in the short time the Forest State Govt was hip to my quietly hiding camping (I successfully stayed off the radar camping in the same Olympic National Forest spot 11 months, the snow forced me down to sea level) .

That I don't have what it takes to wonder where I am spending the night next, and I am not a campground guy... awaiting the DNR officer to find me again. He was totally cool with me but once exposed it was over.

The killer here is the wind... Yesterday I was out in 50mph wind putting chains on the van...

But... It is far easier to stay warm in the winter than cool in the summer. So it's a trade off.
I have 3 more payments and this property is paid for and $5.70 year taxes and I have a great view.
It was never going to be easy lol.... But I like knowing where home is.

 

[bebewanna]

I did luck out with the location of this property... I can see 60 miles south along the mountains

 

[Carla618]

I did luck out with the location of this property... I can see 60 miles south along the mountains

Gorgeous location. I would love it there, but I know I would get lonely. Have you heard of any contract for deed parcels out your way?

 

[WanderingRose]

What a beautiful spot, bebewanna.

 

[Gr8ful]

1 degree now @ 6am est, 18 later today, going to be 40 next week, it's all over!

 

[maki2]

I would be putting up a shed building, well insulated with a wood stove or diesel fueled cook/heaing stove in it. Cooking plus heating functions combined makes good economical sense! Plus a wind resistant shade structure next to it. Of course it takes time to accumulate the funds for purchasing those items. But with the extra space you could start a small craft business of some type to work on while keeping warm or shaded versus just filling it up “stuff”. But it is one of those chicken or the egg situations. What comes first?

 

[Gr8ful]

19 deg, blue sky & full sun

 

[bebewanna]

Gorgeous location. I would love it there, but I know I would get lonely. Have you heard of any contract for deed parcels out your way?

Gorgeous location. I would love it there, but I know I would get lonely. Have you heard of any contract for deed parcels out your w

That's how I got mine and likely so did everyone out here.... 3,000 1/2 acre, $600 down $130 month for 24 months. From governmentlandsales.us is where I got mine. There is another guy at Hemingway company sells lots of them too. Or land.com.
There are always lots here online for sale. I got a corner lot 1 street from main road with trees...

It's Tres Piedras Estates.... Tres Piedras NM.... There are thousands of empty properties here. But you need to speak to someone here first because some places the Adobe roads are horrid.

The main positives are the county pretty much is not interested in this crazy place and no harassment from them. And the very cool town of Taos is 30 minutes away. I used to work here in the summer so I pretty much knew what was happening here.

It's actually not a bad small community out here, everyone is watching out and we have great communication for folks that are our here to be left alone....

 

[Carla618]

Mind if I send you a PM about it?

 

[maki2]

Maybe this year or next I will make it up that way to explore and visit Taos and the areas on the way there. That exploration has been on my to do list for several years.

 

[bebewanna]

Mind if I send you a PM about it?

Of course go ahead.. I am happy to help.