One through four are
all important things to do. You remind me of when I was three years old and threw the back door of the house wide open and waited. My mother came to see why the furnace kept running and running, discovered the door open, and asking me "Why????" I explained that I was warming up the backyard so I could go out and play. Well, that didn't work out so well. (But she did go around for years, telling everyone how cute I was, trying to warm up the great out-of-doors. I really had thought I could do it!)
So, one through four:
1)
I made window coverings by cutting firm half-inch foam wall insulation into sections to perfectly fit each window. I put a screw above and below the center of each window, and stretched a bungee chord across each pair of screws to hold the insulation boards on the glass. But that wasn't tight enough, as it was letting air run down over the glass behind the foam on each window; so I cut 2-inch squares of wood, and put one wood block under the center of each bungee cord to hold the insulation firmly against the glass. That works great!
2) I
covered the metal floor with that same firm 1-inch thick foam insulation board. Then I covered the foam board with a sheet of white linoleum. That not only prevents a freezing floor that is easy to clean, it also makes crawling around very soft on my knees. It actually feels good on my knees!
3) I
made a divider wall behind the front seats too. My reason was that it seemed impossible to insulate the front, there being the dashboard, under the dashboard, curved windshield, floor under the seats, etc. I quickly gave up the idea of insulating the front of my van, and just made a wall with a door in the center (for a quick escape if problems develop outside). The wall and door are covered with that same kind of insulation board used on my floor and window covers.
4) And yes, I did
Insulate more, using two packages of
Havelock wool, stuffing it everywhere I could, and had very little leftover at the end. (It's amazingly good soundproofing too, and sleeping surrounded with real wool makes me feel like I'm outside in nature, not in a tin can. "Baaaa!")
This past weekend, it was 19F degrees outside, yet I was toasty warm through the night in my van. But my furnace was only part of the reason. I had it set to 41 degrees, not lower to prevent my water from freezing. With all the insulation and set so low, the furnace hardly came on at all, even though 19F degrees outside!
But the main reason I stayed toasty warm all night was because I connected
this 12-volt mini electric blanket to my house battery (not the battery that starts the engine). I wrapped that little electric blanket around my chest, and put on a soft but warm jacket over it to hold its heat in. Set to only medium for the night, this blanket really did keep me toasty warm. But I also had warm socks on my feet, and fur-lined gloves over my fingers, and two regular blankets over me. Then, I slept like a baby, totally contented, all night long!
