First time popup in cold weather!

[jakelaw]

I originally posted this a couple of days ago on another PU board, thought you guys might be interested.

OK, PUed in camp driveway today for preparations for our trip the first week of January. We have decided it is to far to go to the Grand Canyon so we will just head to Zion NP. A couple of observations for those curious, and if you are not, sorry to waste your time.

1. In cold weather, lubing your sliders both on the bunk ends and on the lifters is a really good idea as I had not, and broke a cable lifting the top.

2. The 30+ year old plastic window which has been in the same position for two months, and in sub freezing temps for two weeks does not crack when lifted in 23 degree weather.

3. After three hours up, whout my bunk end covers on yet, it is already 6 degrees warmer in the trailer than outside, without doing anything special at all.

4. In a PU as old as ours, all those squeeks and rattles are louder in the cold.

5. Lubing the crank parts before puting away for a couple of months helps a lot.

I have not fired up the furnace or put on the covers yet, I will do that tomorrow, and will do some temp tests for an update. Will also be doing the full Reflectix treatment on the windows and insulation under the matresses next week and will do temp tests on those as well. Have fun y'all, and Merry Christmas to all.

[jakelaw]

Posted this a couple of hours ago.

Brief update on stats, and some observations.

1. Puting the covers on in 30 degree weather, when there is a light snow falling, sucks!

2. Puting on the covers in that weather makes you care less about the wrinkles, etc in the covers.

3. When I put them on (shiny side down) it was 30 in and out. 30 minutes later, with no heat or anything, it was 29 out and 32 in.

4. At that point, I fired up my Coleman Black Cat portable catalytic just to see what it would do. One hour later, the sun has set, and it is 27.5 outside, and 44.5 inside. I know that is cold inside, but mind you, this was without the regular furnace, and although cold, felt toasty compared to outside.

5. I fired up the furnace and turned off the Coleman. 30 minutes later, it is 50 inside and 29 outside. Not sure how the outside temp goes up, but oh well. Also, I turned off the Coleman just as I started the furnace, so it probably cooled off some while the furnace heated up. Also as a reminder , my furnace is original, so no fan, and just a manual thermostat with "LO, MED, and HIGH" with dots in between for adjustment. I have it on the LO side of MED so we will see how warm that gets it before shutting off. We have never had it out in cold enough weather to need to leave it on long enough to hear it cycle on and off. I will keep you all posted. By the way, I had also taken some foam from an old egg shell mattress, and plugged up some of the more obvious leaks. Not all of them, just big obvious ones.

Oh, another thing. I will not be trying it with the shiny side up as I previously posted, mostly because they are already down, and I don't want to take them off until I pop down. I will be doing this experiment mid week with the reflectix and foam underneath the mattreses, and will post results then.

[tlhdoc]

Good luck on your trip.  I hope the furnace and insulation help a lot.  How cold do you expect it to get on your trip?

[jakelaw]

Not sure what to expect, it will be our first real "winter" trip.  we may even end up at Capitol Reef, we know that park, and really love it there, and the CG is nice, but no hook ups.  Don't need them, but they have water, and running toilets.  According to the Zion NP web site, it can be as warm as 60 during the day and in the 20's at night.  I am told to expect about high 40's or low 50's during the day, which is certainly warmer than here in Salt Lake, and warmer than my current Camp Driveway experiment.

[jakelaw]

OK, one and a half hours (or so) after #5 in my last post, it is now 53 inside, and 27 outside.  I also put on one of my small Wally World fans in front of the grate (on oscilate) to see if it helps with temp distribution better. I am going to turn the furnace down at about 9:00 or 9:30 pm simulating going to bed.  One reminder here, normally there will be two adults, two kids (9 and 12) and two small dogs inside, so I don't think the furnace will have to work as hard.

[AustinBoston]

One thing we have experienced is that  even with a fan, the bunk ends are colder.  If you've been measuring the temp in the middle of the pop-up box, try moving the thermometer to the middle of one bunk.  It may be colder for sleeping than you think!

If camping with 120V, an electric blanket can make a big difference.

Austin

[jakelaw]

I'm going to take temps right now in the bunk ends, that way I will have something to compare when they hafe reflectix, etc. in them.  Good idea, thanks.  I was taking the temp sitting on the folded down dinette table because that is where we sit and play games at night.

[oldmoose]

One option to keep the bunkends warmer is to use the corrugated dash protectors that have the silver mylar on one side. They're relatively cheap and do a fair job of keeping heat in.Moose

[copcarguy]

Welcome to winter camping!

We've camped in frigid weather, snow, you name it.  I figured we paid extra for the optional furnace, so we're gonna use it.  :p   My advice on camping with no hookups whatsoever in very cold weather - have a spare tank or two of propane, and a spare (or two as well) charged deep cycle battery.  There have been nights where it has been so cold that we have used an entire 20 pound propane tank and drained a battery stone dead in one night while using just the furnace!  As a last resort, I made a four foot long 7 way "extension cord"...  When all else fails and the last spare battery dies, I can plug the camper into my running tow vehicle and charge the camper battery and run the furnace to keep warm.  One night it got so cold that we made the dinette into a bed, slept there, and closed the curtains on the bunkends to keep the heat in the middle of the camper.  As said above there is a BIG difference in the middle of the camper and in the bunkends!
 
I hope this helped!

[zamboni]

There have been nights where it has been so cold that we have used an entire 20 pound propane tank and drained a battery stone dead in one night while using just the furnace!

Holy cow!  We did that once, and it took 3 days!

I guess "cold" here in California is not the same...

[tlhdoc]

We don't run the furnace at night (even when it is in the 20s), just snuggle deep into sleeping bags with a comforter over the top.  I have the silver according folding style car window shades cut to fit into my bunkend windows and I stuff 1 inch foam air conditioner insulation strips (about 3 foot long each) into the edge of the bunkends between the tenting and the metal rail of the bunkends.  I was amazed at how much air comes in around the beds.  Keep in mind you will need to vent the camper or you will have a lot of condensation inside in the morning.

[dee106]

also if you put a carpet runner on the floor it helps a lot! we also use battery fans (on the closed stove & table) pointed at the bunkends/ ceilings to blow the warming air over, and to help keep the bunk ends dry. we also use to put an old comforter or old sleeping bag under the bunkend mattress overlapping the walls around the mattress to keep the cold air from comming up the sides and bottom.
 
 
 (now when camping in the winter we camp with out water hookup, but we try to get electric to run the electric heater so much quieter! wish the would make a quieter furance!)

[EileenG]

Jakelaw, what happened? I was reading your postings like a best-selling novel. All of a sudden your updates stopped and there was no mention about how the big cold weather trip went. Did you try any suggestions, or come up with new ones of your own? Did they work? How was your trip? Please update.

We could have really used several of the tips readers gave you when we went camping in the High Sierras over Memorial Day weekend and received approx 4 hours of light snow one night.

Thanks,

EileenG
2005 Toyota Tacoma
1994 Fleetwood Avalon
Southern CA

[kazan182]

When I camp in cold weather with my pup, I line the bunkends under the matresses with those inexpensive space blankets. About $3 each or less from Sportsman's Guide online.  They last a couple of seasons with a bit of care. They will reflect the heat back up to you. I also place my Solar Bunk End Covers (www.popupgizmos.com) upside down (reflective side towards the camper as opposed to facing out in the summer to keep cooler) to also help. These two changes have made a considerable difference. I love winter camping but I can't find anyone to go with me! It's like pulling teeth to get people to go.
 
Good luck and stay safe on the road...
 
-Steven-
 
 
 
 

Jakelaw, what happened? I was reading your postings like a best-selling novel. All of a sudden your updates stopped and there was no mention about how the big cold weather trip went. Did you try any suggestions, or come up with new ones of your own? Did they work? How was your trip? Please update.
 
We could have really used several of the tips readers gave you when we went camping in the High Sierras over Memorial Day weekend and received approx 4 hours of light snow one night.
 
Thanks,
 
EileenG
2005 Toyota Tacoma
1994 Fleetwood Avalon
Southern CA

[tlhdoc]

I love winter camping but I can't find anyone to go with me! It's like pulling teeth to get people to go.

Welcome to PUT and watch COTOC's forum in the club section of the board.  I am sure we will have at least one winter trip this coming season.