Heating for sleeping

Nomadman8

Nomadman8

Rank II
Launch Member

Enthusiast I

404
Memphis, TN, USA
First Name
Jake
Last Name
Feltner
Member #

2521

Service Branch
Firefighter
I recently took an overland trip to the northernmost point of Wisconsin. I have camped in the cold before and just dealt with it with my low degree rated sleeping bag which I used on this trip as well. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on a way to heat the sleeping quarters besides warm blankets.
 
I use a little buddy tent heater for a little time to get the chill off before bed and a bit in the morning before getting out of the sleeping bag
9d2d4a3021fe35affefdd4ddc6266b3e.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: fbledsoe, Tom (Steel Industries), FamilyAdventuresOverland and 4 others

Attachments

  • webasto hose.jpg
    webasto hose.jpg
    300.1 KB · Views: 355
  • Like
Reactions: 4wheelspulling, Tom (Steel Industries), Rolf C-P and 1 other person
We picked up a Coleman ProCat on a trip to Utah. As was said above, preheat the tent before bed and then take the chill out in the morning when you wake up. It is a fairly large unit, so if size is an issue the smaller version might be better.

IMG_1872.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom (Steel Industries)
I'll have to look into the tent heater. I ended up turning my jeep on for about 30 minutes in the middle of the night last trip because the girlfriend got a little cold. I'm trying to look for some sort of insulation idea for the jeep as the top is not very thick against the elements. Thanks for the replies guys!
 
I always pack disposable hand warmers when I cold weather camp. If I wake up cold, I open up one or two and toss them in the bottom of my sleeping bag. if that doesn't help enough, I open one or two more and put one in each front pocket of my pants. That normally keeps me plenty warm.

Also, I always have some of those cheap fleece throw blankets along. pull one in the bag with you and that helps as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4wheelspulling, dziner, FamilyAdventuresOverland and 3 others
Some people have taken off their door panels and put regular insulation in them....
 
Mr Heater is great but run it off of a tank. Green bottles suck. I wish it had a more granular temperature control as well because sometimes something lower than the Low setting would be great. I know a few companies make true refillable "green" bottles but until they come out in mass I always try to use my tank. NOTE: if you get the Mr Heater hose to use with a tank it is VERY pressure sensitive. If you turn the gas on too quickly the internal valve will close. So the trick is to barely open the valve, light the heater or other device, and then open the valve on the tank fully. I really like the $56 11lb tank that Home Depot offers online. It's a good compromise between the traditional 20lb tanks and the smaller 5lb tanks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: H2OBound, Kirk Kinnell and The other Sean
1Louder said:
Mr Heater is great but run it off of a tank. Green bottles suck. I wish it had a more granular temperature control as well because sometimes something lower than the Low setting would be great. I know a few companies make true refillable "green" bottles but until they come out in mass I always try to use my tank. NOTE: if you get the Mr Heater hose to use with a tank it is VERY pressure sensitive. If you turn the gas on too quickly the internal valve will close. So the trick is to barely open the valve, light the heater or other device, and then open the valve on the tank fully. I really like the $56 11lb tank that Home Depot offers online. It's a good compromise between the traditional 20lb tanks and the smaller 5lb tanks.
Click to expand...

I use the long hose and big tank as well.... and don't have the problems you note above.
One thing I had to worry about during an initial start-up was how long I had to hold the "Pilot" button the first time. It would take a long time to pressurize the long hose I think.... but once the first time was done I could fire it up with a normal startup amount of time holding the pilot button down.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4wheelspulling, jrdchiropractic and The other Sean
I use the Mr. Buddy heater and actually hang a small fan above and behind it and point it at a downward 45ish degree angle.. keeps the tent perfectly toasty. We were in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with a wind chill of 9 degrees and didn't even have to dig out our additional linens. Only a 30 degree double sleeping bag.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Isaac Garibay and Glenn
1Louder said:
Mr Heater is great but run it off of a tank. Green bottles suck. I wish it had a more granular temperature control as well because sometimes something lower than the Low setting would be great. I know a few companies make true refillable "green" bottles but until they come out in mass I always try to use my tank. NOTE: if you get the Mr Heater hose to use with a tank it is VERY pressure sensitive. If you turn the gas on too quickly the internal valve will close. So the trick is to barely open the valve, light the heater or other device, and then open the valve on the tank fully. I really like the $56 11lb tank that Home Depot offers online. It's a good compromise between the traditional 20lb tanks and the smaller 5lb tanks.
Click to expand...
I've always had issues getting mine started when I hook it to my 20lb tank. I never paid attention to how I opened the valve. Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4wheelspulling and Isaac Garibay
Shizzy said:
I've always had issues getting mine started when I hook it to my 20lb tank. I never paid attention to how I opened the valve. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes.. This is something I will need to remember.. I got to the point where I would light the heater using a bbq lighter on the first time because it took so long to light.. I stopped using the small bottles a long time ago.. That heater sucks up way too much propane to keep using the little bottles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn
Scott said:
Yes.. This is something I will need to remember.. I got to the point where I would light the heater using a bbq lighter on the first time because it took so long to light.. I stopped using the small bottles a long time ago.. That heater sucks up way too much propane to keep using the little bottles.
Click to expand...

All I can say is when others try the hose they have issues. Every time I have barely cracked the valve open it works. I had the same frustrations initially. This only applies to the one with the built in filter. Some Amazon reviews describe this issue as well.
 
Kidd said:
I use the Mr. Heater buddy heater. Works great plus it has an auto shut off if there is too much carbon dioxide in the tent or falls over.

Click to expand...

+1 on this heater!! I've used mine several times in a tent, truck bed and teardrop trailer all with really good and reliable results!! [emoji106][emoji106]
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glenn
My experience with the Mr buddy heater. I have never had issue with this header until our last trip. On our last trip I was unable to get the rig perfectly level and didn't think it was a big deal until it came to light the heater. I then remembered that it has a anti tip function and because I wasn't perfectly level it would no light....

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: LandPirate and SoCal-JKU14
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom