Ways to Keep Warm in Your RTT

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Randun

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When I have camped in a RTT in the winter, the temperature drops down below freezing, and I tend to get a little cold at night.

How do you guys keep you and your family warm in your RTTs when you camp in the cold?

I've heard of 12v Blankets, Mr Buddy Heaters, Diesel Heaters, but I don't want to spend money on something that doesn't work.

Thank you for your time and your help!
 
Berkshires

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We have an AT Habitat and have tried various Mr. Buddy Heaters and too much condensation and wife did not like the very slight propane smell (I'll leave out the CO debate). We ended up building a Propex propane heater in a box, it works really well, a little noisy and given that there is no insulation in a tent, it runs a lot, but It did keep us warm. At least there are some good options for insulating a RTT.

I did remember a thread on this forum - Best way to keep a RTT warm in the winter. - consensus is that diesel heaters are pretty good.
 
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Randun

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Berkshires said:
We have an AT Habitat and have tried various Mr. Buddy Heaters and too much condensation and wife did not like the very slight propane smell (I'll leave out the CO debate). We ended up building a Propex propane heater in a box, it works really well, a little noisy and given that there is no insulation in a tent, it runs a lot, but It did keep us warm. At least there are some good options for insulating a RTT.

I did remember a thread on this forum - Best way to keep a RTT warm in the winter. - consensus is that diesel heaters are pretty good.
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Thank you so much for your review. I really, really appreciate it.
 
grubworm

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only thing i ever used in a tent was the buddy heater. if we tent camp, we generally have a fire going and while there might be a propane smell from the heater...im usually smelling like smoke pretty bad so its not a problem. if the cold is so bad its a serious problem, i will either use our camp trailer or get a room...i dont see the need to freeze when camping
 
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Randun

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grubworm said:
only thing i ever used in a tent was the buddy heater. if we tent camp, we generally have a fire going and while there might be a propane smell from the heater...im usually smelling like smoke pretty bad so its not a problem. if the cold is so bad its a serious problem, i will either use our camp trailer or get a room...i dont see the need to freeze when camping
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Any pros or cons of your buddy heater?

I don't have a camp trailer, and the places that I usually camp in are far away from any type of room.

So I'm looking for solutions when camping is your only option.

Thank you so much for your time and your help!
 
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grubworm

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Randun said:
Any pros or cons of your buddy heater?
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yeah. there's already a couple threads on here relating to the buddy heaters and some folk will lose their minds when talking about them, but i own one and use it and my experience has been good as far as heat and convenience goes...i do get a lot of condensate with it and of course good ventilation is a must.

i have watched a few YT vids about the diesel heaters and they do look like the best option to me...if i was cold weather camping, i would certainly try it. i did my time freezing in tents and now if its cold, ill take our tear-drop and at night, fire up the buddy heater to get it toasty then shut it off and get under some thick covers. fire the buddy up again in the morning to get the chill out. guess you could do that in a RTT as well. if youre going to do a lot of cold weather camping, i would seriously look hard at the diesel heaters
 
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Randun

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grubworm said:
yeah. there's already a couple threads on here relating to the buddy heaters and some folk will lose their minds when talking about them, but i own one and use it and my experience has been good as far as heat and convenience goes...i do get a lot of condensate with it and of course good ventilation is a must.

i have watched a few YT vids about the diesel heaters and they do look like the best option to me...if i was cold weather camping, i would certainly try it. i did my time freezing in tents and now if its cold, ill take our tear-drop and at night, fire up the buddy heater to get it toasty then shut it off and get under some thick covers. fire the buddy up again in the morning to get the chill out. guess you could do that in a RTT as well. if youre going to do a lot of cold weather camping, i would seriously look hard at the diesel heaters
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Thank you so much for your opinions! I really appreciate your time and your help.
 
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rgallant

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Diesel if you do a lot of cold weather camping, all the propane ones toss a huge amount of condensation if you run them, which can lead to ice inside or moisture issues.

There are lots of YT videos on setting them up, and the nice thing is it is a furnace so warm air only no combustion by-products. They use very little diesel for time run.
 
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Randun said:
When I have camped in a RTT in the winter, the temperature drops down below freezing, and I tend to get a little cold at night.

How do you guys keep you and your family warm in your RTTs when you camp in the cold?

I've heard of 12v Blankets, Mr Buddy Heaters, Diesel Heaters, but I don't want to spend money on something that doesn't work.

Thank you for your time and your help!
Click to expand...
We have a Mr. Buddy and it works too well. We have a Smittybilt XL and that little heater makes it sweltering. Looking at going to a diesel heater.
 
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Retired

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These work well. Keep the furnace outside, works like what you have at home using a heat exchanger. No gas smell. You bring outside air into the tent or teardrop. Outside air will produce less condensation like when you use the defrost in the car or truck you never recirculate, that causes the windows to fog up. Finding in the U.S. can be tough but companies here make them too.

campingplus.com.au

Gasmate Ducted Camping Heater - Camping Plus - Gold Coast - Qld

Gasmate Ducted Camping Heater camping in warmth and comfort has never been so easy. Get that toasty feeling when your ducted heater is running..
campingplus.com.au campingplus.com.au

Screenshot_20201210-174021_Chrome.jpg
 
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As someone who camps all Winter in Maine, I've never felt the need to heat a tent.
1. Eat before bed. Go to bed warm.
2. Get a good quality sleeping bag, or quilt. Manufacturers temp ratings are survival ratings, not comfort ratings. If a sleeping bag is rated for 30 degrees F, you'll be lucky if you're comfortable at 45 degrees F.
3. Fill a water bottle with hot water before bed. Not hot enough so it burns your skin, but hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold. Wrap a towel around it or put it in a spare sock and sleep with the water bottle between your legs.
4. Sleep in base layers. Sleeping bags and quilts are tested with the assumption that the sleeping person is wearing a hat and base layers.
5. Shake out and fluff up your quilt or sleeping bag. Being in a compression or stuff sack destroys the loft needed to keep your body warmth inside and not leaking out into the cold.
6. Be aware that compressing synthetic bags permanently destroys the loft of the fibers. Older the bag, the less warm it will be. Stick to down for maximum warmth.
7. Stack quilts or sleeping bags on top of each other, or inside each other for extra warmth.
8. Drape your jacket over your sleeping bag. Avoid crushing the loft in your bag by draping heavy blankets over you.
9. The insulation under you is as important as what's on top of you. Have an insulating layer under you.
10. Cuddle with your partner. Share that body heat.
 
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Randun

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rgallant said:
Diesel if you do a lot of cold weather camping, all the propane ones toss a huge amount of condensation if you run them, which can lead to ice inside or moisture issues.

There are lots of YT videos on setting them up, and the nice thing is it is a furnace so warm air only no combustion by-products. They use very little diesel for time run.
Click to expand...
I'm leaning towards a diesel too. Not too stoked about caring extra fuel, but it seems like the best way to stay warm.

Thank you so much for your time and your help!
 
Randun

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Teardrop Dude said:
These work well. Keep the furnace outside, works like what you have at home using a heat exchanger. No gas smell. You bring outside air into the tent or teardrop. Outside air will produce less condensation like when you use the defrost in the car or truck you never recirculate, that causes the windows to fog up. Finding in the U.S. can be tough but companies here make them too.

campingplus.com.au

Gasmate Ducted Camping Heater - Camping Plus - Gold Coast - Qld

Gasmate Ducted Camping Heater camping in warmth and comfort has never been so easy. Get that toasty feeling when your ducted heater is running..
campingplus.com.au campingplus.com.au

View attachment 179784
Click to expand...
Interesting. I have not seen one of these before. I will check this out.

Thank you so much for your time!
 
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Randun

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egilbe said:
As someone who camps all Winter in Maine, I've never felt the need to heat a tent.
1. Eat before bed. Go to bed warm.
2. Get a good quality sleeping bag, or quilt. Manufacturers temp ratings are survival ratings, not comfort ratings. If a sleeping bag is rated for 30 degrees F, you'll be lucky if you're comfortable at 45 degrees F.
3. Fill a water bottle with hot water before bed. Not hot enough so it burns your skin, but hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold. Wrap a towel around it or put it in a spare sock and sleep with the water bottle between your legs.
4. Sleep in base layers. Sleeping bags and quilts are tested with the assumption that the sleeping person is wearing a hat and base layers.
5. Shake out and fluff up your quilt or sleeping bag. Being in a compression or stuff sack destroys the loft needed to keep your body warmth inside and not leaking out into the cold.
6. Be aware that compressing synthetic bags permanently destroys the loft of the fibers. Older the bag, the less warm it will be. Stick to down for maximum warmth.
7. Stack quilts or sleeping bags on top of each other, or inside each other for extra warmth.
8. Drape your jacket over your sleeping bag. Avoid crushing the loft in your bag by draping heavy blankets over you.
9. The insulation under you is as important as what's on top of you. Have an insulating layer under you.
10. Cuddle with your partner. Share that body heat.
Click to expand...
Great review!

Thank you so much for your tips. I really appreciate it!
 
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