Best way to keep a RTT warm in the winter.

[Oregon_trail]

So The need to keep the alive freezing is mainly due to kids. Anybody with young kids as in under 2 knows kids don’t sleep In blankets or bags like adults so I’m worried about making sure they are warm. not to mention me and the wife won’t mind either. I’ve thought about a heated mattress pad but it’s looking like that takes a very big power source. Buddy heater makes me nervous but that may worn with a annex. Any other options I’m not considering? Would a cold weather liner be enough? Speed of setup is also important to me.

edit

I just stumbled on some fairly affordable diesel heater options that mount the heater outside and pipe the air in. That would solve most of my concerns and I already have diesel for the truck.

 

[Sandpoint Steve]

I was going to point you the the diesel heaters. Revere overland did a couple nice reviews of the 3k version. Looks like a pretty nice option.

 

[PDB]

You are on the right track if it were my money and comfort. But rather than limiting the option to warming the tent, get the version that preheats the engine coolant and EVAP system:

Webasto Thermo Top Evo 4 12V petrol and diesel

Buy the powerful engine preheater Webasto Thermo Top Evo 4 12V petrol and diesel is designed for use in cars, vans, snowmobiles. Delivery, discounts, tax savings!

heaters4you.com

This way you have much more cold weather living/sleeping options. You can keep warm in the car using little diesel without the engine running, you never have cold start issues, increase engine life, and you can pipe the interior air out the window to.... well anywhere nearby, simply like this:

4x4 equipment Archives - Serbianoutdoor 4x4

Category containing texts about addon equipment for your offroad vehicle. Kategorija sa tekstovima koji se bave raznim vrstama dodatne opreme za vaše terence.

4x4.serbianoutdoor.com

Or fancy pants like this:

Devon4x4 :: Tent Heating System

www.devon4x4.com

 

[DRAX]

Definitely would do a diesel heater. There's also gas versions as mentioned above, but Venture4WD had a video recently where he talked about his gas version not being as clean and reliable as the diesel version and he'll probably be looking into replacing it with the diesel version at some point.

Another reason for an external heat source like a diesel heater is you get dry heat which keeps the inside of the RTT dry rather than getting tons of condensation build-up and water vapor by running something like a propane heater inside the tent (which is just unsafe anyway).

I have a diesel truck so I could just tap into my fuel tank, but the "portable" diesel heaters are a pretty slick setup as well with everything self-contained and just needing power. I pretty much decided months ago that I want a diesel heater, the roadblock is...where am I going to install it? I really don't want to do a hack install job and have thought about having someone do a professional, permanent install and include a way to pipe heat up to the RTT. No idea how much that would cost, though.

 

[PDB]

I've thought the same DRAX. I have a perfect place to slot one in to the upper engine bay in the Jeep (it can be inverted). But I couldn't justify the cost yet. It would finish off the rig for an all weather tourer though. Tent pipe or not, its nice to know you can recline your front seats and survive a snow storm if you keep the exhaust clear. A temporary exhaust extension or careful placement would solve that (don't want to suck the burner's exhaust into the EVAP and cabin).

 

[smritte]

I had looked into this for my RTT and now with my Teardrop. I was using a small propane tent heater in my RTT. I made a hanger for it and kept it out of the way of my feet. The RTT vents well enough to not worry about oxygen and the type I chose doesn't put out co2. Then I learned about the Diesel heaters. I looked at the Chinese ones for price and followed a few people who posted using them for years. So far they seem to be holding out well and I will probably grab one this winter. One thing I found out was, don't buy too big. If you get one with a thermostat, the on/off uses a bunch of power and its not real good for it to be cycling like that. The smaller ones tend to run longer, don't cycle as much and tend to use less power overall.

The size I want is under 3k. I had found a 1.5k but cant find my link anymore so I'll probably end up with a 2k.
Before you buy, look up the conversion from KW to BTU. Take the square feet of your RTT and see how much heat you need. My RTT was less than 1KW but their slightly drafty. My teardrop came out to about 1KW and is insulated.

Install wise, one of the guys I spoke with put his in an ammo can. He packs his muffler and heat tubes and fan in the same box. Two tubes running to his RTT (intake and heat). Plugs in his thermostat and there you go. I'm going to do something like that for my teardrop. Bring it in the winter and the ports in the teardrop body will have caps when not in use.

 

[old_man]

I run a diesel heater in my teardrop. I got it from AliExpress for less than $200.

 

[Oregon_trail]

Definitely would do a diesel heater. There's also gas versions as mentioned above, but Venture4WD had a video recently where he talked about his gas version not being as clean and reliable as the diesel version and he'll probably be looking into replacing it with the diesel version at some point.

Another reason for an external heat source like a diesel heater is you get dry heat which keeps the inside of the RTT dry rather than getting tons of condensation build-up and water vapor by running something like a propane heater inside the tent (which is just unsafe anyway).

I have a diesel truck so I could just tap into my fuel tank, but the "portable" diesel heaters are a pretty slick setup as well with everything self-contained and just needing power. I pretty much decided months ago that I want a diesel heater, the roadblock is...where am I going to install it? I really don't want to do a hack install job and have thought about having someone do a professional, permanent install and include a way to pipe heat up to the RTT. No idea how much that would cost, though.

Yeah I’ve been thinking a lot more that way. The dry heat thing seams huge man because I would love to do snow camping and being cold is the one thing I really dislike Atleast at night.

 

[Oregon_trail]

I had looked into this for my RTT and now with my Teardrop. I was using a small propane tent heater in my RTT. I made a hanger for it and kept it out of the way of my feet. The RTT vents well enough to not worry about oxygen and the type I chose doesn't put out co2. Then I learned about the Diesel heaters. I looked at the Chinese ones for price and followed a few people who posted using them for years. So far they seem to be holding out well and I will probably grab one this winter. One thing I found out was, don't buy too big. If you get one with a thermostat, the on/off uses a bunch of power and its not real good for it to be cycling like that. The smaller ones tend to run longer, don't cycle as much and tend to use less power overall.

The size I want is under 3k. I had found a 1.5k but cant find my link anymore so I'll probably end up with a 2k.
Before you buy, look up the conversion from KW to BTU. Take the square feet of your RTT and see how much heat you need. My RTT was less than 1KW but their slightly drafty. My teardrop came out to about 1KW and is insulated.

Install wise, one of the guys I spoke with put his in an ammo can. He packs his muffler and heat tubes and fan in the same box. Two tubes running to his RTT (intake and heat). Plugs in his thermostat and there you go. I'm going to do something like that for my teardrop. Bring it in the winter and the ports in the teardrop body will have caps when not in use.

That’s a really good point about figuring out the square footage. I also didn’t think about cycling causing issues. I’ve been torn on doing a Chinese one since some love them and some have them die fast.

 

[PDB]

I had looked into this for my RTT and now with my Teardrop. I was using a small propane tent heater in my RTT. I made a hanger for it and kept it out of the way of my feet. The RTT vents well enough to not worry about oxygen and the type I chose doesn't put out co2. Then I learned about the Diesel heaters. I looked at the Chinese ones for price and followed a few people who posted using them for years. So far they seem to be holding out well and I will probably grab one this winter. One thing I found out was, don't buy too big. If you get one with a thermostat, the on/off uses a bunch of power and its not real good for it to be cycling like that. The smaller ones tend to run longer, don't cycle as much and tend to use less power overall.

The size I want is under 3k. I had found a 1.5k but cant find my link anymore so I'll probably end up with a 2k.
Before you buy, look up the conversion from KW to BTU. Take the square feet of your RTT and see how much heat you need. My RTT was less than 1KW but their slightly drafty. My teardrop came out to about 1KW and is insulated.

Install wise, one of the guys I spoke with put his in an ammo can. He packs his muffler and heat tubes and fan in the same box. Two tubes running to his RTT (intake and heat). Plugs in his thermostat and there you go. I'm going to do something like that for my teardrop. Bring it in the winter and the ports in the teardrop body will have caps when not in use.

That’s a really good point about figuring out the square footage. I also didn’t think about cycling causing issues. I’ve been torn on doing a Chinese one since some love them and some have them die fast.

I think it has more to do with being run high or low than cycling per se. Running low will risk coking up. Easliy resolved with a strip down and scrub... but not when shivering with frozen fingers. I suppose turning up the heat for a few minutes before switching off might help.

 

[smritte]

The cycling was more towards power usage. I have been in contact with several people who run these. That’s one of the comments. Of course, I still consider this hearsay until I can actually play with one.