Heating options in your tent (RTT or ground)

[chorky]

I'll offer up my perspective on why I chose a diesel heater over the other options. Ultimately, it was what worked best for me and my set up, so YMMV.

I chose a Lavaner 2kw for my wedge style RTT. Lavaner seemed to be regarded as the "best" chinese diesel heater based on what I was finding on a few diesel heater facebook pages and some other forums. I took the bits and pieces and put them into a Harbor Freight pelican style case (Apache 4800). This gave me mounting options of inside or outside of my rack, and gave me some protection from the weather as it will be exposed at all times.

I chose a diesel heater for three reasons, the first being that I can usually find diesel at most gas stations, so when the Jeep fills up, the heater fills up. Secondly, spare parts on the diesel heaters are pretty readily available, and worst case scenario, I can probably find Webasto at a truck or RV repair location if I really needed. Also there is plenty of info and DIY videos on the diesel heaters. Lastly, if there is a spill from the tank, diesel is not instantly flammable like gasoline or propane, so leaks are easier to deal with (albeit messier).

As far as a forced air heater vs a propane buddy style heater, I have a few guys I camp with that used to run Buddy heaters (before switching to diesel heaters), and they constantly were having to battle the condensation inside their tents. Having a constant supply of dry, fresh air was a big plus for me.

At the end of the day, this is what worked best for my set up. I ratchet strapped it to the inside of my rack, and at night would clip it to the outside and pipe it into my tent. I am working on hard mounting it to the inside of my rack's Molle panels, and plumbing it into a floor vent in the bottom of my tent so it is one less thing to set up and tear down each night.

The Propex looks like a great solution, especially if you have ample propane on board. In the winter, I bring a full 20lb propane tank, but that is because I bring a propane fire pit that uses 1-1.5lb/hour on full tilt, so I would have to refill if I were had a propex and was on a week long trip.

Regardless of what solution you choose, please do yourself a favor and buy a CO2 detector, even if it is a cheap one from the HW store. As always, better safe than sorry.

If all else fails, I have done the tried and true nalgene full of hot water method to stay warm. It got me through a couple of -10F nights, so I always have that.

It sounds like you made a version of one of these (https://www.amazon.com/HCALORY-Blue...1a776d5d&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1) which is the one I was considering if I opted for diesel.

Thats cool to know it worked down to -10! Thats pretty cold for camping lol. I like the idea of putting a hole in the base of your tent to make a permanent mount. I have been thinking about doing the same actually - maybe even a roof fan too for hot summer days. But also nervous to make a hole in the honeycomb aluminum panels since it has potential to cause deamination from what I have read.

But as for condensation. Please go back and read post #54. Just to clarify, condensation is NOT an issue with Propex. It is with a buddy heater. But I am not talking about getting a buddy heater, Propex is the other option. Buddy heaters and Propex do not operate the same way so it's not a fair comparison. Propex operates just like a diesel heater, so it is DRY hot air.

Sponsored

 

[mx5red]

A budget consideration for condensation.. something that was popping up on my email. (No affiliation)

https://gofsr.com/collections/all-gear/products/dehumidifier-bag?utm_source=Cleaned&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dehumidifier Bags&_kx=1-utyT0Q0fAjJIw3UJiYPkNc1p_YOKGBCrQziaQmUVc=.Wx2CGz

 

[Jglad15]

A budget consideration for condensation.. something that was popping up on my email. (No affiliation)

https://gofsr.com/collections/all-gear/products/dehumidifier-bag?utm_source=Cleaned&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dehumidifier Bags&_kx=1-utyT0Q0fAjJIw3UJiYPkNc1p_YOKGBCrQziaQmUVc=.Wx2CGz

Seen some of these that pop up on my Amazon. Almost bought one. Hanging condensation bags

 

[MPMB]

Just search AMZN for: Rechargeable Desiccant Pack

You'll find lots of options.

And I just saw that our favorite overlander sellouts (sarcasm) at XOverland just swapped their propane heater for a diesel Wabasto in the big Dodge.

 

[chorky]

A budget consideration for condensation.. something that was popping up on my email. (No affiliation)

https://gofsr.com/collections/all-gear/products/dehumidifier-bag?utm_source=Cleaned&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Dehumidifier Bags&_kx=1-utyT0Q0fAjJIw3UJiYPkNc1p_YOKGBCrQziaQmUVc=.Wx2CGz

Yeah but would those really absorb enough water vapor as fast as it is created?

 

[mx5red]

Yeah but would those really absorb enough water vapor as fast as it is created?

Buy about 30 of ‘em and use it as your mattress ?

 

[chorky]

Buy about 30 of ‘em and use it as your mattress ?

LOL. yea my thought exactly. But that is a great idea for storage. Since I can't realistically take my tent off in the winter, I threw 3 or 4 bags of silica up there hoping it will absorb any moisture over the winter instead of getting into the canvas or mattress. Hopefully it works. Kinda nervous about that.


I think I have decided on a heat option though. I'm going to go with the Propex option. It's just way more simple, and the numbers seem to check out fine.

 

[Jglad15]

LOL. yea my thought exactly. But that is a great idea for storage. Since I can't realistically take my tent off in the winter, I threw 3 or 4 bags of silica up there hoping it will absorb any moisture over the winter instead of getting into the canvas or mattress. Hopefully it works. Kinda nervous about that.


I think I have decided on a heat option though. I'm going to go with the Propex option. It's just way more simple, and the numbers seem to check out fine.

Who are you purchasing it through?

 

[chorky]

Who are you purchasing it through?

I haven't decided that yet. Last time I looked there is nobody near me so it will have to be ordered and shipped UPS probably. I dont think I will have the $ available for a couple of months still though, so it's not a rush deal. Do you happen to know anyone?

 

[MPMB]

Yeah but would those really absorb enough water vapor as fast as it is created?

I'd assume it's a long-term absorption, not an overnight thing. But it would be a cheap test to do.

The 100g bags work up to 200gal of space, so for my Tepui Basin, I'd need 5 bags - about 895gal is my tent volume. Of course, that's assuming an airtight seal, which we know tents aren't.

 

[chorky]

I'd assume it's a long-term absorption, not an overnight thing. But it would be a cheap test to do.

The 100g bags work up to 200gal of space, so for my Tepui Basin, I'd need 5 bags - about 895gal is my tent volume. Of course, that's assuming an airtight seal, which we know tents aren't.

I would be curious to see how well they work. Just doesnt seem like a viable option for camping to me. But for winter storage I think its a great option. I use these in my documents safe And just swapped out new ones a few months ago. Good thing too because the paper was starting to absorb basement moisture. I checked again a week after putting the new bags in and all the paper documents were nice and dry.

 

[NGNERD]

I use a propex for my camper, 3 nights with temps in the low 30s and used 2-1/2 gallons of propane (half a 20 lb tank), purchased from Van Cafe online. Digital thermostat is nice, propane air locks happen easily each time you reconnect to the propane tank, but just have to reconnect 3-4 times, I have read you can set temp on high and turn system on and off instead of reconnecting, will try that next time. Other than this, love it, the Digital thermostat is excellent, 3 degrees in variation through the night, my camper is a taxa cricket so hybrid hard side / tent.

 

[chorky]

I use a propex for my camper, 3 nights with temps in the low 30s and used 2-1/2 gallons of propane (half a 20 lb tank), purchased from Van Cafe online. Digital thermostat is nice, propane air locks happen easily each time you reconnect to the propane tank, but just have to reconnect 3-4 times, I have read you can set temp on high and turn system on and off instead of reconnecting, will try that next time. Other than this, love it, the Digital thermostat is excellent, 3 degrees in variation through the night, my camper is a taxa cricket so hybrid hard side / tent.

This is an awesome datapoint. So 2.5 gallons in 3 nights. Couple questions. What inside temperature did you have it set at? And about how large of a space, like the square foot area, do you think your camper is?

 

[NGNERD]

This is an awesome datapoint. So 2.5 gallons in 3 nights. Couple questions. What inside temperature did you have it set at? And about how large of a space, like the square foot area, do you think your camper is?

Camper is 16' long x 7' wide x 6' high (height varies, so 6' est avg). I had this set at 70 degrees from about 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then 65 degrees all night so about 10 hours total run time each night. Let me know if I can help further, it was an expensive investment for me so I was nervous, but now very happy with it.
Addition...My model is the HS2211

 

[chorky]

, so 6' est avg). I had this set at 70 degrees from about 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then 65 degrees all night so about 10 hours total run time each night. Let me know if I can help further, it was an expensive investment for me so I was ner

That's perfect info thank you! Yeah these things aren't cheap. Cheaper than a non knockoff diesel or gas option though. Your area is more than twice the space I have, so I would guess my fuel usage would be cut in half which sounds about right from other calculations I have looked at. Glad that it worked out for you!

Sponsored