PartyOf Five wrote:
Thanks all. I'm concerned that we'll quickly drain the coach battery if we use the furnace. Also the thermostat is in rear bedroom, about five feet up on the wall, so some supplemental heat towards the cab over might be helpful.
It does turn into a project when you start digging into it. Just like other rv issues, it's not one size fits all. We had a TT with the furnace close to the bed and it woke me up all the time. At that point we tried a buddy and tried opening the windows various amounts for ventilation. It put too much moisture in the rig and messed up our sinuses. The next step above the buddy that some people go with is the Wave heater which is available in a couple different sizes. Another problem with those two brands is that they also do not have thermostats so temperature regulation becomes an issue.
The 3rd option that I looked at is the Cat Platinum vented heater. They are pricey but are vented with pvc pipe as they are efficient and have low exhaust temperatures. When I inquired about them they were not being produced but expected to resume.
One other option is the type of heater that is used to heat heavy duty truck sleepers. They are mounted outside under the cab and use diesel or gasoline if I remember correctly. They do use less amperage than an rv furnace so they are better that way yet very pricey. With all that said and our current rig having its furnace away from the bedroom I decided to address the core issue which to me is the DC consumption. Some people complain that the house furnace uses too much propane. I dont find that to be a problem and like the consistent digital thermostat control.
So, as you mentioned it becomes an issue of having enough battery capacity and a good method of recharging them. I'm running four 6 volts and 520 watts of solar. Like everything else it's always MORE money and more work to get to the core issue, but it's better in the end. tell us more about what you have for batteries and charging and we can give you more ideas.
