Space Heater in Chinook RV

We keep a 1500 watt electric heater turned ON in our RV all the time while it's in storage in the back yard.

We set the heater to about 50 degrees and use a 50 foot extension cord from an outside house outlet to power the motorhome while we're storing it. We can also power the RV's air conditioner in the summer using this same arrangement. Every 15 amp outlet in our RV can power the electric heater at full power.

Why do some RV's not safely power 1500 watt heaters from their regular 120V 15 amp outlets??? Strange, if true.

We used a oil filled space heater. They are very safe and inexpensive and do well heating a small space. He might insulate his windows and block off the cab with either bubble wrap or reflectix to help hold the heat in. We were caught temporarily last November by low temps and had to heat ours for a couple of weeks until we could winterize. We used the 30 amp line to a garage outlet and a converter to a 20 amp circuit. Ran more than one heater. One in the bathroom and one in the main room. We were not also living in it though.

I run a 1500 watt heater on 750 watts in my 21ft class C with a blanket over the cab part connected via a #12 wire Walmart 25ft extension cord with the heater plugged into the bathroom socket.Not a problem at all!

I have an indoor/outdoor thermometer in it with the mother ship in the house..It keeps the motorhome 20 degree's warmer than the outdoor temp.Last night it was 13 degree's outside and 33 degree's inside the motorhome.

A 1500 watt heater will do the job in a Chinook easily even if in the 20s. We use on in our current RV. Take your pick as to which one. You can block the cab off with a blanket to conserve heat if you feel the need.

We have a small quartz 1500w electric heater that we use in our 26ft motorhome. It will work fine on full power, but we only use 1/2 power (750w) unless it is so cold that full power is needed. We use a regular extension cord (think it is rated at 20amps) to plug in. We also have a power meter so we can monitor voltage in the RV (making sure there is not to much drop in the extension cord). The shorter the cord and the heavier the cord the better. Oh, we turn off the heater if we need to run the microwave or electric water heater.

Have never had a problem. We also open cupboard doors in appropriate places to allow warm air to reach water pipes and tanks.

However, if the temps are getting down into the 20's it may struggle to keep the temps in the comfort zone...depending how large your RV is. May need to augment with the RV furnace during periods when the heater can't maintain temperature. The RV furnace also circulates warm air to pipes. Recommend some RV antifreeze in the holding tanks if they are not winterized.

In the Winter we set the electric heater thermostat to keep the MH at about 40 degrees. I can monitor the MH temps from the house. Ops, need to go turn on the heater....its 37 degrees in the MH right now.

750 watts is what I use, it is a vornado with 375/750 switch and a tip over safety switch bed, bath beyond- $20

a 750 watt heater will draw about 6.25 amps of current.

house hold outlets and wiring ( like in your house and RV) is rated for 15 amps...so you are running at less than 50% of rated capacity of the wiring in the chinook and the house which is the source for the power.
the shorter the extension cord the better.

we use this heater on shore power at campgrounds- it is not blazing hot, but a nice quiet gentle waft of warmth which will do to keep our van warmish at temps in the 20's

covering the windows will help to keep the van warm.

mike

There should be no problem with running a 110 volt "cube" type heater in the RV. Use a good heavy extension cord.

A small heater is plenty for a motorhome the size of a Chinook Concourse. I've had to get up and turn one off or down with temps in the 30s in a 24' travel trailer.

It would be a good idea to use a material like Reflectix to prevent radiant heat loss through the windshield & larger windows at night.

Yes there are two legs 120 volts each. However they are extremely rarely used as 240 volts. They are used as 120 volts per leg and not wired anywhere inside the rv to allow 240 to be available.

Some RV's in the 3 million dollar class apparently have two 50 amp plugs.

ChooChooMan74 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

RV plugs are never 220 volt.

50 amp units have 220 going into them, split into two 50 amp 120v legs.

Unless you are certain of the guage wire of that extension cord I would not consider it, Is there a problem with running the RV furnace? That would be my first choice

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

RV plugs are never 220 volt.

50 amp units have 220 going into them, split into two 50 amp 120v legs.