Is there a problem with electric Heater VS. Propane?

We camp in similar conditions; don't have heated tanks or enclosed underbelly. Use electric heat down to about freezing, if it won't keep up (hapens when it gets down to about 25), use propane to "top up".

Doug

I use three heat sources:

Primary: 1500 Watt electric radiator with LUX WIN-100 thermostat set for 75°F.

Secondary: 1250 Watt 'milkhouse' heater with LUX WIN-100 set for 73°.

Backup: Propane furnace with thermostat set for 68°F.

Over the past heating season, the furnace only came on twice; the first time was was when I was moving between two different campgrounds, the other was when the 'milkhouse' heater failed in the middle of the night (OAT was ~10°F).

Hi,

Since there is no enclosed bottom, running propane heat has no advantages.

I prefer to run more than one electric heater with each having lower wattage than a single 1500 watt model.

We will be staying where it may dip slightly below freezing at night but up into the 60's during the day.

You may find the electric heater serves all your heating needs under these circumstances.

We are total electic. We have a toe kick heater and a portable firplace we carry in the winter. We also carry a Mr buddy heater for those freaky really cold winter nights in AZ. This past winter we dev. an electric issue as we were pulling out for AZ. We went from Near Wichita, KS to Tucson with only the propane heater know as Mr.Buddy heater. Life is eithe ra bold daring adventure or it is nothing at all. (Hellen Keller)

I used electric heat almost exclusively. Its quiet, safe, and less expensive or even "free" when paid for via camping fee at most campgrounds.

I only have a 23' trailer, and if considerably larger, running more than one may be asking too much for the electrical system and might not work out as well. But I'd still try to use electric whenever possible.

Like yours, our trailer is a 3 season without a enclosed or heated under belly. We regularly stay where it drops into the 20s at night and are fine as long as it gets above freezing the next day.
To keep us warm we have used both a small electric heater when we had electric and the furnace while we boondock, both do fine.
Things you may do if you wish...
add some anti freeze to the waste tanks.
Remove the city water hook up over night or use the FW tank.
Open the cabinets and drawers where pluming is so the heat gets to them.
We put heavy bath towels over the windows to cut the heat loss. Rugs on the floors help too.

If you are going with a electric heater set the furnace to its lowest level just in case the electric fails somehow.

Thats what I would do is to run the electric heaters for your inside heat and then have the propane setup for 40 degrees or lower as a backup heat source...

I also use the pedestal 20AMP connection for my 1500WATT electric heaters just to keep them on their own 120VAC circuit. I just run a extension cord thru the storage bay or window etc...

The only downside I can think of is the electric heater safety. Anything with an open flame or heated up core has got to be dangerous around kids and animals... I only use the oil-filled radiator looking type electric heaters in my trailers. Burnt dust smell doesnt turn me as well that alot of these electric heaters that have built-in fans on the them... All my oil filled heaters do is just go CLICK every now and then.... Just my choice....

I hate the propane heaters. They are really noisy with their 12VDC blower and in my case are way to big of a heat system for my trailer. It literally runs us out of the trailer heat wise....

Very seldom use our propane furnace....

Roy Ken

No flame with an electric heater and the good ones are tip over protected.

We use a Vornado electric heater all of the time to heat down to around freezing then we might need the trailer furnace a little. I wouldn't worry about stuff freezing until it gets down into the 20's and stays there awhile. The 1st to freeze is the hose to the city water and the tank dump valves and the furnace won't protect those.