Ceramic heater

Check out the Vornado. It's lite weight,and provides a constant warm, even breeze with a thermostat. The fan runs all of the time at different speeds to prevent swings from cold to hot. Nothing special at all about ceramic.

Portable electric heaters cannot be larger than 1,500 watts and that equals approximately 5,100 BTU so pick based on price and features.

They all put out the same amount of heat, the $500 Amish made heater or the $10 Chinese made heater.

Our favorite electric heater cost us $1 at a yard sale about 15 years ago. Our second most favorite was $9 on clearance at Walmart.

Chrisatthebeach wrote:
Any of the 1500 watt ceramic heaters will do fine.
On 30 amps I could run one on high and another on medium without tripping a breaker.

DItto on the above.
For a 30' trailer, I'd go with two heaters. One won't be enough.

Go to Wal-Mart and check out their selection. They are probably rolling out their heaters right now, replacing the summer inventory of fans. Usually they have the better part of one aisle that is nothing but heaters.

Check out Vornado. We find it circulates the air better than most heaters because its fan runs on low even when the heat is off. More expensive but worth it.
Brian

I installed 3 permanent heaters in our 29' TT totaling 1750 watts, one in each room/area and each heater has it's own wall thermostat. We have 30 amp service. We don't use our furnace at all anymore except for late season or early season camping and in temps. no lower than in the low 40s. Our heaters often run continuously due to inadequate insulation. When it gets into the 40s, it works, but just barely and would rather have it a little more warmer inside and the floor is cold and we need to wear slippers and sometimes need a blanket over our legs when watching TV. We have the reflectix covering on the underside of the roof (optional on our TT) and I don't really think it does much if anything.

Two of our heaters can be set for higher wattage by changing connections inside. I'm going to try adding another 250 watts in the bedroom and bathroom for a total of 2250 watts so that these can hopefully cycle on & off more often. I built a custom demand controller and when anything else in turned on or plugged in, it instantaneously shuts the heaters off, and then back on when the loads are removed. We can plug a hair dryer in or run the MW for ex. and not have a 30 amp breaker trip.

Trailer insulation is typically not done well, esp. in the ceiling. Just because it is insulated doesn't mean you can run a heater satisfactorily when it gets colder. In a 30' TT, you will find 1500 watts is not going to work all that great and the room/area you have it in may be warm, but the bedroom and bathroom will be chilly. Cords on these heaters are 16 gauge and if running continuously will get warm - do not cover them with anything and do not coil them up. Using a 2nd ceramic (or other type) heater with both on a lower setting may work. And this way you can run more than 1500 watts providing you be careful about what else you plug in while they're running.

As noted above, when it gets cold out and down to near freezing, you won't have the heated underbelly that the furnace provides so you will need to run that to maintain an adequate temp. down there.

Personally I don't like the idea of a ceramic heater as it's too easy to accidentally (or not) have something on the floor too close to it. Oil-filled heaters are a great idea except for their physical size. Oil-filled heaters are also good in that they are totally quiet which is good when watching TV.

Another thing you might look into is holes and penetrations through the floor that allow cold air inside. The factories often hack big gaping openings. Expanding foam or tuck tape (Venture in the US) will help. I used the foam and it does help somewhat. In cold weather and if the electric heater(s) isn't cutting it, resist the temptation to close all the vents and windows. You MUST vent moisture out in cold weather otherwise you can end up with serious damage.

There is another solution to getting more power in a 30 amp RV and that is by plugging into the 20 amp GFCI in a pedestal. It's not too hard to add a 20 amp power inlet on the side of a TT and then install a recept. dedicated to a heater. The caveat tho. is that you *might* increase voltage drop - this can be alleviated by plugging into a 50 amp pedestal. Also, low voltage will reduce heater output and varies as the square of the voltage. For ex., say at 105 volts, a 1500 watt heater would put out 105/120 x 105/120 x 1500 watts = 1150 watts. At 110 volts it would be 1260 watts. If your heater isn't quite cutting it at a full 1500 watts, voltage drop can result in it being too cold inside. Get a plug-in or permanent voltmeter and keep an eye on the voltage - this is a good idea at all times anyway. We have a Hughes autoformer for CGs that have low voltage and the heaters will run at or closer to their ratings.

I use oil filled radiator type and it has worked great down to the lower 30's, I also feel it's the safest.

I'm with Bumpy. Oil filled is the safest and has the lowest surface temperature. Some times you can find them in the 400 to 500 watt size which is much easier to tuck into a corner.

I have burned one out.

the best most uniform heat are put out by the oil filled radiator types. I use one in my bath room and bedroom in S&IB. a nice constant heat. takes a while to warm up but doesn't cycle on and off like the ceramics. I used to have a smaller version of the radiator type which would be more RV sized. can't beat the ceramics for small source of heat however.
bumpy

Any of the 1500 watt ceramic heaters will do fine.
On 30 amps I could run one on high and another on medium without tripping a breaker. If I needed the microwave I turned the one on high off long enough to use it. I have in a pinch ran both on high for short periods.

Do remember that if weather is below freezing use only one so that the furnace will cycle and keep the pipes and plumbing bays warm to prevent freezing.

While I am not an expert on winter camping, I did full time in northern Kentucky for 4 winters with some days below zero and did it without freezing up.

There are plenty of things to do to save propane, close all blinds or drapes after the sun drops, that will keep the cold transfer from the cold windows.

Learn to bake in the oven the warmth from that will provide extra heat.

Orient the trailer so the sides with the most windows faces south/southeast so that the sun will track from end to end on sunny days. I actually had inside temps exceed 85 degrees on an 18 degree day from solar gain. Come dark it got cold in a hurry.

It can be done with planning and not break the bank. I averaged a gallon of propane per day the last two winters I had to do this.

Ceramic heater

They all are 1,500 watts and put out the same amount of heat. IMHO I think the ceramic heaters are the 'safest' and put out the most constant heat. Others have their favorite heaters.

From experience here is what I found:
The small square ones fit nicely and safely on the counter or table.

The thin tower ones do not sit safely on carpet leaving you usually only the kitchen floor to place it. If you have kids or pets these get knocked over easily. I think they are all show and no go you get the same amount of heat from one of the square ones. The oscillating one tends to feel like it cools the air with its movement instead of heating it.

I used one of those enclosed oil heaters for one very cold winter in Florida and it sucked.

*If you can find a ceramic heater with a ""tip-over switch", buy it!
They are IMHO much safer to use especially in an RV. They are very hard to find since UL approved they no longer are required to have one.

I.E.
1. Tip over switch - when it tips over it immediately shuts off.
2. New method is when it tips over it 'waits' until it has reached a certain temperature before it shuts off. Can you spell fire if it falls against furniture, drapes etc.? :R

IMHO, JMHO :C