Do you warm up camper before heading out for winter camping?

The major thing I am worried about is sleeping on an block of ice (the cold mattress).
So what I take away from this is...
1- maybe bring the blankets inside to warm up
2- get an electric matress pad or blanket
3- fire up the heater/furnace when you get to your destination.
4- traveling in cold temps will cool down your rig in a heart beat
5- insulate where you can
6- nobody mentioned 'sleep with a friend' :W !!!

MN Ben

I have never found that heating before leaving does any good. I have had temps up to 22C before leaving, drive for 30 minutes and it is down to 0 (in -20C temps). Did a test last year and left mountains with inside temps at 20C, drove for 30 minutes with furnace on and it was 18C inside (outside was around -18C) and the furnace had run the entire time, just could not keep up. Shut furnace off and in another 30 minutes of driving was -5C inside. This was with my storm windows in. This year I want to insulate the roof vents and see if that makes a difference.

Depends...how cold is it?
How well insulated is your camper?
How warm do you like to set thermostat?

A full tank in temps ranging from teens deg F and up may last us about 3 days or so, running water heater and fridge also.

I would say 2 tanks would last a week in cold temps.

We are usually our all day skiing/hiking/snowshoeing so heat is very low durring day.
We like it warm at night 68 deg F or so...

B

What's the propane usage when running a furnace?

I heated mine with an electric heater last night but I doubt it'll do much good in the long run. Figured it was worth a shot.

I use old fashioned hot water bottles to warm up the bed. Since I have neuropathy in my feet I always have two with me, winter or summer.

Besides heating up the inside before leaving home, I also heat the water in the water heater using AC power. I added a heating element where the drain plug goes. If it's just a weekend, I usually don't need to run the propane for hot water, it stays warm enough to do dishes or wash my face and hands.

MN Ben wrote:

narcodog wrote:
I have been i cold weather with a warm camper. A trip down the road cools it off very quickly. I do have mattress warmers so I do turn those on while traveling and that keeps the bedding warm.

So you must have your mattress warmer plugged into an inverter running off your batteries charged by your truck while driving. Correct?

My mattress warmers are 12v, with thermostats and they work very well.
Electrowarmth makes them.

The air inside a camper warms up quickly but the interior items take a bit of time to reach room temp. My DW found out when she sat on the toilet in our "warm camper" . She screamed so loud I thought she fell in.

I line the headboard and under the bed with reflectix from H. Depot or those cheap foil sunshades for car windows. I bought a bunch at a dollar store and lined my cabover bed, under the bed, along the side rails and headboard area. It worked well until I turned on my LED flashlight and nearly blinded myself reflecting off the foil.

elec. heaters are fine but I always run the furnace as well to make sure its working.
Mattress warmers come in 12 v or 110, I have used both .
Yes, if you run a 110 v. warmer then you need an inverter. It doesn't pay to run a genny. I use a PSW 200 watt inverter that uses a 12 v. plug to op. it . $125.00
The 12 v blankets work fine, I use one to pre heat the bed, so I can pull into a rest area and snooze.

I'll put an inverter on my Christmas list. The wife and I will keep our eye open for an electric blanket or mattress pad at the many thrift stores we stop at during our travels.
Thanks guys.

Heated Mattress Pads are awesome. They warm the top of the mattress (the part you lay on) and make the bed toasty warm all night long.

They are so wonderful, I almost feel guilty using one.

Ed