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blckgnx's avatar
blckgnx
Explorer
Dec 29, 2015

How to stay warm

Just purchased a 2016 Forest River Rockwood 2304DS and almost froze last night. Temps are 27degree and furnace will not even get close to keeping us warm. Purchased a 1500watt Oil electric heater today, and that will not keep us warm either(we did turn the furnace OFF) after plugging in the electric Oil heater. Please! Any suggestions.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Dec 29, 2015
    Add a second shore power cord and run an additional oil filled heater on that 'extra' cord.

    What temperature is it inside the rv?
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Dec 29, 2015
    deltabravo wrote:
    Ditch the oil filled radiant heater and buy 2 forced air electric heaters. Run one on high, the other on medium.

    That oil filled heater is like trying to heat an aircraft hangar with a candlestick since it's so cold outside (and inside)


    Absolutely incorrect assumptions.

    a 1500w electric oil filled radiator heater HEATS THE EXACT SAME amount of space as a 1500w electric FORCED AIR type.

    The difference is in the SPEED of how fast the area will warm up..

    The oil filled heater will take longer to heat BUT has the advantage of taking LONGER to cool down to once the T stat turns off the heater..

    The forced air electric heaters will warm the area FASTER but in doing so you FEEL A COLD DRAFT when not standing close to the heater PLUS since this type of heater has virtually no "mass" it gets COLD almost as soon as the T stat turns off..

    In the OPs situation, I would agree that the RV furnace SHOULD be able to keep their RV adequately warm without the electric heater..

    However each person is different in how they feel hot and cold..

    For one person 60 degrees in there RV might feel toasty warm and another at 80 degrees may feel chilled..

    On top of that is the standard issue RV T stats are terrible, they tend to have extremely large temp swings (+5 to -5 degree temp swing is typical) and are dismally in accurate..

    OP may be used to modern day digital home T stats which have +1 to -1 temp swings or in some cases .5 to -.5 swing..

    Op may wish to upgrade their T stat to a home digital type to get a bit more comfort..

    Also with a RV, the FLOORS have very little insulation, often only R3 and that is being generous.. You tend to feel very chilled when the floor is much colder than the air above it.. Not much can be done about that.
  • hohenwald48's avatar
    hohenwald48
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2015
    All electric heaters produce 3.142 BTUs for every watt they consume. Doesn't matter if it's ceramic, oil filled or forced air (except the forced air will use a little extra to run the fan).

    So, it doesn't really matter what kind of electric heater you use as they all produce the same amount of heat per watt. However, some use various air circulation techniques to change your "perception" of the heat.
  • CavemanCharlie's avatar
    CavemanCharlie
    Explorer III
    Dec 29, 2015
    DutchmenSport wrote:
    When temperatures are cold (below 30) and the trailer has not been heated, I have found attempting to warm our Outback (35 feet long) with the furnace is a VERY slow process and burns a lot of propane. It takes time to warm it up, even supplementing with electric heat at the same time.

    A trick I've found that works VERY well (and I know I'm going to get criticism for this, BUT .... think about this a minute).....

    When the camper is still cold, I turn on all 3 burners on the stove for about 10 minutes. This warms the living room / kitchen area very fast. With the furnace heating, it takes 10 minutes just to warm up the cold air ducts under the floor before it pushes any heat.

    Now you may say.... oh that awful to use your stove top to heat! What about the potential for monoxide and the danger of a flame and all of that! Hey! Don't you use your stove to cook on? And when you do, are the doors and windows often shut? So what's the difference! HUM? If it will make you feel better, put a pot of water on the burner. The extra heat from the stove will warm the camper quicker, then the furnace will be able to keep up.

    Notice I recommend using the stove for only a short time! NOT indefinitely! But it's not uncommon to have the stove running for an hour preparing meals ... isn't it? (depending on what you are fixing?)

    Once the camper reaches a warmer temperature, the furnace will keep up. It's just the initial heating in the first place that seems to take forever.


    I've also been known to cook something in the oven right away to help bring the heat in the TT up initially . Once warm the furnace or electric heater should be able to keep up.
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2015
    When temperatures are cold (below 30) and the trailer has not been heated, I have found attempting to warm our Outback (35 feet long) with the furnace is a VERY slow process and burns a lot of propane. It takes time to warm it up, even supplementing with electric heat at the same time.

    A trick I've found that works VERY well (and I know I'm going to get criticism for this, BUT .... think about this a minute).....

    When the camper is still cold, I turn on all 3 burners on the stove for about 10 minutes. This warms the living room / kitchen area very fast. With the furnace heating, it takes 10 minutes just to warm up the cold air ducts under the floor before it pushes any heat.

    Now you may say.... oh that awful to use your stove top to heat! What about the potential for monoxide and the danger of a flame and all of that! Hey! Don't you use your stove to cook on? And when you do, are the doors and windows often shut? So what's the difference! HUM? If it will make you feel better, put a pot of water on the burner. The extra heat from the stove will warm the camper quicker, then the furnace will be able to keep up.

    Notice I recommend using the stove for only a short time! NOT indefinitely! But it's not uncommon to have the stove running for an hour preparing meals ... isn't it? (depending on what you are fixing?)

    Once the camper reaches a warmer temperature, the furnace will keep up. It's just the initial heating in the first place that seems to take forever.
  • Opie431's avatar
    Opie431
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2015
    We have an electric blanket on the bed and electric throws to wrap up with before we go to bed. We also have a down blanket that can go on top of the electric blanket.
  • RJCorazza's avatar
    RJCorazza
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2015
    Feeling cold is very subjective... As others have stated, confirm your vents are all pushing hot air. Circulation is also a factor, so an oil radiant heater may not seem to work so well without air moving in the trailer. We generally use the furnace set somewhat low, and run a dehumidifier that also keeps the air moving (and drier).
  • LarryJM's avatar
    LarryJM
    Explorer II
    Dec 29, 2015
    As others have said, something is wrong with your gas furnace since at those mild temps that should be able to turn the inside of your trailer into a sauna.

    Larry
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2015
    mtofell1 wrote:
    fwiw, they're probably in Arizona and not where it's 27 degrees :)


    I have often been below freezing in AZ... Quite a few times below zero..

    As has been said, there is something wrong with his heater.
    As it is a 2016, a trip to the dealer is in order.

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