Forum Discussion

smoke20's avatar
smoke20
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013

interior heating question

I've only used my t/c a few times in in cold outdoor temps but every time I have I've had trouble keeping temperature regulated or evenly distributed.

While at a local campground this weekend the temp was 28 degrees friday night and about 38 degrees Saturday night. My camper is insulated and has a propane furnace with a wall mounted t-stat and I also carry a tower style electric heater which I use mainly be cause I have shore power at the campground and why burn propane if I don't have to. But this past weekend as with cold trips before I can't keep the camper comfortable in the bunk at nite. its roasting up their or too cold it seems I can't find a happy medium. I kept the t-stat set on about 70 deg and the the electric heater only has two settings high and low... high is too hot and low was to cold. It does the same thing on jus the propane furnace alone too.

I feel like its an air flow problem and was jus wondering if any body else experiences this and what I could do about it. I also have a doutherm rooftop a/c unit so I could turn the fan on low (a/c off of course) and maybe it would circulate the air better? Also thought about putting a "heat strip" in it because its says its capable for one but I read some stuff about Dometic saying not use a heat strip due to a fire hazard with plastic cover.

25 Replies

  • thanks royb and kohldad, both good ideas. We had the flannel sheets on but no sleeping bag. I might
    try that.
  • the tower heater it has a fan its also oscillating That's also part of using the tower heater I figured like you said the needed to move the air around and the fan on the electric heater is like a breeze not forceful at all. I wonder about placement of the electric heater or fan. where should it be placed to circulate the air best?
  • For better temperature control with the electric heater, stop at Lowes and pick up a baseboard thermostat. Wire the thermostat so it controls the electric heater. I use this setup with a fan forced heater which also helps.

    However, the best method I have found is to use flannel sheets and a 20* sleeping bag. Then let the camper drop down to about 50* at night. With the lower inside temp, the heaters don't have to work nearly as hard thereby reducing temp fluctuation. Other advantage is this works without hookups too.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    We like to move air around our trailer as well. This O2COOL 10-inch AC/DC/D CELL fan (Lowes-WALMART-AMAZON) is perfect for the job. Very quiet in operation. In addition to more level heating this also helps out for controlling condensation inside our trailer.

    This is also perfect to sit behind our low profile oil-filled heater we use instead of the very loud propane beater when on shore power.

  • you need a fan to push the hot air around. not much flow just a gentle breeze. all heat rises.