Looking at truck campers

John,

I know the area well as I spent part of my childhood near Taylorville and still own some farmland inherited from my Granddad near Blue Mound.

Six inches of insulation under the floor, combined with a "skirt" will help.

Blocking the cracks in the slide openings with blankets or towels will help a little more.

Get some 1/4 inch bubble wrap and cover the inside of the windows with two layers (bubbles against bubbles) - it lets the light in and keeps the cold out.

Each one of the above will make a small difference but all of the above will make a big difference.
e.i. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

BTW - My heat sources:
Primary - 1500 Watt oil filled radiator, controlled by a Lux WIN100 thermostat.

Secondary - 1250 Watt Utility Heater, controlled by another Lux thermostat.

Backup - the propane furnace.

Primary thermostat is set for 75°F

Secondary thermostat is set for 72°F

Furnace is set for 68°F

Last winter, the furnace ran for about 15 minutes total time.

My first suggestion would be to call Lance customer service in Lancaster, CA and talk with them. They certainly can tell you what you would need if you were to order a Lance. Another good source is David at Galaxy Campers in Ontario, CA they are the country's largest Lance dealer and they only handle Lance TC's so they are experts.

When I had my Lance the coldest I ever used it was 7F. It was toasty except wish I had more insulation under the mattress in the cab over.

Look at a Northern Lite with a winter package.

Decatur area. Our Hitchhiker II has single pane windows and I did not put anything down to block wind going underneath. It was not a good winter. I figure to add insulation between the truck and camper where there is dead space to help keep the winter out.

John,

Where are you in Illinois?

I usually "winter camp' about 5 miles South of the "Cheddar Curtain" and I had no problems when the temperature was 22° below zero last winter.

My rig has the "Arctic" option (double pane windows, extra insulation, NO slides, etc.).

For those conditions I'd be thinking of building something myself. I'd want 3-4" of Styrofoam, like a cooler. Make like an igloo where a small amount of heat would keep it cozy. Keeping any water tanks inside the insulated shell. One access hatch for everything, double sealed and insulated. Your talking Alaska conditions, Brrr.

I love my HitchHiker II but not in those conditions, don't blame you. But have you considered finding 1/2 time employment in Florida?

Just thought of what you need. An ice fishing shanty on a truck. Somebody in Green Bay should have some plans.

We use our Lance when we snowmobile in the mountains..15-20 below at 10000ft...it stays toasty. But no water....I would try to find a used BF..but hard to find...I used to stay overnight in Melrose park IL in a parking lot in the winter...stayed toasty for 8 hrs. of sleep. But no shower...look for a unit with thermo pane windows

It is in what is somewhat affectionately called "The pit" It is a part of the parking lot that sits lower then the parking lot/ground arround it so it is somewhat protected from wind. It still gets really cold though. We camped there in an older class c and as you can imagine we went through a lot of propane. Not all winters here get that cold, but this last winter was a doozy. We wintered in a Hitchhiker II fifth wheel in a trailer court. The cost and time to travel in that weather has us looking at something else. We will sell the fifth wheel after making our truck camper purchase.

Whoa, that's awfully cold for a camper! Is the area covered that you plan on staying in?