Newbie questions please help.
I'm looking at purchasing my first truck camper a 2010 Westland camper wet weight is only 1100 lb. I work away from home so I'm only home for 7 days every two weeks and want to live in this full time ...
Forum Discussion
I will give you my opinion and you are free to do as you see fit.
Adding insulation is always beneficial to keeping warm but camper walls will need a significant amount of insulation improvement to stop frost build up in corners/nooks/crannies when the weather is cold. Covering single pane windows with insulation will help. I have a very old truck camper (70s vintage) that I use only for winter fishing and snowmobiling. I covered the walls, most windows, and roof vents with one inch thick Styrofoam. I heat it with the original propane furnace and ensure I have new CO and smoke detectors suitably placed in the camper. I do not cook in the camper and use it essentially to store my stuff and as a place to sleep. All meals are prepared outside. I will get small amounts of frost in some corners along the some walls and in the closet. I will not go if the temperature are expected to be colder than minus 20 degrees Celsius. For my purposes (trips 5-6 days at a time two or three times a winter) the frost is not a problem and dissipates by next use.
I definitely would not recommend a wood burning stove in that small of an area. The problem will be that the stove must be very small therefore will need constant attention/stoking. You will either be opening the door to cool off or will be relighting the stove every few hours. A friend who often accompanies me camps in an enclosed snowmobile trailer with a wood burning stove. Although the stove is large and keeps the trailer warm, it still requires stoking every two hours.
Others on this forum have far more knowledge than I do regarding solar but I do not believe that we get enough good sunshine in our Alberta winters to keep batteries charged enough to run a refrigerator and television without having a huge solar array.
I do not want to "rain on your parade" and many things can be done depending on how much comfort you are willing to sacrifice. Please keep your safety as the first consideration.
Adding insulation is always beneficial to keeping warm but camper walls will need a significant amount of insulation improvement to stop frost build up in corners/nooks/crannies when the weather is cold. Covering single pane windows with insulation will help. I have a very old truck camper (70s vintage) that I use only for winter fishing and snowmobiling. I covered the walls, most windows, and roof vents with one inch thick Styrofoam. I heat it with the original propane furnace and ensure I have new CO and smoke detectors suitably placed in the camper. I do not cook in the camper and use it essentially to store my stuff and as a place to sleep. All meals are prepared outside. I will get small amounts of frost in some corners along the some walls and in the closet. I will not go if the temperature are expected to be colder than minus 20 degrees Celsius. For my purposes (trips 5-6 days at a time two or three times a winter) the frost is not a problem and dissipates by next use.
I definitely would not recommend a wood burning stove in that small of an area. The problem will be that the stove must be very small therefore will need constant attention/stoking. You will either be opening the door to cool off or will be relighting the stove every few hours. A friend who often accompanies me camps in an enclosed snowmobile trailer with a wood burning stove. Although the stove is large and keeps the trailer warm, it still requires stoking every two hours.
Others on this forum have far more knowledge than I do regarding solar but I do not believe that we get enough good sunshine in our Alberta winters to keep batteries charged enough to run a refrigerator and television without having a huge solar array.
I do not want to "rain on your parade" and many things can be done depending on how much comfort you are willing to sacrifice. Please keep your safety as the first consideration.
