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 here are my questions.It's a summer camper if I take out walls and spray foam them put a small gap in floor then carpet it cover Windows. plus a small wood stove and furnace can I sleep in -40 comfortable?When it comes to tie downs is just a turn buckle type to the inside of bed fine or is there a proper hidden system?Is going solar actually as good as people say it is I want to run a fridge 24 hours a day off of it and play a tv at night with my ps4 for netflixs?My truck payload is 1970 pounds it's only a half ton should I get air bag helpers 5000k for safety and better wear on the truck?And being off the grid 100 percent is there any good tips that can help me thank you so much in advance to who ever helps.

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.

Minus forty? As in more than seventy degrees below freezing? You’ll be as frozen as any water you have on board. Oh, Celsius! Only forty degrees below freezing!

Hi,Is the fridge one that runs on propane? If so, on the electric only setting, it would draw approximately 5.7 KWH per day. That would require a HUGE solar array. -40 and boondocking is something that only two folks I know have have done. One of them was Photo Mike and the other is Moving Sue. I've done -37 C and it takes a large battery bank to survive as well as LOTS of propane.I suggest you do lots of milder cold weather camping before attempting -40.Remember that propane's boiling point is -42 C (-43.6 f). At -40 the rate of vaporization is slow and unless the tank is nearly full or extremely large it may not be great enough to support the furnace. I do have a magnetic heater to put on my tank. Fortunately I've never had to use it.To use a "summer" camper at -40 is going to require many upgrades to all systems.

Wood burning stove -> risk of carbon monoxyde poisoning (death)Solar in winter is not very effective because of limited sunlight / low angle.For fridge, TV etc. you need sufficient battery capacity and solar charge capacity. A single battery and panel will not be enough. Although, at -40C you need the fridge to keep food warm, I guess...-40C is very cold. Condensation is a problem in all TCs. Without adequate (forced air vs. radiation heat) heating you will have ice forming in many places. You need to keep the inside air moving and you need to constantly vent moisture outside. Even then you may find that your mattress freezes. Even with additional insulation. Also your TCs tanks and plumbing will freeze without proper precautions.Fulltiming in a TC can be done, even in winter, but probably not on a budget, and not without sufficient and reliable supply of electricity and heat.

Can you live comfortably in a camper in "normal" winter weather? Sure. Is it convienent? Nope-40 in northern Alberta in a dinky TC with a wood stove is nothing more than survival camping. Fun for a little bit, but yeah, I consider myself pretty hardy and I'd have to be desperate to do that for longer than enough to say I did it.And yes get some air bags for the truck.

Newbie questions please help. | Good Sam Community

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Jan 27, 2018
Minus forty? As in more than seventy degrees below freezing? You’ll be as frozen as any water you have on board. Oh, Celsius! Only forty degrees below freezing!
Big_Dog2
Explorer
Jan 27, 2018
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.

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