Pop Up Soft Side Campers in the Winter
Could anyone who has owned one of these tell me how well they stay warm in the wintertime.
Forum Discussion
- Maybe the truth is that tmartin000 was unhappy winter camping in his Palomino Bronco but most of the rest of us were fine with cold-weather camping in our popup. In other words, it depends on the person and the popup – and maybe the weather.
- Yes, I had a Palamino Bronco.
There is a HUGE difference between a Hardside camper with Filon and structure vs a tent in a box. People, get real here. It's not all about a mutual admiration society!
The guy wants the truth. d3500ram wrote:
^^-- agree with you on that. While there are limitations, pop-ups TC's in winter are doable (and quite well.) I think the less interior volume of a PU TC has the advantage over the towable pop-up counterpart.
And a LOT less "tent"!! My Bronco has a storage area under the cabover bed, so there's a layer of warmth under the bed (as opposed to a popup trailer)- ^^-- agree with you on that. While there are limitations, pop-ups TC's in winter are doable (and quite well.) I think the less interior volume of a PU TC has the advantage over the towable pop-up counterpart.
- Can't help but wonder if we're hearing from pop-up truck camper owners and pop-up trailer camper owners...
tmartin000 wrote:
Lwiddis wrote:
A speck better than a tent...you are off the ground and have some heat.
Oh man, this guy is right on!
Far from it. You ever owned a pop-up truck camper?- Camped in winter in a pop up (trailer) camper for a cross country ski trip. Had two feet snow banks all around the camper. Floor was very cold but otherwise temps were ok in the camper. I did go through a 20 lb propane tank every 2 days.
Added this was a trailer Lwiddis wrote:
A speck better than a tent...you are off the ground and have some heat.
Oh man, this guy is right on!- Be ready for waking up with a cold face in the middle of the night and other's in the camper/tent that HATE getting out of bed because unless you have A TON OF BATTERY POWER, heat is a luxury. Been there, done that.
Of course you can always buy a ton of propane and use a portable propane heater and crank up the heat.... But then you have an open flame all night going......nice for safety.
It only took a few Oregon rainy nights, or other campers noise that carried THROUGH the tent walls-hearing EVERYTHING, and,.... trying to find a dry place to dry out the tent walls before storage, and the real kicker-----not able to use in bear areas......and don't forget extreme lack of storage.
Oh man, do yourself a favor, save up more money and get a hard-side. - Are you willing to see your breath when you go to sleep in your camper (40 deg)? If not, a soft side without electric hook ups is probably not for you. Note that the propane furnace can heat the air in the TC to 60-70 deg in just a few minutes. Cabinets and appliances will still be cold.
I have used sheets of reflextex to temporarily insulate the sides in cold weather and it makes a noticeable difference. I also read where someone took sleeping bags, cut in half lengthways, stitched them up, then mounted them to insulate the sides.
As to condensation, ventilation is the answer. I took an engineered approach and built an air to air heat exchanger for my TC. Using aluminum foil exchange plates and computer fans it provides about an air change per hour, retains about 80% of the ventilation heat, and eliminates almost all condensation in cold weather (30s) with the vents closed. I camp in the dryer west so results may vary in the south and east US.
Here is the thread on the heat exchanger, but my photo hosting site locked up all my photos and advises I have to disable my virus and pop up blocker first to log on and access them. :M
Air to air heat exchanger thread
