Modification ideas for boondocking

[Bluebeard]

I've got some ideas and I thought I'd run it by you guys (gals):

First of all I have an 2002 Arctic Fox 24-5N 5er which I plan on exclusively using for boondocking in the high mountain western states. I bought the trailer for a song, and I am not concerned about losing resale value. No hookups- ever- so here are my thoughts:

1. I will NEVER use the rooftop air conditioner. NEVER. And if I were in a location where I needed cooler "conditioning" I would most likely build a 5 gal bucket swamp cooler. So I was thinking of taking off the AC from the roof and putting a vent in there. However, the AC hole in the roof has remote vent lines taking off from the cut out in the roof. So I was thinking, for heating and cooling, to modify the vent fan such that the actual fan was located BELOW the intakes to the vents. If I wanted to spread conditioned air (hot or cold) through out the trailer, I just need to turn on the fan with the vent top closed, and I would assume the air would be spread around the camper. Yes/No?

2. I plan on putting in a Cat heater as the cycling of the forced air fan on the furnace at night keeps me awake. So I was thinking of replacing the stock furnace with a Wave 6 heater mounted pretty much in the same location as where the furnace was. I was thinking of taking out the furnace, and then putting in a low speed (quiet) muffin type fan at the entrance of the heater ducts where the furnace used to be and to have a switch where I could turn on the muffin fan on the really cold nights to circulate (at a low speed) the cabin heat down to the basement.

Is this plausible? Any suggestions for a decent 4' 12v fan that is quiet and moves air?

3. Has anyone ever considered setting up a mini drainback solar hydronic system on the roof to preheat the water for the hot water heater? I would be pretty simple to set up with some black tubing on the roof, and it would run on sunny days. When you came back from hiking, maybe the water in the hot tank would be 120F, so you wouldn't need to fire up the furnace.

Thanks for any insight.

[coolmom42]

No need to tinker with the AC and some kind of fan mod. If you don't want the AC, just take it out and put a patch in the roof and close up the hole. That would reduce the potential for water intrusion. If you don't already have a roof fan, put in a good low-power-consumption Fantastic Fan.

Just turn the water heater on when you need it. It only takes about 15 mins to heat up, or less if the water is already fairly warm.

The heater is a good mod, uses less propane and zero electricity. You do have to be careful and keep the dust off them, however.

Your best mod for boondocking is a solar system plus a good battery bank.

[Vulcan_Rider]

Two thoughts:

Removing the roof AC is a LOT of work that I see as unnecessary.

You can accomplish air circulation by putting the present system on FAN-RUN.
Are there not a few rooftop vents in the roof already ??

OK, three:
Have you tested the present heater yet (a propane furnace I assume) ?
The fan on mine is extremely quiet.

Or 4:
I turn my water heater on only when I really need it, mostly for showers.