2018 Deer Camp-Boondocking Tips Please!

#1nobby wrote:

westend wrote:
BSing, etc.

Funny how you put this last on the list.

Probably should be #1.

:):)

The thing is, there are a lot of variables to BS'ing levels. If I haven't seen my fellow hunters for awhile and they have covered a lot of personal ground, levels go up. If everything is on cruise control in their life, levels go down. Amount of beer ingested = level up. New gun to admire = level up. Dragging out 25 yr old hunting boots/gear = level down.

We hunt on the bottom of ancient Lake Agassiz. One afternoon I was determined to get waylaid or shall we say determined to return to camp by a different trail. I ran out of daylight with > mile in bush/grass up to my chin to make camp. That evening, my input to BS was zero, man was I tired. ;)

I wouldn't worry about the generator, even an open frame contactor type, the other hunters will be running ones as well.

How about elk/moose in September in northern BC ? Every year we have frost. But the worst hunting camper experience was when I won a lottery for a November doe tag one year during a nasty cold snap in the high country. Then we ran the genny, a quiet Yammy to power the an electric heater and the furnace, and still froze up. We were OK we had a heavy sleeping bags. BTW cold comes up as well.

I just changed my furnace in my hunting camper, a '99 stick and tin, from the 12,000BTU to a 19,000BTU. More sized like a trailer. Last September, cutting my hunting trip a little short, the old fan packed it in, squealing like a stuck pig, making sleeping difficult. This will up my power consumption to two batteries a night from the one. I have two #27s. This leads into the problem of restoring the used power, most trailers have poor performance charger circuits in their converter/chargers. On my camper it's a measly 10 amps. On our TT, I up graded the charger side, so I didn't have to run a generator all day. I see something like that in the future of the camper.

Unless it's really cold, I shut the genny off when I go bed, turn down the furnace to 50 or 55 and sleep under heavy blankets, or a down comforter . If really cold, I run the genny all night with an electric as well. I give up on running water and use a blue jug and an outhouse. In the morning first thing, even before getting dressed is firing up the genny. It's hard to get enough genny time. And then you can crank up the heat.

I would avoid propane cat heaters, they dump lots of water in the camper and use oxygen requiring open windows. I say this from a bad experience in a wall tent. A wall tent doesn't have sewn in floor so does have drafts, yet when I pointed the dish inside when I was cooking breakfast, the boys got up very drowsy.

Solar in winter ? a yellow spot on the horizon on that rare day it's not clouded in.

westend wrote:
BSing, etc.

Funny how you put this last on the list.

Probably should be #1.

:):)

We see all kinds of weather in Northern MN. It can be 65-70f and sunny or -10 at night and snowing. When it's very cold, we skirt the trailer with plywood or insulation board. We typically use a vented propane heater that doesn't have a fan (no 12V needed). it keeps the trailer toasty warm with a vent open to remove water vapor. The typical day is spent cooking, drinking beer, cleaning guns, playing cards, watching movies, BSing, etc. We hunt in the early morning and in the afternoon until dark.
We found that insulating the floor really helps for comfort. My current rig has solar, five batteries, and was insulated totally when I restored it. I can heat it with a candle, almost.
Good luck on your hunt. Post back your success and harvest if you can.

As others have said, when we camp in cold temps, we use warms quilts and/or sleeping bags when sleeping. I don't actually use the camper's propane furnace (I turn off the thermostat) unless we have hookups... or a generator running. It does kill the battery quickly.

When I get up in the morning, making the percolator coffee on the stove does a great job of heating up our trailer. Then work on the eggs, bacon and sausage and the camper is almost too warm.

A few have mentioned condensation... I always vent our trailer. One window cracked open and one roof vent cracked open. You need fresh air to breath, and I can't stand a "stuffy" camper.

Have fun! I'm going out in about 30 minutes for deer. It is just about 32F this morning. Better than last week - it was so warm and humid my eyeglasses kept fogging up!

I love cold weather! (well, with the right clothing... lol!)

Already some good suggestions.

Boondocking?

I go boon docking for a week at a time with 2 6V batteries and 80W of solar panels.

I haven't needed to start my generator.

Any tips on how to keep the inside of the camper warmer and prolong the battery power?

Use a Catalytic heater and an external (extra) propane tank.Wave heaters are the best and the Buddy type second,in my opinion.Hunting time here is alot colder than the temps you posted..It has been getting in the teens where I hunt ..

I have a Wave 8 I used in my 30ft trailer but it is to big for my 9.6ft Lance truck camper,so I went with the little buddy as they were once called with just one element instead of two as is the Big Buddy..It put's out to much heat on low to be comfy..I should have got the Wave 3 instead.

I am plumed at the propane tanks to ad an external tank whether it is my extra 10 or 25 gallon tanks for long stay's in cold weather.The furnace fan kills batteries like know other appliance and the catalytic heaters are safe if used properly...

I have been using them winter camping for many years in all of the RV's I have had..

drsteve wrote:
A propane space heater, like a Big Buddy, is what you need. I have one, keeps a popup toasty on 20 degree nights.

Big Buddy

I use one regularly, but wouldn't in a camper for a week straight. Too much moisture from them unless you're exhausting more heat than retaining in the camper.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

trail-explorer wrote:
Use the generator to power some electric space heaters at night.

Most generators will NOT run all night on one tank of fuel when you are running a 1500W electric heater.

Maybe if you sleep for 16 hours!
I haven't seen a 5-7kw generator that won't run for the better part of a calendar day on a full tank of gas.
OP, realize you're hearing from RVee "experts" here, most who proclaim to hate big generators, but secretly hope to hear one so they have something to complain about....
To your question, leave the generator running during the heavy heating time (at night) or up your battery capacity and keep the heat turned down when sleeping and hunting.