How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?

SkiBumAt50 wrote:
Thanks all for the comments. I get that I maybe asking a lot of the camper. While it's an expensive task, I'm not ready for a full Earthroamer yet. I'm a hobbyist and have done a fair bit of fabrication, and it's hard for me to not just say Ef it, and build one myself. I don't have the time for that.

@photomike My plan for the diesel heater was redundancy. I think I can possibly use a coolant heater and add a heater core to the unit. Quick disconnects for water to recirculate with the engine heater. It would serve a dual purpose and allow engine heat to warm the unit while on the road. Honestly if my wife isn't with me (She likely won't go as often as me) I can skip a day of showering. I thought about Vans honestly, all in it's way easier but I need the truck for my Car Hobby, and some other things.

@Notsobigjoe Yeah you know my area then. Which way EJ? Anyway... That's a lot of what I was thinking. I've looked at some of the doors and such, and they're not robust enough or sealed totally. I honestly like sleeping in the cold so if the unit is in the 50's at night I'm ok with that, so long as the pipes are kept warm enough. I'm an Engineer and even thought if I could fabricate an air to air heat exchanger I could figure a way out to dry out the air some, we'll see. I need to step back sometimes and not spiral away into details.

In the end, no plan survives contact with the enemy, so it might be I just need to get one and see what works.

Thanks all.

The problems with subfreezing camping are many.

#1 Having enough stored power to run the furnace. While propane catalytic heaters use no power proper ventilation is required for their use. Diesel heaters/furnaces may use less power but require another fuel source. In sub freezing temperatures (and add some wind) and your furnace is going to be running nearly non-stop in attempts to keep your camper warm. Best have a source of power or LOTS of AH to power it. :)

#2 Counter productive as it may, good ventilation is required while humans+animals are inside the camper as they give off moisture which will cause condensation on and IN anything in contact with the outside subfreezing temperatures. Add the additional wet clothing+ski gear and there is A LOT of moisture in the camper.

#3 Plumbing/basement - while most modern campers have heat ducts off the propane furnace to keep these heated all bets are off if you make use of alternative heat sources (above mentioned as well as AC electric space heaters) which won't provide heat in those areas.
I've heard of some campers using bottled water and RV antifreeze to "flush" their toilet while avoiding the use of their water system entirely. YMMV.

I'd agree with the other posters that mention the "4 season" moniker is more a marketing buzzword than any actual measure of performance.

Just IMHO, YMMV.

- Mark0.