Making A Warmer Truck Camper Bed

[Camper_Jeff___K]

Today's Project, Making A Warmer Truck Camper Bed.
Cedar Lattice For Ventilation. SIKA 1" Insulation Board To Keep Mattress Warmer. Flannel Sheets To Be Warm And Cozy In Bed.
I've seen others on the RV.NET forum do similar projects in the past. This is my attempt at it. I'll be traveling in some cold areas, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, the next while and based upon my last winter trip to these areas, I decided I better try something to make winter life in a truck camper a little more comfortable. Getting some electric booties to keep the tootsies warm while sitting at the dinette. I did a test with a couple thermometers last trip and found a 30 degree difference from the floor to the sink countertop, 40 floor, 70 countertop. The feet were very uncomfortable. The furnace is doing a lot of work to keep the temperature up.
I'm open to suggestions for improvement.
J&K





Video Link for those who are interested.

[c_traveler2]

I liked your video and it's a reasonable solution for what your trying to resolve. In the Spring write a update on your mod.

[JoeChiOhki]

Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:

Reality Check wrote:
Interesting thread.

We camp alot in the winter. Just spent 4 days in 0-5F degree weather. Never really had an issue with the mattress or cold. Condensation, can be an issue, but it's a super easy solution. Got to have air movement. I usually just crack the kitchen window a bit and open the bathroom vent slightly (fan stays off). An example, two days into the camp, no condensation at all, windows being the best indicator. Cooked breakfast for three extra adults and two kids (squeeze them in..!) and after a bit over two hours, the windows were covered in condensation. It's our breath. Turned the fan on when they left and half hour later, camper was cleared up.

A suggestion for under the mattress. One needs air movement but most can't afford the height loss. Pick up a piece of Miradrain or equivalent. It's a composite drain product, and it will keep an open airway under the mattress. About 1/2" tall, plastic and fiber, water proof.



Last... skip the flannel sheets. They're only warm 'after' you get in and warm them up. Go fleece. Tell them I sent you...! There is no comparison.

The foundation dimpled sheet would work very well. I actually have a roll of it in my shop.
I talked with Joe Chi Ochi, Matt, who foil tape sealed a foam board down in his cabover and wrote a post about it back about 2007 with good results. I'll keep an eye on the current setup to see how it performs. Rather than the foil tape, there is a PVC tape which is stronger and more flexible than the aluminum tape. I'll keep you posted on results.

Work well for many years, never had any moisture issues.

We did however, also install carpet foam and full home carpet over that foil face polyisocyanurate foam and around the perimeter of where the mattress came in contact with the walls.

We also used a 10" thick Polyurethane foam mattress vs inner spring, which added another layer of insulation between the floor and the occupants.

With the Amerigo, we have 3" of R22 fiberglass insulation beneath the floor of the cabover and a 3/4" plywood deck on top of which our mattress rests, so I didn't need to do the same trick this go round.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

I'm south of Medford Oregon tonight. It's 35 outside. My mattress insulation project seems to be working but, I'm turned around in bed, feet forward by the front window, head at the foot of the bed. My head is comfortably warmer now and my feet don't mind the cold. Furnace on for 60 degrees but the cabover bed area has much greater exposed surface area to i ternal volume than the rest of the camper and as such, is susceptible to much greater and faster temperature swings. The extra blanket is doing the trick.

[JimK-NY]

I completely turn off the heat at night. By morning the temps in the camper are often down to 40 degrees or less. I have had no issues using a hot water bottle to get started and several fluffy blankets.

If anyone is interested Costco is currently selling Pendleton sherpa fleece blankets that are extremely warm and only cost $35. Two or three of those should do it down to really low temps.

[Johnnybgood]

We are actually headed to North Dakota. In researching reflectix we found that by itself it’s r value was 1. By adding air space of about 1/4 inch it increases to 3. We put corrugated cardboard and reflectix under our mattress and it works great. + whatever number were on for the heated mattress pad. Add a down comforter and a wool blanket. You will sleep toasty warm. We generally turn our heat down to 60 at night and sleep well. Safe and comfy travels to all.

[markchengr]

Our 200 watt matress pad heater uses only 4 ampere hours to run for a 15 minute warm up and then you get to climb into a nice warm bed.

[NRALIFR]

I’ve had heated mattress pads both at home (120v AC) and in our TC (12v DC) for at least 15 years, and wouldn’t want to be without them. In the TC, if you can provide the power, they just can’t be beat in the winter. With my DC-DC charger, I have the ability to provide more than enough power from the truck to run the mattress pad, and run the fridge in AC mode from an inverter while we’re driving, and still arrive at our destination with a fully charged camper battery.

The mattress heater in the TC is Electrowarmth brand, and as far as I know they are the only ones that make one. When I bought mine, they were even making a queen size pad. I think a heated pad that size was pushing the limits of what the standard 12v cigarette lighter plug could tolerate amperage-wise though, because that was the only issue I ever had with it: the plug was getting too hot. Today, they only make a twin size 12v pad, but there’s no reason you couldn’t use two of them on a queen mattress as long as you didn’t overlap them. I have mine hardwired though a panel mounted, switch-duty CB now, so I’m not having any more plug issues with it.

With only a single group 31 AGM battery in the camper, I’ve never tried to use the heated mattress pad when we’re without shore-power. If I remember to turn it on while we’re driving it will pre-warm the bed so it’s not so cold when we climb in. I’ve got a couple of small Li batteries I’m going to install one of these days that will be just for powering the mattress pad in the winter when we don’t have outside power. If the pad flattens them overnight no problem, the main battery will still be charged. I can recharge the Li’s the next day while driving, plus the few hours of generator use we typically will have.

If the 12v pad were to fail today, I’m not sure which way I would go on it’s replacement. There are pluses and minuses I’d have to consider for both.

[2oldman]

JimK-NY wrote:
.. and certainly no electric blankets.

They don't draw 200w continuously, all night, they cycle, like your refrigerator. And with blankets and you in there, they don't cycle much. The very lowest setting is plenty warm. Turn it up and it will be too hot to sleep.

[JimK-NY]

2oldman wrote:

JimK-NY wrote:
A 2 liter hot water bottle and cover is $13 from Amazon. It will prewarm plus stay warm for hours without any electricity or need for a large inverter.

The typical pad is at MOST 200w, so stop with the large inverter nonsense.

In this case I guess "large" is relative. I have avoided the use of any inverters except a very small, plug in inverter that I need only to charge camera batteries. My phone, laptop, and my wife's CPAP all run or charge using 12 volts.

Many of us with truck campers have limited space for a large battery bank or for lots of solar panels. I removed the slide from my battery box in order to fit in 2x150 AH AGM batteries. I have about 1/4" overhead and front clearance to jam them in. My roof only has room for 2x135 watt solar panels. Rather than try to expand my system or use a generator frequently, I conserve electricity. That means no electric coffee pot or other appliances and certainly no electric blankets.

[2oldman]

JimK-NY wrote:
A 2 liter hot water bottle and cover is $13 from Amazon. It will prewarm plus stay warm for hours without any electricity or need for a large inverter.

The typical pad is at MOST 200w, so stop with the large inverter nonsense.

[MORSNOW]

specta wrote:
when the temps dip below freezing I use a nice sleeping bag. Works good for me.

We always use sleeping bags zipped together to form one large bag. Different bags for different seasons and we carry a flat sheet to use on top for hot summer nights. So much easier making the bed too!

[specta]

when the temps dip below freezing I use a nice sleeping bag. Works good for me.

[Sjm9911]

JimK-NY wrote:
I tried Reflectix to seal off some of the vents and windows. It is almost worthless. The R value of Reflectix is 1.0. Fabric covers and window shades are a lot more attractive and perhaps even more effective.

Fortunately my Northstar was built with European windows which are double layer with a layer of air sealed between the layers. They are fairly effective especially if I close the shades which traps another layer of air. If you have single layer windows, I recommend heavy fabric curtains.

Do not cover any vents. You need to use them and exhaust fans whenever you generate a lot of moisture such as using the shower or cooking.

Its not the r value your using it for, but think of like an emergency blanket, it keeps the heat in. By reflecting it. Conversely, in warm temps it can keep the heat out. Yes, shades and blinds can help also. They add more of an r factor especially if you create an air pocket like you do.

[JimK-NY]

A 2 liter hot water bottle and cover is $13 from Amazon. It will prewarm plus stay warm for hours without any electricity or need for a large inverter.