Heater or sleeping bag?!

[fozz1e]

Hi all,

I've been staying in my T6 camper on and off for work since I got it in April this year and I'm struggling to find the most comfortable way to get the temperature right over night now it's cold so just curious what everyone else does.

I've tried getting it warm and toasty before bed and not running the heater over night but then as the temp drops over night I've found I need to get in a sleeping bag and adjust for the cold.

I haven't tried leaving the heater on all night to maintain a constant temp as I find it pretty noisy (for me and others on the campsite around), does anyone else do that?

A colleague of mine says just get a good sleeping bag and don't bother with the heater but I can't imagine it being much fun getting out when it's around 0!

 

[Dellmassive]

With poptop or not?

Van insulated?

Front screen wrap?

What type of bed have you got.

You have a diesel heater?.

......

We just use layers.....

Starting vith PJs.

Then a duvet,

Then various over fleece blankets.

And a fleece blanket underneath too.

We have no poptop, but van panels and roof are insulated, plus we use a insulated screen wrap.

 

[oldiebut goodie]

I never run the heater overnight - why heat the van just to keep your nose warm? I have always just turned the heater on as soon as I awake with the remote. A good bag makes all the difference in cold weather. If you don't have a remote make sure that your controller is mounted within reaching distance.

 

[soldas]

I've been through this in the last few months.

I've got a pop top and only had the bed base at first. I now have an extra board to fill the gap above the front seats which I think adds a bit if extra sudo insulation.

I brought insulated window covers, the internal silver stick on ones for all windows. Which has mad a big difference.

I have a diesel heater but don't really run that at night due to sound etc.

Electric blanket is a game changer for me. On grid not an issue, off grid I run off a jackery no issue.

Layers and blankets.

And I also have a super small plug in heater when needed https://amzn.eu/d/2PncvSn

 

[KR.]

Heater if required at night, switch off then into the sleeping bag. Set alarm for 10 minutes earlier than I want to get up. Alarm goes off, lean over and switch the heater on. 10 minutes later the van is nice and warm. Works for me in winter in the Highlands. A cheap blanket supplements the sleeping bag if required.
This is in an insulated van, side thermal blinds (rarely bother putting the front blinds up) and front/rear curtain divider. Pop top fitted but not up in winter.
My sleeping bag is good but wasn't expensive as it doesn't need to be light or packable, which add cost. My sleeping bag for camping, much lighter and packable, was more expensive.

 

[Parabola]

I've been through this in the last few months.

I've got a pop top and only had the bed base at first. I now have an extra board to fill the gap above the front seats which I think adds a bit if extra sudo insulation.

I brought insulated window covers, the internal silver stick on ones for all windows. Which has mad a big difference.

I have a diesel heater but don't really run that at night due to sound etc.

Electric blanket is a game changer for me. On grid not an issue, off grid I run off a jackery no issue.

Layers and blankets.

And I also have a super small plug in heater when needed https://amzn.eu/d/2PncvSn

Can you power the electric blanket using the jackery? How many nights can you get out of a charge? Never considered this before as I assumed it would quickly deplete.

 

[rod_vw]

We have been using diesel Eberspacher heaters in our campers for well over twenty years. Since the advent of the 801 controller and the ability to activate the external temperature sensor we have used them just like a domestic central heating system.
Cool / cold weather, switch it on and set the required temp when leaving home and (if we remember) switch it off when we return home. Altering the setting to suit time of day and what ever we are doing.
Now we have a 4kW Eber in the TGE with a Easystart Select controller (801 no longer available) which in theory does not have an external sensor but I've found a way of fitting a relatively cheap one so we do things just the same as before.
Diesel consumption is minimal / comfort is good so why do it any other way?

There is the added option with these heaters that enables forced air circulation, it's not an air conditioner by any means but it does help when on holiday in the hotter parts of Europe.

 

[Salty Spuds]

We use our van for skiing & have probably encountered lower temps than most folk.
We have a poptop with homemade insulated liner, the van is insulated. We have a Webasto heater with a TC4 remote controller.
We use a Vango Aurora double sleeping bag, with a thick throw for when it’s really cold, even then I usually wake up in the middle of the night & throw the cover off my side onto Mrs Spuds, I tend to “run hot” in bed (ooer matron)
We never run the heater overnight, even at -20C we didn’t feel the need.
The TC4 allows us to set the heater to come on at any time, so we use it as our alarm clock, set it to come on 1/2 hour before you want to get up, & the van is toasty, all this is done from my phone.
If we have EHU, we use an electric blanket, best £20 I have ever spent in the “Aisle of Dreams” even on minimum setting it’s more than warm enough (did I mention that I was hot in bed?)
So in a nutshell, it’s easy, just needs a little thought & planning.

 

[Ayjay]

Do you have electric to plug into when you're sleeping in the van?

 

[Sackmycook]

Can you power the electric blanket using the jackery? How many nights can you get out of a charge? Never considered this before as I assumed it would quickly deplete.

We do this at home, just to save 5p a night. The Jackery 500 goes down about 10% for an hour or so of electric blanket use (high setting of 3).
So you should easily get a week from 100% to 20%

 

[CAB]

Thermals, socks, gloves, wooly hat.

Heater on in the morning, back in to bed until you are too hot.

 

[Drive Wayne]

My Mrs is a professional duvet stealer at home, her skills have naturally been transferred to the van, we have a double sleeping bag in the van but I hate being zipped in to it, during the night I will be deprived of any covering as she rolls expertly taking my top half of the bag away from me. Consequently we always have our Webasto multi control on overnight on a setting of 17/18 degrees. The Mrs can never be too warm, she's happy. The Webasto Airtop 2000 stc is under the van, no noise issues inside or outside, the multi control and temp sensor (now in the right place - thanks @oldiebut goodie ) make it just like the system at home. All our trips out this year, even mid-summer, we have used the heater, fair to say the weather has been pretty poor for us! Toasty van.

 

[Lubrown]

Our van is insulated and we have used the heater only three times ‘in anger’ over the last three years, even then just for a ten minute blast when sitting still in the evening.
Would never use the heater when sleeping mainly because we’d get way to hot but also it’s noisy and there is a risk of gases if something goes wrong (although we do have a gas monitor).
A decent sleeping bag is a worthy investment. We used to tent camp and I couldn’t sleep until I got a decent bag.

 

[fozz1e]

With poptop or not?

Van insulated?

Front screen wrap?

What type of bed have you got.

You have a diesel heater?.

......

We just use layers.....

Starting vith PJs.

Then a duvet,

Then various over fleece blankets.

And a fleece blanket underneath too.

We have no poptop, but van panels and roof are insulated, plus we use a insulated screen wrap.

I have a poptop but for work it's just me so I keep it down. Panels are insulated. I use a front and rear windscreen wrap - side windows are just curtains though so I had been wondering about getting some stick on insulation for them in winter. Bed is a rib Altair and I've got a Webasto diesel heater.

The layers option and setting the heater to come on just before I need to wake up sounds like the way to go. I'm going to look into some other bedding options though because the sleeping bag I have at the moment is great for cold temps but it's a mummy bag and I find it very weird being so restricted!

 

[rod_vw]

My Mrs is a professional duvet stealer at home, her skills have naturally been transferred to the van, we have a double sleeping bag in the van but I hate being zipped in to it, during the night I will be deprived of any covering as she rolls expertly taking my top half of the bag away from me. Consequently we always have our Webasto multi control on overnight on a setting of 17/18 degrees. The Mrs can never be too warm, she's happy. The Webasto Airtop 2000 stc is under the van, no noise issues inside or outside, the multi control and temp sensor (now in the right place - thanks @oldiebut goodie ) make it just like the system at home. All our trips out this year, even mid-summer, we have used the heater, fair to say the weather has been pretty poor for us! Toasty van.

'Stat set a 17 degrees over night, that sounds so familiar although it was me who stole the sleeping bag. We now have a big duvet replacing the sleeping bag and we find that works well for us. Mrs R always adds an extra section to the bottom of duvets to enable it to be tucked in at the bottom.

 

[Johnod17]

Both for me ,I feel the cold and have a pop top
Best thing we put in the camper.
If you have it and don’t use it not a problem,but if you do t have one and are cold you will wish you put it in .