We are thinking of a night of wild camping next weekend, as we dont have a diesel night heater i imagine it may be very cold . Is anyone out there a seasoned hardcore winter wild camper and if so , whats it like ? Cheers
Winter Wild Camping - Anyone Doing It ?
- Thread starter andy greenwood
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- camping tips wild camp
It's fine. Your interior will get damp with condensation- crack a window, it will lessen but not remove it. If you don't need the roof space at night close the roof (massively warmer). Make sure you use an interior or exterior windscreen cover and covers for the side windows (buy or make). Just a nice thick duvet. If you have a couple of hot drinks during the evening you'll be surprised how much that heats the van up. Hot water bottle if you feel the cold. Have a pee before you go to bed. A part full bladder will sap body heat. If you wake up cold, put on a thin fleece hat.
Seeing as you have a pop top and your interior is not sealed, if you do suffer with cold during the evening (if you are in the van in the evening and not in a pub!), a nice little heater that is not going to kill you, is a 4 hr tea light on a saucer and cover that with a small terracota plant pot- it chucks out a surprising amount of heat and costs about 10p for the tealight.
Seeing as you have a pop top and your interior is not sealed, if you do suffer with cold during the evening (if you are in the van in the evening and not in a pub!), a nice little heater that is not going to kill you, is a 4 hr tea light on a saucer and cover that with a small terracota plant pot- it chucks out a surprising amount of heat and costs about 10p for the tealight.
if you can get on EHU get a little fan oil/heater
The topic says wildcamping bud.
we have an oil filled rad for when we are on EHU but this is a wild camping trip
great photo, when was that taken ?
Stuart McFadden
New Member
I’ve done loads of wild camping in all seasons. It’s essential to have a good winter sleeping bag Everything else is a bonus. Best investment for my van was the Diesel heater . Insulation, Curtains and blinds etc all help too. Winter wild camping is awesome if you want to be free of the crowds. It’s much easier to find that perfect spot with a view to wake up to. Off season North Cost 500 route is perfect for winter adventures. Not a soul in sight for miles. We even managed to get some skiing and snowboarding done at Glencoe. Just make sure you stay safe and carry supplies in case the weather turns bad. You don’t want to be reliant on heaters alone as they may fail.
End of October beginning November
I’ve done some winter off site camping, I’d say the only big difference to summer camping is the need for heat and something to do after the sun goes down....pub??
I have an outdoor shower and the hot water pot also does my laundry. The dashboard heater drys laundry quicker than my dryer at home.
I have an outdoor shower and the hot water pot also does my laundry. The dashboard heater drys laundry quicker than my dryer at home.
Our limited cold weather wildcamping experience is this (our bongo didn't have heating but we only used it March - October in the Highlands):
* Keep the pop-top down (this keeps the heat in so much better),
* Hot water bottles are amazing. Stick one in your sleeping bag.
* My favourite one.... have a toasty warm partner and put your freezing cold feet on them. It is soooooooo good.
* Fleecy blanket inside the sleeping bag with you. Also keeps the heat trapped in the sleeping bag with you.
Condensation on the front windows suck but a lot of youtubers and people on facebook/forums recommend a window vac to remove it. This one is seperate as I haven't tried it yet. We still use the kitchen roll method (getting a window vac for my birthday).
* Keep the pop-top down (this keeps the heat in so much better),
* Hot water bottles are amazing. Stick one in your sleeping bag.
* My favourite one.... have a toasty warm partner and put your freezing cold feet on them. It is soooooooo good.
* Fleecy blanket inside the sleeping bag with you. Also keeps the heat trapped in the sleeping bag with you.
Condensation on the front windows suck but a lot of youtubers and people on facebook/forums recommend a window vac to remove it. This one is seperate as I haven't tried it yet. We still use the kitchen roll method (getting a window vac for my birthday).
Wring it out and dry on the dash when you’re driving, I’ve done it for weeks at a time, it’s really no effort.
IMO the only way to live in a SWB van is to minimise the gear you ‘need’, space is at a premium.
Hi Andy
The Mrs and I have never really worried about the season - we used to wild camp in a two man tent in the peaks and highlands in the winter until we almost literally froze to death in 2009 - like something on the discovery channel lol. We do use the camper now but I think you've got to pick your spots - Went to St Ives in November (see photo) and paid the price for being so high up on a cliff at a proper campsite with mental winds off the Atlantic. If you've got an electric hook up, whack an oil heater in and you'll be magic. But ill be honest, we had been on solar for 4 days, the diesel heater wouldn't fire up as the battery didn't have enough juice (literally 100% cloud cover for a week) and at 3am with a blazing hangover, it was minus 2 in the van... ha ha. Couldn't engage my brain enough to work out why the heater had packed in so just passed out and took my chances.
Mommabear - Out of interest, what solar and leisure battery have you got? I've always found that running the engine for a short(ish) while is usually enough to keep give the battery a kick. We've not actually got solar at the moment but, hopefully, the panel is being stuck to the roof as I type this and I will be getting the van back with the job done tomorrow.
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