safe, portable heater that people use for occasional use?

[LosAngeles]

Hi all

Not able to spend the $ on a full build out interior.... looking to do a "basecamp" sort of build - basic electrical, battery, roof solar, wall insulation.

so no heater installed.

is there a safe, portable heater that people use for occasional use?

bonus points if it has a thermostat of sorts, so in very cold nights (goes below freezing) it could be set and forget 'till morning.

22' high roof 2019 or 2018 Transit likely.

thanks

john

[goreds2]

I have the Heater Buddy but here is a comparison of the two popular ones. 13 minute video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbcih38aA2s

[soaringhawk]

In our small van we have used “Little Buddy” heater for 8 yrs. We use it for a couple of hours in the evening but shut it off while sleeping. Does a good job. It shuts off if tilted and when it senses low oxygen levels. Hard to light if cold. Made in China we’re on third one. At night we put in next to propane alarm just to be safe. In morning we use van heater because Little Buddy takes to long to warm up van in cold morning. Built in propane heater hight priority in next van. The larger “Buddy” heater has two cylinders and puts out more heat. Terry

[Mrprez]

Little Buddy is junk. By the time you take it apart to clean and try to get it lit you are already overheated. I finally threw mine out the door and kicked it into the trash. When it did light, it provided minimal heat.

[goreds2]

Originally Posted by Mrprez

Little Buddy is junk. By the time you take it apart to clean and try to get it lit you are already overheated. I finally threw mine out the door and kicked it into the trash. When it did light, it provided minimal heat.

Did you replace it with another brand? Original poster would like to know.

[Mrprez]

Originally Posted by goreds2

Did you replace it with another brand? Original poster would like to know.

Yes, we bought the Wave 3. That worked much better and actually heated up the trailer. I can imagine that it would be a bang-up job for a van.

[soaringhawk]

This is a reference to a RV site with a discussion of owners talking about their “Wave 3” and Buddy heaters.
https://www.cheaprvliving.com/forums....php?tid=11258

[Storysrvwego]

You really should consider a propane fired heater to build into your van. There are hardly any electric heaters that can possibly heat, and maintain heat in a van. Even if you really do a great job insulating. Unless your coldest nights are 60 deg or above or something like that. And then if you accidentily kick the portable over on its side and it does not shut off or a blanket on the bed falls down over the heater while your sleeping... There are various types of build-in heaters. Simple units that have a burner and a fan. Or those that heat liquid in under the floor tubing. Or something like a TRUMA Combi that has ducts similar to the floor ducts in many home furnace setups. Not to mention the Combi also provides hot water. The TRUMA is spendy and it might even be required to be installed by a dealer. Boy does it work great. Electric can be used for water heating but use propane to get it up to temp, fast. Then you might use electric through the day hours to maintain some heat for faucet use. But flip the propane back on when you want to take a shower. The furnace side of this "combi" is serviced by propane. You get REAL btu's of heat for the innards of your RV. If you had to depend on the 1,800 watts of the pair of heating elements to heat and keep the van heated, forget it. Lots of electricity used for way inadequete BTU output. Open the slider door and whatever little heat you had is gone. The propane system uses very little propane really.

It really depends on what your after and of course the budget. But you might be miles ahead by buying an RV already setup. Even if you got the really fundamental HYMER Sunlight V2 model sold by CAMPING WORLD, it could be cheaper than you can actually build one yourself with the same total result. The S V2 is not rift with quality. And I am fairly certain you will have a few trips back to the dealer involving some days for warranty fixes. Even some of the really nice products out there have their initial woes to work out-these RV's a lot of stuff put into them from a lot of differente manufacturers. But I suspect a pre made RV is still going to be a better result than most people can build for the same ballpark price.

Obviously making your own has a lot of good points. Self accomplishment. Spreads out the cost although if your credit carding a lot of it AND financing the off the shelf van, it can get really spendy. Customization the way you want it is high on some folks list. Just make sure your skills are up to the task for all aspects of your build. Plumbing, heating, air conditioning (if ur doing that), cabintry making, insulating, electrical, etc. etc. Simple or complex matters on what you end up with and how soon you can actually use it to yoru satisfaction. Maybe a late model used RV that you can de-construct in some areas and re-make the way you want it without being a totally new build out is the way to go! I know i was strongly leaning toward this latter approach. You hit the ground running and modify as you go. More enjoyment time and less down time in the driveway or shop. By all means, have fun whatever direction you take!

[Boxster1971]

STORYSRVWEGO - Combustion heaters also have risks.

A small 1500 Watt electric heater has kept my van plenty warm even sub-freezing temps. Yes - there are safety concerns. Mine has an automatic shutoff if it gets knocked over. I also keep it away from the bed in my van. If you have available external power they are a great option. Mine is nearly silent, compared to my built-in propane heater.

[Hatteras Jim]

You didn't say if you will have access to electric. If you do, I also have used a small 1500 Watt cube heater, with thermostat, with adequate heat (65) at least down to 30 degrees. Sit it on the floor, away from combustibles (3 feet in front, 1 foot on sides and 2 feet in rear). It has a tilt shut off and I do not have any pets. Also have used a small Black Cat? Coleman catalytic propane heater that runs off the 16 oz bottles while boon docking; but, I don't run that after bed time like the electric, and I don't boon dock all that often.


My main heater is my roof top AC/Heat pump, which is good to about 40 degrees; however, it is so loud, I never use it after dark to spare my neighbors. That's when the cube heater comes out.



If I was going to boon dock a lot, I would consider an on-board propane unit as previously suggested. Good luck.

[avanti]

The Rixen's Espar diesel/hydronic setup that GWV used (and ARV continued when they cloned GWV's design) has an electric coil in the hydronic expansion tank, which you can use when you have shore power. Kind of the best of both worlds.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by avanti

The Rixen's Espar diesel/hydronic setup that GWV used (and ARV continued when they cloned GWV's design) has an electric coil in the hydronic expansion tank, which you can use when you have shore power. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Agree - that is the best of both and what I plan to have in my next van.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by Hatteras Jim

You didn't say if you will have access to electric. If you do, I also have used a small 1500 Watt cube heater, with thermostat, with adequate heat (65) at least down to 30 degrees. Sit it on the floor, away from combustibles (3 feet in front, 1 foot on sides and 2 feet in rear). It has a tilt shut off and I do not have any pets. Also have used a small Black Cat? Coleman catalytic propane heater that runs off the 16 oz bottles while boon docking; but, I don't run that after bed time like the electric, and I don't boon dock all that often.


My main heater is my roof top AC/Heat pump, which is good to about 40 degrees; however, it is so loud, I never use it after dark to spare my neighbors. That's when the cube heater comes out.



If I was going to boon dock a lot, I would consider an on-board propane unit as previously suggested. Good luck.

Maybe I'm missing out on something Jim. At the moment I don't ever recall heat pumps being discussed on a forum. I have one too, but I've never used it rather a cube thing also. Why do you use it, the application?

Bud

[Joe]

Our roof top air conditioner has a heat strip in it. When reading instructions. It said was just to keep chill off. We use this but it does not work with a thermostat. So I wake up now and then and turn off. It gets our van really warm. We have never used equipped propane furnece.

[wny-pat]

Originally Posted by Bud

Maybe I'm missing out on something Jim. At the moment I don't ever recall heat pumps being discussed on a forum. I have one too, but I've never used it rather a cube thing also. Why do you use it, the application?

Bud

They do not work well when temperature is below 40.

[Hatteras Jim]

Much like a home AC/heat pump, our rooftop AC is also a AC/Heat pump so it will either make cold air or it can produce heat as well. It does not use "heat strips". We would use it as our primary heating source down to about 40 degrees. Below 40 it just didn't generate enough heat for us. The drawback is the outside noise that it produces. After I wrote the original reply 2 years ago; we found that we seldom use the heat pump function. We found a small cube heater generates enough heat for us and it is a lot quieter. Our camping is usually done above 30 degrees.

[wny-pat]

Originally Posted by Hatteras Jim

Much like a home AC/heat pump, our rooftop AC is also a AC/Heat pump so it will either make cold air or it can produce heat as well. It does not use "heat strips".

Are you sure that it doesn't use "heat strips"? Last I knew that is what the RV industry called heat pumps in their AC units. Maybe they finally up dated with the real deal, but I doubt it! I know for a fact that is what Coleman calls a heat pump!!

[avanti]

Originally Posted by wny-pat

Are you sure that it doesn't use "heat strips"? Last I knew that is what the RV industry called heat pumps in their AC units. Maybe they finally up dated with the real deal, but I doubt it! I know for a fact that is what Coleman calls a heat pump!!

Can you provide a link to a unit that claims to contain a heat pump but does not?
Seems a little unlikely.