Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 20:23:57 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Winters in the van
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
I had a 68 Bus into which I installed a Suburban propane fired heater.
It sat on the floor right behind the driver seat, with the omni-port
right out the side. The port was the type that suplies the air for
combustion and is also the exhaust outlet. It was a "Free Air" type that
allowed you to operate the heater while driving. The unit had electronic
ignition. I found the electronic ignition to be important because when I
would hit a bump the fire would go out, but immediately the electronic
ignition would relight it. I mounted the thermostat on the door post by
the driver seat, just about ear level. the worked good. The thermostat
had a off switch so I could turn the system completely off if I wanted
to. It required a deep cycle battery if I wanted to be overnight
anywhere and was good for about 3 days of continous running on the
propane tank. Also good for about 3 days on the deep cycle battery. The
second battery was tied in through a splitter that would charge when the
engine was running, then would cut out whent the battery was fully
charged. I would run the engine twice a day when really cold to keep the
battery up.
Really enjoyed having that heater. Had ports on it and I had one pointed
forward and one rearward. Really worked good in cold weather. A half
hour before going home from work I could go outside, turn it on and set
the thermostat. It would light off and have the snow melted off by the
time I got off work. I lived in Anchorage, AK at the time, and later
down on the Kenai Peninsula. It was a good heater for the Alaska cold.
It was a great heater, and if I ever go back north again I may get
another. You do sacrifice some floor space for it. but you don't lose
that much. One could easily put a storage bin over it and get good use
of that space behind the seat.
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Andrew Fox wrote:
> Winter camping is my absolute favorite thing about the vanagon. I love
> the outdoors in winter and camp around 30 days each winter in my van. I
> use a plat cat heater which i like but could use more btu's for those
> really cold nights. You can do it without a heater but you'll end up
> camping out much more if you have a heater. Unfortunately a safe heater
> is not cheap. Here is a list of options for vanagon heaters I have
> compiled. Feel free to ask me additional questions. If i could do it
> again I would install a Suburban heater. Ive only seen one installed in a
> vanagon. You could probably get one off a wrecked rv really cheap
>
> heater: cost: advantage: disadvantage
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> platcat $450 safe, efficent only 5200 btu
> low propane/elec insullation needed
> draw
>
> gasoline $500used convienent, uses price, hard to
> $1200plus new gastank for fuel find parts, elec
> draw requires second
> bat
>
> carverp4 $500 NOS just the right not made anymore,
> size for vanagon hard to find.
>
> Suburban/ $500-$700new parts/service avail elect draw reqires
> modern RV plenty of btu's second battery.
> Forced air some model take up
> propane lots of space.
>
>
>
>>Anybody have any general tips for camping in the van during the winter? I
>>plan on doing a few high elevation camps this winter in the Sierras for ski
>>season (probably three days max) and was wondering if people had
>>stories/lessons they might want to share about Vans and snow?
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>-eric
>>
>>
>>--
>>Eric Spletzer
>>Webmaster
>>SeniorNet
>>121 2nd Street, 7th Floor
>>San Francisco, CA, 94105
>>
>>"I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% the way I react
>>to it." -- Charles Swindoll
>>
>
>
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