Sleeping inside the truck (Winter camping) heating needs

This thread couldn't have happened at a better time. I too plan on camping this november for the first time, but nothing as crazy as the OP. It's really cool reading about what other experienced campers have done to keep warm.

 

Down winter bag with a liner, insulated inflatable sleeping roll, thermal underwear and a hot water bottle for when you first get into bed.

When I was a noob I slept in a cheap sleeping bag on the bare steel floor of my 4runner in winter. That was a rough night.

I slept in the back of my access cab quite a few times and I'm 6ft tall. It was an 06 with the fold flat rear seat, not bad at all.

 

Eh.. Liners are questionable and a waste of time IMO.

 

That's about what they amount to. I would use a sleep sack of some kind just to keep my down bag free from extra dirt, sweat and oil.

I wouldn't ever recommend one for warmth, a better use of the money would be to burn it, close to where you're sleeping.

 

Depends on the material, some can improve the rating 10-25*. It keeps the bag clean and you aren't limited to just using it as a liner, Can use at as a throw etc.

 

Which can improve the rating 10-25 degrees? None that I've seen.

I know what manufacturers claim, and your numbers would be correct in accordance with their marketing. However, tests and real users have proven otherwise countless times.

In some cases, they actually prohibit warmth as they reduce the overall loft of a sleeping bag.

Liners are not for warmth.

 

Mostly stay in hotels/motels...

 

I have a google spread sheet that I'm marking green if installed or ready to load. As of now, not much is under the green tab....;(

 

Can you post it? I don't care so much as to what is loaded, so much as I'm curious what the load out consists of.

 

Ever heard of a webasto heater? They are commonly used in industrial equipment like crane cabs. They take a little space and planning, you can get them in gas or diesel, use very little fuel, and exhaust is separated from the hot air. You can find the lesser expensive versions on alibaba.com

http://m.aliexpress.com/item/32237567659.html

 

$440 would be better spent on a proper sleeping bag.

 

Yeah, depending on needs. I have thought about putting one in my truck and directing the air directly into the heater vent. Which if I think right, will force the hot air across the heater core semi heating the coolant. Add a coolant line heater to the lower hose and your block and cab would stay nice and toasty.

I know my truck is miserable starting in 20-40ish below winters in North dakota.
They use about .09 gallons of fuel an hour which is less than idling. But you can run your battery dead if you leave them on too long. Kinda would be a pricey install, but in my opinion would be awesome for heat in the dead of winter.

 

Will do once things get a bit more organized.

 

TBH I just refollowed this thread, but when I left, there was a lot of "you should rely on this device for warmth," and OP doesn't have a proper sleeping bag. That was established early on.

A proper sleeping bag won't fail in the middle of the night, so I think that is the first base that should be covered. Otherwise in my head, I see a guy laying in the backseat with an $50 Coleman bag and $1000+ worth of motorized or electric powered crap that he can't get working. That's just how my head works.

Only thing that should be wholly relied on is yourself. I would be spending way more time learning what works and what doesn't, what proper, must have, fool proof gear and safety equipment I need and similar than figuring out what heater setup I can rig up and the like.

-20F is cold. I've been in -23F before (not camping) and plans can quickly change. OP trying to get all of this rolled into a first camping experience is intriguing, but also puts him in a position where he needs to sort and identify good info from not so good info, but also in worst case scenario prep.

Whatever you take with you should be fully capable of supporting life if everything else fails. Truck doesn't start. Heater doesn't work. Propane stove doesn't work. Running out of fuel early.

Is it overkill? Maybe for the locations he will be in, but the alternative is kind of shitty.

 

There's some really good advice in this thread and also some inexperience showing. Concentrating solely on the camping aspect, one of the first things you need to consider is that the truck itself, as someone else mentioned, is going to conduct heat (a tent retains almost no heat but it doesn’t passively pull heat away either). This means you either need to insulate it, produce a surplus of heat to offset losses, insulate yourself, or some combination of those. Most vehicles have very little insulation; most people don’t live in areas where they need it and it's pretty pointless when you have huge thermal losses through the glass. On the other hand, insulating the metal surfaces can help, especially if you will be doing something about the windows. Pulling the panels will reveal very little sound deadening and the only thermal insulation is the material under the carpet. Insulating any surface you can will not only reduce noise but will help with heat loss. The noise reduction has the added side effect of reducing driver fatigue. An important note here is that your body releases a lot more moisture than you realize just through respiration. This is negligible during normal driving as you are in and out, windows open, short duration, etc. but when you sleep in the vehicle you will release a lot more moisture into the air. Pull the cabinets in most VW campers and you’ll see what I mean; there will be more rust around the bed and the stove (which also releases moisture). This means that you need to use an insulating material that will not absorb moisture. If nothing else, I would pull the headliner and do the roof since heat rises.

Next you need to stop heat losses through the glass. Buy a roll of Reflectix at Lowe’s/Home Depot/wherever and cut pieces to fit the windows and windshield. The stuff is stiff enough that you can usually just press fit it into place. It has the added benefit of blocking light.

Turning your attention to actual sleeping, start with a good foundation- something comfortable but insulating. Air mattresses suck as does sleeping directly on a cot. You need something that will trap air beneath you without compressing. There are plenty of pads out there including the inexpensive mil-surplus closed cell rolls. A sleeping bag, especially a mummy type, will retain more heat that sheets and blankets. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get one that will go below zero degrees- check places like Campmor and REI. A quick look at Campmor for example shows they have several Slumberjack brand bags for under $100. The more expensive bags are nicer and lighter but for your purposes you don’t need the lightest 800 fill goose down bag. I can fit in a regular bag but prefer the longer version for the extra room to add clothes and a water bottle in the bottom; if you are athletic or overweight be sure you check the size/fit of the bag first as some are much snugger than others. Adding a thick comforter or blanket can help reduce the temperature rating as well as give you something to wrap up in or drape over you while changing clothes or just sitting there waiting on the weather to improve. While I have sleeping bags rated for various temps I always carry at least a wool blanket in my truck and sometimes a down comforter or thick fleece blanket.

Whether you are using a mummy bag or not, get yourself a decent thermal type hat. Wool or fleece but it should cover your ears. Wear insulating clothes, I like a high neck/mock turtleneck type such as the Patagonia Zip Neck Capilene , but nothing tight that will restrict blood flow. Socks and even gloves are a good idea.

Moisture is going to be a constant problem if you are sleeping in the cab. It will cause your clothes and gear to feel damp if it’s not dried. The other big concern is that your glass is going to ice on the inside. Cracking a window helps and doesn’t cause as much heat lose as you would expect, but you will probably still have to sit for a while idling with the defrost blowing to clear it- and then you’ve got more moisture.

I would forgo the generator idea myself as I see it as superfluous with proper sleeping gear and it’s just something else to deal with and possibly get stolen. I would carry one of the small jump packs like the Anti-Gravity batteries for emergency jump starts.

Carry plenty of food and water and stay hydrated- far too many folks fear having to get up in the middle of the night to urinate and don’t hydrate properly. It’s much easier to get dehydrated in the cold than many people realize and it also contributes to being cold. The solution is simple, just carry a bottle and you don’t even have to get out of your bag. I like Gatorade bottles as they have a wide enough mouth and the bottle is distinctive feeling so I can find it in the dark since I very rarely drink that crap. Rinse it out in the morning with a bit of soap or mouthwash and you can reuse the bottle. Leave room in any bottles or jugs to allow for expansion of ice. Avoid alcohol. Never discount the value of a hot drink or meal in warming you up so I’d carry some sort of stove, whatever you’re comfortable with. If you are using a canister style stove i.e. JetBoil, make a coozie for the cylinder to help insulate it for better performance. A stove is also handy for heating up water to fill a bottle that you can toss into your sleeping bag. Make sure it doesn’t leak first of course but the warm water will warm your feet and the bag will keep it from freezing overnight so you have drinking water in the morning.

Another trick for staying warm is to buy a box of those ThermaCare type back pain pads and place one over your kidney area before going to bed. They last about seven hours or so and by warming the blood going through the kidneys you’ll stay warmer.

A headlight is almost always more useful than a handheld light, especially for camp type tasks. An LED light don’t work as well in the cold as it does in regular temps. Carry extra batteries. An extra safety item that I carry in my bag of tricks is a small battery powered strobe that I can put on the back of my truck in the event I break down.

Just some ideas. Head over to expeditionportal.com for more. Enjoy and take plenty of pictures.


Disclaimer, I've never been to Alaska but I've camped in sub-zero temps on more than one occasion and lived out of my Tacomas and a VW camper at various times.

 

All that and you recommend a shitty Slumberjack sleeping bag?

 

I think I'm done with this one.

Have a good trip OP.

Leaving you with this.

http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/temperat.pdf

 

I posted it as an example as he said he was on a budget and would have limited use for these items after this trip- you'll note that I said it would work, never that it was a great bag. It's still better than a Wal-Mart special. Personally I use North Face and Big Agnes bags. I actually do have one older lightweight rectangular Slumberjack down bag for summer use that has been excellent for the price. Wiggy's is having a 20% off sale right now too.

Of note is that most bag's rating are subjective at best. Most manufacturers tend to rate their bags in a manner that, at least in my experience, doesn't match real life. Additionally, a lot depends on the individual sleeper- some people sleep much warmer than others. I would highly recommend trying any equipment before putting into actual use.

 

My outlook has always been prepare for the worst !!

Mechanical Things do and will fail most often at the worst time .

The Mountain west has got quite built up since my fun days in the early seventies I had my share of minor mishaps which could have been much worse.

Seems my luck it always happened in the winter - 50 F West Yellowstone MT was so cold vehicle just would not crank

Another time I should of stayed in town Blizzard conditions Snow about hood deep it was not so bad for me but the idiot following me.

When one gets acclimatized to the cold 20 F and sunny is almost tee shirt weather for me

Stay away from cotton in the cold it gets damp then it will freeze sucking more heat from your body.

Remove and vent clothing as to avoid sweating as you cool down add clothing as needed

As was stated the body needs fuel and water to keep going peeing in the night will keep you warmer as that is fluid you no longer need to heat.

If your not used to driving it does get tiring .
Yes this sounds like a great adventure I always wanted to make this trip as well.

 

Yeah I would love to do this road trip with you