AT Habitat, Atlas, & Summit Pictures, ideas, aaand BS

Naaa too critical of products I use for any manufacturer to risk it.

 

Meh... sounds like too much work. I think it's just easier to get a job and buy the stuff yourself. O yeah, and maybe save for retirement while you're at it.

 

Agreed. I’m way too lazy for that

 

Laziness is why my new BFF Bumper is hidden in my garage behind my SxS... Definitely not on my truck or on the 'gram.

 

haha i hear ya, I have a shed full of crap for truck vw bug and motorcycle they are added every so often but to be honest she prob wouldnt notice as long as I keep her maxima clean and full of gas....

 

Finally ordered one of these:



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Diesel-Air...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

I picked one of these up a while back for the evenings / mornings but haven’t been out yet to use it

 

They work great for heating up the space, my girlfriend and I usually set up camp chairs in truck bed and watch a couple movies before we go to sleep when we are out and not having a campfire. We used one of those the last two years, only downside is the moisture they put out and the fact they do use the oxygen you are breathing for ignition, Upside is they are cheaper and alot less commitment involved to run them. Hopefully will get this thing installed next week as Im heading out for a few days and looks like temps might dip into negatives at night.

 

make sure to share how you install. Interested to know where you'll be running the air intake and exhaust pipes. I've tried to keep drilling to a minimum... but I guess I could throw that out the window soon, since I'll soon be doing a lot more than drilling (cutting bedsides for high clearance swingout).

 

Should be installing today... my plan in my head is too vent using the removable cubbies in the bedside. Don't see why I can't make that work although I haven't seen anyone else do it so I'm not positive.

Didn't want to run the fan and pump for the heater off my starter battery so I also got a renogy 100w wanderer solar kit to install, and will be putting a deep cycle battery somewhere in the bed as well. The designated heater turned out to be a slippery slope I guess, as now that I have solar and dual battery I will likely be putting a fridge back there.

 

The fridge is probably still our number 1 favorite investment. More than the Habitat, awning, all of it.

The removable cubby up over the fenderwell is where I drilled to run my heavy wiring in for my battery system. Only place I drilled so far. My only suggestion/warning would be to make sure the exhaust can't get trapped under the truck and/or bed and seep back into the Habitat.

 

Just a note, I believe starting in 2013, those cubbies were removed. The only reason they were there to begin with was because the tooling for the bed picker robots needed a place to pull them out and place them onto beds for fitment on the assembly line.

They upgraded the tooling so they wouldn't be there.

Another note, I personally think it's a better idea to just put holes in the bottom of the bed. The exhausts need to always be tilted downward so condensation can't build up, if you're parking on sideways incline, unless you build it with a lot of angle it might have problems. You should also make a consideration on how to protect the exhaust and intake piping in case you drive through mud. Maybe install a push rod to clear it out in case it gets covered.

 

I have a 2006 so it has the cubbies and I never use the ones above the wheel wells which is my initial idea. I also will never be running heater on an incline as the only time i will be running it is when the habitat is popped and we always level truck for that. Im leaving early A.M. tomorrow and the thing hasn't showed up in the mail yet so Im hoping it gets here soon and my install today will likely be a rough one to make sure everything works ok. I will have to look into exhaust routing requirements but I don't think the angles should be a problem with how Im planning to mount it. Again this is all just in my head at the moment and things always seem to change when it comes to actually installing stuff like this for me, I appreciate the thoughts and will definitely keep an eye on the mud situation. I had an idea to tie in the exhaust to my trucks exhaust pre-muffler to keep some noise down but was kind of worried about the movement in the system creating problems.

 

I have the folding sleeping platform. I usually keep the platform folded in half and pushed to one side. I was thinking about building something where it sits on the platform and vents out one of the side windows. That way I can take it out when summer roles round and not have to drill a hole.

 

Yeah, I know what year you have, it's in your profile. lol. It's just a note for 2013 and later who are confused.

If you can weld or have a friend who can, I'd do something like this:



The exhaust hose would go in from the diagonally attached one. The top would have a screw on endcap with a plunger on a spring loaded rod through the end cap. Then I just need to push on it to clear mud before I startup the heater.

Sleeping in -12F weather. Man. Electric blankets, heaters, and more insulation is definitely needed. I wish the Habitat was made in such a way that my sleeping bags could be left in place and also there was cold weather insulation as well.

 

I'm gonna stick with really good sleeping bags. Prolly safer that way too, just in case the heater failed while it was -12F. Not that I ever camp anywhere THAT cold. Wife would be a hard NO at those temps. We'll just fire up the buddy before we climb outta the bags in the morning.

 

I mean sure, but I believe in defense in depth. It's a principal we follow in Cyber Security where we understand the limitations of each method of defense and prepare redundancies in case any single defense method fails to meet expectations.

• Fashy Hot Water bottle
• -20 Degree Big Agnes Elk Park Bag
• Sunjoy 12v Electric Blanket under me
• Reflectix layer under the blanket
• Diesel Heater
• Mr Heater Buddy Backup
• etc

But tbh, the one time I camped near the hot springs by Mammoth, forecasted was 4°F. By 6pm it was 1°, and by 3:30am it was -12°F.

So shit happens.

That night I slept w/ the Habitat closed and a 2" gap between the hatch and the bed (at that weather, ice has a nasty habit of building up from respiration condensation, didn't want to suffocate or seal myself in.

I ended up only needed my sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, reflectix, the hot water bottle, my electric blanket, and I had my Hill People Gear Mountain Serape over my head to give me a warmer moister breathing space. I slept like a baby. But yeah, everything around me was crusted over w/ heavy frost.

 

Going smoothly so far.... working on installing battery underneath, more bracing, need to make fill plate for cubby hole, and I'm going to need a longer exhaust hose it looks to be about 7/8 ID any one know where I can pick something like that up?

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000571196469.html?

give this a shot.

otherwise there's the Amazon one from eberspacher.

$25 Eberspacher Espar or Webasto Exhaust Pipe 24mm | 36061296 | 90394a (1m)

https://www.amazon.com/Eberspacher-Webasto-Exhaust-36061296-90394a/dp/B07S84LB7Y/

 

Diesel heater is officially a game changer for cold weather camping. I wouldn't normally consider going out in weather like this just for fun, I was on an elk hunt and it was the last weekend to fill the tag. It did not drop to -12, but did get into negatives at night.The first night I just turned the heater off before bed and was just fine it my sleeping gear (bag and some blankets as well as some base layers and a baclava /beanie.) Last night I just let the heater run on its low setting all night, slept with a cheap +20 degree bag and sweatpants + sweatshirt and was very comfortable, was amazed to see in the morning that it burned less than 1/2 of the fuel in the heater. I had a 90ah 12v deep cycle battery hooked up and it went from 12.53v to 12.45 volts running all night. Really amazed how efficient it is, and wouldn't hesitate to head out in negative lows with it again.