Looking for "tricks" to smart camping in cold weather.
One full timer (with the same model coach) showed me how he ran a power cord through the corner of his slide out, then runs a space heater during the day. If I run two 1500 watt space heaters in my 2002 Monaco Diplomat, it will blow a breaker. Same for him. He plugs an extension cord in the 15 amp plug in outside and can now run two 1500 watts electric space heaters. Why? Propane is expensive, electric is part of the daily charge on the site. I do understand the potential for fire with space heaters, extension cords, etc.
It was 18 degrees here this morning and forecast to be 9 degrees tomorrow night. Our basement has a heater built in (from Monaco) and that seems to be working fine. I take my water hose off at night, drain it & put it in the heated basement area. I make sure my waste water drain has little or nothing in it each night, then I close off my holding tanks overnight.
We run our two furnaces at 62 degrees overnight to conserve propane.
Just curious to see if some of you who regularly camp in cold weather have other ideas.
At what temperature do you plug your diesel engines in to 120 volts?
I take it you actually are not in Sacramento camping?
All you are doing, is what I have done, with the exception of the second 1500W heater. Personally, I would just fire up the furnace in the morning when it is cold. Assuming you are nearby Sacto somewhere camping it should warm up very nicely during the day (unlike the midwest).
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: dllfo runnning two 1500 watt heater on a 15 amp circuit is impossible. Amp draw per 1500watt at 120 volt is 12.5 amps times 2 is 25 amps. He must have been plugged into a 30 amp ciruit to run both heaters.
Get an electric blanket. Or in my case, I have a 12v mattress pad warmer due to being off the grid during the winter. When I have shore power, a single ceramic heater keeps my 4 season camper comfy down to about 35°. Beyond that I need the furnace to keep the plumbing operational. Use exhaust fans while cooking and showering. Crack a vent while sleeping. Those activities create a lot of condensation.
We are at 6300 ft at Lake Tahoe. Propane is almost $4 a gallon here.
Electric is part of the bill. Several people who "winter up" here said to do the space heater thing.
We keep the temp inside around 63-65 degrees in the day time and have used 1/3 tank in 16 days. Since we hold 38 gallons, I guess that is about 12 gallons at $3.75, or about $45. In a cold spell, we might use more. Ball park $75 to $90 a month, depending on how much time we are actually here (versus back home in Sacramento - for doctor's appt, etc.) Since we filled the propane tank we were gone 7 days out of 16. But the furnace was set on 50 while were were gone. Freezing temps here at night.
On the other gentleman running two 1500 watt heaters. I did not make myself clear, he is running one on the "extension cord" and one on his coach's system.
So, the coach has been here 39 days and we have burned almost $150 in propane.
We just came back from Home Depot, bought their 15 ft Husky extension cord, 12/3 wire. A deep, single-Gang Box, etc. and should be able to run a space heater safely off of that. NOW we should be able to safely run both space heaters on high.
Another full timer said he has a 30 amp cord which he connects next to his 50amp cord. He also runs it past a slide and can run two space heaters at the same time. I have not seen it. I have a Marinco 30amp power cord with a four plug-in box on it.
Eycom, an electric blanket used to work, but my wife read an article about the ill effects of electric blankets. Magnetic fields or something like that. I don't argue, I just say Yes Mam and try to find a Plan B.
Thanks for the ideas..... always looking for a better idea.
At what temperature do you plug your diesel engines in to 120 volts?
Any Temp below 32 degrees. But at night I always kept it idling when I was still driving cross county.
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You really only need to plug in the block heater for about 1 - 2 hours before you plan on starting it, or leave it plugged in the whole night before you start it IF you will leave early in the morning.
If it is above 32, then no need to use it at all. If between 0 and 28, it will warm the block enough in 2 hours so you will not have a problem starting it. If below -15, then plugging it in will assist warming up the block and will need to be plugged in a long time.
The Ford 7.3L engine is rated to start without assistance at 20F. I am not sure about the other engines. With emergency generators, they keep them at 130F all the time regardless of the electric cost because they MUST start in less than 10 seconds. Being hot allows a quicker start-up. But the glow plugs will assist in starting the engine properly even when it is 0F without the heater plugged in.
While dry camping, I use a Olympic Catalytic heater. It works great, but uses propane, and no electricity.
While in a campground, I found that I can run a 120 volt extension cord (12 gauge rated at 20 amps) through a vent hole below my nightstand into the basement, and then through a cargo door to the power post 20 amp circuit to run one additional heater.
To the Original poster.
If you shut off the circuit breaker that your heater is plugged into, then search around the coach, you should find one or more circuits that are still on, and will not be on the same circuit breaker. Then you can identify the two separate circuit breakers so one heater can be plugged into each circuit.
It might be that the manufacture put all of the receptacles on a inverter, with circuit breakers located on the inverter. In this case, there might be a 30 amp breaker that will shut off all the receptacles in the coach.
It is possible to install an additional 20 amp circuit breaker, and then use this one to plug in portable heaters. I would add one to the bath area, so the heater can be pointed towards the bedroom, and in the front of the coach, and use the heaters primarily only the new receptacles.
As for running the extension cord through the slide-out channel, I just hope there is adequate room. Yes 12 gauge is the correct size. There is a hardware store on highway 50, a few blocks north of Al Tahoe st. on the west side of the road. No need to drive to the Home Depot in Carson City.
Another way to keep the coach warmer is to bring in the slides. You will be surprised at how much heat can be lost due to the extra surface area of an extended slide. Lots of heat is also lost through the sloppy slide seals.
dllfo wrote: Eycom, an electric blanket used to work, but my wife read an article about the ill effects of electric blankets. Magnetic fields or something like that. I don't argue, I just say Yes Mam and try to find a Plan B.
Thanks for the ideas..... always looking for a better idea.
LOL... Lived under a high voltage wire for 50 years and managed to get a degree and stay out of a hospital in spite of it. Go with the 12v pad warmer, Electrowarmth, with less magnetism. Best price at Backwoods Solar dot com. Takes a little longer to get warm but equals the heat of 110v. Easy on the bats too. Good luck!!
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I don't argue, I just say Yes Mam and try to find a Plan B.
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