comfortable winter camping?

R

Rust

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Dec 13, 2016
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Location
Oklahoma City
Hey, folks. First off, I'd like to say hello. I'm new here. Looks like you all have a great community.

My question concerns winter camping. We'd like the option to take our future camper on ski trips and other winter outings. We're searching for 8' pop-ups in the used market. Most of the campers on our list that are available now appear to be uninsulated. How important is insulation in a pop-up camper? Right now its on my "must have" list, but I'm wondering if we could do without. We live in a warm weather climate, so I imagine insulation would be useful when running AC in the summer. Not sure though.

Do any of you run your uninsulated campers in cold weather conditions? Do you with you had insulation when you're out there?

Thanks!
 
Our first FWC Hawk (1999) didn't have the insulated liner, but the little bit of winter camping we did was in areas of CA where usually didn't get below the 40's. Our second Hawk (2010) also didn't have the insulated liner. We took it on one hunting trip to Idaho, but mainly used it to sleep in since our party had a wall tent. We did not use the water system during that trip, and slept in 0 deg bags with the heater off. We only used the heater briefly when getting up or going to bed. Temps probably got down to the low teens or upper single digits at night; it wasn't too much warmer inside the camper.

After we moved to Idaho, we started using the FWC for more cold weather trips so I purchased and installed the insulated liner. With the liner, it is much easier to keep a more consistent temperature inside the camper (with less fuel). We now leave the liner in year round. If I ever bought another FWC, I would most definitely order it with the insulated liner. In hindsight, I should have ordered it with the liner when I bought each of my FWCs.
 
I have the insulated liner and camping at 14F is no issue. I usually have the heater set just above the lowest setting.
It seems most of us have the heater set at the lowest setting and get by just fine.

I usually burn about 5lbs of propane per night at 14F as I sleep with the roof vent 1/4 way open and 1 windows about 1/4 way open.
 
Keep in mind the only parts of an FWC not insulated are the floor pack and the soft liner. Recent traffic on some other forums talk about the no insulation in FWC's is largely incorrect. The walls and roof in mine is batten style insulated, but my Grandby is an old one. It's not a lot but it is there.

There are some things people do to make their FWC more 4 season capable. While I don't ski as much as I used to, pop up boondocking the parking lots still seem to be a bit en vogue with others when I go. The approaches most popular, and a search of this forum will probably find the threads and in no order of priority are:

Foam board insulation under the floor
Reflectix in the cabinets, propane box, and under the bed. Some use it as a liner winter pack.
The liner winter insulation pack, either store bought or custom made.
Catalytic heating to save on the battery from the forced air heater fan running constantly.
Condensation management.

Good luck with your decision.




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You contacted me earlier and I replied. Perhaps you didn't get it? I'm happy to resend if you like. It would be easier if you give me your personal email.


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I'm using Reflectix over Hypervent and no moisture issues under the mattress. Doesn't eliminate the moisture. But allows air to flow under the mattress allowing moisture to evaporate.

The floor does get awfully cold!

Bill D...told the wife how you sleep with the fan and window open and thermostat setting at 14F...she wanted to know if you've converted your camper into an igloo? :D
 
I've been using the Eagle a bit this fall in cold down into the 20's. The arctic pack liner is now on my short list to add to it. I also intend to insulate the base some.

I cut a piece of 1/2" Blue foam to fill the space on the bed platform that is created when the pullout is extended. Main reason was to get rid of the pullout hump. But the insulation factor is huge under the bed. So far no condensation under there at all. I do get it on the ceiling and vinyl.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/12441-rice-build-thread/page-5
 
Depends what you call comfortable. My wife wouldn't call putting the furnace on its lowest setting and using a sleeping bag comfortable. We have an outfitter that has awesome insulation for a pop-up. Even in the teens we can keep the camper at 65ish without it running more than 20min every hour. This is 9.5' but looks like it has the new thicker sidewalls. I wouldn't rule out and Apex or something like it if you haven't looked there yet. http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/5869265850.html
 
Neither would my dog. I like the 35 setting to keep the plumbing from freezing but I'll run 50 to keep the dog comfy.
 
Thanks for everybody's feedback. We ended up buying a Northstar 850SC without insulation. We spent the first night in the seller's heated barn, so temperature wasn't an issue. Second night, we stayed in Mark Twain State Park in NE Missouri. Temperature got down to 33F, but we were connected to power. I ran the heat strip on the AC and set the furnace to 68 degrees. We were able to maintain that temperature without any issue whatsoever. I didn't measure the frequency of the furnace cycles, but it didn't kick on very often. Now that I've experienced a night at that temperature, I don't think I'd even bother with insulation for temps down to the mid twenties. I'll have to test it at lower temps and reassess. Thanks again for your comments.

Xb2jPh6.jpg
 
LuckyDan said:
Keep in mind the only parts of an FWC not insulated are the floor pack and the soft liner. Recent traffic on some other forums talk about the no insulation in FWC's is largely incorrect. The walls and roof in mine is batten style insulated, but my Grandby is an old one. It's not a lot but it is there.

There are some things people do to make their FWC more 4 season capable. While I don't ski as much as I used to, pop up boondocking the parking lots still seem to be a bit en vogue with others when I go. The approaches most popular, and a search of this forum will probably find the threads and in no order of priority are:

Foam board insulation under the floor
Reflectix in the cabinets, propane box, and under the bed. Some use it as a liner winter pack.
The liner winter insulation pack, either store bought or custom made.
Catalytic heating to save on the battery from the forced air heater fan running constantly.
Condensation management.

Good luck with your decision.




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