Heating the Van

I'll be trying to travel with the weather, so as to not have extremes in temperatures.  For the cold temperatures that I will encounter on the trip, I will use a few different methods for warmth. 

First off, insulation.  Well, the conversion van I bought already has walls that are covered.  They also stick inside away from the outer metal shell a few inches, so either it is insulated already behind the interior wall, or there is an air gap away from the metal outer shell that will act as insulation.  I have read other people with this same type of van get inside the walls and discover they are in fact insulated.  That's what I am gonna go with, lol.  For the many windows, though, will be cutting to fit Reflectix to cover the windows.  It's like aluminum sandwiched around bubble wrap.  It will provide an air gap from the inner bubble wrap for winter, and will reflect the sun out of the van in the summer. 

Blankets, lots of them!!   I just received a gift from little sis on Friday, an awesome Pendleton wool blanket that is sure to help in that department.   I had found some sheets and a comforter for a few bucks each at our local thrift store that works well on the bed, and this new wool blanket will go over that when it gets chilly.  There will also be a few throw blankets to add on top if needed.  A beanie for the head if really cold.  Layers if really cold.  Should be snug as a bug in a rug.

But for right before bed and upon arising to take the chill out of the air, I have a propane Mr. Heater Buddy heater.  It lights easy and puts out heat fairly quick. 

Have four extra green propane 1lb bottles, will buy as needed.   I hope to not use it that often as those propane bottles can get expensive quick.  But lets face it, I'm not heating a huge area.  I will have blackout curtains behind the driver and passenger seats, so I'm only heating from the back doors up to the captains chairs.  Doing the math...  it was 115" (or 9.58ft) from the back door to the front captain chairs, and it is 66" (or 5.5ft) wide in the van...  9.58 x 5.5 = 52.69 sqft.   So, just under 53 square feet of space to heat.  That's like the size of some peoples closets.  Won't take long to warm up at all.  :)

Will also have to realize bodies put out their own heat.  And also have to account for any cooking inside will give off heat from that, too.   Just boiling water in the morning for my coffee should warm up the interior enough without having to light the heater.

And don't forget doggies!!  They are their own little heaters!  I haven't let Chevy sleep with me very often, but when I did, she made a great little foot warmer.



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