Third Gen Heater.

[3rzrunner]

Hi Guys! back for more input from my some of my favorite people!
I need some input on a heater. I sleep in the back of my runner when camping/wheeling. I have taken the rear carpet out and put in 1/2" blue sleeping foam underneath and re-installed the rear carpet. In the summer the back of the truck is pretty warm and comfy especially when in your sleeping bag, but in the winter when it's -10deg Celcius out it gets pretty friggin' cold in there and getting your clothes on in the morning in -10 lets just say that not much fun.
I was thinking of putting a heater (GAS?/PROPANE?/???) in there and have been looking but have not found any for a reasonable price, also was thinking of a little generator (I don't have one) and a small electric heater, and letting the generator run all night 50ft away from the truck.
My question is have anyone of you put a heater in one of these trucks and what kind is it? Do you vent the exhaust out the window?
I'm tired of being cold.......

 

[nevada]

Hi Guys! back for more input from my some of my favorite people!
I need some input on a heater. I sleep in the back of my runner when camping/wheeling. I have taken the rear carpet out and put in 1/2" blue sleeping foam underneath and re-installed the rear carpet. In the summer the back of the truck is pretty warm and comfy especially when in your sleeping bag, but in the winter when it's -10deg Celcius out it gets pretty friggin' cold in there and getting your clothes on in the morning in -10 lets just say that not much fun.
I was thinking of putting a heater (GAS?/PROPANE?/???) in there and have been looking but have not found any for a reasonable price, also was thinking of a little generator (I don't have one) and a small electric heater, and letting the generator run all night 50ft away from the truck.
My question is have anyone of you put a heater in one of these trucks and what kind is it? Do you vent the exhaust out the window?
I'm tired of being cold.......

ive used one of these in my tent before.


Mr. Heater - America's Most Popular Portable Heaters


obviously, you would have to secure it so it cant fall over. also, proper ventilation is required. it has tip-over, and low oxygen protection just in case.
I personally wouldn't trust that...

we have the small one, it works very well. we usually only use it right before bed, to knock the chill down. the same in the morning, a few minutes before getting up/dressed. I don't think a 1lb bottle would run though the night. but you could run it off of a 20lb tank, with an extension hose, which would give plenty of run time.

 

[nissanh]

Generator and an electric heater is much safer than propane heater. Propane heater will remove the oxygen inside your truck and later it will start producing carbon monoxide (due to lack of oxygen inside the truck) which is highly toxic. During the sleep you will pass out with CO inhalation without even waking up. Never use a propane heater in a closed area.

I too is looking to get a generator and a space heater to heat when I sleep inside the truck. Just make sure to keep the heater away from any flammable liquids/materials.

 

[3rzrunner]

Hi thanks for the replies, but how would i properly vent the carbon monoxide from the "MR.Heater" thing? that would be dangerous! looks like a good idea though if it can be properly vented Also the generator is a good idea but $$$$

There must be something that is integrated and easy+cheap!

ideally i would want a small propane heater that i can open one of the windows a bit and put the vent outside so its still safe.

 

[nevada]

Hi thanks for the replies, but how would i properly vent the carbon monoxide from the "MR.Heater" thing? that would be dangerous! looks like a good idea though if it can be properly vented Also the generator is a good idea but $$$$

There must be something that is integrated and easy+cheap!

ideally i would want a small propane heater that i can open one of the windows a bit and put the vent outside so its still safe.

just have a window down a bit. or even 2 windows down an inch or so. that will vent plenty.

I know it seems crazy/dangerous, but they are designed to be used INSIDE.
maybe not necessarily inside a vehicle, but tents/trailers sheds etc. that is what they're made for.

as far as putting a vent to the outside...im not sure that would be possible. the problem comes from the fire(heat source) burning up the oxygen in the small space. you would have to vent the heat outside, which would defeat the purpose of having a heater.

a window or 2 slightly cracked open would give you plenty of fresh air.

 

[3rzrunner]

just have a window down a bit. or even 2 windows down an inch or so. that will vent plenty.

I know it seems crazy/dangerous, but they are designed to be used INSIDE.
maybe not necessarily inside a vehicle, but tents/trailers sheds etc. that is what they're made for.

as far as putting a vent to the outside...im not sure that would be possible. the problem comes from the fire(heat source) burning up the oxygen in the small space. you would have to vent the heat outside, which would defeat the purpose of having a heater.

a window or 2 slightly cracked open would give you plenty of fresh air.

I guess...... I will give that some more research!
But i did see one my buddy had that had 2 corrugated pipes with a insert that is a rectangle that fits inside the back window when its down a crack so it seals the inside of the car and sucks clean air in and blows exhaust air out.
It had a fan on it so it would radiate the heat from the box.

That would be perfect if i could find one like that!

 

[Grenvilleter]

My friend died in his van running a propane heater. This is serious stuff !

I have remote start and set the heater controls on high...when I wake up from cold, I hit the button and go back to sleep. The truck runs for 15 minutes then shuts off giving me enough heat to go for a few more hours of sleep.
Make sure the exhaust is not restricted in any way and is in good shape.

 

[3rzrunner]

My friend died in his van running a propane heater. This is serious stuff !

I have remote start and set the heater controls on high...when I wake up from cold, I hit the button and go back to sleep. The truck runs for 15 minutes then shuts off giving me enough heat to go for a few more hours of sleep.
Make sure the exhaust is not restricted in any way and is in good shape.

Ya the propane is dangerous stuff! Sorry to hear about that....

Remote start isn't a bad idea but i need heat ALL night long.
One time i was sleeping in the runner (no heat) i woke up with 2Litre POP bottles
frozen solid next to my head! I was in my sleeping bag but damn that's cold.

 

[Grenvilleter]

You might want to look into a wabastso (sp) heaters. They make heaters for vehicles and were commonly used in long haul trucks with sleepers. Not too sure what mods would be needed to vent properly but it's worth looking into.

Remember the gas heater in the volks beetle. In Canada anyhow, beetles came with an aux gas heater as the little air cooled engine heat was insufficient.


These are the guys I was thinking about...
Not sure if they have anything that would suit but ideas anyhow..

http://www.webasto.com/

 

[slapdappy]

how about an electric blanket underneath and a second battery?

 

[19toyrunner]

1# bottles

ive used one of these in my tent before.


Mr. Heater - America's Most Popular Portable Heaters


obviously, you would have to secure it so it cant fall over. also, proper ventilation is required. it has tip-over, and low oxygen protection just in case.
I personally wouldn't trust that...

we have the small one, it works very well. we usually only use it right before bed, to knock the chill down. the same in the morning, a few minutes before getting up/dressed. I don't think a 1lb bottle would run though the night. but you could run it off of a 20lb tank, with an extension hose, which would give plenty of run time.

I use the mr heater in my tent with 1# tanks. I get about 4 hours constant heat on high and 6 to 7 on low. Works great at keeping the cold out in my 6 man tent but doesn't make it actually warm. I'm sure in a smaller more sealed space like your 4 runner it would last much longer not having to run constant due to the vehicle having better insulation then a tent

 

[UnderFire]

The little electric Mr buddy heaters work great, I had to crack a window to keep from overheating inside when it was about 40 degrees out.

Sent from my JSN-L23 using Tapatalk

 

[airdreams1]

You might want to look into a wabastso (sp) heaters. They make heaters for vehicles and were commonly used in long haul trucks with sleepers. Not too sure what mods would be needed to vent properly but it's worth looking into.

Remember the gas heater in the volks beetle. In Canada anyhow, beetles came with an aux gas heater as the little air cooled engine heat was insufficient.


These are the guys I was thinking about...
Not sure if they have anything that would suit but ideas anyhow..

Heating and Cooling Solutions - Webasto Thermo & Comfort

Those little gas heaters you're talking about for a Volkswagen bug were extremely dangerous and commonly caught on fire. I know this because I've been into Volkswagen's most of my life. Just finally got tired of having to work on them constantly I needed more Room so I switched over to a first gen Toyota 4runner....

 

[TheExplorer]

I know that this does not answer your specific question however when I car camp in the winter, I have a 4 inch foam mattress for sleeping on, Coleman sleeping bag with 3 wool blankets on top. I find that I am nice and cozy with this set up, even the girlfriend is happy and she gets cold easily.

I leave a window open a touch for ventilation and we keep whatever base layer clothing we need for the next day in the sleeping bag down at the feet which keeps it from getting cold.

In the morning we just start the truck and stay in bed until it warms up.