Keeping warm - not easy in our Autotrail last week

[reckless]

I made thick curtains to hang over hab door and between hab/cab areas. Pole sitting in recess brackets. Fold back neatly during day.
Also couple of cushions in footwell, also use those on the move as we could hear road noise.
Simple tweaks made a huge difference.

 

[Ivory55]

Are they winter vans, is the water tanks etc still un insulated ?

 

[Shrimp]

The DeLonghi oil-filled heaters are good but so heavy and could be unstable when travelling if not strapped down well. Given all the gubbins we already have in our house on wheels (everything bar the kitchen sink), overall weight is an issue for me.

They are no heavier than others and they do the job far better than others.
One get wedged behind the third captains chair the other gets stuffed into the toad!

 

[bigtwin]

I bet that you’re all thankful that you’re not skiers.

I wonder how those in the Alps manage?

Ian

 

[reckless]

Found a picture (we no longer have this MH)

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[Lenny HB]

I bet that you’re all thankful that you’re not skiers.

I wonder how those in the Alps manage?

Ian

They buy a van that's suitable for winter use, Brit manufacturers don't appear to care if there vans are fit for purpose.

 

[Googlebot]

I wouldn’t block any vents up including those designed for ventilation.

I did that a few years back with a caravan. I didn’t block the gas vents but I still got mould and condensation all over it.

 

[jongood]

They buy that's suitable for winter use, Brit manufacturers don't appear to care if there vans are fit for purpose.

We're in the foothills of the Pyrenees right now. OK We're on the Spanish side so not that cold yet, no draughts, only got the Alde on 2kw but good insulation.

As I said earlier on in this thread, there's a couple of easy wins for AT owners or have you learnt nothing from these people who superglue themselves to motorways

 

[Windy66]

We could not get the van to get above 18 degrees when it was about 2 degrees outside. Tried a few things like blocking off vents, small draughts etc. Then I installed a draught proof curtain. Basically quality thick curtain lining in the cab.
I suspend it from the parcel shelf using books or weights, hang it down OVER the reversed cab seats and use a long draught excluder. It has to go over the seats as there are two sources of cold. 1. The footwell 2. The cab seat supports.
The van can get up to whatever temp we need now. Whatever the temp outside. And the heating is not fighting the draught.
You would not believe how cold it gets behind that curtain!
So be sure to tuck it in to seal off the space. I’m going to introduce stitches and stick on Velcro when I get time.

 

[Ivory55]

They buy a van that's suitable for winter use, Brit manufacturers don't appear to care if there vans are fit for purpose.

For what purpose? They are still selling them. I wonder what % of their customers that buy new wants it to use in freezing conditions

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[Lenny HB]

If the van is fit for purpose you shouldn't need to do all this work.
We have never had draughts or been cold in our van don't even bother with external screens.

 

[Ivory55]

If the van is fit for purpose you shouldn't need to do all this work.
We have never had draughts or been cold in our van don't even bother with external screens.

But then that would deny you all of something to moan about. Haha

 

[Lenny HB]

For what purpose? They are still selling them. I wonder what % of their customers that buy new wants it to use in freezing conditions

30 years ago not that many now days a high percentage of owners use their van all year round.

If a van has got draughts everywhere, badly fitting doors and a dangerous fridge installation why spend a fortune buying it when a tent would give you a similar experience.

 

[Silkcut1105]

we had ours from aldi best heater we have had for less than 20 quid

 

[Silkcut1105]

When on EHU, I use one of these. Much prefer it to an oil filled any day. Extremely lightweight, instant heat, with dual settings and no having to wait for the oil to heat up and cool down. It also lays flat for storage under one of bench seats. Cheaper than oil filled too.

Had it on every night last week while I was away, blooming lovely and cozy warm.
View attachment 585240

really good heater

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[JaneyBMotorhomer In Hants]

But then that would deny you all of something to moan about. Haha

and Lenny HB would miss the opportunity to have his usual poke at British vans!

 

[Essgeebee]

Wow! Here’s me thinking I have the draughtiest and coldest van in creation only to find it’s a common problem. Thanks for all the suggestions including more insulation, draught-excluding curtains, switching cab vents to ‘recirculate’, bed-heating options inc dogs (not with our two flatulent boys!), more effective heating ideas, SORNing over winter (nope!) and buying a better van (I wish). Lots to think about and some work to do.

 

[Rapidoman 2011]

Last year when we were away, the truma boiler packed up, we had to use site showers and so on, ok as it was a spotless site. However it did get cold at night, we brought a 2kw convector heater, pluged in and instant heat, oil heaters are a waste of time, take too long to warm up and fan heaters blow any dust about and dry rhe air out, with the convector, set the temperature and enjoy. Now the boiler is fixed, we will still take and use the convector at night.

 

[Otter Spotter]

First external screen cover reduces heat loss from glass. Internal and blinds I find not as effective. Curtain between cab and habitation to reduce drafts. We carry a fan heater with thermostat to raise temperature quickly. Then 1.5 kw oil heater left in middle of van on low settings overnight. Been toasty in -6c with this setup. The gas heating with electric option may be 6kw gas or 1.5kw electric. Sometimes use a quick blast of gas before going to bed. Don't be tempted to buy a small oil heater as they don't contain enough oil to keep the temperature up.

Same methods as us, we tend to keep the temp inside around 15/16% which us comfortable for sleeping By using either the Wallas diesel heater to get up to temp and then 1/2 hour before intend to settle down turn the oil heater on, Wallas off as we go to bed and the oil heater held to retain the level of heat overnight without any fan noise.
The curtain blocking off the cab area is a good one, also switch the fan to recycle cab air to close outside vents off.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Reminds me of our previous motorhome, 2011 Swift Bessacarr, it had draughts from both front doors, cab area, behind the fridge/kitchen units, a vent at the hab door step area and the single floor felt very cold to the touch.
Plus, the heating was next to useless, the warmest being the storage area under the bed, unfortunately the only decent area for keeping the shopping.
I tried to improve things but as we started motor homing more, it had to go.

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[Jaws]

Good point about more insulation but that doesn’t block the built in holes in the cab area which presumably are there for a safety reason? It’s the droughts that are the culprit.

There are bloody holes all over a motorhome !

Every Fiat based m/h we have had I blocked ALL the cab vents
There is one underneath with a pathetic plastic flap thing, vents in the doors ( not on all cabs, but open the doors and have a look for louvres cut in to the edges / sides ).. Always make sure the cab heater is switched to recycle rather than through flow, and borrow a cigarette and use the smoke to find other holes in the engine fire wall.. On our X250 there were two !

 

[jongood]

There are bloody holes all over a motorhome !

Every Fiat based m/h we have had I blocked ALL the cab vents
There is one underneath with a pathetic plastic flap thing, vents in the doors ( not on all cabs, but open the doors and have a look for louvres cut in to the edges / sides ).. Always make sure the cab heater is switched to recycle rather than through flow, and borrow a cigarette and use the smoke to find other holes in the engine fire wall.. On our X250 there were two !

To be fair you re never going to fully insulate steel opening doors because you can do nothing about the bridging effect of the steel and the mechanism needs room to operate. This is a conversation I ve had so many times with coachbuilt owners who don't get only having one door. But you can insulate some of the bits that are separate and don't move. It would have been so easy for AT to have insulated the areas I referred to during production.

 

[bigtwin]

They buy a van that's suitable for winter use, Brit manufacturers don't appear to care if there vans are fit for purpose.

My tongue was firmly in my cheek when I posted my comment.

The lengths some folks have to go to just be comfortable is revealing!

Ian

 

[Ivory55]

Over all we was happy with our autotrail, but we always admit we are fair weather campers and never sleep in cold wet fields or lay-by in the winter. We prefer the woodburner and was happy not to be paying for stuff we did not need. Now 3 phase hair dryer is different, haha

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

When we had our Sundance 630 L the best for us were curtains that cut of the bed area from the rest of the van and another set to block off the cab area. Really helps keep the warmth where you want it then and keeps out the draughts and relatively cheap and easy to install no electrics no piping

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[Larrynwin]

No problem with heating in ours even with the large glass area as Hymer have ducted heating vents that blow over the front and side windows also in all underfloor areas so a warm floor for comfort.
I do use the external vent covers for the fridge although not sure how effective they are.

 

[laurieash]

Same methods as us, we tend to keep the temp inside around 15/16% which us comfortable for sleeping By using either the Wallas diesel heater to get up to temp and then 1/2 hour before intend to settle down turn the oil heater on, Wallas off as we go to bed and the oil heater held to retain the level of heat overnight without any fan noise.
The curtain blocking off the cab area is a good one, also switch the fan to recycle cab air to close outside vents off.

There are bloody holes all over a motorhome !

Every Fiat based m/h we have had I blocked ALL the cab vents
There is one underneath with a pathetic plastic flap thing, vents in the doors ( not on all cabs, but open the doors and have a look for louvres cut in to the edges / sides ).. Always make sure the cab heater is switched to recycle rather than through flow, and borrow a cigarette and use the smoke to find other holes in the engine fire wall.. On our X250 there were two !

Would like to know we're the ones are in the fire wall as our Fiat's cold when driving in winter around the legs.
Laurie.

 

[rapido740]

Get a Rapido 740f. 2001 LH driver. cosy old lady Keep looking at a newish A class. But she’s one of the best hate to loose her. Never use the heater just put the oven on sometimes with food in it But would like a more modern engine but the 2.8! Has taken us to the Med so why complain 23 mog. Our friends 4 year old Hymer gets 32 mpg cruising Have two rechargeable cylinders. Struggled to get gas around Arcachon but found tucked away Total garages still do gas. Shell no longer do lpg it seems No gas on french motorways. We were in a panic. We lost out local gas pump nearby when Shell upgraded forecourt now neatest is 6 miles Getting water is even more difficult even last year in France.

I wish you well

 

[PP Bear]

Could you post a photo of your blankets in place please?

I will the next time I’m out, haven’t any at the moment.

Basically, as I have an overcab bed, I simply tuck them under the mattress and then behind the front seats, nothing more elaborate than that, only ensuring that it covers the entire opening. Makes a huge difference.

As I also secure the front doors with a strap and have blinds that pull up, I can peg a blanket on the blind and over the strap.

Heres a piccy of the strap, to give you some idea of my ramblings.

 

[Are we there]

Just back from Cornwall where we spent a lovely dry four days in our 2019 Autotrail Tracker. However, at night we struggled to keep the van warm enough. I’m reluctant to use gas for space heating as it’s still hard to get replacement cylinders at times so we just had the electric on full. We noted on the windy last night that the hab door is very draughty - the seal is in place but clearly doesn’t work very well. Add to that the gale blowing in from behind the fridge and elsewhere and SWMBO was not a happy bunny.
I’m going to have to see what I can do to improve things as we want to use the moho at all times of year. Any tips

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