Keeping warm - not easy in our Autotrail last week

laurieash said:
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.
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Because of the volume of air in your van you can afford to keep the cabin heater set to recycle instead of heating fresh air, that way part of the draft hitting your legs will reduce, but I have blocked off various gabs under the dash with foam and that really helps.
 
We had an Autotrail scout, 2015 model, absolute litter, we could never stay warm as the blown air heating was pathetic, when travelling in temperatures under 10c, there was draft coming from the rear of the van. We hung curtains behind the cab seats which stopped the draft.my argument is why should we need to do this to a £67000 van? I’ve known less drafts in a chicken coup. We were fortunate enough to get rid of it for an Adria sonic with alde heating, and when travelling at temps of -5 over the Pyrenees not one draft and the cab heater was enough to keep us warm. As for the alde, we had to turn it down as it was too efficient
 
laurieash said:
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.
Click to expand...
They were just random holes proly meant for left hand drive vans.. Really cannot remember where they were but to find them involved a lot of contortions !
Most of the drafts felt on the legs we found actually came from the back
Just get someone to light a lighter and hold it down low when going along... you will soon find where the cold is coming from
 
We use an electric blanket. We dont leave on alnight, but if wake up a little cold i put on for abit.
We do have good heating in our motorhome. But i never sleep with it on at home or at home as tends give me headaches if windows are closed.
 
Essgeebee said:
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 or advice welcome.
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Hi get a diesel heater fitted very economical and you don’t need HU.

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Essgeebee said:
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 or advice welcome.
Click to expand...
Do what the vast majority of seasoned Funsters (and the Dutch do for that matter), get out of Northern Europe in the winter. Spain and/or Morocco is the place to be.
 
PP Bear said:
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.

View attachment 585342View attachment 585343View attachment 585344
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Thanks!
 
Some realy good suggestions amidst some of the answers, however as I also have an autotrail, I recognise your point about draughty habitation door. Under the inner bottom step on our 2012 EKS there is an annular void to allow water (from wet boots?) to drain out of a pipe just above the electric step. The wind howls up through this and I have been tempted to fit a temporary bung to block it off, however currently we just put a couple of pairs of boots on the bottom step and drape a doormat right across the step void and up to the door.... works a treat. Also removed fridge outer top vent and repositioned the price of foam that is supposed to seal draughts that could blow around the gaps the fridge aperture of the side unit/worktop ......again dramatically improved matters. I now notice the is a huge difference in temperature between cab end an habitation end of van, even after sikaflexing the flaps of the front cab (bottom doorstep) vents shut from underneath the van, and put this down to the cold uninsulated steel and glass in this area. I do have a windscreen blanket, but don't is mutch as I don't like the thought of putting it away wet of trying to dry it as we move on regularly. Certainly the curtain idea is something I have toyed with and think the idea about putting van heater controls on recirculation is worth a try.
 
We have an A class with no real issues regards draughts except one area, its noticeable that only one responder to date has mentioned the seriousness of draughts from around the fridge. The fridge is purely vented to outside air and should be totally sealed so no air/fumes get inside the vehicle, ours didn't have any noticeable draughts coming through but 2 years ago we were using the fridge on gas and were woken at 5.30am in the morning by our CO2 alarm going off. If your van has draughts like this please rectify immediately.
 
Essgeebee said:
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 or advice welcome.
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Obviously you now realise that you need to sort out the hab door seal but more importantly you need to sort the gale that blows from around the fridge as not only is this taking all your heat away but potentially blowing in combustion gasses when the fridge is on gas. Aluminium closure tape from a builders merchants and working from the outside via the vents is good for sealing the fridge. After that insulation as jongood says and then if all else fails "buy an A class" ;)

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The hab door seal gap (at the bottom)on my Autotrail, is in fact a safety feature. It is there to allow any gas to vent out.
 
martin2603 said:
Silver screen is a must.
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the "original silverscreen" I bought from JM designs near Bradford was £239 and not fit for purpose. I lost £35 on return postage to them.
The replacement from Marvix UK (eBay seller) was only £99 and did a much better job
 
Jaws said:
I personally would do as a LOT of others have done.. Fit a diesel heater ..
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Do you mean the chinese versions as seen on eBay ?
any more info pls ?
 
PhilandMena said:
The hab door seal gap (at the bottom)on my Autotrail, is in fact a safety feature. It is there to allow any gas to vent out.
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Autotrail have obviously ‘improved’ that safety feature in our Autotrail. The draught (and visible gap) we have extends half-way up the door on the hinge side and almost all the way up the other side. The only gas it was venting the other day was the sea air coming in on a stiff onshore wind, right through the door and chilling the hab area.
I’m going to try stick-on bristle-type draught excluder as I can’t see how I can adjust anything to close the gap - I’ll leave a little gap at the bottom though. It’ll help vent the gas from our two flatulent Cairn terrorists - which is more of a safety hazard than propane in my experience.
 
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We have taken the van into the Alps on a few ski trips where it has been pretty cold overnight., sometimes down to minus 20.

We added extra insulation to all the windows by cutting up foam sleeping mats to fit in the windows ( foil back insulation ) and all the rooflights.

We did get in the habit of adding this insulation and shutting the blinds each day before it got dark ( and the temp dropped) to trap the heat in the van.

We do have thick floor mats which make it feel cosier and add a layer of insulation and always use the silver screen.

Friends used one of those draught excluder sausage dog things in their van to deal with a draughty spot ?

Another friend has a curtain which fits on the dashboard and into the footwell to reduce draughts.

Extra carpet mat layers in the cab area can also be helpful as the van floor and the bulkhead arent that well insulated in some vans.

We always were warm and toasty, admittedly we are in a Hymer but some of these ideas might be of use to you Essgeebee .

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laurieash said:
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.
Click to expand...
Does it have a comfortmatic gearbox and right-hand drive?

If so, there's a reason the driver's feet get cold.

See this thread I posted in 2017.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Comfortmatic & cold feet - solved!

I posted some time ago that I couldn't get my feet warm in winter when driving our 2016 Fiat Ducato X290, with comfortmatic gearbox. Passenger side was fine, just the driver's side that wouldn't get warm. Previous 2010 Ducato X250, with manual gearbox, lovely toasty warm feet, therefore assumed...
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Another call for diesel heater. We slept in the van caught up in depths of winter Eastern Europe, with temperatures in -18 20 bellow 0. Van inside never bellow 16-18. I remember one time, it never got switched off for more than 3 days, just turned it down to min, and then a tad up when inside. If we turned it of by leaving the van, there was risk of damaging the boiler and frozen pipes. Our fresh water is under the bed, and waste underslung.
Diesel heater can reduce the anxiety of finding gas immediately, and you don’t need ehu to keep warm.
 
Essgeebee said:
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 or advice welcome.
Click to expand...
Get Gaslow or at least Safefill.

We have refillable on motorhome, always have. Just picked up second safefill for caravan.

Heating on 2000w electric and topped up with gas burner . Warm as toast and at around £10 a fill, saving start straight away.

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Truma Aventa Comfort Airconditioner fitted midships, blows warm air forward and backward (adjustable) so both the cabin and rear bedroom of our Bessacarr are warmed up. This of course also provides wonderful comfort in the heat of the summer too! We use the unit to warm things up before the ALDE has come up to full working temp which, like any central heating, takes a little while.
 
Ducatian said:
Truma Aventa Comfort Airconditioner fitted midships, blows warm air forward and backward (adjustable) so both the cabin and rear bedroom of our Bessacarr are warmed up. This of course also provides wonderful comfort in the heat of the summer too! We use the unit to warm things up before the ALDE has come up to full working temp which, like any central heating, takes a little while.
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Another good call. Though I would opt for under bench
 
Entirely agree with previous posts about a front cover. Mine works great and with the double benefit of cutting internal condensation - when you are ready to go the windscreen is completely dry. 👍
 
Agree, screen cover cuts out condensation and cab curtain cuts down draughts and cold. We were surprised how cold the cab area was with the curtain drawn well worth fitting, they are the thermal ones.
 
Marauder said:
the "original silverscreen" I bought from JM designs near Bradford was £239 and not fit for purpose. I lost £35 on return postage to them.
The replacement from Marvix UK (eBay seller) was only £99 and did a much better job
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Never seen someone rate the type of cheaper covers https://www.marvix.co.uk/collections/thermal-covers like these rated higher than Silverscreens! Certainly goes against all the excellent feedback for http://www.silverscreens.co.uk/ & similar products by Taylormade & Minster Polar.

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Lots of good suggestions already made - silver screens (see three quality brands in posts above), washable mats like Marvel from Dunelm or Turtlemats, closing blinds early to prevent heat loss, wearing cosy slippers & fleece tops, fleece throws or blankets when sat around, pipe insulation as a draught excluder, cooking something warming in the Remoska & hot water bottles are all ones that we do. Would consider making silver internal covers for all the windows including the Heki ones from something like this https://www.decathlon.co.uk/browse/...-camping-and-sleeping-mats/_/N-e07t7tZ1cpgou9 for the depths of winter - either just sat in place or maybe with small holes for these https://www.milenco.com/products/ac...ermal-blinds/universal-sucker-pads-for-blinds so could be attached.
Turning the cab heater control to recycle stops some draughts.
Heater wise the Kampa Diddy https://www.kampaoutdoors.com/en-gb...cessories/heaters-lights/kampa-diddy-_-243288 is small & light so ideal to carry all the time - shopping around online it's from around £20. It's gives a surprising amount of heat for it's small size & warms up very quickly.
1644776238914.png

A lighter option than an oil filled radiator with no risk of oil leakage is the Dimplex Eco Chico https://www.dimplex.co.uk/product/eco-chico-mini-oil-free-radiator which is what we carry when we think we will need a heater on most of the time - not cheap at around £65 but a worry free, lightweight & very effective option.

1644776529088.png
 
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Rapidoman 2011 said:
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.
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do you use it with an inverter when not on HU ?
 
Does anyone use these electric heaters with an inverter when not on HU ?
 

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