# Winter Camping



## WildRed (Jul 4, 2010)

We went camping this weekend up in the Ozarks here in Arkansas. The valley in which we were camping got very cool, at least by our standards. Our camper is a 27RDS, so it has a rear slide. There is obviously not as much insulation around the slide as there is in the rest of the camper. There was a noticeable difference in the temperature. In fact, it got cold enough that I had condensation on the back wall of the slide. Has anyone had any luck or have any ideas on how I might better insulate the three walls of the rear slide?

Aaron


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Aaron, 
I had a 27RSDS, and the rear-slide bed did get a lot cooler, in the winter. The boys would complain that they were cold, when I was burning up, in the front queen bed.
Some people have put a sheet of foam insulation under the mattress, to help. Also, I would suggest putting foam insulation, cut to fit, on the outside walls, when you set up (can connect it together with duct tape on the ends, and let it fold back on the main sheet, to store), and maybe a tarp over that, to help, as well.
Also, check your slide seals. They may need some treatment, or replacing.
In that extreme cold, you may need to add a dehumidifier, or at least, a Dri-Z-Air, which is available at CW & Walmart.
Hope this helps!
Darlene


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## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

The slides do get colder. If you're interested in adding insulation, recommend you do as Darlene suggests and add some foam insulation cut to fit. Tape everything together and it should be a little better...

There are also some things you can do to make it a bit more comfortable:

1. Get an electric mattress pad or blanket. Low amp draw and the increased comfort is well worth the cost.
2. Close or block/partially block the vents that are farther away from rear slide. You can try some of the magnetic vent covers or a heavy book or something like that. By adjusting the air flow, you should be able to direct more of the air where the camper is colder. For instance, our furnace is located to the rear of the camper and thus the hottest air comes out near the rear. We block off the vent closest to the rear slide in order to direct more air towards the front of the camper where the kids sleep.
3. A small electric heater will reduce the amount of time the furnace cycles, makes white noise, reduces propane usage and helps provide a more consistent ambient temperature. Pelonis makes a good ceramic heater from what I hear...

It helps to remember these are not 4 season campers. Anything we do to extend our camping season into the colder months are really just band-aids and they're not going to look pretty. If you're cool (sorry...couldn't resist) with that, then you can certainly be creative.


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## WildRed (Jul 4, 2010)

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I think Dri-Z-Air could really help with the condensation problem.

I felt bad after sitting on the couch, my daughters laying in the bed in the slide, and telling the girls, "Quit whining, it's not cold in here." Then later that night I laid down on that bed and nearly froze to death.

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@ Justman, I did think that these were what would be considered 4 season campers since it seems to have heavier insulation than others and the sealed underbody. Is that not the case?


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

They have single glazed windows, which is the first indicator that they're not designed for serious cold. They also don't have any kind of vapor barrier, so extended camping in cold temperatures will cause moisture problems in the walls and ceiling. That said, they sure beat a tent when the mercury drops.

On our rear slide, we use an electric blanket on top of our mattress, but under the sheets. It makes the bed toasty warm, especially when you first crawl into it. We bought a king size electric blanket, so the DW and I each have our own controller. I barely have mine above the lowest setting, but she likes hers warmer. I wondered if sleeping on top of the blanket would damage it, but I couldn't find any mention in the warranty, and we've done it for two seasons with no problem.

We had a problem with the corner of the slide actually getting wet on the inside, from condensation when the temperature got down towards freezing. I noticed there was about an eighth inch gap between the wall and floor of the slide. That gap would be a source of heat loss, so this past September I ran a bead of clear silicone along the bottom of the walls around the rear slide. On our one trip with fairly cold temperatures, we didn't see any moisture.

Another good idea when the temperatures get low, is to keep the ceiling vent open about an inch, to allow some fresh air, and help eliminate humidity.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Assuming you are Winter camping with shore power? If so, you can do what we did for Winter camping.....add a fireplace. You paid for the site...might as well use the power. This fireplace will heat our 301BQ to a point where we have to turn it down.


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## LaydBack (Aug 22, 2010)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Assuming you are Winter camping with shore power? If so, you can do what we did for Winter camping.....add a fireplace. You paid for the site...might as well use the power. This fireplace will heat our 301BQ to a point where we have to turn it down.


Now see there Oregon..... I wasn't even looking for this, now you got me thinking about doing a winter mod....do you run the fan on the AC with that? Obviously, your cabinet you used is different than mine in the 312BH, but do you have a pic where I can see more of the cabinet with the fireplace installed? Thanks.


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