Heaters - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Heaters

nightsky · RV-Dreams Family Member

My almost-son-in-law in NC has had a couple really bad rental experiences and so he is looking at buying a 5th wheel to live in, parking it at a campground that has year-round residents, it's on a lake and very close to his work. I don't know what propane costs are there, or if the park he is thinking about allows a residential type tank to be set. I told him I would ask here what you experts recommend for static-living heat. I'm pretty certain he said if you're year-round the electric use is metered but running an electric heater of some sort may be cheaper than propane depending on the prices of the propane and electricity.

Cindy T · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had a large external propane tank delivered by the local propane company. We sometimes use the propane & sometimes use electric space heaters, depending on the price of propane. This year we signed a contract with the propane company so that our propane will be charged at the same rate all winter. If the price of propane falls below our contracted price, we will be charged the lower price. But if the price goes up, they can't charge more than our contracted price. You might have your son in law see if a contract is available with the propane company.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have found by staying in the North East Maine And New Hampshire the last couple years(By no choice of my own).....that running the ceramic heater and the propane at the same time normally kept the furnace from coming on. I would run the ceramic foward in the salon area near the thermostat during the day and move it to the rear near the bath and bedroom at nite and only used 1 ...100 pounder a month (2 40 pound bottles equivalent)....this was in below freezing and below zero weather keeping the unit at 65 degrees..which is summer temps for up here!!!

my electric bill ran 25 to 35 dollars a month and 68 dollars for propane for the month

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

I acknowledge this question had to do with “static living” conditions. But we have a lot of people who read these posts for info and who are just starting out. So let me suggest this question of a purchasing a heat pump / electric heater vs. the LP gas furnace use deserves an “it depends” evaluation as pertains to purchasing a rig with or without a heat pump. We have one by the way and are very happy with it.

If you are sitting still for long periods and having to pay for LP or electric by the meter then you have a different question then if you are traveling more and in essence pay for electric in the price of your site regardless of how much you use.

In our case, we don’t sit long enough to require signing up for electric service via meter. So it is less expensive, in our case, to use the head pump as we have already paid for the power in so many words. Same is true for small electric heaters.

FWIW we find the heat pump to be quite effective down to ~38 degrees. So if I were purchasing a trailer / motorhome and had a choice I would consider getting at least the main AC unit with a heat pump for those times when you travel and need some heat.

Bill

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We stayed in the Fayetteville, NC area for 2 winters. NC can vary in winter temps and this was the most mild area, I think although we did have an ice storm while there. A lot depends on how well insulated the trailer is and without a winter package of some kind, which we did not have, winter was a struggle. We had to keep cabinet and closet doors open in the coldest of weather because the plumbing would freeze. We took Reflectix insulation and line walls & cupboards, vents, etc. In the coldest weather, we had to run both the furnace and the electric heater especially if there was wind. We stayed in AL and had friends with a heat pump and they had a lot of issues with it and I don't think they had a furnace so used electric heaters (our electric was covered with the lot rent). They ended up dealing with mold issues. The one thing I have found is that if the air isn't moving in a house or a trailer, you are more likely to experience mold when humidity becomes an issue. Given any choice, if I were going to be static more or less permanently, I would try to locate a used mobile home, some can be small, as they would be insulated and wouldn't have the holding tanks between the sewer and the connections. Freezing rain can ice over your doors from the outside. In the heat of summer, be in a shady spot unless you are well insulated. We have stayed long term in NC, AL, AZ and KS. A four season trailer would be the best bet and the price, even for used, is high. ***We got a bigger tank, the smallest that stand on the ground in NC and the propane bill was high as was the electric bill which was billed separately.

-- Edited by SnowGypsy on Sunday 13th of October 2013 12:03:39 PM

jimindenver · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'll have to look up the name but there is a add on electric system for your furnace so that you can plug in when you have hook ups. This allows the furnace to continue heating your tanks and such. You can also put a fan at the furnace return to push some heat to those areas when using regular electric heaters.

Some like the little propane heaters and they can be used safely with ventilation. Just don't bring them up where I camp where the air is too thin to run them. I tried one and even with three windows and a roof vent cracked it still made me feel ill. Luckily it was during the day and airing out the rig and taking the dogs for a walk cleared my head.

The one time we had electric was the shake down of this trailer. we use a small heater set on low and it kept us warm when the temps were in the mid 20's. A few of the smaller oil filled heaters would have been quieter but our rig doesn't have the room.

Since then it's the propane furnace since we dry camp. We don't go out when it's freezing day and night so the most propane we have used was a tank in five days.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

The electric add-onto a propane furnace is called CheapHeat, http://www.rvcomfortsystems.com/. A few people on the internet have them installed and are happy.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Great discussion and answers! Being ignoramus' (? Sp) we just recently learned from Bill and Linda the HUGE difference in sound in fully ducted heat pumps/furnaces! Their fully ducted heat pump is very quiet, you hardly notice it running, whereas our heat pump is not and we almost can't have a conversation or hear the TV while it's running. Our gas furnace is much quieter. Wish we had been aware of that difference. Just FYI.

Sherry

hhtjr · RV-Dreams Community Member

He really needs to put skirting around the bottom of the unit to help keep the floor tempiture more steady and help avoid freezing the pipes. The fewer gaps and more insulation the better. So learned many years ago in mid-Missouri.

MoeAndFlo · RV-Dreams Community Member

I too recommend the CheapHeat add-on to your propane furnace. Works great!