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Our van is insulated and the water is fully drained from it after each use ... but the next 2 nights are going to be around -6 to -12 here depending on which forecast you believe. I normally don't worry about it but that is very cold ! It's parked on the drive so I can plug it in.
Does anyone use small heaters in their van in the extreme weather? I've often thought of it but then was worried about condensation which can lead to mould so decided against it.
What do you guys do for these silly temps?
If you can stick a small oil radiator in it set on low, that might be worthwhile. I keep meaning to do it to ours, I even bought one just for that purpose but haven't got round to it...
Ours is drained down and we don't use a heater in it when its not in use. We do use it throughout the winter and have done since we bought it 10 years ago.
We last used ours over Xmas to sleep on brother's driveway. Probably not going to get used for another couple of weeks due to work. I never used to worry but we changed van last year and this newer one is more motorhome style than simple van style. More cupboards and cushions in there etc.
I might pop an oil-filled in it for a few days which means venturing to the shops to buy one.
Open the taps, leave all drainage taps / valves open inc water pump. And thats about it.
Ours is too. Its stored ready to go with everything in and never had a problem with condensation or mould when stored. We do run a small Russell Hobbs RHDH1061B dehumidifier when we are out in it in the winter just to get the moisture from being in it out.
@Tracey - do they help reduce moisture levels?
Ours is a 6m panel van conversion so not as big as your Chausson
I would say yes as we empty it once a day when out in the winter, some days there is more in it than others. I think its mainly from damp clothing and breathing.
thanks
VW T5.1 High Top here. It is a very dry vehicle - no leaks at all.
Left on drive, drained down and emptied with no heat or dehumidifier permanently. Often left for a week/couple of weeks. I do commute when the car isn't available, so it does get regular run and warmth.
We perhaps every two or three weeks 'plug in' the van battery to the mains, and I take the opportunity to run a dehumidifier for a few hours.
Our drive, being that it faces north, in a frost hollow, shaded by the house, often sees -10 or more for a few days. No issues so far.
Do not leave either tins of beans or Diet Coke in there in serious sub zero conditions, takes a lot of cleaning when they burst.
No issues in ours. We lived in it for two years whilst doing our barn conversion.
Nowadays same as @Tracey describes....sat ready to go, though the tanks are drained. Tbf when it's forecast as low as it is over then next few days, then I set the thermostat to keep the van above freezing inside (we can leave it plugged in). The electric heating absolutely canes the electricity bill though, so it's not something that I'd recommend long term!
Oh, and I just replaced the elements within our Webasto as that packed in over Christmas. Easy job, heater goes back in this weekend and we should be good.
We found with the T5 panel van even though it is hardtop, there are some places missing insulation - such as the water tank! Our limit was about -7/-8 last year, when the water started to freeze even with the heater left on...
Mount Keen trip last year was our lowest temperatures - getting in and out was also rather 'dicey'...:
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53448924753_8ee0235fc0_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53448924753_8ee0235fc0_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2pr6Hcp ]Bilbo's Komba campervan[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt[/url], on Flickr
We drain ours down and put the dehumidifier in from time to time to stop the condensation building up and risk it causing any damp
Would a dehumidifier work? Surely when it is that cold, there will not be much moisture in the air. I would have thought gentle heating with an oil-filled radiator would be the better option.
Edit: My car gets moisture on the inside (which freezes when it is very cold), so perhaps a desiccant dehumidifier would be suitable.
Ours is either left with the heating set to 5°C throughout our we drain the water out and don’t heat it.
More likely to to leave it with water in though as it get used so frequently.
We drain the system in between trips in winter and put the screen cover on. There is ventilation from the roof vents and floor vents and when it’s very cold we use a small (600w) oil filled radiator just to make sure that any pockets of water in the pump, boiler or taps don’t freeze. We don’t use a dehumidifier as all that would do is draw air in from outside, we do make sure air can circulate between walls and seat backs to prevent mould. It’s a 2005 Adria which are winterised as standard and we have stopped in temperatures of -12 without problems!
Would a dehumidifier work? Surely when it is that cold, there will not be much moisture in the air.
It doesn’t collect much but it keeps it dry and does feel warmer
I run a cheap chinese diesel heater - will run all night in minus conditions and keep you toasty for less than AUD$150. Very economical on power and diesel as well - I use around 1L per night, maybe 2 if its super cold. I'd recommend though that you don't run it off your starter battery but invest in a DC-DC charger and a 100ah LFP battery to prevent any risk of getting stranded. The added advantage of this is of course you can be toasty warm when your away from shore power.
My parents run an oil radiator on a timer in theirs that just switches on periodically during the day and night when it’s this cold/damp. Seems to work well. We dont do anything, but ours is a transporter and we use it as a car, and keep it in the garage. Has reminded me we do normally take the mattresses out though, which we haven’t done.
Just plug it in and leave for a few hours plus it gets a 1 hr run every few days/week. Run the diesel heater occasionally. Dehumidifier may be a good shout.
I would assume that a thermostatic greenhouse heater would do the job too? They are very cheap to run.
Our motorhome is drained down, plugged in at my parents and has a small electric heater in to keep it above zero. All the cupboards are cleared, doors open and cushions lifted. Checked when I was over yesterday and it dry inside and certainly warmer than outside.
Ours has the Winter pack and has a blow off valve that should trip and drain water if its too cold. However we drain down and use a water container throughout winter. If we need hot water we boil it in the kettle
Water drained down, taps open, cupboards empty and battery on a trickle charge.
We don't do anything with ours, once it is drained down. I can't imagine that the hundreds of dealers all over Europe leave heaters or dehumidifiers in the thousands of vans they have on their forecourts...seems to work fine for them...?
I can’t imagine that the hundreds of dealers all over Europe leave heaters or dehumidifiers in the thousands of vans they have on their forecourts…seems to work fine for them…?
A lot of European vans are fully winterised whereas most UK built vans aren't - it's often an optional extra when buying new.
True...but they're parked up for weeks or months without heating...they don't retain their heat for long periods of time without more heat being added.
Related question. I'm about to buy a people carrier van, 3-4 year old) that will be used to carry camping gear, bikes, sup etc and it will have a bed system in the boot for occasional nights. It won't be a daily driver, and will sit on the drive. Do you all use battery maintainers for the vehicle battery. Mine will be a stop start battery, so looking at a newer CTEK maintainer to keep the battery top notch
Our camper has solar so all the batteries are kept topped up with that.
We also have a Tourneo Custom and sometimes it's left for 3 weeks when we are away but not the need for a battery maintainer yet
Mine will be a stop start battery, so looking at a newer CTEK maintainer to keep the battery top notch
I have a CTEK C250SE wired to my leisure battery under my drivers seat. You have to add an additional connection if you have start stop. Mine is a T6 so has that. Easy to wire up and no issues in the 4+ years since I fitted it. Supports lithium batteries so when this AGM battery fails I only have to stump up for the battery and not a new charger.
I also have a CTEK Mxs 5 charger wired though an incoming 240v socket which trickle charges the leisure battery when on hookup. Thats also been fine and has been used on other cars etc when needed. CTEK are very good. There are a few other top notch brands out their but only used CTEK.
I should add that although mine is on the drive its only used occasionally as a second car so when its cold I sometimes plug it in from the garage and leave it on trickle charge. I have a tracker which can drain the leisure battery a bit in cold weather over a few weeks if not driven or charged. Fortunately I can set the tracker app to alert me when the battery drops below a certain level. On a related note I installed a Chinese diesel heater and found that the small display also drained the battery after a while so I put that on an isolator switch as there is no need for it to be on, ditto a gas sensor. Small parasitic drains can damage your battery if not checked.
Lidl have the small dehumidifier we use coming in store at a good price
Russell Hobbs Compact Dehumidifier https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/russell-hobbs-compact-dehumidifier/p10023108
Thanks @Tracey
We used an oil-filled rad on frost setting last week when it was -10 overnight. It worked fine.