Top 5 BEST Ways to Stay Warm in your RV while Boondocking!
How will you keep warm in your RV while boondocking?
With alarming low temperatures and Winter Storm Warnings popping up across the USA, we’ve been answering this urgent question daily.
Here are our Top 5 BEST ways to stay warm in your RV while Boondocking!
First, let’s define boondocking. For us, that means a lack of shore power, water, or sewer hook-ups. That means you are on your own for survival wherever you happen to be parked.
We have an onboard generator for power; however, we use it as sparingly as possible in our boondocking adventures because that’s part of the wanderlust of living on the land. While almost all travel trailers, 5thwheels, van conversions, toy haulers, and drivable rigs have onboard heaters, many fail to keep up with the demand when the temperatures drop below freezing. Yes, this post includes affiliate links if you want to get the full specs on the items we use in our Momentum 397th Grand Design 5th wheel to keep warm!
In no particular order, here are the best ways to stay warm in your RV while Boondocking.
1. Think creatively about Insulation! Your RV doors, windows, and slide-outs are the primary areas where warmth is lost. Grab extra linens, sleeping bags, towels, and anything with a relatively tight weave that will create a barrier over your windows and doors. We don’t recommend plastics for this as they make massive condensation, which can easily lead to mold in your RV. YUK!
2. Move to a sunny spot. Use the radiant power of the sun to warm your RV. It might be below zero outside; however, the sun (even through cloudy conditions) will add to the warmth of your RV while boondocking by up to 30%!
3. Cook inside using your oven or stove. Seriously, you have to eat anyway! We love to whip up cookies, cupcakes, zucchini bread, or a frozen lasagna to naturally warm and smell delicious while you wait to eat. Alternatively, make a soup or chili that can simmer for a few hours to heat your camper.
4. Get snuggly and layer up your clothing. Start by protecting your feet with layers of thick, warm socks, and utilize thermal underwear, sweaters, and jackets to create loose layers that hold your body heat in.
5. Use a propane space heater. These made an extraordinary difference in the RV temperature for us. The Mr. Heater Portable Buddy is efficient in heating only the area of our RV that needs an extra boost without using the house battery or excessive amounts of propane from our tanks. So far, one bottle (16 oz/1 lb) of propane lasts 8 hours on low. We snagged these just in time to beat the freezing temperatures along with the refill adapter, so we’re not wasting the canisters. We love the Mr. Heater Buddy with Coleman 1 lb propane and an adapter to refill the small tanks!
Be sure to follow all the safety tips for using a space heater indoors, like keeping it away from flammable materials on a stable and hard surface, and never leave it on while you are away from your RV. Stay warm out there, and don’t let these frigid temperatures keep you from enjoying the nature you ventured out to see!
