Winter Enclosed Trailer Camping

Nychaze · Sep 12, 2014

Hi everybody,

I was wondering if anybody had an experience camping in their enclosed trailer during the winter.

The idea would be to get a ~30' V nose trailer (4 sleds), head to the trailhead, pull the sleds out, flip down cots/benches and crank the heat.

Anyone have any pics/ideas/experience?

Laundryboy · Sep 12, 2014

I did it a couple of times last winter and had good time. My trailer has a television mounted on the wall which greatly helps. Make sure the propane bottles are full because the furnace will run a lot. Of course it goes without saying that a generator is a must as your batteries will go dead running the furnace fan.

Nychaze · Sep 12, 2014

I was thinking (2) +25,000 BTU RV furnaces, one mainly for drying close - connected to a PVC rack and one for heating the space. If one fails, still have a back-up. Some say that a couple of batteries will last a weekend...not sure on that (gotta do the calcs...) but i was think of getting a small generator to charge the batteries a few hours out of the day.

Insulation - foam board for the floors and ceiling, any ideas on what to put under the trailer?

Condensation - I was a couple of small exhaust fans, just have to be able to keep the space warm...

Water/Snow from the sleds - thorough cleaning before load, mop, squeegee, and marine carpeting with a rubber backing to be rolled out when the sleds are out.

Electricity - (2) batteries + generator

Shower - only way to get the lady to come...instantaneous propane water heater, shower pan that hangs on the wall when not in use and hole cut in the floor for the pan drain to go...20gallon water tank, 12v pump, septic tank? or just use enviro-safe soap and let it drain to the ground? Shower area also will double as a pal-****ter/pisser (for the lady).

Layout that i have been toying with below, going to get it over into Auto-CAD...

griffin86 · Sep 12, 2014

1. I would get the electric roof fans. It turns into a sauna when you heat the sleds up. I put roof vents in my trailer, probably going to get electric fans for them.

2. The 25k BTU furnace will pull 5.6 amps. I would get a generator, a Honda EU2000I is a very quiet and portable.

3. I had a 35k in my 30'. I don't think it would be enough, I wouldn't have slept in it. My trailer wasn't insulated though. You might want to have A bigger furnace.

4. Propane bottles. I recommend getting 30lb or bigger bottles. The colder it gets the less they will flow. I don't have a graph handy since I'm on my phone.

Indy_500 · Sep 12, 2014

I think I'd rather spend $80 a night at a hotel...

DUKHTR3 · Sep 12, 2014

Nychaze said:
I was thinking (2) +25,000 BTU RV furnaces, one mainly for drying close - connected to a PVC rack and one for heating the space. If one fails, still have a back-up. Some say that a couple of batteries will last a weekend...not sure on that (gotta do the calcs...) but i was think of getting a small generator to charge the batteries a few hours out of the day.

Insulation - foam board for the floors and ceiling, any ideas on what to put under the trailer?

Condensation - I was a couple of small exhaust fans, just have to be able to keep the space warm...

Water/Snow from the sleds - thorough cleaning before load, mop, squeegee, and marine carpeting with a rubber backing to be rolled out when the sleds are out.

Electricity - (2) batteries + generator

Shower - only way to get the lady to come...instantaneous propane water heater, shower pan that hangs on the wall when not in use and hole cut in the floor for the pan drain to go...20gallon water tank, 12v pump, septic tank? or just use enviro-safe soap and let it drain to the ground? Shower area also will double as a pal-****ter/pisser (for the lady).

Layout that i have been toying with below, going to get it over into Auto-CAD...

We camp in our trailer all the time. I just sold my trailer and bought a new one witch we will also be setting up for camping. We run a 35 k btu furnace and work fine. Insulation and air movement is the key. The hard part for u is having running water and it not freezing on the drive up. I have thought about having running water for a long time. I just can't find a good way to do it. Where we stay at we use hot springs for our shower. Nothing like 104* hot water on a guys back after a long day of riding.

WileyCoyote · Sep 14, 2014

Don't forget a carbon monoxide tester/alarm, a few people have died sleeping in their trailers.

JDUB39 · Sep 14, 2014

Thats on the list Wiley. Im Jimmy... Ill be part of the crew with this trailer... Anyone else have input?

meathooker · Sep 15, 2014

i have a 30' v nose that i have started to set up for this. put a folding bed in the front. 35k furnace and it seems to work well. added a home t-stat for better temp control. i am thinking about insulating the underside of the floor; at least the front part where you sleep. so far ive only slept in it this spring up in the mtns and it only got to 30. hopefully i'll get a chance this winter to try it at the trail head.

i have 2 6v golf cart batteries and it our longest trip has been 3 days 2 nights. running stereo a bit, heater and lights at night, and charging ipads for the kids. never skipped a beat. i would not be worried about a one night winter trip; not sure about 2 though. i was worried about it so i left my truck plugged in and had my remote start handy; that way if it goes dead at night you can run it off of your truck; iirc the 12v constant is around 10A

MT boondocker · Sep 15, 2014

WileyCoyote said:
Don't forget a carbon monoxide tester/alarm, a few people have died sleeping in their trailers.

I would also add a LP gas detector in addition to the above.

crashnbash · Sep 15, 2014

If your planning on getting ladies to come along you might want to look at a four seasons toy hauler. Some have quite a large garage and are already set-up with generators.

Nychaze · Sep 16, 2014

griffin86 said:
2. The 25k BTU furnace will pull 5.6 amps. I would get a generator, a Honda EU2000I is a very quiet and portable.

4. Propane bottles. I recommend getting 30lb or bigger bottles. The colder it gets the less they will flow. I don't have a graph handy since I'm on my phone.

Thinking of 2 deep cycle batteries and a generator for charging and if the batteries quit.

I will look for that graph and see what my usage will be, thanks for the heads up.

DUKHTR3 said:
The hard part for u is having running water and it not freezing on the drive up.

I was thinking fill before leaving but never thought about it freezing on the way up...

meathooker said:
i am thinking about insulating the underside of the floor; at least the front part where you sleep.

i have 2 6v golf cart batteries and it our longest trip has been 3 days 2 nights. running stereo a bit, heater and lights at night, and charging ipads for the kids. never skipped a beat.

Insulation under the floor is a must to keep the heat in. Sprayed foam would be ideal but wxpensive. Trying to come up with a durable alternative.

MT boondocker said:
I would also add a LP gas detector in addition to the above.

I will be putting in redundant CO sensors, I'll grab 2 of the LP detectors.

crashnbash said:
If your planning on getting ladies to come along you might want to look at a four seasons toy hauler. Some have quite a large garage and are already set-up with generators.

Couldn't find one that would fit 4 sleds

Jaynelson · Sep 16, 2014

Preface - I love camping....but....

It kinda sounds like with the amount of time/money to set this up even somewhat comfortably....a guy could rent hotel rooms for many years, and have none of the hassle/downsides....no?

JDUB39 · Sep 16, 2014

Jaynelson said:
Preface - I love camping....but....

It kinda sounds like with the amount of time/money to set this up even somewhat comfortably....a guy could rent hotel rooms for many years, and have none of the hassle/downsides....no?

It'll all add up to the amount we've been paying for a condo for 1 season. ($1300/month for 6-7 months) We'll also be using it throughout the year for desert camping as well... It may not make the most sense to all, but just imagine stepping out of the trailer at daylight and pull & go...

griffin86 · Sep 16, 2014

Nychaze said:
Thinking of 2 deep cycle batteries and a generator for charging and if the batteries quit.

I will look for that graph and see what my usage will be, thanks for the heads up.

Laundryboy · Sep 16, 2014

There are no hotels near my favorite trailhead.

Nychaze · Sep 16, 2014

Jaynelson said:
Preface - I love camping....but....

It kinda sounds like with the amount of time/money to set this up even somewhat comfortably....a guy could rent hotel rooms for many years, and have none of the hassle/downsides....no?

I hear ya, we usually go with a condo up in the mtns but we couldn't find a place we all agreed on or that would fit the criteria...to expensive near the resort belt... too far from the resorts to get the friends to go in on it that just ski/board. I have a calculation going at the bottom of my build sheet, fit-out vs hotel vs condo for the season. I am in need of a new trailer which i need regardless of what i decide to do so that doesn't go into the calculation.

Im up to ~$2400 on the fit-out, that works out to be 16 nights at $150 a night. 2 nights a weekend total of 8 weekends...only 1/3 the season.

griffin86 said:

Wow, never would have guessed it would effect the output that much!

griffin86 · Sep 16, 2014

Nychaze said:
I hear ya, we usually go with a condo up in the mtns but we couldn't find a place we all agreed on or that would fit the criteria...to expensive near the resort belt... too far from the resorts to get the friends to go in on it that just ski/board. I have a calculation going at the bottom of my build sheet that spits out the equivalent of what will be spent in the build vs hotel vs condo for the season. I am in need of a new trailer which i need regardless of what i decide to do so that doesn't go into the calculation.

Im up to ~$2400 on the fit-out, that works out to be 16 nights at $150 a night. 2 nights a weekend total of 8 weekends...only 1/3 the season.

Wow, never would have guessed it would effect the output that much!

Ya, you might want to consider an enclosure for them if you plan on camping somewhere fairly cold.

Here is my setup. It holds 4x30lb bottles.

AZ800 · Sep 19, 2014

I've camped in my old non insulated trailer while hunting with a buddy heater and a cot a bunch. It was basically a tent that sweats!
Up here in AK I've seen a bunch of outfitted enclosed trailers like your thinking about building and they're pretty sweet, but the ones I saw at a snow show were like $30k and they don't have all the amenities of a camper. Take the AK price factor into account and you're talking $20 k in the L48 prolly.
Personally if I was going to sled camp I'd get a slide in truck camper. You can get a pretty nice one for well under $10k all set up with everything you are planning on plus many more options.

summ8rmk · Sep 22, 2014

I second the truck camper. Get the winter package and have running water for showers and toilets

Winter Enclosed Trailer Camping

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