Any concerns using a Mr. Buddy heater in a homebuilt trailer before going to sleep? (

[lacofdfireman]

We built an Overland style trailer to pull behind our Jeep for camping and are trying to decide what the best way to heat the inside of the trailer would be? It’s pretty well insulated and wouldn’t take to much but I think I think if you ran the heater for 10 minutes before bed you could maintain the heat pretty well throughout most the night. An then when you wake up run it again for 10 minutes when you wake up again to take some of
the cool out of the trailer. We bought a Mr. Buddy Heater (propane) and think this would work as long as we keep the roof vent open and the fan on while the heater is running. What about fire hazard since
the inside of the trailer is all carpet? Being a Fireman I say not a concern as long as the heater isn’t in direct contact with the wall.

Only asking as I’m not familiar with this heater and hoping someone else has used it before and is willing to share their opinion.

Pic of the heater in question

Trailer we built from the ground up.

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[Titan_Bow]

I wouldnt imagine it would be an issue. That trailer looks to be a pretty small space, if you got the big Mr. Heater like in your pic, you arent gonna be able to run it 10 minutes straight, they put out alot of heat! Its supposed to be safe, but I've only used them in our 6 man and 10 man tents, but Ive let them run pretty much all night on cold nights. Cool trailer by the way!

 

[Whaledriver]

I ran one when we had a pop up camper. Worked well. I would buy a couple battery operated CO detectors in there if it were me. Good piece of mind.

 

[coop2424]

I ran one in my small enclosed trailer with no issue for a couple years. Did exactly what you want to do. I did have to CO detectors for piece of mind.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

I've read that the unit can create some moisture buildup.

 

[camping1601]

I use one the smaller one in a setup that's about 50% bigger than yours and it's still too big. It does give off a small amount of CO and consume O2, but if your smart about and mix some fresh air you should be fine. Like mentioned it will cause some moisture inside.

Get a CO detector with a digital display.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Factual story:

I used to do a lot of icefishing and traveled with a Mr Buddy as part of my rig. It rode in my trailer and/or behind my atv while out on the ice. One morning I entered my fishing shelter and sat down to light the heater. The propane bottle was empty so I replaced it with a fresh bottle. I lit the heater and it went up in a major flaming torch inside my shelter. Flames were flying around as I kicked the shelter open and managed to kick the fireball heater outside and across the ice. My fishing partner saw what happened and came running over. I wasn't burned badly but singed a little and had some damaged gear. Heavy clothes and boots helped save the day. The heater had flames jumping 4' high finally burned out. I closed up shop and took the heater to the sporting goods store where I bought it. We examined it but couldn't find the cause of the fire. The manager gave me a new heater and told me he was going to return my heater to the company along with a few others they had replaced. Wait....what's that?

We started looking at the other defective heaters and found a compression fitting (to a copper tube) had failed and allowed propane to leak. All of the heaters had been used for icefishing and had been subjected to bumps and thumps of travel. Apparently this jostling/bumping brought about the leaking fitting and tube. Guys would get to their spot and then have no propane, or smelled the leaking gas. None of them had a blow-up like mine though. My heater also had a bad fitting and tube leak. I documented all this with the department manager who was a friend. I convinced him to let me take my defective heater (burned up hulk) home with me.

I contacted Mr Heater Corp and told them what happened. I was treated rather brusquely which irritated me. They acted like it was no big deal. I pressed the issue and a day or so later I found myself talking with their VP who just happened to be an attorney. We argued a bit and a couple letters were exchanged. I wanted restitution for lost and damaged gear. They wanted the damaged heater first. It was the only evidence I really had and I wasn't giving it up. In the end the company sent me a very healthy check which covered all my expenses and then some. I sent them the burned-out heater. Somewhere I still have all the documentation and photos. I believed then that those heaters could kill someone eventually. I haven't owned one since that happened, and I of course have no idea whether anything has changed with their design or safety. My only advice is to protect your heater in-transit and be very careful about lighting it in an enclosed setting.

Love the trailer!

 

[FlyGuy]

CO monitors and then have a Great time. That is a damn good looking trailer! I've been interested in a project like that but it's going to have to wait until after I retire I think.

When you get back I'd love to see a thread on the build process with lots of pics!

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[Btaylor]

Sweet trailer!! Agree with everyone else about usage and CO monitors.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Condensation from the Mr buddy will wet you out, if you don’t vent any way.

I think I own 5 of them including the 18k btu one.

In an enclosed area that is air tight they will quickly make you very very sleepy

 

[wisco_archer]

I run the same one when ice fishing with the kids, works very well. They put out a ton of heat though, I wouldn't want anything flammable within 2 feet of the top or in front of it. Just not sure if you will be able to set it up safely in there. And as mentioned earlier it will be F'ing hot in there if you run it for 10 minutes.

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[Titan]

You definitely won't run it 10 min in that small of a space. So I don't think CO2 is as much of a concern as leaking propane would be. They also make 12v gas detectors for RVs. We run one at night just in case.

 

[ndbwhunter]

Leave the heater at home, and throw in some extra blankets or sleeping bags. I'd rather wake up a little chilled than not wake up at all. I had a close call in an ice house one night and we even had CO detectors. Replace batteries regularly.

On another note, I want to know more about that trailer. Can you provide some details on the build, cost, etc?

 

[DoveBlaster]

Of no help as I’ve only used Mr buddy in floorless shelter or deer blind but THAT TRAILER IS SAWEET!


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[boom]

that is a nice trailer!!

we run a MR B in our pop up all the time. but a pop up leaks air like a sieve. (relatively). i think your problem will be the confined space. where are you gonna put the thing? i would roll over and push my sleeping bag up against that heater ASAP.

they are designed for inside use. how? dunno. oh we bought the hose and run ours with a big 20lb bottle. we have to fuss with that safety feature a bit and make sure the hose comes in "at the same angle" as a bottle would, but it works great. it barely warms the pop up. it kinda keeps our toothpaste from freezing..just takes the edge off.

 

[nrh6.7]

I almost didn't click on this thread since I have no interest in these type heaters, but glad I did. I concur with the above comments on the trailer. That thing looks solid and you can't post pics like that without a build thread detailing materials, tools and the whole shebang!

 

[camping1601]

Now that I look again, my camper is more than twice the size of that. The smaller heater won't have to run more than a minute or two to take the edge of.

Nice job on the trailer.

 

[rayporter]

these types of catalytic heaters are commonly used in campers and RVs. most people heat with them continuously as their only source of heat.
my mom heated with one in an airstream for 30 years.

Amazon.com: Camco 57341 Olympian Wave-6 6000 BTU LP Gas Catalytic Heater: Automotive

 

[lacofdfireman]

I almost didn't click on this thread since I have no interest in these type heaters, but glad I did. I concur with the above comments on the trailer. That thing looks solid and you can't post pics like that without a build thread detailing materials, tools and the whole shebang!

Well if you really want to read a build thread for it here ya go.

Father and Son’s Off Road Expedition (Overland) trailer build v2.0 | Expedition Portal


It was our second build. This one is smaller and more basic than the first. Took about 15 or so work days to build. Cost was around $3-3500 total. Haven’t added up all the receipts but this is where I’m figuring it to be. Possibly a little less though.


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[lacofdfireman]

Thanks everyone for the replies. This Mr. Buddy Hester works almost to good. We took it outside in the 44 degree wether and turned it on inside the trailer with the fantastic fan roof fan going and had the trailer at about 90 degrees inside within about 7 minutes. Way to hit to sleep but was curious how good it would work. Needless to say it’s overkill but it’s what we have so we will probably use it for a few minutes before bedtime to warm it up and then just shut it off. Then maybe for a few minutes in the morning. Thanks again for all the suggestions. Also we’ll get a Co2 detector for just in case.

Here’s a photo of our last one we built. This current one will also be getting a rooftop tent. Just haven’t done it yet.

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