Heat for cargo trailer

kramcutthroat

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 26, 2016
Messages
128
Location
Colorado
They can get a bit finicky at elevation yes, that said, I have 4 and only 1 has had any issues at elevation but never left me without heat, just throws an error code and you have to reset the power, they are pretty solid most of the time. If they have the option for automatic altitude adjustment I’d do it just to be safe but overall I think you’ll be fine either way.


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CAM_D

FNG
Joined
Jan 31, 2021
Messages
81
Location
New Mexico
For those of you that have experience with using a diesel heater in the mountains, do you need to do any adjustments to the heater for altitude? I see on the Vevor website that they have a Plateau model that is supposed to adjust for higher altitudes. Is that option necessary?
The one that I have has an altimeter and makes changes automatically.
 

TWHrunner

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 24, 2018
Messages
147
Location
Calgary
Do you guys mean those diesel heaters that need a 12V car battery to run? How often do you have to recharge your battery? Am I missing something?
 

kramcutthroat

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 26, 2016
Messages
128
Location
Colorado
Do you guys mean those diesel heaters that need a 12V car battery to run? How often do you have to recharge your battery? Am I missing something?

Yes they need 12v. Starting takes a bit but once they are running very low power draw. Run the truck every once in a while, solar, power bank, spare battery, lots of options


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Geewhiz

WKR
Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Messages
2,521
Location
SW MT
Do you guys mean those diesel heaters that need a 12V car battery to run? How often do you have to recharge your battery? Am I missing something?
I take my batteries out of my camper and put them in my trailer for the heater over the winter so I have 2 deep cycle marine batteries that I use. The way you use the heater is a significant factor of how long the batteries last. Those heaters have a glow plug that draws a good amount of juice every time the heater comes on and cycles if you use the thermostat function. My heater has a thermostat setting but also just a low/med/high. Most of the time I will set it on low and just let it run so it does not draw from the battery every time the glow plug comes on. This helps the battery to last much longer. The only other part that uses the battery is the fan and the tiny lcd screen. I have my trailer rigged up so there are lights and outlets on the inside that are wired to a male plug on the outside that I plug into my generator in the evening when I get done hunting. This allows me to have lights and outlets to charge phones and whatnot but I also have a trickle charger always plugged in and hooked up to the batteries. So when I get back to the trailer at night I’ll get some charge on the batteries to top them off from their usage all day. Works really well for me.
 

Slugz

WKR
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
652

Give these guys a call and pick their brain. I'm sure they will give you sound advice based upon experience. Theres a fine line between 1) cost savings, 2) comfort and 3) red ass ability depending on what set up you run. The older I get #2/3 tend to drive that decsion.
 

kramcutthroat

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 26, 2016
Messages
128
Location
Colorado
I take my batteries out of my camper and put them in my trailer for the heater over the winter so I have 2 deep cycle marine batteries that I use. The way you use the heater is a significant factor of how long the batteries last. Those heaters have a glow plug that draws a good amount of juice every time the heater comes on and cycles if you use the thermostat function. My heater has a thermostat setting but also just a low/med/high. Most of the time I will set it on low and just let it run so it does not draw from the battery every time the glow plug comes on. This helps the battery to last much longer. The only other part that uses the battery is the fan and the tiny lcd screen. I have my trailer rigged up so there are lights and outlets on the inside that are wired to a male plug on the outside that I plug into my generator in the evening when I get done hunting. This allows me to have lights and outlets to charge phones and whatnot but I also have a trickle charger always plugged in and hooked up to the batteries. So when I get back to the trailer at night I’ll get some charge on the batteries to top them off from their usage all day. Works really well for me.

Nailed it


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OP
N

nebhunt

WKR
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
356
Location
Nebraska
I am trying to find a heater that is 8kw with the altitude adjustment feature and a complete unit. I see that Vevor makes one. Is the Vevor brand quality or junk? I did check out Maxspeeding rods but could not find a 8kw that only had a single air outlet. Any help would be appreciated
 

kramcutthroat

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 26, 2016
Messages
128
Location
Colorado
I am trying to find a heater that is 8kw with the altitude adjustment feature and a complete unit. I see that Vevor makes one. Is the Vevor brand quality or junk? I did check out Maxspeeding rods but could not find a 8kw that only had a single air outlet. Any help would be appreciated

Unless you’re getting a German one for $800+ they are all pretty much the same. Most of the parts are identical and come from the same factories with a different name slapped on the side.


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Joined
Dec 14, 2020
Messages
374
I just returned from CO yesterday. Spent the last 2 weeks tent camping. We took a big buddy heater to heat our canopy (with 4 sides) and it wouldn’t work correctly. It took a crap about day 4 and left us with no heat. I’ve just learned of these diesel heaters from this post and now I’m very intrigued to learn more. Sounds like it would have been ideal for the 2-3 hrs per day we wanted to warm up at base camp. My only concern is just having my truck battery to power it. Does anyone have any alternative energy sources that would work for 2 weeks of 2/3 hrs per day? Please pm me so this thread don’t get derailed. Best wishes
 

shtrbc

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
137
Diesel heater for sure. Name brand if you can afford them, cheap Amazon chinese models for the rest of us. Between my son's and myself, we have 3 of them. We build our own enclosures and assemble ourselves vs. the self contained units on Amazon. That way we can control how bomb proof we make them. The first one we bought was less than $100 for a 5Kw unit. The last couple have been in the $120-$130 range for the entire kit. We purchase the heater kits that would be installed in campers and vans. Typically, everything you need is included. But like anything, you can customize to your hearts content. The fuel consumption is very economical. Our heaters on a low setting consume roughly 1-1.5 liters of diesel in 12 hours. We use these heaters in 12x12 and 12x14 canvas tents in MN and ND. The coldest we have run them was -44*F. Even at that temp, a medium setting would roast you out of the tent. Most nights, we run it in the morning while eating/getting ready (1-2 hours) and evenings after hunting (3-6 hours). The heater and fuel piece of the total package seems to be the easy part. The battery has always been the limiting factor. In the past, we have used deep cycle batteries as our power source. Running as described above, we could get 4-5 days use before the battery was getting "iffy". On a 10 day hunt, we would bring 2 batteries. We have experimented with solar but in our area there isn't much sunlight in the fall/winter to consistently make the solar work very well. This past year we have been experimenting with both purchased power packs made by Jackery and Schumacher. Also have purchased a 100aH battery and charger off Amazon. The LiPo type power boxes and batteries seem to be the direction we will be going. Basically get longer duration power in a much lighter package. I recently ran my heater on a low setting for 7 days straight on the 100aH battery setup and still had 40% charge when I shut if off. Using a 10 liter tank, I filled it twice with the tank being full when I started. So far, I am very impressed with the LiPo battery setup. The real test will be when it starts getting colder outside but the plan is to have the battery box with 100aH battery in the tent since its a sealed unit. For what we do, they can't be beat. It's basically like having a forced air furnace for your tent/camper/van/trailer. Another side note...when my buddy lost power for a couple days last winter in sub zero temps, we rigged up a diesel heater on the outside of his house running the heat tube in through his dryer vent. Disconnected the dryer hose, packed rags around the hose to seal it off, and ran the diesel heater wide open for 2 1/2 days to keep his house from freezing up. He has a smaller house, probably 1100 sq ft and it kept the inside temp in the high 40's. Was -10 to -20*F outside. He has since got his own setup. That my experience. Mileage may vary by user.......
 

Geewhiz

WKR
Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Messages
2,521
Location
SW MT
Diesel heater for sure. Name brand if you can afford them, cheap Amazon chinese models for the rest of us. Between my son's and myself, we have 3 of them. We build our own enclosures and assemble ourselves vs. the self contained units on Amazon. That way we can control how bomb proof we make them. The first one we bought was less than $100 for a 5Kw unit. The last couple have been in the $120-$130 range for the entire kit. We purchase the heater kits that would be installed in campers and vans. Typically, everything you need is included. But like anything, you can customize to your hearts content. The fuel consumption is very economical. Our heaters on a low setting consume roughly 1-1.5 liters of diesel in 12 hours. We use these heaters in 12x12 and 12x14 canvas tents in MN and ND. The coldest we have run them was -44*F. Even at that temp, a medium setting would roast you out of the tent. Most nights, we run it in the morning while eating/getting ready (1-2 hours) and evenings after hunting (3-6 hours). The heater and fuel piece of the total package seems to be the easy part. The battery has always been the limiting factor. In the past, we have used deep cycle batteries as our power source. Running as described above, we could get 4-5 days use before the battery was getting "iffy". On a 10 day hunt, we would bring 2 batteries. We have experimented with solar but in our area there isn't much sunlight in the fall/winter to consistently make the solar work very well. This past year we have been experimenting with both purchased power packs made by Jackery and Schumacher. Also have purchased a 100aH battery and charger off Amazon. The LiPo type power boxes and batteries seem to be the direction we will be going. Basically get longer duration power in a much lighter package. I recently ran my heater on a low setting for 7 days straight on the 100aH battery setup and still had 40% charge when I shut if off. Using a 10 liter tank, I filled it twice with the tank being full when I started. So far, I am very impressed with the LiPo battery setup. The real test will be when it starts getting colder outside but the plan is to have the battery box with 100aH battery in the tent since its a sealed unit. For what we do, they can't be beat. It's basically like having a forced air furnace for your tent/camper/van/trailer. Another side note...when my buddy lost power for a couple days last winter in sub zero temps, we rigged up a diesel heater on the outside of his house running the heat tube in through his dryer vent. Disconnected the dryer hose, packed rags around the hose to seal it off, and ran the diesel heater wide open for 2 1/2 days to keep his house from freezing up. He has a smaller house, probably 1100 sq ft and it kept the inside temp in the high 40's. Was -10 to -20*F outside. He has since got his own setup. That my experience. Mileage may vary by user.......
Why not just bring a generator and a battery charger and run it for an hour or two every other day or so?
 

svivian

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
3,167
Location
Colorado
Here is the one im looking at getting. Found it the cheapest through walmart but the reviews on amazon look decent


 

shtrbc

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
137
Geewhiz...that is certainly a option. Just more stuff to lug along if you don't need to. We are seldom out more than 7-10 days so the LiPo looks like it will work perfect for that.
 

GoatPackr

WKR
Joined
Jan 5, 2023
Messages
366
After reading about everyone running these diesel heaters I decided to order one to try. I'm still going to take my propane system but the diesel look to be much more efficient and simple to set up and run and it will move the air around better in my 25' trailer.

Kris
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
Messages
319
I currently use a small electric heater and generator, but my cargo trailer is fully insulated. I will be installing a diesel heater in the near future
 
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