Heat for cargo trailer

[mt terry d]

I insulated the walls and ceiling and put a couple windows in my 16'cargo trailer. A sunflower heater on a 20# tank for cold. Cook with a coleman propane stove and 1# bottles which I refill at home. I set the heater within arms reach when I go to bed. When I wake up in the morning I don't have to get out of my bag to light it. Hardly ever run it except in the morning unless it's really cold and wet. You'll be off the ground without any breeze so staying warm at night isn't an issue. Making coffee on the coleman warms it up nicely also. I put a carbon monoxide gauge/alarm in but it has never even registered anything of significance. A 12V deep cell battery charges when I'm going down the road ( as long as my parking or headlights are on) and LED lighting with a couple USB ports and my electrical is good for , well, I don't know how long as it's never run out during a camping trip. Carpet remnants on the floor are worth their weight in gold. And a battery powered leaf blower makes clean out easy as well as a great fire encourager. I put a couple fold up bunks in and have a 3" memory foam mattress. I sleep as good there as in my bed at home. Cheap, comfortable and easy ( I'd say 'like I like my women' but my wife would get mad so I won't say that ).

 

[TWHrunner]

Why not just bring a generator and a battery charger and run it for an hour or two every other day or so?

This what I was thinking

 

[dylsdad]

Little buddy heater if you are able to vent the trailer somehow. I have a 7.5x14 and this is what I do a few times a year when I camp out. I just open the roof vent and it works great.

second for this also works in drifboat...

 

[TWHrunner]

Kerosene heater that is vented??

 

[TWHrunner]

Check me out. $25. I’ll let you know how it works. I’m thinking I lose a lot of heat through the pipe. I dunno.

 

[Blockcaver]

Run the Nu-way. It's plenty and you don't need to spend money on something. Stay away from buddy heaters as they produce a ton of moisture that is not good if you are in the below freezing temps.
No matter what you use make sure you install a CO detector down low.
The money you save by keeping the Nu-way you can install 1" board insulation and a small 12" door in the side to run the pipe out for the heater. It's what I'm doing on my trailer. It came with small doors to pass a fuel pump into for fueling the toys up. Works great a s ventilation and running the stove pipe out. It just needs to stick out the side and not run up the outside like a wood stove. Keep it simple.

Kris

CO is lighter than air. Install the CO monitor up higher as it rises.

And CO2 is heavier than air and can pool low in an enclosed area.

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

Well, after spending the weekend in sun zero temps I’ll be installing a diesel heater in my cargo trailer. The space heater and generator took much longer than wanted to bring up the ambient temp. I’ll probably still bring the space heater as I want a generator for lights and Starlink and other luxuries but I’ll definitely be installing a diesel heater soon

 

[Bill larson]

I would use a propane ventless heater..... 99% effcient.... around 200$$....
I own several...basemnt,(1)..up north deer camp (2) cabin.....3 season porch..(1)....

 

[Wrench]

This little guy is a dragon! A 5kw would be more than plenty for a cargo trailer.

 

[*zap*]

You could do a small wood stove...

 

[Jeremyc_1999]

This little guy is a dragon! A 5kw would be more than plenty for a cargo trailer.View attachment 624812

How does this one vent?

 

[Titan]

They don't really "vent". You have an intake and exhaust for the combustion chamber. Then you have an inlet and outlet for heated air. Easiest thing to do is set it outside and run your heater hose into the area you want to heat.

 

[rayporter]

not sure it will last as long as this fellow says, but you get the idea. he vents exhaust to the outside instead of setting the unit outside and piping the heat inside. different units are made to be inside and vent exhaust to the exterior.

 

[Wrench]

I'm heading to try it in my tent right now. The heater, battery, extra hose and a gallon of fuel all nest into the cheap boxes from lowes.

 

[Titan]

Grab some 10 gauge wire to replace the harness that came with the unit. Many people run into voltage issues from the small cheap wire. Alligator clips won't help either, but will probably be fine if you bump the wire size.

 

[MallardSX2]

I would be paranoid that something would break in that thing and snuff me out in my sleep via carbon monoxide poisoning. No thanks.

 

[Titan]

You can get cheap CO monitors that run on AA batteries. The combustion is very well separated from the hot air though. That is really not a problem when you keep the unit outside rather than inside with exhaust routed out.

 

[Bendejo]

I got to wonder if it would operate more efficiently if the air it was heating up was from inside rather than in outside

 

[rayporter]

there are other units that do mount inside and recirculate the warm inside air.

 

[Titan]

They are technically all the same units, just some you buy as a separate heater and some come in a prebuilt case.

You definitely get better heat if you draw warmer air into the intake. But you sacrifice more moisture doing that.
You can use some 3” duct to bring it back to the heater. Some of the all in one units have a removable piece on the back and some you have to cut out the vent circle to feed it through.