/r/vandwellers
Tips and tricks for living in your van, car or truck. It's a great way to save money or travel the world. No mechanical advice. No purchase advice on vehicles. No politics. Be kind.
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/r/vandwellers
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(Oh no, not another!) Diesel Heater Post; Here is my dilemma.
Hello to the carbon monoxide & heater experts out there!
I am currently building my second van. I had a wood stove in my first build as the only heat source, and eventually I realized it wasn't practical for me on days when I had to bounce around a lot, doing chores or going to work etc. It took too long to get the fires going, and to put them out. It also wasn't worth waking up through the night to tend to the fire.
I eventually added a diesel heater to that van, inside, but I learned I am extremely sensitive to the smell of the diesel. I know a lot of people don't have this problem, but I did. I only used the heater twice and then took the tank of diesel out of the van and just went without heat most of the time; I used sleeping bags at night and used the wood stove on the days that I didn't have to drive anywhere. So having a tank of diesel inside the van is not an option for me on this second van.
My plan was to put together a diesel heater in a waterproof box, and mount the whole thing on my roof rack. My plan was to have a longer duct going through the roof and possibly down the wall so the heat could start low and then rise.
I have two concerns. First, the diesel gelling due to being outside in cold temps. And the second, I read on some posts on here that the fresh air intake should actually be inside the van; only the combustion intake and exhaust should be outside. Is this really a big deal? I know people use these diesel heaters for tent camping, car camping, in garages, etc and just have the hot air duct going into the space with all else outside. Someone mentioned the risk of pulling in exhaust air is actually higher with this way than if the unit was just installed inside. That terrified me, hence this post. My plan was to keep it all outside to make CO poisoning LESS possible. I'm one of those people who is unreasonably terrified of the carbon monoxide issues. I had three detectors in my last van because I'm that paranoid, haha. (I have a health issue that has some similar symptoms as CO poisoning, so I never want to stress out about differentiating the source of the symptoms)
Should I install everything inside except the tank and just run a longer fuel line from outside on the roof? Or would I be able to maybe have it all outside and just add a duct going from the fresh air intake into the van? I'm hesitant about that option as it's not how the product is designed. Should I just get a propex heater so I don't have to worry about the diesel gelling? I'm already going to use propane for cooking. I'm not concerned about cost of diesel vs propane, just safety and usability in lower temps.
TLDR; Cannot have diesel fuel tank inside, choosing between: CDH in a box on the roof rack vs CDH inside, but the tank is outside vs Propex heater because the diesel would possibly gel
Thanks in advance! <3
19:05 UTC
Rooftop and suitcase solar
I am planning on having two 200w panels on the roof, and getting two 200w suitcase solar to add into it. That would be 800w of solar total. Some of the time, it is possible only the rooftop solar would be hooked up. How do I handle that issue regarding solar controllers? Would it be best to get two separate 40a solar controllers, or is there a simpler solution? If I got a single 60a solar controller, would that be too much if only 400w were hooked up? Thanks in advance!
22:23 UTC
Will this cause issues down the road?
Used this(3/4” wood) because i had it laying around the shop. The rest is 1/4”ply and 1/2” ply. Will this cause issues when installing the panels? Should i have just used 1/2” for everything?
01:55 UTC
How do you guys get your van onto BLM/nationally owned land?
Idk if this is a dumb question but because it’s presumably offroad, I’m confused how people are just pulling a van onto blm, likely forest covered land. Are you just parking as close as possible to the land??
15:01 UTC
Damn she thick. (tire update)
finally upgraded my tires. 2019 ford transit - needed something that was more aggressive but not crazy since I don't do any major off road. van also sits a little bit higher than stock.
245-75-16 will Michelin Agilis Cross Climates will barely fit with no rubbing cutting or any issues!!!
15:33 UTC
Electrical System Recommendations/Changes?
Any suggestions? heres the updated diagram.
Trying to keep it simple as possible. this is only for weekend usage I will not be living in the van.
15:36 UTC
Water on the floor
I recently bought a Chevy Express 3500 extended and I'm converting to campervan. I'm in the middle of doing the floor insulation and thank goodness it's not done yet. I drove it in the rain for the first time yesterday and when I got home I had water on the rear corner, passenger side. I got home and was about to finish laying the insulation when I noticed the corner wet and one of the wood pieces that will support the floor already wet. It's right behind the rear wheel well and the sides of the van have nothing on them yet. I'm thinking it came from below but I didn't put any holes on the floor.
Has anyone with a Chevy Express noticed water and where did it come from?
14:26 UTC
Our little van
Short n Sweet. 128 2015 Sprinter 65,000 km around Australia so far. Love the life.
09:34 UTC
What’s with the propane setup on this van?
Four propane tanks on the roof and it looks like they run into the cab via the passenger window. The inside windows were foggy with condensation. What do you think is the purpose of this person’s set up?
00:50 UTC
How to get started?
Hi I’m 20m and really interested in getting started with this van life thing. I recently just lost my daily car and that was the sign to me that it’s time to make my dreams a reality and travel the country in a van. My only problem is I have no idea where to start 😅. I’m sure this has been asked countless times on this subreddit, but are there any resources anyone would recommend for me to watch to get started? Or anyone who would be willing to offer advice? Thanks for reading this. I hope you all are enjoying your van life adventures. Hoping to see you all out there soon ✌🏽
17:37 UTC
I cannot wrap my mind around the electrical system.
I have seen every guide on YouTube from the most complicated to the most simple. I do not understand a second of any of it. I have watched for hours. I've taken breaks and come back to it later. I don't get any of it. This is the biggest barrier to getting into van life. If I can't get an electrical system installed, there's no point in even buying the van.
13:17 UTC
Questions about gas spring mounting for murphy bed
Hi so i got some gas springs for a murphy like bed I made. I am thinking of putting them on the outside of the bed and wondering if you put the thicker spring side of the gas spring on the wall or bed?
And how do you figure the mounting points?
13:41 UTC
17m wanting to get into vanlife
Student planning to go to college and have been fascinated with all the cozy videos everyone has of their van life.
Before anyone asks, I've had experience with living in a mobile home as my dad lives/works in an rv resort. I am sure I want to do this.
I'm curious as to where should I start, what vans I should look into, and what are some things you wouldn't expect. Are there any guides out there? I'm aware it's going to be a hard and tedious task so any help would be appreciated.
09:17 UTC
Inverter Ground - necessary or suicide box?
Ahoy! Quick clarification question.
I'm in the process of setting up a solar leisure battery system on a Land Rover Defender. Diagram here of my existing simple circuit; my question is with respect to the inverter, is it necessary / best practice to ground it to the chassis? I've heard conflicting things; manual says one should, but others suggest it's a bad idea (e.g. dumping 240V into the otherwise 12V negative chassis can make it a suicide box unless I've misunderstood). I've left it disconnected in any case.
It's a cheap-ish modern 2000W Renogy Inverter; it will be an entirely isolated solar / DC-DC charger 'offshore' system, never plugged into the mains at a camping ground or anything, and the entire vehicle is obviously never grounded due to the tyres. The inverter is otherwise 'earthed' on the DC side to the chassis via the two batteries (the lithium leisure battery isn't earthed directly itself).
Any insight much appreciated! Thanks for your time.
16:14 UTC
I want to build a table (150x65) that should carry a small fridge (25kg). How thick and what timber should the legs be to be stable enough?
How thick would you think I would need to go with the legs when building it like this without a real frame?
21:02 UTC
Advice. What am I missing? Suburban set-up, 4 day trips. (Details in comment.)
03:43 UTC
Cooking light and exterior lights
You guys were so helpful last time thought I would ask again. I need to add exterior lights off my roof rack and a cooking light to the van. can I see a picture of what you got or a link. 🙏🙏❤️❤️🏕🏕🌞🌞
03:33 UTC
Is the cab of the van as insulated as the cargo area will be? Trying to decide whether to utilize it (via seat swivels) since I'll sometimes be in cold areas.
I'll be relocating a lot, but since my home base is in Idaho, I'll be here sometimes during the winter in below-freezing temps. One layout I'm considering involves turning the driver's seat around to serve as a lounge area. Do you think it'll get too chilly up there? I'll have insulated window coverings, but that's still a lot of glass, plus I don't know how well the doors in the Promaster are insulated (and pulling off the door covers to add insulation doesn't excite me at all).
I'll have a 2k gas or diesel heater by then, but it will be aimed at the rest of the van and might not heat the cab.
For those of you who spend some time in cold weather and use the cab, does it get much colder than the rest of the van?
Thanks for any help/advice!
14:48 UTC
What kind of padding can I use for walls like these?
I want some really plush padded walls like these but idk what they used behind the velvet. I figured it would be safest in some sort of collision lol.
03:10 UTC
Using Bluetti AC70 whilst charging
iv looked online and not found any conclusive answers so was wondering if anyone had any experience with using a bluetti whilst its charging via solar?
cheers :)
19:33 UTC
Rent campervan for 1-2 weeks LA area?
Hi I've seen mentions of ways to rent people's camper vans for a few weeks at a time, is there a website for this? Anyone on here in the LA area and want to rent out their van?
21:39 UTC
Van Subfloor help
23:50 UTC
Van Subfloor help?
I put down osb as a floor in my van upon recommendation and am now concerned after doing more research. I'm reading about formaldehyde and off gassing, did I mess up. I'm also concerned about water retention as opposed to plywood, is there a stain I can use to mitigate this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
23:54 UTC
Charge power station directly off Car Battery?
I recently read where a person directly charges their power station using a cigarette input cable / two clamps off their cars battery. They said they are getting 150w while driving.
Since the power stations input is limited to 10 amps, could I use a Y cable and connect two sources of power, solar and alternator, to charge my bluetti AC180?
19:13 UTC
Does it make a difference to insurers if you're part-timing?
I'm likely gonna go with Roamly, but I'm wondering if it's worth shopping around if I'm only gonna be part-timing in my van, or if it doesn't matter and they still won't insure me and I shouldn't waste my time calling them and just stick to Roamly (holy run-on sentence, Batman)
17:42 UTC