Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[snowaddict91]

You can find an inflation chart from your tire manufacturer online as well. Weigh your rig and then this will give you an idea of how much PSI you need to support your weight.

[OldMil]

https://classifieds.gorge.net/?id=aoad71ae

For Portland and other PNW area mags, this seems like a pretty good deal.

[jpcm]

BattleBorn batteries has just released their newest version of their 100 amp lithium battery. This one includes an internal heater, so that they can be charged while the temperature outside drops below 27 degrees. An external heat pad is no longer required.

I ordered mine last night.
And I will be adding a lock to the battery box door.
Solar panels are being installed today.

https://battlebornbatteries.com/prod...-battery-kits/

This is a really nice upgrade.

I currently do not run heating pads under the batteries, but it is something I’ve considered adding. Mine are inside the van so I can use the diesel heater to bring the temp up the acceptable charging level. When we are using the van in winter , the heater runs 24/7. It’s easier to keep the van around 50 for a whole weekend rather than go on/off

You’ll like the battleborns. It’s been a good product for me

[frorider]

So this summer I spent some time coming up with a good all round solution to lithium battery temp control (two Battleborns). Rather than installing the DC adhesive heater wraps from dragonfly/battleborn, I spent $90 on a very nicely made AC battery wrap from RHS. https://www.roofheatingsystems.com/residential/ You can get custom lengths, and widths in 6” increments. I got one long enough to wrap around all 6 exposed sides of the adjacent batteries. I built a corrugated plastic box around the batteries for protection, and to keep the heat in. It’s connected to a thermostat ac plug https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . My diesel air heater has ducting that runs under the battery, so they heat up quickly when we’re living in the van.

Anyway my logic is that when I’m on a van trip the batteries are generally warm (see above); the issue is the cold ass nights in Tahoe parked at home. Having a simple wrap that plugs into an extension cord to my house not only is good for battery health long term, but also means when the sun hits the panels or I drive 30 mins to kwood, the batteries are warm enough to accept charge.

[muted]

Thanks guys. I also asked a real-life friend, who is used to bigger trucks (he owns a vintage semi for one example) and he recommended 40-50psi. I thought I was stuck at high PSI due to weight but I'm not, thank god. Previous owner towed a burly trailer so I'm guessing that's why the rears were at 60+. frorider, I was thinking of weighing it too on my inaugural road trip this weekend so I'll do that this week. And I'm definitely getting an on-board compressor for rough roads, and higher PSI for highway driving with the thirsty V10. First I gotta drive it an experiment with different loads and PSI and get to know how it all feels.

[El Chupacabra]

Thanks guys. I also asked a real-life friend, who is used to bigger trucks (he owns a vintage semi for one example) and he recommended 40-50psi. I thought I was stuck at high PSI due to weight but I'm not, thank god. Previous owner towed a burly trailer so I'm guessing that's why the rears were at 60+. frorider, I was thinking of weighing it too on my inaugural road trip this weekend so I'll do that this week. And I'm definitely getting an on-board compressor for rough roads, and higher PSI for highway driving with the thirsty V10. First I gotta drive it an experiment with different loads and PSI and get to know how it all feels.

It really depends on what the vehicle weighs.

On my 3/4 ton truck, with load range E tires: in summer with a camper in it, I have the front tires at 72 psi, rear at 80 psi (max). On that same truck unloaded, without carrying any real load in the bed, I have the front at 60 psi, rear at 50. It weighs 6000# empty. Tread wear seems even, and it doesn't feel squirmy. I tried it with lower pressure empty (50 front, 40 rear), and it felt squirmy on road, without riding any smoother.

[muted]

It really depends on what the vehicle weighs.

On my 3/4 ton truck, with load range E tires: in summer with a camper in it, I have the front tires at 72 psi, rear at 80 psi (max). On that same truck unloaded, without carrying any real load in the bed, I have the front at 60 psi, rear at 50. It weighs 6000# empty. Tread wear seems even, and it doesn't feel squirmy. I tried it with lower pressure empty (50 front, 40 rear), and it felt squirmy on road, without riding any smoother.

Thanks, I'm clear on that now. I'm going to weigh it, experiment to find what feels good on snow, washboard, rock crawling, highway driving, but avoid premature wear with over/under PSIs, etc. when fully loaded or dry.

[El Chupacabra]

Definitely try some different pressures and see what works best.

[Norseman]

find the load tables for the exact tire you're running, if you can

if not available, judge the bulge and/or chalk line test

[jackattack]

judge the bulge

QFT

[muted]

Couple newb heating questions: I have a propane heater that works great but cycled on constantly as it was below 30 degrees that night, pop-top was up, and it woke me up nearly every time. It wasn't super loud but I'm a light sleeper. Van is from 1999 so I'm guessing I have better options these days? my thoughts were:

1) Insulate the box a bit to deaden the sound. Definitely won't solve the problem but would help a bit.
2) see if there is a thermostat that I can program to run maybe every 1-2 hours instead cycling on/off every 10 minutes. Does something like this exist for #vanlife?
3) Get a quieter blower motor. Maybe one with different settings? Even if it reduces efficiency, a slow low setting would be better than what I have.
4) Take lotsa drugs to pass out each night and keep van as-is.
5) All the above

[sierraskier]

Thanks, I'm clear on that now. I'm going to weigh it, experiment to find what feels good on snow, washboard, rock crawling, highway driving, but avoid premature wear with over/under PSIs, etc. when fully loaded or dry.

If you really want to nerd out (and be accurate) weigh each axle then adjust accordingly. For example, my axle weights dictate I run fronts @ 50psi and rears @ 90psi (max). While the fronts have more useable range, because of the rear axle weight bad things can happen if I run the rears significantly below the 90psi (tire failure and blowout at highway speeds)

[Conundrum]

Couple newb heating questions: I have a propane heater that works great but cycled on constantly as it was below 30 degrees that night, pop-top was up, and it woke me up nearly every time. It wasn't super loud but I'm a light sleeper. Van is from 1999 so I'm guessing I have better options these days? my thoughts were:

1) Insulate the box a bit to deaden the sound. Definitely won't solve the problem but would help a bit.
2) see if there is a thermostat that I can program to run maybe every 1-2 hours instead cycling on/off every 10 minutes. Does something like this exist for #vanlife?
3) Get a quieter blower motor. Maybe one with different settings? Even if it reduces efficiency, a slow low setting would be better than what I have.
4) Take lotsa drugs to pass out each night and keep van as-is.
5) All the above

Probably a similar situation to us. When we first started vanning, had similar issues. Now we have a heavy down comforter and turn the heater off while we sleep. I reach out of bed in the morning and kick the heater on. A couple minutes later, I'll fire up our heater buddy (we only bring this if we know it is going to be teens or less) and kick that on while I heat up coffee. Mrs. C gets up when she feel like it's okay to get ready for the day. The small space heats up fast but we're in a high top.

[muted]

AH, I forgot about the buddy. That's a solid option that is cheap. No reconfiguring, just throw it in the van when needed.

[pano-dude]

Wood stove for silent dry heat.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[harveymushman]

The more I heat my van on very cold nights, the more frost I get on the windows and exposed metal.

To minimize this, hang, button or velcro a curtain to sequester your breathing to the very back of the van with some form of venting.

[apex dave]

AH, I forgot about the buddy. That's a solid option that is cheap. No reconfiguring, just throw it in the van when needed.

Don't forget it burns O2 and releases moisture. Make sure your CO detector works.

[Conundrum]

Don't forget it burns O2 and releases moisture. Make sure your CO detector works.

Yeah. CO detector and this is really just a supplement for five or so minutes on really cold mornings or if we’re out in the parking lot partying at sundown, take it a little deep and forget to fire up the heat prior to settling in for the night. We might use a little green bomb a season. Maybe two if it’s a really cold season. We also don’t use the water system in the winter.

I’d like to upgrade to diesel heat someday but for now we’re onboard propane. With a puffy jacket and really only using heat in the mornings and evenings, we’ve stretched the five gal tank upwards of a week for heat and cooking. Finding refills on trips is pretty easy but sometimes annoying.

[jackattack]

What kind of temps are you dealing with? Just got home from 6 nights with lows in the 20’s and didn’t blow the 5gal tank in the Bigfoot with the t-stat at 45F. For winter trips when we hang out in the camper a lot I sometimes bring an electric space heater to run while the generator is running in the evening to really dry the place out. The Honda is super efficient and gasoline is even easier to find than propane.

[Conundrum]

Coldest we’ve done is -15* or so and hit that a couple times a year. Typically high teens and 20s so don’t bring the buddy. It’s a small space and nowhere to store a generator unless we have gas in the cab. Our van is a passenger van so windows all the way around. We have reflectix on all glass overnight but there can still quite a bit of ice on the inside in the morning. Just added solar, have two new 4d agm batteries going in the week. Best thing though is I got a favor from the race program guys and can probably plug in but have to check on groomer timing so it may not work. Might be able to go electric heat this year with better power.

[Name Redacted]

Coldest we’ve done is -15* or so and hit that a couple times a year. Typically high teens and 20s so don’t bring the buddy. It’s a small space and nowhere to store a generator unless we have gas in the cab. Our van is a passenger van so windows all the way around. We have reflectix on all glass overnight but there can still quite a bit of ice on the inside in the morning. Just added solar, have two new 4d agm batteries going in the week. Best thing though is I got a favor from the race program guys and can probably plug in but have to check on groomer timing so it may not work. Might be able to go electric heat this year with better power.

Is that a center console/ toilet combo?

[Conundrum]

Only when we’re parked. Fits perfectly over 4wd shifter. Pett toilet with wag bags for the lady. My #1s go outside and my #2s go in the Pett outside. Her 1s and 2s go inside while I walk around outside. New bag after every 2. 2s have been rare but with lodges shut down, I can see that changing this year. Normally, our 2s at fuel stops, lodges and bars during ski season. We do a lot of raft trips so have gotten good at timing for when the groover is out.

[Name Redacted]

Only when we’re parked. Fits perfectly over 4wd shifter. Pett toilet with wag bags for the lady. My #1s go outside and my #2s go in the Pett outside. Her 1s and 2s go inside while I walk around outside. New bag after every 2. 2s have been rare but with lodges shut down, I can see that changing this year. Normally, our 2s at fuel stops, lodges and bars during ski season. We do a lot of raft trips so have gotten good at timing for when the groover is out.

Just noticed and thought it was funny.

I'd definitely be the #2 outside as my wife got her beauty sleep for another 3 hrs after I got out of bed.

[myles long]

Yeah. CO detector and this is really just a supplement for five or so minutes on really cold mornings or if we’re out in the parking lot partying at sundown, take it a little deep and forget to fire up the heat prior to settling in for the night. We might use a little green bomb a season. Maybe two if it’s a really cold season. We also don’t use the water system in the winter.

I’d like to upgrade to diesel heat someday but for now we’re onboard propane. With a puffy jacket and really only using heat in the mornings and evenings, we’ve stretched the five gal tank upwards of a week for heat and cooking. Finding refills on trips is pretty easy but sometimes annoying.

Desiel heat makes all the difference. Its one less thing to worry about filling up when we are out. I typically set my thermostat to 50 overnight and it stays toasty. Use the fabric drapes over the cockpit and doors keeps out light and heat inside.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Conundrum]

I know. Just not in the cards for us right now. We might sell our van after ski season hoping to catch some of the lust. If peak van is over, we are redoing a lot of it including diesel heat.