instead of foam, you guys should add an electric heater mat that turns on whenever the battery gets below a certain temperature, that way u can winterize ur battery but at the same time dont have to worry about heat during the summer.
The batteries also vent to the outside in case one of them cracks. So I don’t think you would want them to vent to the inside. During the extreme cold covering the hole up and maybe using a heated pad such as you use for sprouting seeds might help keep it warm and not worry about overheating
@@malelpn37 lithium doesn't need to be vented. The only time you'll get any off gassing is if you've had a major failure, and for the most part that is only with the large cells. There's no gassing during charging or discharging at all. The Battleborn batteries are even safer than cheaper brands because they use many small cells which are virtually indestructible in their cases.
Add a cheap Chinese 5kw diesel heater , it will outperform the propane heater. I’ve been one week at -22 Celsius and almost could get in my underwear and it didn’t use as much diesel as i tought🤣🤣🤣 adding a heated battery blanket that you can turn on while driving or plugged to 110 will fix your problem.
Thought about that myself. Wet cell batteries (car, boat, what have you) create hydrogen gas when charging. Hard to say what these were in the video. But ya, yours is a real concern.
that's for lead acid batteries which vent off hydrogen gas when charging. You can see in the video they have LiFePo4 batteries which don't normally vent and if they do you got some larger problems.
Great video! As a full time RVer you learn little tricks as you go for your winter camping. Put clear bubble wrap on your windows inside your camper. It is amazing how it gives that added layer of insulation to them. I would get a roll of silver insulation bubble wrap and put that around the inside of your canvased wall. That is one super cool unit. Safe travels. 😊
From Africa: I've been in warm weather for 35 years of my life and had to watch this video in a blanket coz just looking at the thumbnail made me feel cold. You guys are a beautiful couple and nice content.
Glad to see you survived the worst of the cold snap. Hope you’re both staying healthy through this! I’ve never owned a 7.3, but a trick to make it easier to start is to cycle the glow plugs 2 or 3 times before cranking. I’ve done that on vehicles that were not plugged in. It helps reduce the cranking time.
As a Australian in glorious hot country :( the only time we get a chance of snow is searching for frozen sausages in the freezer :( I have spent a winter snowy Christmas day in America at Bass Lake and mate what a blast I had ! We put all our beers on a outdoor table with 4 inches of snow on it and push the beers in the snow , found deer prints in the snow, Drove around Bass lake and saw the big house from the movie The Great Outdoors ,it was just white all over :) I am going to be doing a big trip around America as soon as CONVID is finally dead and buried (big scam) I can't wait to do that :)))
Living in Alaska I use a Webasto Diesel air heater. I highly recommend it. It runs off your diesel tank and uses almost no power and you never have to refill propane
You are absolutely right. I can’t believe how many people don’t know about the diesel bunk heaters. Hell you can get the Chinese ones for $130 on eBay. I’ve got one of those in my semi truck for the past 3 years, loving it.
Could not pay me to own a diesel! There is absolutely no reason to own one other than for towing! I can understand if you tow something heavy. Otherwise no way. In a camper I would have a separate diesel heater for sure because they just sip the diesel and last forever! Only hassle is the separate fill up, tank and jerry can necessary but surely worth the little bit of hassle!! You can get gasoline everywhere, diesel not so plentiful. Plus the smell and the noise! Soon enough it will all be electric anyways! Within 10 years for sure! Great video though!!
I lived in the back of a Toyota 4Runner when it hit -15 degrees in the Rocky Mountains so, yeah it's very possible. Pretty easy in fact, if you know how to prepare for it.
Glad to see how well the camper did during the extreme cold temperatures. When you mentioned that you lowered one side of the roof down to help inside warm up easier another benefit from doing that was possibly preventing snow and ice build up on the roof due to temperature difference from inside vs outside. Bottle of wine 🍷sounds perfect for situations like that. Safe travels.
You survived a very cold night in the pop up camper. Congrats. My wife and I just purchased our 5th camper vehicle, and we are getting her ready for the road. Of course, we won’t be looking to camp in freezing weather but we do want to stay comfortable. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
You people just exude the American Spirit .you make anyone watching feel welcome. Kate's child like demeanor is refreshing ,as is your refreshing honesty about your situation you two complement each other . Never give up , never give in ,and never turn back. God Bless you both.
Guys this was a great video showing what few people have done...camped in -12F! Wow! We really felt sorry for you Joe getting up to change the propane in the middle of the night at something like a Billion Below Zero! The music at that point was Perfect! Thank you so much for the shoutout! Hope to see you guys sometime in the near future!
Glow plugs ensure a good start and smooth run on a ice cold Diesel engine. Just keep some Heet diesel additive in the tank. Don’t live in cold locals but I drove truck cross country for a bunch of years all over the US and Canada.
It’s crazy how different each area of the United States is. Here in northern Ohio those are just normal winter temperatures and we usually never have problems.
@@telestix6606Well, his wife had never experienced snow, so those are pretty low temperatures for people who aren't acclimatised. Canadian homes are built for lower temps, aren't they? I watched a video of someone rebuilding and taking ice dams into account. Brrr.
"How cold" is not the only thing. "How long" is the cold is a different ball game. Two days below 0°F is certainly not comfortable, but two months below 10°F (I mean, never above) requires a completely different set-up. Every thing is solid frozen and under 6' of snow.
Tom from Quebec Canada 1 - Buy a trailer 2 - make a compost heater 3 - put some pipes together and a fan and you will have heat 4 - put the compost on top of pipes Fresh horse ship and wood chips 5 - put some pipes under your truck Closed off the bottom of your truck to keep the heat in . Compost will go up to 140 f Just think
Agree 100%. Use the energy that you pay for with camping! ...and in a space that small, even a small ceramic 1500W heater would run you out of the camper.
We’re in Texas just south edge of the Panhandle (Lubbock area) on a farm. We lucked out and didn’t lose power like so many others did. I was concerned for y’all and others who were staying in campers, vans, trailers. Glad y’all made it through that cold ok. This cold spell sure taught Texas power grid managers where they screwed up over the past 10-15 years. Hopefully it will be corrected by the next one. Last one like this was 83. I was in Patrol Division on night shift freezing my you know what off in those days! Thanks for this video! Y’all be safe out there!
sad to say but Texas power isn't correcting anything. The added equipment, the new linemen, the specialised trucks - the grid managers are not investing in them.
My thoughts also. Don't understand the talk about the perils of being on the road during a winter storm, while being on the road during a winter storm. Unnecessary travel putting others at risk.
I have owned 7.3s for many years. With my current one, I spent some money in the reliability department. I installed new glow plugs, new injectors (238/80s) and fresh batteries. I live in Fort Worth and was here for that crazy storm. My previous 7.3 would barely start in the 30s, this one had little noticeable difference between 0F and 85F. Neighbors cummins didnt run for 7 days.
We used to camp in our pop up tent trailer in Minnesota winters, but not too often. I don't remember whether we had electric blankets but do remember having a BIG propane tank and do know that we didn't do it often. It was MANY years ago because I was a bit younger than you two are now; perhaps late 20s to very early 30s. I'm in awe - that is totally not weather you anticipate in the South for crying out loud. But these days - nothing is 'normal'. Well done. Yeah, it was fun seeing Kait enjoy the winter. Someone earlier mentioned electric heaters and that would have prevented the humidity freezing up your windows but how much do you want to buy for something that's so rare? Cool video - it is cool to see you two making the best of everything.
Enjoyed the video. Reminded me when I was in Muskogee, Oklahoma back in 1990. Temps were -10f w/ windchill -40f, the piping hot cocoa, I placed on the hood literally froze while starting my diesel truck. Ugh to glow plugs...
2003 I got rid of the witch, sold the house, got laid off. Had $$$$ and NO TIES. Got 1 ton pickup drove from NJ to Oregon. Picked up a truck camper for $7k. Spent 3 months skiing & living outta that thing. -20 or worse in Whitefish for a week. Time of my life! That unit wasn’t built for cold weather. Looks like you’re making some awesome memories! Enjoy the trip.
Sold the camper in NJ @ $500 loss. WIN!!! Picked up a dog in Montana. Came home landed a great job in my field, met my wife in October and went on to live happily ever after.
I love winter camping. No matter what I camp in . Tent, RV , or pop up camper. Of course I have heaters and good sleeping bags. I also know what it’s like to wake up cold . In a tent if let the fire go out it gets cold fast . So to remedy that I take a Little Buddy heater and a one pound cylinder. You would be surprised about how a tiny heater will heat up a tent. Small wood burner does a better job🤨😁
I camped in a gasser 4wd van. I loved it. 2 high output alternators, 2 high output lead acid batteries a 10kw inverter and 7.5kw generator. 38 gallon extended range gas tank. 100A transfer switch with 100A 120/240 distribution panel with a 100A/50A 120/240V shore power plug or 20A/30A 120V shore power plug.
First time here. Was interesting and informative. I am retired and I am planning a great deal of winter camping. I made some notes for myself; Get large propane tanks, carry a spare. Don't use Home Depot orange extension cord, use the good yellow one - 12/2 50 footer. Make sure battery area has correct ventilation for both hot and cold temperatures. Make sure I have a way to bypass water tank and go directly from shore water to trailer system and add effective insulation. Add wine storage wherever possible.
Good effort guys. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I tried putting my tent up on the ice last winter, -36 degrees C and everything was hard. Sun was coming down and the last minute I bugged out. Not easy on a big lake with 25mph winds in now -38 degrees. Long story short it got down to -46 overnight, I went to my back garden in the morning and tried my truck…dead! Listen to you instincts and know when to leave. The loading, travelling, unloading, setting up, packing up and driving home was 10 hours of hardness. The only thing I took away was knowledge on what not to do and what I could do better next time. My 10oz winter tent with my MR Buddy struggled for the first time, this forced me to get my stove going early and then I knew my wood pile was most likely not going to see me through. My chainsaw didn’t want to work either. Coldest temps I’ve ever been in was -53 degrees C.
I give you two credit for embracing the winter weather. It is all relative, to someone that hasn’t experienced that kind of weather. That’s cold. I purchased my Four Wheel Camper Hawk model 1 year ago. It was a bit cold up here in Minnesota 2 1/2 weeks ago. I camp in my FWC 13-15 days a months. Well headed up north Minnesota the week of February 15th to disperse camp. Two nights of -30F and 4 nights of -9. It is s learned process. I have the factory propane heater, I also did utilize a small electric heater powered by my Yamaha generator, it does help to have 2 sources of heat in extreme temperatures. There’s a story to the week, saw more wolves then people for about 4 days. Thanks for your adventures, I owned 2 different F-350 diesels in the mid 2000s, so I like to hear your diesel fire up. I’m running a 2018 F-150 Ecoboost with my FWC. Safe travels to ya.
Kait’s a keeper! I’ve winter camped in tents before. It’s good if you have a really good sleeping bag. Once though, it was part of a wilderness survival class (don’t ask me why I took the class in the winter, I have no idea!). On that trip we could only take with us what we could fit in a coffee can. It was so cold that most of our cars (that we had hiked away from to sleep for the night) would not start the next morning. These kinds of challenges are fun and help you learn about being prepared. Thanks for the fun video!
From NE Ohio, show belt. Please be safe and about tire pressure, we actually increase a bit in winter time for better traction. Narrower tires helps break light snow & ice because we are trying not to slide.
No problem my sleeping bag ,a Yukon 10 is rated -49 I survived 3 winters living in a unheated van (van turned off)in Central Canada. Get one and you will never fear the cold.be prepared you never know when you'll end up sleeping in a snow bank.
You did fine in really cold temps without much experience of the cold, it seems. As a northerner, I say layer up! Carry packable down jackets (UNIQLO has cheap but decent ones), some good merino long underwear (bottoms and tops), and wool socks. Make sure you have warm winter hats, and wear them along with the merino underwear to stay toasty as you sleep! All this is normal life in the far north; clearly even Texas can't count on not getting bitter cold temperatures now and then. Prepare for it, then embrace it and enjoy it! (Also there are tons of Canadian, Alaskan, Minnesotan, and other northern vanlifers and campers who camp in all kinds of vehicles in the winter. Check out Foresty Forest, who spent last winter in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, or Slim Potatohead's accounts of winter camping in his old Aliner, or Mav, who heads out ice fishing, boondocking in his truck topper.)
Always have your “act” together… In 2017 we left in November from South Dakota in the middle of November… 1999 Ford F-150 towing a 20 ft Winnebago travel trailer.
Lived in Chicago 35 yrs, you people are crazy..😱😰😦…Moved to California many years ago, never looked Back..We camp where it’s 80-90 degrees…But to each their own…Nice vid guys…Burrrrrrr Dennis
Winter camping in pickup campers is great. Thanks for the video. Regarding airing down your tires for snow and ice....Yikes! You never want to air down tires to drive on snow and ice. You reduce your traction; not increase it. Air down for rocks, sand, rugged trails, but never for snow and ice. The tire sipes and tread can't do their work when aired down. Glad everything worked out well and you enjoyed the adventure.
? Airing down in the snow works great it gives you more contact area giving you more traction. It has saved my life in winter storms while driving off the lake ice fishing more than once
@@duffman1241 Could be with very specific types of tires and very specific situations such as deep snow where you must float rather than have traction on a hard surface, but with winter tires with sipes on a road (meaning there is a bottom to the snow and hard surface underneath vs deep bottomless snow) you loose traction by airing down. The sipes collapse and can't get bite. Also, you don't want a larger contact patch; you want a smaller one because there are more pounds of pressure per square inch of contact patch which gives one more traction. Increasing the contact patch by airing down decreases the pressure per square inch of contact patch which means less grip. That is why snow tires for a specific vehicles are typically slightly narrower than the summer tire. So it really depends on the surface, but where you are on an snowy/icy surface that has a bottom, like a road, lowering tire pressure reduces traction.
@@MrChadx1 you don’t live in the snow belt do ya lol. Tell me this why would you air your tires down in the sand? For traction and floating it’s not rocket surgery. The same goes for snow a tire that is low pressure will have more contact with the snow speeding the wieght making you float! Nice paragraph of bull shit your clueless. The only time you run your winter tires full in deep snow is if your running chains. The less air in your tire opens up the siping smakin more gravel to accumulate in the 🤣. Come on up to Mn I’ll show you what the snows all about I’ve driven in it for 26years
@@duffman1241 We are talking about two different scenarios and conditions. Floatation only applies when there is no "bottom" in which case yes, airing down and flotation are valuable. I'm talking about bite, which airing down works against. Bite is important when driving on slippery road surfaces where there is a bottom which is most icy/snowy driving situations. In such a case, airing down reduces traction because pounds per square inch are reduced which reduces bite, particularly with winter tires or any tire with many sipes.
Winter camping is really nice.👍 I've done it a few times in the snow. But we had a space heater... It was just a tent. But we didn't die....They tried to talk us out of it in the camps office a few times. It was getting dark already too. It was the best sleep I had had in many years...
likely the only video on youtube that talks about surviving winter in a popup camper. Definitely not a good time to boondocking in that cold weather. Best to be at RV park near propane tank service. Nice that you mentioned how well the batteries were handling the cold. So true about the hardshell camper and the cold. The Canadiand truck camper manufacturers know well about designing the hardshell for cold temps. minus temps in the winter in Canada are the norm
Thank you and you're completely right. I would say we'd probably be limited to 2-3 days of boondocking in this type of weather but we'd want to be closer to civilization if something did go wrong.
@@joefudd I run my heater before bedtime & about half an hour before I get up. It's too noisy for me to run all night. I have the extra wall insulation - well worth it. I've had accumulations up to 4" of snow. I actually prefer windy snowstorms...Less snow on the roof.
I’d say you guys got it down, only one thing I’d like to mention. I used to keep a hand broom near my camper door, each time I start up my camper steps I’d turn around sit down facing outside, use the hand brush to wisk away the snow off my boots. It worked well. However, I’m talking about a full sized fully equipped 1996 990 Legend. Non-slide. I cared nothing at all about using propane. If I needed it, I bought it. Period. People forget campers today offer heat vents throughout the interior. In such cold conditions, this equals way more comfort. Slide-outs: Wind gust against slide wall will leak cold air in bigtime. I will NEVER own another slide-out room again.
It's all part of the wonderful adventure... better than sitting in a house, on the couch, doing "not much". We are in Virginia, brought our LTV home today to wash it and just sit in it and talk about spring on the way, getting plans to "roll" again. Take it back to the storage shelter tomorrow, but today was a really fun day. We really enjoy being a part of your adventures... stay safe!
Had to start my 7.3 at -40 a couple weeks ago. Block heater and put a propane torch inside a stove pipe under the oil pan for a couple hours and it started. Stay warm down there
I boondocked in sub zero with an old Ford diesel without any plug ins..and used my svea camp stove to heat the oil pan..truck started like a summer day.
With so much snow on the roads .... I can understand why you and Kate have chosen a high vehicle. Excellent video that covers a lot of the winter issies in a campervan. many thanks :) It is always a good idea to have an electric heater to be used in campgrounds in case of a very cold weather.
I know I'm late to the game but here are a few things one can do to make cold starting easier. #1 add a fuel filter heater. Cold diesel does not like to burn. #2 add stanedyne performance fuel additive. I've used it in cold weather with a notable cold weather starting improvent. #3 in desperate situations keep a heat gun handy. You can pull the air cleaner and run the heat gun directly into the intake. I've tried/used all three with success. Your Ford has an intake glow plug used for heating the intake air. I think it was more of an environmental feel good approach but whatever. Hope this helps
In my 49 years of living in North Dakota I have never heard of lowering air pressure in tires to drive on snow. It’s snow and ice, not sand. It’s just not necessary.
For heavy vehicles I wouldn't recommend it. But as a jeep owner, lowering tire pressure to around 3 psi is beneficial. The jeep is so light the wider print allows you to float on top of the snow instead of sinking all the way down. Just make sure you have a way to fill back up.
I was just watching this and thought the same thing. Why on earth would he have thought that was necessary. I never even air down on deep sand and have never had an issue.
Our 4wheel has no heat, and we did the same thing with temps FAR below the freeze point. How was it? Terrible, but remember if you are in a good sleeping bag, wearing a stocking cap of wool, you are fine. In the morning--no one wanted to be the one to get up and get the engine started--so I finally did, and drove the short distance from our camp to a country restaurant, so close we did not even need to take the top down. Internal heaters make the all the difference, if you want to have a comfortable morning of course, but you will survive just fine with proper sleeping equipment--we had a thick pad, a good bag and always cover your head.
Keep a watch on the canvas. We went thru a rain storm. Came home and did not pop it up. Mold the next week. We cleaned it and traded it back in for a nice little fifth wheel. Loved the extra space.
12/24/2017. I was camping at an RV park in Moran WY. That morning it was -20 degrees. At the time I was truck bed camping. I had a 1500 watt ceramic heater and an electric blanket. Did a snowmobile tour of Yellowstone that day. I did suffer from some minor frostbite on my toes. I can still count to 20 with my boots off so no permanent damage...
I do the winter camping life to further my ski bum life career and in the warmer months I switch modes onto a fly fishing trout bum 😅 ...but been doing this for over 20 years . I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 and a lance slide in camper . I never plug into power any where out here camping in the Sierra mountains , Great basin mountains , Tahoe areas etc. ...on cold mornings I use starter fluid to start my truck or it won't start due to frozen batteries that go dead with one starting try . But it starts up right away with the starter fluid .....and pop up campers are cold ....they don't hold the heat in as well ....but yea if you get in a bind try the starter fluid tip .....ok stay safe and happy trails 🙋🏻♂️🐕
I can't remember both of you ever winter camping, winter van camping or winter truck camping or is this a first? I know it's achingly 🥶cold for you two, but it makes for a beautiful setting & video for us. Thanks, glad you both made it out safely.😬
Cool video! I’ve been sleeping in my 4RUNNER for the past three months consistently; Idaho, Ohio and Wisconsin. I enjoy hunting and the outdoors in general. After work tonight, I’m heading back to the north woods of Wisconsin. I still have stuff at the campground. It will be 2 degrees Monday morning. I’m feeling a little sick right now, but I usually always heat water outside on propane and take a bucket bath. Only way I’m skipping my polar bear bath is if I’m sick. When I wake up at 2:45am to read, get ready and go hunting, I think to myself that at least I’m not in Iraq or training somewhere.
@@Weretherussos Texas was just like that. The highways in an area I drove were like what you videoed...essentially clear due to wind and so cold. That was really good info, though, on the cold and pop ups. Thanks
Hey Guy's: The following is a true store and after watching your experience winter camping I need to share this with you.Back in 1977 I had a IH Scout Terra (118" W.B.) and found this Company that made a attached camper for it that's right you guessed it that Co. was Four Wheel Pop-Up Campers. At that time there H.Q. was in Denver Co. so I took a couple of week off and drove out and had them install since it was a pretty new concept back then. Well I had fun with for rest of the summer then winter came. I lived in Ft. Wayne, In at the time and in the winter time the big pass time changed from racing MX in the simmer to riding snowmobiles in the winter. Well the gang would do a winter snowmobile trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan so while the rest of the guys rented a motorhome to stay in I said I was set with my really cool new pop up camper and I was good to go! Well you guys after watching your little experience let me tell you what I went through I would not wish that on my worst enemy. When we got to our destination ( Houghton Lake Michigan ) it was around 6 deg. with an over night temp around -15 deg. Well let me tell you you think you where cold.....I had the furnace wide open, I had my snowmobile suite on and we where still cold all night. So for the balance of the trip old John here really took it hard from the rest of the guys and on top of that they wouldn't let me stay in the motor home with them, it was a rough bunch of guys. I had the little 20 gal of propane and went through six of them for the balance of the trip. Thought you might get a chuckle from that story after what you went through. Sorry this was so long enjoy you future winter trips!
I camped in my Four Wheel Fleet camper in Grand Teton NP a couple of weeks ago. It was 10 below inside my camper in the morning. I don’t have enough battery power to run the furnace all night. Had to sleep with any water I didn’t want frozen. No problems otherwise!
I am from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and I did live in Springfield Missouri. You guys should try a U.P. winter if you really want to see winter. I'm sorry it's kinda funny. Not being rude, just hope you guys explore what it is like for people who have figured out what real winter is like.
@@omarwilliams6729 i thought the same.. quote from a heat pump guide: "Even at 25 degrees, your heat pump will still run. The issue at this temperature is that the system will require more energy as it runs because there isn’t enough heat energy in the outdoor air for the heat pump to use in heating your interiors" now believe what you want...
We are from Central Arizona and About every other year we use our travel trailer in super cold weather I actually have two electric heaters that I use on my 30 amp service in my travel trailer and they’re great to supplement the propane heater congratulations on your winter survival and great attitude. 👍👊😎
I was a camped at Camp Hale Co. compliments of the US Army before shipped out to Korea. Wore skis; the whole bit. Sleepted in 'snow caves and drove snow cat tractors with Studebaker engines. Now 88. Some things you don't forget.
This 71 year old body wood just get to hotel or motel. No more freezing cold 4 me. Moved to Florida 11 years ago and never looked back. My pool temp is 89 to 90°🌴🐊. Beautiful!
Never reduce tire pressure for snowy conditions! Loose sand, thick mud, large boulders? Sure. But reinflate as soon as you hit tarmac and always maintain your tires at full pressure on roads.
@@gonesideways6621 In fact I have driven on sand and yes you air down for sand but in snow you do not air down. Snow is a whole different animal from driving in sand or mud.
@@gonesideways6621 Hi Larry, you do not air down for snow and ice. The tire sipes and treads can't do their work. For sand, rocks, etc. yes. But never of snow. Aired down tires reduce your traction in snow and ice.
All I can say is you guys are crazy I stay out of snow I lived it for 40 years and have no use for it! LoL you guy's have a real sense for adventure. My F-250 is gas and I refuse to do any type of winterizing and Yes you don't need those batteries vented I still use AGM batteries haven't upgraded to lithium yet.love your videos
Welcome to our club: Timmins, Ontario -23 °C Timmins is the hometown of quite a few famous people, including one of the world’s richest singers, Shania Twain. It’s also become a popular snowmobiling destination. The lowest temperature recorded here was -44.2 °C and in January, the coldest month, the average low is -23 °C. ( -12F. = 24 C )
You may know this, but your LIFEPO4 batteries in the camper should always already be above freezing before being charged. Charging a frozen lifepo4 can ruin them beyond repair. nice video. Happy camping!
Electric heater delivers drier heat than propane furnace. There are lithium batteries that have built in heaters. A snow rake for clearing snow off the roof is essential for a popup camper. There are automatic propane tank switchover valves for dual tank systems because a propane tank always goes empty in the middle of the night.
You can tell how cold it is by the crunch sound of the snow. It was one of my least favorite sensations when I was on the ICE (Antarctic) There was something about it I hated.
Having an electric blanket is a good idea. Electric heater is another good idea for just in case. Plugging in the engine very smart. Another thing is keep a piece of cardboard to blanket the radiator
Keeps talking about how old his truck is....I'm building a 68 International Harvester Loadstar into a camper. It will have propane heat, but it will also have an antique Prizer 2 burner coal stove with porcelain sides. The stove will serve as storage in the fire chamber and ash pan, plus be a fireproof platform for my antique propane 2 burner camp stove made by Griswold in Erie, PA or the propane heater to sit on during daily use. However, if SHTF, I can easily empty the stored supplies in the stove, attach a stovepipe, and start a wood or anthracite coal fire. You did good for your learning and smart to practice in a controlled environment. People act like you know what's going to happen with the temp, the power grids, etc. What good is a hotel without power? I hope you enjoy your adventures.
Some people use campstove to heat there campers in the super cold.We had to live in our RV years ago because we lost our home and we used a Kerosene heater and cracked the windows for ventilation,but I wouldn't suggest that .The little buddy is good too.Or sleep in the truck cab turning it on and off occasionally. Our dogs kept us really warm and toasty too.
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Jeff bezos lookalike
instead of foam, you guys should add an electric heater mat that turns on whenever the battery gets below a certain temperature, that way u can winterize ur battery but at the same time dont have to worry about heat during the summer.
neato
The batteries also vent to the outside in case one of them cracks. So I don’t think you would want them to vent to the inside. During the extreme cold covering the hole up and maybe using a heated pad such as you use for sprouting seeds might help keep it warm and not worry about overheating
@@malelpn37 lithium doesn't need to be vented.
The only time you'll get any off gassing is if you've had a major failure, and for the most part that is only with the large cells. There's no gassing during charging or discharging at all.
The Battleborn batteries are even safer than cheaper brands because they use many small cells which are virtually indestructible in their cases.
What!?? These two is miscegenated!!!
@@MastaSquidge Right, in my experience, if you need to vent your lithium batteries, you do it with a fire extinguisher in hand.
Add a cheap Chinese 5kw diesel heater , it will outperform the propane heater. I’ve been one week at -22 Celsius and almost could get in my underwear and it didn’t use as much diesel as i tought🤣🤣🤣 adding a heated battery blanket that you can turn on while driving or plugged to 110 will fix your problem.
Depending on your battery type, ventilation of the batteries is essential because a highly flammable / explosive gas is made while charging
Thought about that myself. Wet cell batteries (car, boat, what have you) create hydrogen gas when charging. Hard to say what these were in the video. But ya, yours is a real concern.
These are LiFePo4 it appears, but good warning for some of the others...
that's for lead acid batteries which vent off hydrogen gas when charging. You can see in the video they have LiFePo4 batteries which don't normally vent and if they do you got some larger problems.
Yeh I was coming to say the same thing not just flammable noxious
Good info!
I'm a hunter in north Idaho and we have had only tents with a wood stove you guys did ok for beginners.
Kate has an infectious smile. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you!
That 7.3 is one of the best engines ever made. Have faith in it, take good care of it, and it will love you for years to come!
Great video! As a full time RVer you learn little tricks as you go for your winter camping. Put clear bubble wrap on your windows inside your camper. It is amazing how it gives that added layer of insulation to them. I would get a roll of silver insulation bubble wrap and put that around the inside of your canvased wall.
That is one super cool unit. Safe travels. 😊
"Snovid"
That is adorable.
Boy am I glad you guys survived that frigid weather and had access of getting propane!🌬🌡❄⛄🔥
From Africa: I've been in warm weather for 35 years of my life and had to watch this video in a blanket coz just looking at the thumbnail made me feel cold. You guys are a beautiful couple and nice content.
That’s pretty funny! It’s all relative - enjoy the warm weather.
@@Weretherussos Thanks a lot Joe.
Glad to see you survived the worst of the cold snap. Hope you’re both staying healthy through this! I’ve never owned a 7.3, but a trick to make it easier to start is to cycle the glow plugs 2 or 3 times before cranking. I’ve done that on vehicles that were not plugged in. It helps reduce the cranking time.
Yep I did that with ours. It definitely helps
We cycled the glow plugs for 45 seconds.
As a Australian in glorious hot country :( the only time we get a chance of snow is searching for frozen sausages in the freezer :( I have spent a winter snowy Christmas day in America at Bass Lake and mate what a blast I had ! We put all our beers on a outdoor table with 4 inches of snow on it and push the beers in the snow , found deer prints in the snow, Drove around Bass lake and saw the big house from the movie The Great Outdoors ,it was just white all over :) I am going to be doing a big trip around America as soon as CONVID is finally dead and buried (big scam) I can't wait to do that :)))
Hope we get to see you on the road when you get here and plenty of snow to enjoy! (we just got a couple inches last night)
Living in Alaska I use a Webasto Diesel air heater. I highly recommend it. It runs off your diesel tank and uses almost no power and you never have to refill propane
You are absolutely right. I can’t believe how many people don’t know about the diesel bunk heaters. Hell you can get the Chinese ones for $130 on eBay. I’ve got one of those in my semi truck for the past 3 years, loving it.
And alot safer especially if ur using those buddy heaters
And you can use it to heat your truck cab because diesel engines just never produce enough heat when it’s really cold.
Could not pay me to own a diesel! There is absolutely no reason to own one other than for towing! I can understand if you tow something heavy. Otherwise no way. In a camper I would have a separate diesel heater for sure because they just sip the diesel and last forever! Only hassle is the separate fill up, tank and jerry can necessary but surely worth the little bit of hassle!! You can get gasoline everywhere, diesel not so plentiful. Plus the smell and the noise! Soon enough it will all be electric anyways! Within 10 years for sure! Great video though!!
@@Brad-vs1lk bud we’re talking about heaters not trucks
I lived in the back of a Toyota 4Runner when it hit -15 degrees in the Rocky Mountains so, yeah it's very possible. Pretty easy in fact, if you know how to prepare for it.
Glad to see how well the camper did during the extreme cold temperatures. When you mentioned that you lowered one side of the roof down to help inside warm up easier another benefit from doing that was possibly preventing snow and ice build up on the roof due to temperature difference from inside vs outside. Bottle of wine 🍷sounds perfect for situations like that. Safe travels.
The roof can hold up to 1000lbs of snow so that wasn’t a concern. The wine was nice 🍷
In 1974 I lived in a Cab over Camper in Fairbanks Alaska, about froze my ass off ! What an experience that was 🥶
You survived a very cold night in the pop up camper. Congrats. My wife and I just purchased our 5th camper vehicle, and we are getting her ready for the road. Of course, we won’t be looking to camp in freezing weather but we do want to stay comfortable. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
He can never beat mav
It’s good to see Jeff Bezos living the simple life
Very Funny!!
Helps to keep him real 😏
@Jon Mord why? Because he has made more of himself than you?
😄😄😄😄😄😄👍
Now that shit is funny I don't care who you are
You people just exude the American Spirit .you make anyone watching feel welcome. Kate's child like demeanor is refreshing ,as is your refreshing honesty about your situation you two complement each other . Never give up , never give in ,and never turn back. God Bless you both.
Thank you Arthur!
Guys this was a great video showing what few people have done...camped in -12F! Wow! We really felt sorry for you Joe getting up to change the propane in the middle of the night at something like a Billion Below Zero! The music at that point was Perfect! Thank you so much for the shoutout! Hope to see you guys sometime in the near future!
Thanks you two!
Glow plugs ensure a good start and smooth run on a ice cold Diesel engine. Just keep some Heet diesel additive in the tank. Don’t live in cold locals but I drove truck cross country for a bunch of years all over the US and Canada.
It’s crazy how different each area of the United States is. Here in northern Ohio those are just normal winter temperatures and we usually never have problems.
As a Canadian that was my thought as well, he kept talking about how cold it was and I was thinking sure it's cold but it's not that cold.
@@telestix6606Well, his wife had never experienced snow, so those are pretty low temperatures for people who aren't acclimatised.
Canadian homes are built for lower temps, aren't they? I watched a video of someone rebuilding and taking ice dams into account. Brrr.
@@FurnitureFan I totally get the not used to issue.
"How cold" is not the only thing. "How long" is the cold is a different ball game. Two days below 0°F is certainly not comfortable, but two months below 10°F (I mean, never above) requires a completely different set-up. Every thing is solid frozen and under 6' of snow.
The USA is as big and varied in climate as Europe.
Tom from Quebec Canada
1 - Buy a trailer
2 - make a compost heater
3 - put some pipes together and a fan and you will have heat
4 - put the compost on top of pipes
Fresh horse ship and wood chips
5 - put some pipes under your truck
Closed off the bottom of your truck to keep the heat in .
Compost will go up to 140 f
Just think
What a rough few days. Glad you made it. that was something for sure. Campground was the place to be.
Thanks Dave
Agree, I was delighted to see this expertly ran Campground.
It's the Lithium battery age now,regen set up is the way to go,worth the money then your batteries should be well charged.
we use electric heaters when plugged in.. keeps it toasty without using propane.. burr
Agree 100%. Use the energy that you pay for with camping! ...and in a space that small, even a small ceramic 1500W heater would run you out of the camper.
So do we. It’s not nearly as loud as the propane heater in the trailer either. A child safe plug-in with a thermostat is the way to go.
We’re in Texas just south edge of the Panhandle (Lubbock area) on a farm. We lucked out and didn’t lose power like so many others did. I was concerned for y’all and others who were staying in campers, vans, trailers. Glad y’all made it through that cold ok. This cold spell sure taught Texas power grid managers where they screwed up over the past 10-15 years. Hopefully it will be corrected by the next one. Last one like this was 83. I was in Patrol Division on night shift freezing my you know what off in those days! Thanks for this video! Y’all be safe out there!
sad to say but Texas power isn't correcting anything. The added equipment, the new linemen, the specialised trucks - the grid managers are not investing in them.
When it’s foggy or snow storm with limited visibility, I’ll stay put. Too many variables for accidents or malfunctions.
Agreed
My thoughts also. Don't understand the talk about the perils of being on the road during a winter storm, while being on the road during a winter storm. Unnecessary travel putting others at risk.
Best staying put even if its at a truck stop ---- food / beverages ☕😋👌 / snacks if you run short plus some have showers.
I have owned 7.3s for many years. With my current one, I spent some money in the reliability department. I installed new glow plugs, new injectors (238/80s) and fresh batteries. I live in Fort Worth and was here for that crazy storm. My previous 7.3 would barely start in the 30s, this one had little noticeable difference between 0F and 85F. Neighbors cummins didnt run for 7 days.
I lived in Dallas for 20 years but don't recall seeing #1 diesel anywhere - how did you winterize fuel ? Is it available on the bigger roads ?
Oh man. You were about .5 mile from my house at that campground. Glad you guys did alright in that cold!
We used to camp in our pop up tent trailer in Minnesota winters, but not too often. I don't remember whether we had electric blankets but do remember having a BIG propane tank and do know that we didn't do it often. It was MANY years ago because I was a bit younger than you two are now; perhaps late 20s to very early 30s. I'm in awe - that is totally not weather you anticipate in the South for crying out loud. But these days - nothing is 'normal'. Well done. Yeah, it was fun seeing Kait enjoy the winter. Someone earlier mentioned electric heaters and that would have prevented the humidity freezing up your windows but how much do you want to buy for something that's so rare? Cool video - it is cool to see you two making the best of everything.
Enjoyed the video. Reminded me when I was in Muskogee, Oklahoma back in 1990. Temps were -10f w/ windchill -40f, the piping hot cocoa, I placed on the hood literally froze while starting my diesel truck. Ugh to glow plugs...
2003 I got rid of the witch, sold the house, got laid off. Had $$$$ and NO TIES. Got 1 ton pickup drove from NJ to Oregon. Picked up a truck camper for $7k. Spent 3 months skiing & living outta that thing. -20 or worse in Whitefish for a week. Time of my life! That unit wasn’t built for cold weather.
Looks like you’re making some awesome memories! Enjoy the trip.
Sold the camper in NJ @ $500 loss. WIN!!! Picked up a dog in Montana. Came home landed a great job in my field, met my wife in October and went on to live happily ever after.
I love Kate enjoying the snow. Such a beautiful person.
I love winter camping. No matter what I camp in . Tent, RV , or pop up camper. Of course I have heaters and good sleeping bags. I also know what it’s like to wake up cold . In a tent if let the fire go out it gets cold fast . So to remedy that I take a Little Buddy heater and a one pound cylinder. You would be surprised about how a tiny heater will heat up a tent. Small wood burner does a better job🤨😁
From Wisconsin.-12 is hardcore. Glad you made it. Welcome to the Midwest.
I’ll take it!
I camped in a gasser 4wd van. I loved it. 2 high output alternators, 2 high output lead acid batteries a 10kw inverter and 7.5kw generator. 38 gallon extended range gas tank. 100A transfer switch with 100A 120/240 distribution panel with a 100A/50A 120/240V shore power plug or 20A/30A 120V shore power plug.
Amazing how many helpful people are around when things get tough.
First time here. Was interesting and informative. I am retired and I am planning a great deal of winter camping. I made some notes for myself; Get large propane tanks, carry a spare. Don't use Home Depot orange extension cord, use the good yellow one - 12/2 50 footer. Make sure battery area has correct ventilation for both hot and cold temperatures. Make sure I have a way to bypass water tank and go directly from shore water to trailer system and add effective insulation. Add wine storage wherever possible.
Just note you don’t need vent for lithium batteries.
Good effort guys. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I tried putting my tent up on the ice last winter, -36 degrees C and everything was hard. Sun was coming down and the last minute I bugged out. Not easy on a big lake with 25mph winds in now -38 degrees. Long story short it got down to -46 overnight, I went to my back garden in the morning and tried my truck…dead! Listen to you instincts and know when to leave.
The loading, travelling, unloading, setting up, packing up and driving home was 10 hours of hardness. The only thing I took away was knowledge on what not to do and what I could do better next time.
My 10oz winter tent with my MR Buddy struggled for the first time, this forced me to get my stove going early and then I knew my wood pile was most likely not going to see me through. My chainsaw didn’t want to work either. Coldest temps I’ve ever been in was -53 degrees C.
what a story. wow. funny but the things we go through to try and have fun.
I give you two credit for embracing the winter weather. It is all relative, to someone that hasn’t experienced that kind of weather. That’s cold.
I purchased my Four Wheel Camper Hawk model 1 year ago.
It was a bit cold up here in Minnesota 2 1/2 weeks ago. I camp in my FWC 13-15 days a months.
Well headed up north Minnesota the week of February 15th to disperse camp. Two nights of -30F and 4 nights of -9. It is s learned process. I have the factory propane heater, I also did utilize a small electric heater powered by my Yamaha generator, it does help to have 2 sources of heat in extreme temperatures.
There’s a story to the week, saw more wolves then people for about 4 days.
Thanks for your adventures, I owned 2 different F-350 diesels in the mid 2000s, so I like to hear your diesel fire up. I’m running a 2018 F-150 Ecoboost with my FWC. Safe travels to ya.
Kait’s a keeper!
I’ve winter camped in tents before. It’s good if you have a really good sleeping bag. Once though, it was part of a wilderness survival class (don’t ask me why I took the class in the winter, I have no idea!). On that trip we could only take with us what we could fit in a coffee can. It was so cold that most of our cars (that we had hiked away from to sleep for the night) would not start the next morning. These kinds of challenges are fun and help you learn about being prepared. Thanks for the fun video!
It’s especially helps if you’re in a controlled environment.
if indians and eskimos can do it, then we should have it much easier than they did
I spent 3 days in MS in a kenworth at a truck stop . I got some much needed sleep time. Glad you guys enjoyed it!
gotta love them diesel APU's and Webastos! 😁😁
From NE Ohio, show belt. Please be safe and about tire pressure, we actually increase a bit in winter time for better traction. Narrower tires helps break light snow & ice because we are trying not to slide.
In Canada we go over to the max about 50psi Not less thats for sand.
No problem my sleeping bag ,a Yukon 10 is rated -49 I survived 3 winters living in a unheated van (van turned off)in Central Canada. Get one and you will never fear the cold.be prepared you never know when you'll end up sleeping in a snow bank.
You did fine in really cold temps without much experience of the cold, it seems.
As a northerner, I say layer up! Carry packable down jackets (UNIQLO has cheap but decent ones), some good merino long underwear (bottoms and tops), and wool socks. Make sure you have warm winter hats, and wear them along with the merino underwear to stay toasty as you sleep! All this is normal life in the far north; clearly even Texas can't count on not getting bitter cold temperatures now and then. Prepare for it, then embrace it and enjoy it! (Also there are tons of Canadian, Alaskan, Minnesotan, and other northern vanlifers and campers who camp in all kinds of vehicles in the winter. Check out Foresty Forest, who spent last winter in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, or Slim Potatohead's accounts of winter camping in his old Aliner, or Mav, who heads out ice fishing, boondocking in his truck topper.)
Always have your “act” together…
In 2017 we left in November from South Dakota in the middle of November…
1999 Ford F-150 towing a 20 ft Winnebago travel trailer.
Here I am sitting in Florida and cold now watching this. Just made a cup of coffee...LOL
Same, but from Maui 😁
Hello,there I’m Florida. I’m sitting in the other part of Florida. Sipping hot chocolate. Cuz . . .
Lived in Chicago 35 yrs, you people are crazy..😱😰😦…Moved to California many years ago, never looked
Back..We camp where it’s 80-90 degrees…But to each their own…Nice vid guys…Burrrrrrr
Dennis
Winter camping in pickup campers is great. Thanks for the video. Regarding airing down your tires for snow and ice....Yikes! You never want to air down tires to drive on snow and ice. You reduce your traction; not increase it. Air down for rocks, sand, rugged trails, but never for snow and ice. The tire sipes and tread can't do their work when aired down. Glad everything worked out well and you enjoyed the adventure.
? Airing down in the snow works great it gives you more contact area giving you more traction. It has saved my life in winter storms while driving off the lake ice fishing more than once
@@duffman1241 Could be with very specific types of tires and very specific situations such as deep snow where you must float rather than have traction on a hard surface, but with winter tires with sipes on a road (meaning there is a bottom to the snow and hard surface underneath vs deep bottomless snow) you loose traction by airing down. The sipes collapse and can't get bite. Also, you don't want a larger contact patch; you want a smaller one because there are more pounds of pressure per square inch of contact patch which gives one more traction. Increasing the contact patch by airing down decreases the pressure per square inch of contact patch which means less grip. That is why snow tires for a specific vehicles are typically slightly narrower than the summer tire. So it really depends on the surface, but where you are on an snowy/icy surface that has a bottom, like a road, lowering tire pressure reduces traction.
@@MrChadx1 you don’t live in the snow belt do ya lol. Tell me this why would you air your tires down in the sand? For traction and floating it’s not rocket surgery. The same goes for snow a tire that is low pressure will have more contact with the snow speeding the wieght making you float! Nice paragraph of bull shit your clueless. The only time you run your winter tires full in deep snow is if your running chains. The less air in your tire opens up the siping smakin more gravel to accumulate in the 🤣. Come on up to Mn I’ll show you what the snows all about I’ve driven in it for 26years
@@MrChadx1 more contact pressure doesn’t help you float in the snow🤣
@@duffman1241 We are talking about two different scenarios and conditions. Floatation only applies when there is no "bottom" in which case yes, airing down and flotation are valuable. I'm talking about bite, which airing down works against. Bite is important when driving on slippery road surfaces where there is a bottom which is most icy/snowy driving situations. In such a case, airing down reduces traction because pounds per square inch are reduced which reduces bite, particularly with winter tires or any tire with many sipes.
Winter camping is really nice.👍 I've done it a few times in the snow. But we had a space heater... It was just a tent. But we didn't die....They tried to talk us out of it in the camps office a few times. It was getting dark already too. It was the best sleep I had had in many years...
Sounds great!
Kate is just adorable. Love her energy! 🤗🙌🏾
likely the only video on youtube that talks about surviving winter in a popup camper. Definitely not a good time to boondocking in that cold weather. Best to be at RV park near propane tank service. Nice that you mentioned how well the batteries were handling the cold. So true about the hardshell camper and the cold. The Canadiand truck camper manufacturers know well about designing the hardshell for cold temps. minus temps in the winter in Canada are the norm
Thank you and you're completely right. I would say we'd probably be limited to 2-3 days of boondocking in this type of weather but we'd want to be closer to civilization if something did go wrong.
Be careful - The roof can come down hard with 3" of wet snow on it when you lower it.
Probably most of the ice and snow melted off as it isn't insulated much?
@@joefudd I run my heater before bedtime & about half an hour before I get up. It's too noisy for me to run all night. I have the extra wall insulation - well worth it.
I've had accumulations up to 4" of snow. I actually prefer windy snowstorms...Less snow on the roof.
I’d say you guys got it down, only one thing I’d like to mention. I used to keep a hand broom near my camper door, each time I start up my camper steps I’d turn around sit down facing outside, use the hand brush to wisk away the snow off my boots. It worked well. However, I’m talking about a full sized fully equipped 1996 990 Legend. Non-slide. I cared nothing at all about using propane. If I needed it, I bought it. Period. People forget campers today offer heat vents throughout the interior. In such cold conditions, this equals way more comfort.
Slide-outs: Wind gust against slide wall will leak cold air in bigtime. I will NEVER own another slide-out room again.
It's all part of the wonderful adventure... better than sitting in a house, on the couch, doing "not much". We are in Virginia, brought our LTV home today to wash it and just sit in it and talk about spring on the way, getting plans to "roll" again. Take it back to the storage shelter tomorrow, but today was a really fun day.
We really enjoy being a part of your adventures... stay safe!
I live and travel in an 82 e350. It never leaves me stranded. You have one of the best year diesels. It's not old haha.
That truck isn't some sort of antique...I mean....It's a good truck and you are really lucky to have it.
Got one too. 2000 F-250 super cab 7.3 long bed. 130 M miles.
Had to start my 7.3 at -40 a couple weeks ago. Block heater and put a propane torch inside a stove pipe under the oil pan for a couple hours and it started. Stay warm down there
Takes a bit to get these old girls going in the morning
I boondocked in sub zero with an old Ford diesel without any plug ins..and used my svea camp stove to heat the oil pan..truck started like a summer day.
With so much snow on the roads .... I can understand why you and Kate have chosen a high vehicle. Excellent video that covers a lot of the winter issies in a campervan. many thanks :)
It is always a good idea to have an electric heater to be used in campgrounds in case of a very cold weather.
I know I'm late to the game but here are a few things one can do to make cold starting easier.
#1 add a fuel filter heater. Cold diesel does not like to burn.
#2 add stanedyne performance fuel additive.
I've used it in cold weather with a notable cold weather starting improvent.
#3 in desperate situations keep a heat gun handy. You can pull the air cleaner and run the heat gun directly into the intake.
I've tried/used all three with success.
Your Ford has an intake glow plug used for heating the intake air. I think it was more of an environmental feel good approach but whatever.
Hope this helps
In my 49 years of living in North Dakota I have never heard of lowering air pressure in tires to drive on snow.
It’s snow and ice, not sand. It’s just not necessary.
you are correct traction is less when you lower tire pressure
For heavy vehicles I wouldn't recommend it. But as a jeep owner, lowering tire pressure to around 3 psi is beneficial. The jeep is so light the wider print allows you to float on top of the snow instead of sinking all the way down. Just make sure you have a way to fill back up.
Nope....not on roads like that. If it was deeper than the clearance of the truck maybe....clearly that wasn't
I was just watching this and thought the same thing. Why on earth would he have thought that was necessary. I never even air down on deep sand and have never had an issue.
Our 4wheel has no heat, and we did the same thing with temps FAR below the freeze point. How was it? Terrible, but remember if you are in a good sleeping bag, wearing a stocking cap of wool, you are fine. In the morning--no one wanted to be the one to get up and get the engine started--so I finally did, and drove the short distance from our camp to a country restaurant, so close we did not even need to take the top down. Internal heaters make the all the difference, if you want to have a comfortable morning of course, but you will survive just fine with proper sleeping equipment--we had a thick pad, a good bag and always cover your head.
Diesel truck, only logical choice is diesel heater.
Keep a watch on the canvas. We went thru a rain storm. Came home and did not pop it up. Mold the next week. We cleaned it and traded it back in for a nice little fifth wheel. Loved the extra space.
Enjoyed this [COLD] day in the life of video! Way to persevere and still enjoy your time.
Thanks Kathy!
12/24/2017. I was camping at an RV park in Moran WY. That morning it was -20 degrees. At the time I was truck bed camping. I had a 1500 watt ceramic heater and an electric blanket. Did a snowmobile tour of Yellowstone that day. I did suffer from some minor frostbite on my toes. I can still count to 20 with my boots off so no permanent damage...
We've stayed there several times when we came up to South Missouri.
I camp in the winter in an Alu Cab camper and use a diesel heater! No condensation and 100% efficient unlike propane.
Well we don’t get condensation from our heater either...
Ever thought about installing Velcro strips on the roof and putting a second layer along the soft sides? Maybe a thin wool blanket
I do the winter camping life to further my ski bum life career and in the warmer months I switch modes onto a fly fishing trout bum 😅 ...but been doing this for over 20 years . I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 and a lance slide in camper . I never plug into power any where out here camping in the Sierra mountains , Great basin mountains , Tahoe areas etc. ...on cold mornings I use starter fluid to start my truck or it won't start due to frozen batteries that go dead with one starting try . But it starts up right away with the starter fluid .....and pop up campers are cold ....they don't hold the heat in as well ....but yea if you get in a bind try the starter fluid tip .....ok stay safe and happy trails 🙋🏻♂️🐕
I can't remember both of you ever winter camping, winter van camping or winter truck camping or is this a first? I know it's achingly 🥶cold for you two, but it makes for a beautiful setting & video for us. Thanks, glad you both made it out safely.😬
Cool video! I’ve been sleeping in my 4RUNNER for the past three months consistently; Idaho, Ohio and Wisconsin. I enjoy hunting and the outdoors in general. After work tonight, I’m heading back to the north woods of Wisconsin. I still have stuff at the campground. It will be 2 degrees Monday morning. I’m feeling a little sick right now, but I usually always heat water outside on propane and take a bucket bath. Only way I’m skipping my polar bear bath is if I’m sick. When I wake up at 2:45am to read, get ready and go hunting, I think to myself that at least I’m not in Iraq or training somewhere.
My first thought was, "Why are they in Wyoming or Montana this time of year?" Texas? Now I finally understand what happened there.
Missouri
@@Weretherussos Texas was just like that. The highways in an area I drove were like what you videoed...essentially clear due to wind and so cold. That was really good info, though, on the cold and pop ups. Thanks
It was -2 here in Dallas. That was unheard of. We don't get that type of weather down here.
I figured you guys were Springfield, Missouri because the sign over the interstate said Joplin, Missouri.
It’s shockingly comfortable. Obviously preparation is extremely important and understanding what can and cannot be used in a confined setting.
Hey Guy's: The following is a true store and after watching your experience winter camping I need to share this with you.Back in 1977 I had a IH Scout Terra (118" W.B.) and found this Company that made a attached camper for it that's right you guessed it that Co. was Four Wheel Pop-Up Campers. At that time there H.Q. was in Denver Co. so I took a couple of week off and drove out and had them install since it was a pretty new concept back then. Well I had fun with for rest of the summer then winter came. I lived in Ft. Wayne, In at the time and in the winter time the big pass time changed from racing MX in the simmer to riding snowmobiles in the winter. Well the gang would do a winter snowmobile trip to the upper peninsula of Michigan so while the rest of the guys rented a motorhome to stay in I said I was set with my really cool new pop up camper and I was good to go! Well you guys after watching your little experience let me tell you what I went through I would not wish that on my worst enemy. When we got to our destination ( Houghton Lake Michigan ) it was around 6 deg. with an over night temp around -15 deg. Well let me tell you you think you where cold.....I had the furnace wide open, I had my snowmobile suite on and we where still cold all night.
So for the balance of the trip old John here really took it hard from the rest of the guys and on top of that they wouldn't let me stay in the motor home with them, it was a rough bunch of guys. I had the little 20 gal of propane and went through six of them for the balance of the trip.
Thought you might get a chuckle from that story after what you went through.
Sorry this was so long enjoy you future winter trips!
I camped in my Four Wheel Fleet camper in Grand Teton NP a couple of weeks ago. It was 10 below inside my camper in the morning. I don’t have enough battery power to run the furnace all night. Had to sleep with any water I didn’t want frozen. No problems otherwise!
I watched when you first built your rig. So glad your enjoying it so much. Been married for 44 years. I can tell you are best friends like us. Lol
Right on!
I am from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and I did live in Springfield Missouri. You guys should try a U.P. winter if you really want to see winter. I'm sorry it's kinda funny. Not being rude, just hope you guys explore what it is like for people who have figured out what real winter is like.
These are the reasons I installed a mini split AC/heat pump and a Propex propane heater and a 29 gallon propane tank.
your heat pump will not creat any heat in those conditions!
@@kululv According to who? Do you know anything about Physics pal?
@@omarwilliams6729 unlike you, I do. At that temp, there is no efficiency anymore, your heat pump becomes an electric heater
@@kululv If you were humble I would have educated you.
@@omarwilliams6729 i thought the same.. quote from a heat pump guide: "Even at 25 degrees, your heat pump will still run. The issue at this temperature is that the system will require more energy as it runs because there isn’t enough heat energy in the outdoor air for the heat pump to use in heating your interiors" now believe what you want...
We are from Central Arizona and About every other year we use our travel trailer in super cold weather I actually have two electric heaters that I use on my 30 amp service in my travel trailer and they’re great to supplement the propane heater congratulations on your winter survival and great attitude. 👍👊😎
Thanks!
I wish every video that I can go on trips with you guys, You guys are so inspiring and wholesome!
Thanks!
I was a camped at Camp Hale Co. compliments of the US Army before shipped out to Korea. Wore skis; the whole bit. Sleepted in 'snow caves and drove snow cat tractors with Studebaker engines. Now 88. Some things you don't forget.
we enjoy winter camping very much. as long as you're prepared for it it's enjoyable to be snug as a bug in a rug in your camper!
This 71 year old body wood just get to hotel or motel. No more freezing cold 4 me. Moved to Florida 11 years ago and never looked back. My pool temp is 89 to 90°🌴🐊. Beautiful!
Never reduce tire pressure for snowy conditions! Loose sand, thick mud, large boulders? Sure. But reinflate as soon as you hit tarmac and always maintain your tires at full pressure on roads.
I cringed when he said he had aired down his tires for the snow. He gave up traction doing that and the truck would be more likely to slide.
@@mechanicsteve2320 Sounds like you all haven't driven on sand at beach first thing you do is let air pressure down to 20 psi.
@@gonesideways6621 In fact I have driven on sand and yes you air down for sand but in snow you do not air down. Snow is a whole different animal from driving in sand or mud.
@@gonesideways6621 Hi Larry, you do not air down for snow and ice. The tire sipes and treads can't do their work. For sand, rocks, etc. yes. But never of snow. Aired down tires reduce your traction in snow and ice.
@@MrChadx1 SUCH true words. Snow isnt sand. . Thats for sure. Can't tell folks sometimes...no matter how true.
All I can say is you guys are crazy I stay out of snow I lived it for 40 years and have no use for it! LoL you guy's have a real sense for adventure. My F-250 is gas and I refuse to do any type of winterizing and Yes you don't need those batteries vented I still use AGM batteries haven't upgraded to lithium yet.love your videos
Welcome to our club:
Timmins, Ontario -23 °C
Timmins is the hometown of quite a few famous people, including one of the world’s richest singers, Shania Twain. It’s also become a popular snowmobiling destination. The lowest temperature recorded here was -44.2 °C and in January, the coldest month, the average low is -23 °C. ( -12F. = 24 C )
YA EH
Do you winter camp up there? What kind of RV do you use?
@@marcpikas2859 20 foot trailer but its mostly the cold gear that make it all good ,
we also have Finn tach Alaska pro winter set , i was out yesterday -20c plus the wind with just a long sleeve t shirt and the suit on and I was fine
I know how you feel! I'm in Alberta and we had a two week stretch of -45 (air temp), -50 (wind chill). I couldn't imagine camping in that shit.
You may know this, but your LIFEPO4 batteries in the camper should always already be above freezing before being charged. Charging a frozen lifepo4 can ruin them beyond repair. nice video. Happy camping!
Great job you two. You managed well and we appreciate the real life experience you shared for our benefit.
Thanks for watching!
Electric heater delivers drier heat than propane furnace. There are lithium batteries that have built in heaters. A snow rake for clearing snow off the roof is essential for a popup camper. There are automatic propane tank switchover valves for dual tank systems because a propane tank always goes empty in the middle of the night.
You can tell how cold it is by the crunch sound of the snow. It was one of my least favorite sensations when I was on the ICE (Antarctic) There was something about it I hated.
It must not be to cold for them. They leave the door open.
I never experienced that type of extreme cold but I always loved the crunchy snow in cold weather. Felt soothing! Lol.
Having an electric blanket is a good idea. Electric heater is another good idea for just in case. Plugging in the engine very smart. Another thing is keep a piece of cardboard to blanket the radiator
13:27 1st time I heard SNOWVID-2021 ❄️ 🥶 & being from Chicago, IL I’ve heard them all before❗️😉
You’re welcome to steal it
Being from WI we just call this another day in the garage.
Keeps talking about how old his truck is....I'm building a 68 International Harvester Loadstar into a camper. It will have propane heat, but it will also have an antique Prizer 2 burner coal stove with porcelain sides. The stove will serve as storage in the fire chamber and ash pan, plus be a fireproof platform for my antique propane 2 burner camp stove made by Griswold in Erie, PA or the propane heater to sit on during daily use. However, if SHTF, I can easily empty the stored supplies in the stove, attach a stovepipe, and start a wood or anthracite coal fire. You did good for your learning and smart to practice in a controlled environment. People act like you know what's going to happen with the temp, the power grids, etc. What good is a hotel without power? I hope you enjoy your adventures.
I really enjoy you guys youtube video! Thank you and stay warm:)
Some people use campstove to heat there campers in the super cold.We had to live in our RV years ago because we lost our home and we used a Kerosene heater and cracked the windows for ventilation,but I wouldn't suggest that .The little buddy is good too.Or sleep in the truck cab turning it on and off occasionally. Our dogs kept us really warm and toasty too.