Not getting the furnace in your trailer

[NW Cat Owner]

I've been reading more and more of this forum (so many threads, so little time - gotta sleep at some point), learning more and more as I go along.

Still need to decide which trailer I actually want. That will take time, but it'll get there.

I read part of the thread about the furnace change in the 21' (which is one we're considering). Someone asked if it would even be used. Which got me to pondering if I'd ever use it.

I used it twice in a recent motor home rental and that was more to dry out my shoes that got soaking wet from an unexpected walk in the Pacific. They were my only shoes, so I shoved them in front of the vents to quickly dry off.

When we worked on our POS house, we completely covered the furnace vents as I detest a furnace (air blowing around and the noise). Would I use one in a trailer? Probably not since I plan on bringing a small electric heater, which I much prefer.

Has anyone ordered a trailer without the furnace? I know that it's standard. We're going to order the trailer WE want and not for future resale. If you didn't get the furnace, do you get some sort of credit for not having it? And I'd imagine the trailer would be lighter without it, if that's any consideration.

Thanks for reading and for any comments on my ponderings.

[steve dunham]

If you camp without hookups then an electric heater is basically useless . We went camping
for 2 days last week ,one morning it was 27 deg F ,the other morning it was 31 Deg F with day time highs in the 40's. Camping in those conditions without a source of heat would have been uncomfortable at the least . The weight of the furnace is not a consideration , too little to have an effect. IMHO. We had a Scamp without a furnace ,never again.

[BCnomad]

Point of interest: both of my electric fans are more noisey than than stock furnance, even with relative positions being equal. I guess being buried under the dinette has some advatages. Coastal winds cooling off trailer at night plus condensation control lead me to two heaters. Perhaps a small oil filled one would be suitable?

For me, I have been boondocking about 1/3 of the nights, so haved used the furnace for chilly nights.

My furnace weighs maybe twenty pounds... Hardly worth trying to save weight with it.


Ymmv

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner

I've been reading more and more of this forum (so many threads, so little time - gotta sleep at some point), learning more and more as I go along.

Still need to decide which trailer I actually want. That will take time, but it'll get there.

I read part of the thread about the furnace change in the 21' (which is one we're considering). Someone asked if it would even be used. Which got me to pondering if I'd ever use it.

I used it twice in a recent motor home rental and that was more to dry out my shoes that got soaking wet from an unexpected walk in the Pacific. They were my only shoes, so I shoved them in front of the vents to quickly dry off.

When we worked on our POS house, we completely covered the furnace vents as I detest a furnace (air blowing around and the noise). Would I use one in a trailer? Probably not since I plan on bringing a small electric heater, which I much prefer.

Has anyone ordered a trailer without the furnace? I know that it's standard. We're going to order the trailer WE want and not for future resale. If you didn't get the furnace, do you get some sort of credit for not having it? And I'd imagine the trailer would be lighter without it, if that's any consideration.

Thanks for reading and for any comments on my ponderings.

Just my two cents, but I would not consider buying an Escape and having them omit the furnace. The little electric heaters work fine for cold spots, but are no substitute for the furnace. Also, Reace will omit the furnace if you like (although he'll probably wonder why) but there most likely won't be a credit for not having it installed. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're 'overthinking' the process. The standard features are there for a reason, and Reace and crew have spent an enormous amount of time designing the trailer in a certain way. Upgrades and changes are fine, and that's part of what Escape does that makes them so special. But, I'd leave the stock things like a furnace alone.

[hillary]

I would keep the furnace. I think it's hard to know exactly what type of camping you will do until you're 'out there' in your trailer. We boondock about half the time and are at state parks with electricity half the time. If we're going to be plugged in, we bring a little electric heater, if not, we bring our briefcase solar panel. One of the best parts about these trailers to me is how they can go everywhere your vehicle can go; I wouldn't limit that by needing to be connected to electricity! Also depends on your budget and location preference, of course. We prefer more isolated campgrounds, like DNR campgrounds, over state park campgrounds. DNR campgrounds are also free, whereas the state parks are $25ish a night.

[Escape While You Can]

You say you aren't going to ever sell the trailer, but one never knows. You may decide to go with a bigger/smaller Escape someday.

Having had a trailer w/o a furnace (two, actually), I would never buy another w/o one. You may seldom use it, but when you need it, it's awesome. I never stay in campgrounds w/ hookups, so an electric furnace would do me no good. I've used my furnace many many times and would've been miserable w/o it. You never know when you may decide to travel someplace and not find hookups and have to boondock and it gets cold at night.

And a lot of people are like me and wouldn't buy a trailer w/o the furnace. I found that out when I was trying to sell the two trailers I owned that didn't have one.

[gbaglo]

Or, living on the wet coast; cold and damp.

[Catchlight]

We picked up our Escape 21 in Chilliwack in early September last year and headed straight to Lighting Lake campground in Manning Park, where the temperature went down into the mid-20s F on both of the nights we spent there. Since then it's hit 25F in Winthrop, WA, in late April, and the same at Kodachrome Basin, UT, in early May. You never know when or where you'll need the furnace, and could be sorry you don't have one oftener than you think.

[OneOleMan]

My 2 cents - - keep the furnace – you may take another unexpected walk into that wet stuff – Lucy the cat might get quite upset without some warm air blowing on her in the cool evenings – condensation can be a problem without circulation. And if you do decide to change trailers in the future few people in this neck of the woods could consider buying it without a big discount.

[Loren & Cathy]

It gets cold in the mountains at night, a lot of time below freezing and besides, cats like it warm. Loren

[Slickheadhunter]

I would never own a trailer without the furnace!

[Donna D.]

A furnace provides you with far more options when to comes to time of the year and places to camp. Another point, just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it, until you need to or want to.

[LeonW]

We do a lot of camping in late September & October, and in January - March. So we really like having a furnace.

But even if we didn't prefer camping in those months, we would still get the furnace. We leave for the rally in a couple days, and looking at the weather in the rockies it appears there will be lows in the high 30s / low 40s. It is always nice to have the option for heat when the weather isn't what you expect it to be.

[NW Cat Owner]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments and for not one single person saying "well, that's a pretty stupid thought". We're both new to this and all that. And yeah, I might be over thinking this whole process, but that's why I'm reading this forum and asking questions. It's to learn what I can and to apply it for when we order a trailer. If I didn't ask (and get good feedback from others), I would always wonder "well, what if we did/didn't do this or that).

So, okay, will keep the furnace in. :-)

And yep, Lucy will LOVE any heat that's cranked out. No doubt about that.