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Old 10-14-2015, 05:25 PM   #1
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Winter camping in the 5.0

With our first frost due this weekend and we will be camping in BlackJack, I got to wondering the pro/con of the 5.0 use in the winter. Several members are getting the awning windows in the loft area for ventilation in the summer. But I wonder with the bed exposed on all sides will it be colder in the loft area without the insulated windows. Other than the mattress and carpet the bottom is open to the weather and wind and you are sleeping closer to the cold ceiling with an uninsulated vent right over the bed. With the 21 model you have the foam on the outside underneath and 18" of dead air space under the bed and mattress. You are a lot closer to the furnace also in the 21 compared to the 5.0 model and at least 4 feet away from the ceiling which has a smaller vent away from the bed.
I would expect one would have to have an auxiliary electric heater installed, perhaps in the closet wall to supplement the furnace and have to have hookups to operate?
Anyone 5.0 owners have any thoughts or suggestions for cold weather use?
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Old 10-14-2015, 05:53 PM   #2
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Are you by any chance getting a 5.0? Maybe I missed that.
Warm air rises and it probably even climbs stairs. That could make it an equally warm area up there compared to the rest, even considering the wall situation. Depends on the temps. For you in the NE, I expect you know you have needed hook-ups. Never thought about a 5.0 not being able to have foam under the bed area but that is a consideration.
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Old 10-14-2015, 06:10 PM   #3
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We were in New Hampshire last November when it snowed. Temperature in the low 30's. The air in the camper was pretty warm with the gas furnace, but the mattress was quite chilly. Not a lot of insulation underneath. I bought a 120 volt heated mattress cover and that took care of the problem.
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Old 10-14-2015, 07:52 PM   #4
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We have camped in our 5.0 down into the single digits and stayed nice and warm. The warm air rises and the loft stays very nice. I did cut two vent covers from old ensolite sleep pads, one over the bed and one over the vent where the air conditioner would exist if we had one.

We do have double pane windows with the sliders in the loft being single pane. At night we barely crack one open and that takes care of our condensation problems. We also use a 12 volt mattress warmer to preheat the bed.

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Old 10-14-2015, 11:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
... I got to wondering the pro/con of the 5.0 use in the winter.
...
Other than the mattress and carpet the bottom is open to the weather and wind...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floating Cloud View Post
Never thought about a 5.0 not being able to have foam under the bed area but that is a consideration.
That's a good point, but it should be possible to do something about it, for those particularly interested in cold-weather use.

I can't think of a way to add insulation on the outside over the whole area, but the 5.0's frame is external, so there is an area between the frame rails under the bed where a panel of insulating foam (perhaps 50 mm / 2" thick) could be added. It's quite visible, so a suitable covering would be appropriate; perhaps a foam-core panel which comes with a suitable outer surface would work.

On the inside, a dense insulating mat could go under the mattress, topped by another layer of carpet. This would cut into headroom, but I'm thinking of something relatively thin... even just a thick foam-backed carpet.
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Old 10-14-2015, 11:35 PM   #6
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Our previous camper was a fiberglass truck camper with a very thin mattress over a vinyl covered sheet of plywood. During cold weather you could actually feel the cold seeping up thru the mattress. A roll of reflextix from Home Depot between the plywood and mattress solved this issue nicely.

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Old 10-14-2015, 11:43 PM   #7
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Oh sorry, did not finish my train of thought in the above post. I have another roll of reflextix sitting in the garage that I bought for the 5.0 but so far I have found no need for it.

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Old 10-15-2015, 10:45 AM   #8
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One caveat on my earlier post. The single digit camping was only for one night with a supplemental electric heater ran by a portable generator. Would not be real enjoyable for multiple days.

Scott and Lori
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Old 10-15-2015, 07:40 PM   #9
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There are just to many warm places for me to stay where it is single digit cold!
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Old 10-16-2015, 10:42 AM   #10
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Last winter we camped with the temperature in the teens. The heater kept us very warm, no issue there. However, our water hose froze solid, that was before I knew of the hoses that have the heater. Fortunately, the inside piping did not freeze!
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