For those of you who aren’t doing permanent mounts, what sort of ducting are you using?
I’m trying to pipe air from a heater in the bed / on the ground up to a RTT. I got some ducting intended for permanent installs and found it does not hold up to handling at all, it rips if you look at it sideways. Dryer vent would be a bit more durable but pretty awkward to work with.
I am toying with the idea of making a solid PVC contraption and just having a small section of flexible duct (from heater on ground → PVC going up to RTT level) but that’s a big clunky bit of stuff to carry around. I’d rather have flexible / collapsible ducting but I can’t find anything durable. Any clues?
I do want to heat the entire truck box and camper and found I was able to no problem with the 5kw heater. The big question is do I cut a hole in the truck bed itself or cut a hole in one of the GFC alu doors and install a 3" blast gate to duct the heat in?
Did you do the heater linked above by whiteroom? There seem to be a million of those images under a bunch of different names! So you guys are putting the heater outside, and routing the hose in through the tent zipper? I have a 2020 Tundra and would like to heat into the bed, but don’t want to cut a hole in the bed…looking for options.
@Whiteroom that is my issue exactly. I don’t want to cut into the bed, but want heat in the bottom in case I am sleeping down there in bad weather…wish we had the tool cubby like the Taco’s do to cut out a duct hole…
Yeah, we like it so far. Starts up without issue and works well at altitude we’ve found. Not a huge fan of the connectors used for both the power and controller, so have been debating about swapping those out for something else. I did install APP connectors instead of the ring connectors it came with.
I found after the first year of using the heater with the exhaust connection inside the same case; I couldn’t stand that initial start up smell. It would leak exhaust no matter what I did, then get pulled in by the fan. It’s fine once it’s going, but just make sure that connection to the heater is bombproof.
I ended up installing the heater on its side so I could pipe the exhaust out the side. You can mount the Chinese ones on their side as long as the fuel inlet is on the top.
Moved mine into an Amazon aluminum truck box. Works great so far and I just keep it on a hitch mounted cargo rack. Can still open the tailgate. I have a 3" blast gate getting delivered tomorrow. Thinking I’m gonna take the plunge and drill a hole in the GFC side door instead of through the truck bed.
Similar to my set up, dig it. The thing I like about this is that you can store the hose inside the case. May take a little jiggery pokery in your case, but you be able to pull that off.
I built mine out of a Harbor Freight 4800 case using an Amazon 5kw air heater kit. I bolted the included 10l diesel tank to the side of the case so it stores/carries similiar to a jerry can. It puts out amazing heat, keeps the camper cozy and I was able to run it nonstop for 3 nights off an 100ah lifepo4 battery bank.
I think my total cost was around $200. I didn’t use the included muffler because they are junk and not really necessary. Bought a boat hull style exhaust fitting so it is flush on the side of the case. I also bought better fuel lines and hose clamps since the ones in the Amazon kit are trash.
@badger.ridge that looks great. I have the same case, but I haven’t sifted through all the heater options available. Would you share more info, photos, or links for your heater build?
I purchased this heater from amazon. I think the 5kw is the ideal size for the GFC where it is strong enough to warm the entire space but not run on low constantly which is bad for these diesel air heaters.
Below are some pics of how I mounted it in the case. The exhaust fitting is a boat style one that lets it be flush against the case making it a lot more portable. It also comes with gaskets to prevent the case around it from melting. An excellent design.
