I use a Camco Olympian Wave 3 catalytic heater. Propane tank outside the truck, hose running through the corner of the rear panel. It’s radiant heat so it works better if your interior is insulated.
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Interesting but considering how much moisture propane heaters create how’s the condensation inside the tent?
The inside of the roof needs some felt applied to it. And need a roof vent or side vents near the top.
Personally, I did not have issues with condensation but that may be because I was in dry environments. In humid environments, def need some mods for condensation even without a heater.
Condensation is definitely an issue up here in the PNW so I only run a propane heater for a couple minutes at night and in the morning to knock the chill out. Looking into external diesels now. Well-reviewed, costly Russian-made Planar or lesser (in most categories) Chinese product?
I am trying to understand what the strategies/differences are between these different diesel heaters, both are pictured in this thread.
- Some people buy the small heater alone and build it into a Pelican-type case with a fuel tank attached to the outside.
- Though the same heaters come in a “All in one” version, which seems to be the same thing but pre-built. However the price is the same.
Attached is an Amazon Link that shows what I’m talking about. Under “Color” are the two options. Obviously the tank size is different, but what are the advantages of each and the dis-advantages of each? Specially if the price is the almost the same, (<$10) but there is much more gear needed to build the diy briefcase…
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I started with the Amazon All in One in the beginning. While it works, it’s a pain in ass to set up and it was finicky. If you want to do it right from the beginning, I recommend building one into an Apache style case and use @keeganbuilds kit. I have built 3 heaters now with his kit and it’s unmatched.
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I got one of these on black friday sale for real cheap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM5M4BV8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details but haven’t used it yet.
I’m wondering if I could get away without the exhaust and intake pipe extensions and attach the filter/muffler directly to the ports. It seems like that is the layout in the video above more or less.
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You could but there could be two issues. One, not enough back pressure; two if the combustion air intake and the exhaust are too close that could cause ignition issues.
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Still working on it. Had my all in one unit in the bed for over a year and just got sick of the space.
Mounted it in the cubby. Made a quick tank box to test it. I need a better thank though, sick of the smell.
Justin
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Thanks to @GainzGFC recommendation, I have officially started converting my Silvel all-in-one into a sealed unit using @keeganbuilds kit. Having a garage party in a couple weeks to help some buddies do the same.
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You won’t be dissapointed. @Buhlockaye actually converted the exact same unit into the Apache as well.
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I recommend disassembling the unit and making sure you have everything needed in Keegan’s video. When I did it, was missing a couple things that I had to improvise on. Took some more time but turned out great in the end!
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This looks like the same thing more or less as the Keegan builds system, minus the build… Does anyone have experience with this heater being finicky or unreliable? Specifically at Altitude? (10,000’ or so?)
What were the issues that you experienced with the All In One, Hunter? I’m still on the fence here between paying more money to build my own and getting one already built. I feel that someone out there has to have solved the problems of the cheaper Chinese Amazon heaters by now.
Sorry but I’m not quite sold yet on which way to attack this and where to put my money. Can someone sell me one way or another?
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so i have the DIY one that I haven’t had the time to build (since I bought it in late 2022). I also have the exact same one that my friend built already (item A) and another from another friend who built it (item B, different brand and different kit)too.
Item A leaks fuel from the fuel line right outside of fuel tank, and has a funny smell that I can’t get rid of.
Item B works perfect aside from the fact that my friend reversed power and ground at the RV port thing and we didn’t discover that until I used a powerpole universal harness I made at camp. No biggie I just swapped the power and ground and we were in business.
Now, all these will not work (supposedly) at altitude but there are pre-made ones that has altitude mode built in (a feature previously available only on the more expensive ones) for under $100 more or so. If you spend a lot of time up in altitude then I’d just go with that.
Between pre-built or DIY, here’s what I think based on my limited experience:
Pre-built you don’t have to worry about actually building it. It’s as simple as unbox, test, and go.
DIY: you have to spend time putting it together and sometimes they don’t go the way you intend it to go. Some parts for the DIY kits are a PITA to put in due to the available space (brackets that need to be bent, etc) So that boils down to how you value your time; if you like some challenge or enjoy being hands on, or you simply has lots of time to kill, the DIY kits are for you. Else just save yourself the trouble and go pre-built lol.
I’m not counting after-sales support and room for upgrade here. With these Chinese products I personally don’t expect any kind of after-sales support, and in regards for rooms to upgrade, you can always upgrade the internals for both pre-built and DIY kits.
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I run a vevor all in one 8kw heater and it’s been great however I will be building my own from a kit during the summer and swapping out how everything is setup. This was a mid October project and in Fairbanks the temps were already below zero and thus I needed an emergency solve to keep camping this season.
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I just bought the toolbox pro on sale from their website for $189 shipped all in, and it took only 3 days to get it! Couldn’t say no after that, ive been using a buddy heater so this is a welcome upgrade. From the YouTube videos I’ve seen, Hcalory makes a decent heater package. They each have their quirks, i think the one you posted the videos ive seen said something about the filling of diesel and how it sits when you are running it. I went with my version since it sits on 4 pedestal feet off the ground and the diesel reservoir is sitting up with the lid on top for easy filling and no spilling.
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Here is a decent review I watched that is comprehensive enough to draw your own conclusions on this thing
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Has anyone put a marine deck plate access on their side panel? Was thinking that’d be an easy way to get the heater hose into the truck bed.
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I’ve been brainstorming something similar with @Buhlockaye that would be a hose connect that either snaps on or slide on and then you run a splitter or hose internally so you’re not trying to cut a hole large enough to pass a hose through and then dealing with that.
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