An idea I had some time ago - the original idea with campers was to make use of what was available, not to get 'way overboard with high-tech stuff that costs a goddamned fortune! In the old days campers were designed or made by people who used them, not by a huge corporation that mass produced and sold them to an unwitting public.

NOTE: The very idea of an Italian made washer and drier stack that is barely capable of cleaning a pair of silk party shirts and takes an hour to do it (price tag: $1800 USD) is sickening to me... You can do better with a wash tub and fifty feet of clothesline! Not only that, but the fresh air they dry in will make "DRIER SHEETS" totally unnecessary

It was very much "GARAGE TECH", and therefore "FORM FOLLOWED FUNCTION".
~People heading out to the desert or woods with an "Advanced Chuckwagon"

Where is that nowadays?

Has anyone heard of any attempts to use wood for heating in a camper instead of whatever gadgets the industry deems profitable?

There is much to be gained by home-built tech! It returns RV'ing and camping to their roots

Once upon a time, people who went trailer camping built every piece of their rig themselves, based on what they wished they had last time out - they were the pioneers, nobody handed them a complete package with all the goodies from a show room. It was "Camping with advantages" based on a lot of shared knowlege among a reclusive crowd who chose to "GET AWAY" from time to time in their own fashion. On the day it became noticed by the first major company it went down the road to becoming what it is now - PRODUCTS and MARKETSHARE...

But not necessarily the same as the genuine article.

The whole idea to begin with was to get out and enjoy without paying through the frikking nose...

*I hope I change your way of thinking about it


"OH look at that! It's impressive, but I bet it's WORTHLESS in ten years..."

 

My only concern about having a wood fire would be the heat that comes from that type of fire.

Propane is a much safer way to go.

I DO understand where you are coming from though.

 

I think the concern would be more rightly stated "IGNITION OUTSIDE OF THE CONTAINER".
Yes?

The firebox would need to be proof against stray fire getting outside of it, heat getting to be too much for surrounding wood structure, and bottom of heater insulation to the floor. Next also - how to prevent too much heat around the "STOVEPIPE" causing a fire in the roof (!)

If all of these can be prevented through forethought, it can work.

GIVEN: Fireplaces like this in HOMES have been made, so most of the problem has already been solved for HOUSES...

*By the way - what makes you think a pressurised container of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) right behind your bedrooms headboard is an essentially safe idea to begin with???


*snikkkerrrezzz*


Not to mention the battery box as a source of sparks for ignition *considers paw, thoughtfully*

LPG is also as expensive as diesel fuel, if not more so. Normal RV furnace will run through two tanks in one or two days when temp goes down far... Wood is better - its a natural resource, and replenishes



Good Lord gives, RV peoples are thankful for


YIPPEE KYE AYE


~We should think of ways to do this.

The only reason I can think of why it has not already been done is because of high tech idiots that want to make profits
(and suckers that went along with it hook line and sinker)



~Said enough, you think about it. I'm going to bed....

 

Wolfie....if you wanna build it, you do it boy! As for me - I'll stick to the propane. I'll keep my woodburning in the firepit.

My propane tanks are on one side of my trailer and the batteries are on the other! I sleep with my head on the same side as the batteries.

Have a good night!!

Your Navy retiree in Maryland!

 

Have a good sleep.....maybe you can "dream" up an idea that would work and now it's your turn to make the big bucks.

As for me...I don't have ANY problem sleeping, when my tanks are pretty much under my bed. I don't even give it a second thought. As far as usage goes.....2-30 lb tanks.....1-1/2 years.....still haven't used the first one, and the furnace didn't even stop on one particular weekend last year.

There are VERY few fires in trailers, I bet there will be more if wood stoves are used.

And you talk about wood stoves in houses.......QUITE a different situation. NOT even close to comparing.

 

like the idea, but, what about the mess? ashes, smoke, and the like. also, with todays so called "rules and regulations", i dare say you won't get away with it for very long. keep thinking, "ole man", you'll find the right answer.

 

Do I really wanna get up 2 or 3 times during the night to add wood to the fire?

Nah, propane works all night and I don't have to stoke it.

And these rigs are heavy enough without a fireplace.

 

I love the idea, but with a small camper, I just don't see as being practical for me. Plus, its not even close to being as convenient as propane.

Just a thought, no one says you have to have the fire inside the camper, you may just carry it with you in the trailer, have a heat exchanger attached to the firebox and when you set up camp, you place the firebox outside and run heated water from the stove outside into another heat exchanger (heating coils from our vehicles come to mind) inside the camper. You don't get to watch the fire, but you can at least use it for heat. You'll need extra battery power for a pump, but you still need a fan whether its propane or not.

 

I was in the RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN a few years back.
There was an old camper that a man and his wife lived in for something like 25 years. He worked for the government overseeing some kind of work (rural electrification, perhaps? I just can't remember) and was constantly moving around the country for his entire career.
Anyway, they had a boxwood cast iron stove they used for heat in the camper. It was bolted down right near the door, if I recall.

 

Well I think I have the best of both worlds. My propane is on the opposite side of the battery.

And................I have a fireplace as well

I will qualify that though..the fireplace is electric with a fan..it is quite helpful in creating some extra heat and adds to the mood for the mrs.

 

Oughta be some way to do it. Railroad cabooses used to have coal or wood stoves in them too.

 

I threw up in my mouth when you started talking about "silk party shirts" I couldn't make it past that to read the rest......

 

I take it you remember the seventies too - rayon, polyester, bell bottoms, and some idiots also thought plaid was "IN"...

No wonder I have a whole closet full of tee-shirts (and 1 or 2 real shirts for work)

Still - what I have in mind isn't for everybody. A real basic desert rat's trailer that doesnt need anything except water storage and waste tanks.

Lights? Microwave? Why???

 

Don't forget the dutch oven, we still use ours.

 

these RV's are mostly kindling on wheels. why would you want to put a fire in one. I live in mine fulltime so I'll keep the micro and tv.