I'm looking for a way to keep the bed of the truck with a topper / cap warm during long cold trips. I don't need it real warm, just above freezing even when it's well below zero outside on a few hour trip.

I don't think the truck could handle an electic heater that would be powerful enough to do this. Also, I would guess this might require some minor insulating of the bed and topper.

Anyone know of any way to do this or have experience with it?

Thanks.

 

I would think that an inverter with a ceramic heater would work fine.

Mike

 

agree with blk95f150...but you'll also need to seal the bed completely. and air leaks would completely render any heater useless



why?

 

Because by the time we get to our cabin everything is frozen solid (food, medications, drinks, etc). I need all the cab room for people and dog(s) rather than bags.

Thanks for the input!

 

wow, the things you would never have thought about. Southern boy here. If it got below 40F outside, you knew it was a bad winter.

 

A heater core with a connection to the vehicles cooling system using a 12v fan in the bed will work. Any Vet my age will remember the Jeep heaters. Jeep Heater - Army Surplus Warehouse - Army Surplus Warehouse

 

do you have a rear sliding window in the cab and a slider in the bed???

 

i do think radiant heat with the coolant as a heat source here would be your best bet.
Ceramic heaters can cause fire and also draw a huge amount of electricity.

 

I think if you have a topper with a window and a sliding rear....get it good and sealed up between the windows and use a small fan to push air back into there from the cab....how often are you looking to need this?

 

Tee off the heater hoses. Bring the new hoses into the bed through the removable rubber plug in the head panel of the bed. Use one of the $70 Jeep heaters. I had not thought of those heaters for decades. But I do remember how warm they could keep a Jeep in a German winter. They were one of the things that a motor pool Sgt. kept on hand for trading.

 

Yeah I was thinking one of these ideas would work best.

...didn't know where to start looking for something like this but figured making use of the engine heat would really make alot more sense than trying to use limited electric power if it could be done. Thanks for the tip.

...also sounds good if I can find a good seal. I don't have a slider but getting one may be an option.

Thanks to everyone for the tips!

 

I was thinking even something along the lines of a small radiatior...or one/two tranny or oil coolers. You dont necessarily need a fan, the radiant heat should do quite well.

Another thing to think of here, is pack as much of the insulating type materials you take (bedding/clothes etc if you have it) along the sides and back of the box, and pack the stuff you dont want to freeze in the middle of it all towards the front nearer the heat source and also up off the floor of the bed.

How cold does it get where you are? That would be able to help some...its -35c here, its hard to breath outside. Smoking doesnt help either.

 

one more thing I just thought of, how much stuff do you take that you dont want to freeze? 1 cooler worth, two cooler worth..etc. If youre any good with wood, you could build yourself a box and use a layer or two of the blue 2" thick styrofoam house insulating sheets and a hot water bottle or two inside it. Would store temps way better than a typical cooler, plus the hot water bottles.
That may be another, cheaper, more convenient option...

 

Get one of those heated bed mats. If they make them yet.

 

If you can get it that cheap, do that. If not, use a cheap heater core and a 120mm 12v computer fan.

The only problem I can think of is that's just one more thing to break down and lose all your coolant in a hostile environment.

Mike