Before I talk start talking about our current situation, I’d like to create
some context. So let's go back in time
to last March when we Molly and I were both living in the coastal village of
York, Maine. We had just gutted "Lucy", that's our AS’s name,
and after purchasing our tow vehicle (2004 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo
Diesel), we hauled her from Molly's parents' place in Cornville, Maine to York
where we were both living during our second to last semesters in school.
One of the first things we
realized we had to do after gutting was to install all new insulation in the
old lady. After all, for this to be a financially viable adventure, we
knew we had to live in it approximately 90% rent free for two years and both of
us being avid skiers, we knew we had to live close to a ski mountain, which
undoubtedly would mean that we'd be experiencing temperatures below freezing or
colder.
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| The insulation was hard to use and would cut you if not careful. |
After arriving in Utah, we
spent several weeks boondocking on some public land at the Grantsville Reservoir,
which, as you guessed it, is just a stones throw away from the tiny town of
Grantsville, Utah. When we arrived, it was nearing the end of
spring. While at the reservoir we were
parked in a spot that left us completely exposed and soon the temperatures outside
reached 90+ degrees during the day. However, we were soon happy to
realize that, indeed, the polyiso provided the thermal protection against the
direct sunlight that we were hoping. Some people claim that polished
airstreams can reflect even more heat, but that is last on our list of
priorities at the moment. By the end of the summer, we had learned that
Lucy was always approximately 5 or more degrees cooler inside than the ambient
temperature outside. In full disclosure, these internal temps were with
the majority of the windows open and our fore and aft fantastic vents open but
NOT on.
We soon grew tired of
boondocking full-time and after a few, long, difficult weeks parked at the
reservoir, Molly was able to secure us some temporary accommodations after
meeting a very friendly local at an endurance horseback riding workshop she
attended on a whim. The agreement was that we'd pay $75 and provide 10
hours of help around the farm every month. In return, we'd have a shaded
spot to park Lucy for the summer and access to their water supply. At the
end of the summer we were given permission to stay as long as we wanted, which
has been an amazing experience (more to come on the subject of community
later).
Let me get back to the
insulation situation. Once the cooler temperatures of fall returned we
were able to stay very comfortable inside Lucy even on the cooler nights. Then, it got colder and this is where the climate control situation
shifted. After we could no longer bear
the colder temps at night, our first notion was to go with a heating solution
that utilized what resources we were already using in the AS, e.g. propane.
After looking around and doing a bit of research, we decided to give the
Mr. Heater Big Buddy a try. After all, it was advertised to be completely
safe to use in enclosed areas.
We knew
that burning propane would produce some moisture, but felt that it might have
actually been a relief after a dry summer and the fact that my skin tends to
get extremely dry and itchy in the winter anyway. So, we went with it,
and until it got even colder, i.e. below freezing, the heater was able to keep
us somewhat warm, but not comfortable.
After using disposable 1lb. bottles for a while we were able to figure
out how to directly connect it to our low-pressure propane line that ran all of
our other propane accessories, e.g. water heater and stove. (If you would like
to know more about this procedure just message below and I'll be happy to do a
detailed post on this since there was some problem solving involved).
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| Winter home parked in the sunny pasture. |
Needless to say, it wasn't long before the condensation, moisture, and cold got to be too much for the Big Buddy to keep up and although the Big Buddy claims to be pretty safe for enclosed use, on more than one occasion we were awoken by the chirping of our carbon monoxide detector (yes we had small openings for airflow), which was more than enough to motivate us to start looking for yet another way to stay warm. First, a little side note, on sunny days, parked out in the open, and with most of the windows shut, it actually stays quite cozy even during cold days. For example, if we leave for work in the morning and it is sunny that day and with external temps ranging from the teens to mid 30s, internally it's not unusual for it to be somewhere between 80 and 90+ degrees in the trailer, which our animals LOVE!
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| Great view of the Wasatch from Lucy's current resting spot. |
So, after too many nights of being woke up by condensation dripping onto our faces, we decided that something must be done. What was the answer to all of our wintertime climate control woes, a wood stove of course!
After looking around and
deciding that we were sick and tired of being disappointed by our failed
attempts at staying warm, Molly decided on the Summers Heat SVL17 wood stove,
guaranteed to heat up to a 1,200 sqft. space. Given that Lucy is
approximately 240 sqft., we figured that we'd have no problem staying nice and
toasty aaaaaaaaaand we've been happy ever since!
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| Joey approves of the best addition to Lucy yet! |
Before we end, I want to give a bit more information about how we're staying warm and dry(ish). Even after adding the stove, we were still getting some condensation inside the AS. At this point we are seriously hoping that it is just residual moisture from running the Big Buddy for so long. If you are attempting or want to attempt staying in an AS throughout the colder months, you may find yourself perplexed at some of the signs that moisture is getting into your trailer. Some other things I’ve noticed since winter arrived have been that it is imperative to insulate in all areas where there may be some intense differences between the inside and outside temperatures. The places where I have observed this being the biggest problem is in the front behind our bed where our 12v system is and the wheel wells. In the front there is a vent that was incorporated into the original design to provide fresh air circulation to keep the electrical system cool. To allow for some airflow but to provide a barrier between the two temperature extremes, I have inserted fiberglass insulation into the opening and gap behind it. This has helped keep the condensation in this area down. Around the wheel wells I installed more rigid insulation and covered them with plywood boxes (pictures to come) and again this seems to have helped decrease the condensation in these areas.
There you have it. After much
trial and error, the Summers Heat SVL17 wood stove has been the only thing that
has been able to keep us warm and mostly dry inside the trailer. It's
been a great addition and I can highly recommend this product (I will soon have
another post on the installation and setup of the stove). Now that
everyone is up to speed on our current situation, I will begin doing detailed
posts on some of the improvements that we've made to Lucy since arriving in
Utah.
Thanks for reading, -Lee
