A Cold Winter Night In The Off Grid Camper 

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At least you have a plan. That is way better than most people. Keep going and complete your goals.

The tarp is a good idea. Thanks. I will be stocking up on wood today. I was just not prepared for such a sudden move into the camper just yet. I was still moving my stuff. I have a pallet to stack the wood on and will cover it.

Happy to help. One thing I have learned. Solar is good in winter. Solar panels put out more energy when they are cold. But You need about 3 times the solar energy and battery capacity than you actually need per day. This allows for cloudy and rainy days.

I already removed the AC converter last year. I only us AC for shaving and use an inverter for that. It is shut off when not used. Everything is 12 volts, the water pump, fans and lights. The lights are all LEDs. I was not using the water heater and removed it as well. The wood stove boiler is for heating the camper only. I saw the self stick solar. Looks interesting.

When I get a bit settled in here and have some more time, I will take you up on that offer. Right now it is just a full time job surviving. I never knew how much WORK it would be.

Now that sounds like a good idea. I need to look into that. But it would require a complete reworking of the system hoses. Something for a warmer day. Thanks.

Yes, that is what I am doing. Hope spring comes soon. But this is very good experience to have anyway.

Thank you for the concern. I hope it will be a better night. Lets see.

I agree. I moved the batteries inside for the cold months. Right now its a bit warmer and they are outside but I am building a box for them right outside an unused access panel in the camper. I am going to blow warm air into the battery box through the access panel. I have seen the starlight. Awesome.

I lived well "off grid" in Northern Mn. for some years. i am a small old woman with 4 tiny dogs. You just have to learn to live ..comfortable..without all the electronics and things that require power to operate... A GOOD simple wood stove, a top of the live small or medium size chain saw. Coleman gas operated lanterns. A good clean water source.near by. I often used paper saucers and plates so save on washing dished in winter. They doubled up as fire starters after I used them. You will need a dependable income from some source. for food and gas bills. Oh , you need a back up propane cook stove . in summer you will do well with a propane operated refrigerator. Avoid Mosquitoes and bears and don't let your dogs run in the woods. Wolves will eat them. Cut and stack firewood in Summer and Autumn. No you can't live without some income. Have a cabinet full of common medicines and band-aids Keep your food in animal proof containers...then if you have even the slightest issues with "alone-ness" , DO NOT even START this life style in the first place. It will destroy you.

Thank you for the prayer. I did cut some more wood. I had some old pine boards that were useless so I cut them up to get by for now. Lets see how the night goes. Cant be worse than last night, I hope.

Yes, thanks for the comments. I am working out a system myself for the best AH to panel wattage. A bad battery can ruin the whole bunch.

I will look into it. Yes the exhaust goes out very strongly. But there is always a bit of a down draft outside and sometimes you can smell a bit of smoke through the drafty camper windows.

Thank you. I have them angled to the south now.

Hey,your are s brave man and smart,am very proud of you! May the Lord bless you and keep you warm.

The stove is perfect for a camper. Anything larger will not safely fit. You are supposed to have at least 18 inches of clearance on all sides of a fireplace for safety. The solar panels were tossed up there to catch some sun in a hurry. I will move them to a much better place soon when the weather gets better. I also want to build a solar tracker, but that is for summer.

Thanks for the compliment. I have a propane heater, but no propane. I wont have the cash till the end of the month. I only have enough gas to cook with, maybe.

Dry wood works for me. I dont have time to dry out wood and dont know where I will be next year. I am happy there is a lot of it around. I was wondering the other day how many acres of woods a person needs to stay warm without cutting down any fresh trees.

Yes I do use the Mr Heater Buddy when I can afford the propane. Its $20 per bottle here. Thanks for the tips.

This is why when living off grid you don't make complicated systems. The more complicated the greater the chance of failure. Plus always think redundancy. There should always be two ways to heat. Wood and propane go well together.

Thanks. Yes the panels must be angled for best performance. And I am going well, thanks

Yes, this is my full time job now. It is a LOT of work. But healthy work. And it will make for some very good video material. I can make a solar charger using path lights cheaper than those heat generators. Actually, I think I can make a heat generator if I ever get my hands on a peltier element. That is what powers them, I think.

you will be ok please keep making the videos you are helping me a lot with my off grid camper

Happy to hear. There will be a lot more videos on the way now that I have finally finished the move.

Wow just watched this upload. You’ve come a long ways from the winter in NY. At least you made your off grid dreams come true. Hard work pays off. Do you ever look back on some of your uploads like this and just smile. Great upload..

great reality check about using only solar i will defanatly be rethinking some of my plans thank you for showing reality so the rest of us can learn wish you all the best

Yes, I will do that today. It is sunny and the wood will dry out nicely today. Then I can bring it inside tonight.

Buddy get an used ax, get a cheap bow saw, cut some wood... you're literally surrounded by threes and you have no wood.... there's lots of dead standing wood by the looks of it... and wood should be collected before winter... winter can't come as a surprise to you... it pretty much comes every year.

I have some foot board radiators I want to hook up. But I am trying to figure out if it will work with my setup. The radiators would be a bit lower than the wood stove outlet.

I did not know they had those. All I ever had was the wool and the sleeping bag. Sometimes I wish I had the sleeping bag, but they are so bulky.

I have a tiny pot bellied coal burning stove in a small area in a camper. The stove was designed to heat water. Makes it a perfect central heating system. I use it to heat the whole camper by pumping water to the other end. Otherwise you need fans at least to push the hot air. And with the water boiler this thing is safe in a small area. It never gets over 160 - 200 degrees. A normal wood stove would be dangerous without shielding on the sides and back. And its what I have, was $10 used.

I was worried about you. I'm glad you made it through the night. Hope you can stay warm tonight.

Yeah, I was thinking about rechargeable lamps last night. I normally have a bunch of them around. But I am in the middle of moving my life back into the camper so its all a mess. I have the Mr Heater Buddy, but it burns though a 1 gallon can in 4 hours.

I use a Mr. Heater Buddy propane heater and keep a generous supply of one pound propane cylinders on board. One cylinder lasts about 5 hours on the low setting and around 3 hours on high. I don't run this constantly - just long enough to warm things up from time to time.

Yes, I did that one time. One time only. Ever have boiling antifreeze mix steaming out into your home? What a mess. And it blew with a fury. It also boiled and spit all over the place.

I have some foot board radiators, but the problem is to mount them high is not convenient. I am trying to figure out a better way to hook this up.

I will be making a thermostat switch soon so it does not need to run full time. Only when the water gets hot enough. That will help a lot.

Yes, that is part of the reason I am doing this. To experience it first hand and learn, then show others what I go through. You should normally have enough batteries to run for three days without sun. And you should have enough solar panels to charge your batteries in a day of sun. I have neither right now. All in time.

Yeah, I will be looking for some of those dead trees tomorrow when the sun comes out. I cant afford those heat generators. Pretty cool, but expensive.

The boiler is part of the wood stove. Its all one piece. I do not trust the ammo cans for long term fire. I would think they might burn through with time. I am planning to make one using 1/4 inch steel plates.

Yeah, thanks. There was no preparing for this one really. Propane is expensive, yes. I want to use wood as much as possible to keep the costs down. I am in Upstate New York. It is my first winter fully off the grid, yes.

Yes, I will do that today. I plan to get a bunch of wood stocked up and put it under the camper to keep it dry.

Yes, the inverters shut off way below the damage point of batteries. Most inverters shut off at 10.5 volts, still damaging.

No, it works. It just gets really hot and scary in a camper. I do not like how hot the fireplace gets with no water in it. With the water it is quite safe to use because the sides of the fireplace only get as hot as the water. Keeps it safe in a small area like that. Its a perfect camper fireplace.

Yes, I plan to rig up an automatic switch for that and then heat water when the batteries are full.

I thought about that. But I also heard they were chemical treated so they would not rot. Wonder if that might be bad for you when it burns.

Thanks for the tip.

Thanks, but I have my Army wool blanket and a few other nice ones. I do have a hiking bag, but its light and not for cold weather. So far I have been fine though.

Lose the hot water, just drain the system or make it so you don't have to worry about pressure build up, but can still heat water when you need it. You don't want to freeze, right. Cut some more wood and get your panels up off the ground, like on a pipe or something. Make it so they can be easily turned to better pick up the sun light, and have a better chance of staying clear of snow.. Also you could get some high temp peltier modules, they're pretty cheap, and they can generate 12v off your stove...they'd have to be set up right of courseand it may take a number of them to do you any good/ I hope it all works out for you...good luck.

I moved my family into our off the grid converted school bus on Jan. 1 13. I decided to go only solar too but after two weeks of a gray and snowy winter I bought a cheapy generator from Amazon and it saved me for that month of bad weather...don't use it at all anymore but it was a huge help when there was no sun for several days.

Yes it is. If you make videos, let me know. Would be interested in seeing them.

Did you look at the prices? Ouch. I have been in contact with them. One of the top companies, I think.

Thank you, yes, I made it through

I hope to make one soon just for experimentation.

Troy: I admire your commitment! Most off grid power are "triad" based. Three componets to cover all weather scenarios. First two are battery charging using solar, wind or hydro. Most also have a generator back-up for extreme conditions of power load, like power tools or weather where the first two don't provide enough.I know you have limited funds but I would try and find a used generator and bat charger that takes solar/wind inputs and 110V gen input. Most gens have 12V bat charge output.

I'm glad everything is going well for you.

Yup. Got some wood ready today. Still need to get a lot more done. Its supposed to rain again Monday.

Yes, I am breaking out the dollar store lights tonight. No more stress. I have a bunch of them put away for projects. I will be warm one way or another. Thanks

It is protection where it goes through the roof. Makes it safer so I dont burn up the camper.

Yeah, it gets COLD in these things in winter. Right now its miserably freezing cold. I am running both the propane and fireplace today. May need to retreat to the truck camper for the night if it gets too cold.

Thank you very much. :)

You need to DITCH that wood stove and get one you can run with out being plugged in you go off the grid just to get trapped by your own grid. Just seems a little backwards to me there is NO reason for you to ever be cold like this.

TURN YOUR PROPANE STOVE ON ,USE YOUR WOOD BURNER,YOUR NOT DOING SOMETHING WRIGHT,THAT WOOD BURNER SHOULD NOT USE ELECTRIC

If that thing can roll, I'd pull that sucker to Florida.

noticed you mentioned an army wool blanket i have and army down blanket it alsso does real good down to minus temps uses body heat to keep you warm you would like one of these and it is very durabl had it for bout ten yrs now use it every night i love it if i ever had to leave my present home i wouldn't leave without it

It is double walled and cost me an arm and a leg. I spent nearly $400 last year on that pipe and its mounts alone. And it still gets hot. Not happy with it.

It is factory insulated, for summer use. But it works for me. It was free. I will not complain. Yes, compared to 20, 40 is great. But 50 - 70 is better.

That is part of the reason I am going through with it even though it is hard as well.

Make a bicycle for a generator will give batteries life and keep you warm at same time. Stop making film and gather wood.

put a tarp over the solar panels at night and they will stay cleaned off

Very good deal you got. No, I cannot build anything where I am now.

Yes, starting out is hard in winter. But next year will be fine. I will have more panels and batteries to get me through cloudy days.

I have thought about that, but fear it may get too hot.

My wife and I have been in same situation too many winters in northern Minnesota. stay strong friend

It is safe. Nature is safer than the city, for sure.

It works fine. My batteries are too drained from months of neglect. It will take a few days to get them back up to charge again.

I do not care about spelling if you dont mind my mistakes in living off the grid, hehe. Some camping gear lasts forever. That is the stuff we need for long term survival. Sadly its hard to get really good stuff anymore.

If you cannot run your wood stove without electricity than its useless.

Yes I hope to do that soon.

I saw a video on a lady using those dollar solar lights.. pretty neat.. Love the rope light! Stay warm... somehow! Blessings!

you're very courageous to stick it out and just do what needs to be done. Thinsg will work out (and probably already have). One thing that helps is to tilt the solarpanels to a 30 degree angle so teh snow will slide off by itself easier. If I am informed correct even with clouds the panels still can pick up soem light and work. But then you know better probably! Anyway - you're my hero, man! Hope you're okay!

Yeah, they had me worried. Huge clumps of snow kept falling on the camper all night. It just kept coming and coming, I did not sleep well due to all the noise. Could have easily brought a tree down.

The camper is 32 ft long. Hard to heat the back end. The fireplace has a built in boiler, heats water, pumped to the back of camper, thru a car heater core, hot air blown with PC fans, water pumped back to fireplace. Without water, the stove works, but gets VERY hot. It is scary inside a small area like my camper. I do not like to run it over 150 degrees at the chimney pipe. Otherwise it gets hot on the ceiling near the pipe and I do not like that at all.

The bike generator works fine, but it is not here, sadly. I am still paying $20 a month storage fees at the old place. I cannot get my truck out of the property until spring. My landlord doesnt want the property ripped up. So the bike stays where it is for now. I sure could use it tho.

This is perfect for a small space because it never gets too hot on the sides. A larger, or normal stove could not be safely used in here.

The stove was $10 and it fit my budget. So I deal with it. Plus its so perfect to heat the whole camper due to the boiler.

Sounds awesome but I have never seen such a system around here. Not saying they dont exist, but I never saw a camper with one. The only problem, as you say, is the cost of propane.

I've always wanted to live like this. I never was much of a fan of other people. Just disconnecting yourself from the rest of the world to live life by your own rules. Not worrying about the troubles of society. It sounds nice.

It has a built in water boiler which needs a water pump to cycle the water through. I could change it around so it cycles on its own, but it takes some planning.

Almost 2 years ago now we purchased 160 acres bare land. My brother and his cat have been living off grid since we acquired the property up in Northern BC. The first winter was brutal. He was in our small Airstream but upgraded to a 1988 Empress Motor Home last February. He has internet and with skype we can see how things are going on a daily basis. He uses one of those indoor propane heaters. I wasn't up for the idea of punching a hole in the Airstream for a small wood stove but I am now.

It's great to come back to the beginning Troy you've come along way bud👍 very inspiring 😉

That is a cool idea.

Well, I am still not fully done with the move actually. I have a few things at the old place to pick up and the bike is one of them. The bad weather kept me from finishing up. The bike is way out in the middle of a forest, and I couldnt get to it yet.

A rancher in Wyoming told me that for the winter, you need a wood stack as high and wide as the house you are in. So with a camper, maybe double that? I spent over 8 years there in a cabin, off grid .and that measurement was pretty accurate. We would spend the summers cleaning and hauling old scrap wood and felled trees. We usually had 2 real good wood piles going next to the cabin. Then, in the winter we would bank up around the foundation with shoveled snow. Nice, peaceful and quiet!

I had the mummy sack, yes. They make different sizes, so you probably had a small one.

.... Nice yes, and LOTS of hard work!!

Have you ever heard of convection? You can redesign your water heater to function without the water pump.

Perhaps you should add to your collection a little portable wind mill you can set up and take down as needed to supplement when there is lack of sun.

soak your wood in used vegetable oil. it lasts up to three times longer and generates twice as much heat.