There are many things my wife does not like, the least of which is being cold — she abhors cold weather! She works all day with a heater on year around. When it comes to cold, I can handle it, but not much of it! When camping, you can't always find a warm spot, but there are things you can do to avoid freezing away.
Our Diesel Heater for Winter Camping
Yes. We have the Mr. Buddy Heater and have used it a lot, but everything else we have runs on propane and sometimes we need to preserve it for other essential uses.
We like the butane-powered Kovea Heater and take it everywhere (it stays in the vehicle) as it is so small and packable in its own little case.
The portable diesel heater has now become our favorite for several reasons.
I filled up the tank, holding one gallon of fuel, and plugged it into our power source at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning at 9 a.m., it's still running, and our tent is warm and toasty. There are plenty of other benefits too.
The Camping Heater Benefits are Amazing
I was also extremely excited to be able to crawl over to the door of the rooftop tent, take my wireless remote control, and turn the temperature up and down on the heater without crawling up and down the ladder. I was not accustomed to this luxury.
Okay, granted, carrying diesel fuel and needing an electrical power source is a pain in the you-know-what. But the benefits are well worth it!
I made some adjustments and changes to the heater itself (just a plane Amazon diesel heater that runs around $159) to fit inside the Artemis Ammo Box. Packing it was a breeze! It stacks on other equipment. This has become a staple for all of our winter camping trips from here on out.
Winter Camping Gear: Tent Annex
The Tent Annex. Zipping this annex onto the bottom of the Howling Moon Tent, we have it all:
- Privacy (which my wife loves)
- Room to stretch and put on clothes
- Warm enclosure
It's a large bundle to haul in your vehicle — but for winter camping, it's worth it!
When you have a regular rooftop tent, you lack a few things:
- Standing up or bending over (not at my age anyway)
- Dressing or getting ready in the elements
- Too cold to move around (sitting huddled by a heater)
We sit our heater on the ground outside the annex, run the hose inside as the heat rises and perfectly warms the annex and tent. The annex is one of the items for privacy and warm shelter; it is our best option aside from the tent.
Stay Warm with Awning Walls
Awning walls are another way we have found to stay warm while winter camping. The zippered walls on our Howling Moon awning come together to form an enclosed area where we can set up our propane fire pit and warm our area where we sit, hang out, cook and just generally get out of the weather while still experiencing the outdoors.
Experience the Outdoors without Freezing
If the nights are cold and the days are warm (as it usually is here in Arkansas), you are able to open up the windows, see outside and bring more of that outdoor love ambiance into your living space.
When that sun drops down, so do the temperatures. You can then close those windows, fire up that propane fire pit and provide yourself with a warm area in which to cook and eat dinner. It's a great, large usable space to enjoy the outdoors without annoying winter weather. There are few camping items we enjoy more than the walls around this awning.
Discover, Experience and Find the Right Camping Equipment
You have to get out there and figure out what you need to make you comfortable. If you are not comfortable, then you will not go. Nobody loves pain and suffering (well, normal people anyway), and therefore you must discover what you need to extend that camping season out to eight, ten, or even twelve months.
You do not have to fly south for the winter if you have the right equipment to make your experience a memorable one, and that memory does not have to have you recalling a night you almost froze to death. It comes down to getting experience and discovering what you'll need to add to your growing collection of gear!
Happy Camping!