Living In A Travel Trailer In Winter

Travel trailers are hot in summer and bitter cold in winter. There isn’t much you can do about that, it’s the nature of the thing and something you’ve got to live with, if you decide to live in a tin box.

I do whatever I can to keep the temperature at a bearable level – even a gain of five or ten degree is a big deal when you wear thermal underwear to bed and.

The first thing I did was tape plastic over the windows and check the seal around the door. Next I replaced the light weight “summer curtains” with heavy weight acrylic fleece curtains (made from material bought at Wal-Mart) to further block drafts and keep the heat in and the cold out.

My trailer has two ceiling vents, one in the bedroom and another in the bathroom. These are great in summer to let the heat out, unfortunately during the winter months they let a lot of heat out and cold in.

I cut two pillows from a four-inch thick piece of foam bedding. These were cut slightly larger than the space for the vents so they could be pushed into place and held by friction.

From an old emergency blanket, I cut pieces large enough to cover the pillows on all sides then neatly folded and taped this over the pillows forming a reflective cover. They are easily removed if needed and should keep the heat in and cold out.

Travel trailer doors are poorly insulated and have single paned glass, as a result they aren’t very energy-efficient. I taped plastic over the windows. I hang a heavy wool blanket over the door during cold snaps.

I also lined the walls inside the closets, shelves and under my bed with reflective type insulation. This is the first time I’ve used this type of material, so I can’t guarantee the performance, the reviews I’ve read were positive. If you’ve used this material or have other ideas for winterizing a travel trailer, please leave feedback in the comments below.

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{ 3 comments }

Anonymous February 5, 2010 at 3:41 AM: I had a dog and the dog always slept between me and the cold wall,good dog
T L Smith July 25, 2010 at 6:00 AM: if you have 12 volt then you might look at a 12 volt dc mattress warmer I have one in the teardrop trailer. before going to bed turn it on for 40 minutes or so to warm the bed
Kevin Kordes August 3, 2010 at 11:24 PM: I used hot water bottles (rubber) to keep me warm at night. This was in So. California in the wintertime. It can get pretty miserable in So. CA in the winter. Drizzly rain that never seems to stop…chills you right to the bone!
The humidity is what gets you! Really.
I spent some time in the Sierras and was much more comfortable (dry-cold)
I’ve had bad experiences with electric blankets (made me sick!) I think it has something to do with upsetting your body’s natural elecrical currents.