Heater idea for recovery

[nk14zp]

Hopefully I'll be recovering my duece's soon. It's -17 out right now and the duece's don't have heater's. my two options are gen set in bed electric heat in cab or propane Mr heater in cab. the propane would be the easy one because the generator would be alot harder to get to and load because of te snow and where it is. So witch would be beter? And I hope it's warmer when I go get them.

 

[jmh4x4]

I would think the mr propane would work, just make sure its tied down good. as drafty as these trucks are, you wouldnt have to worry about CO poisioning.

 

[nk14zp]

I'm wondering about the condensation with h2o being a by product of the propane combustion and the cold cab. I want to be warm but not in a rain forest.

 

[cbvet]

In my opinion:
You need a minimum of 20,000 BTU's .
A typical 120 volt heater puts out 1500 watts, which is about 3400 BTUs. Can you run more than one? That would help. Also a lot safer than propane.

What BTU Mr Heater can you SAFELY run inside the cab without risk of fire?

I'd probably bundle-up well and use the electrics if necessary.

Eric
CBVET

 

[avengeusa]

crack the side windows and turn up the heater, propane

one of the guys here used a hair dryer somehow....

 

[Armada]

I've used a propane heater a number of times during truck recoveries. I've got a couple different types but the small one that screws onto the top of a 1lb can works good. The burner faces upward, and you could even heat your lunch on it if you wanted. I use it for heating ice shantys and deer blinds and it will cook you out of them. It will make enough heat to take a chill out of a drafty deuce cab as it goes down the road. The heater came with a base for the propane cylinder, so I put that on and duct tape it to the pass side floor or have the passenger hold it. You could even flip the back of the pass seat down and attach it to that, but it works better if the heat is lower. Sorry, no pics. Also, if you pick up your trucks on a sunny day, even if it's incredibly cold out, you will get some warmth in the cab from the sun. Not alot, but it is a noticable difference.

 

[nk14zp]

560 miles one way.I'm gona need more than warm clothes and sunshine!

 

[vtach]

The electric would be safer, but typically will not put out the kind of heat you need if it is below 15 degrees. This will especially true if you are picking up a soft top. I have used a MR heater and secured it down with a good deal of warmth. However, if you let it get too warm, and due to the lack of blowing/circulating fresh air, it can get pretty wet. Bring several towls to wipe the windows. You may even want to buy some Rainx anti-fog wipes for the inside of the glass.
If you have a set of Mickey boots, those will keep your feet warm to -20, and the do work.
Good luck.

 

[nk14zp]

All ready have the antifog wipes.Got to look around I think I might have a 24v fan the type that mounts near the wind shield or on the dash of equipment.

 

[cbvet]

Geez!
If it's only 560 miles, wear an extra sweatshirt & just bring two bottles of Schnapps.
Eric
CBVET

 

[rosco]

The condensation is a serious issue. Keeping something warm, when its standing still, is one thing, but when its moving, it takes a lot more heat. A rather large, catalytic propane heater, might do it, but I would have it on a 20# bottle, in the back, & the heater well secured in the front, so if you stop fast, (etc.), you don't get tangled up with it. You will need enough heat, so you can run with the windows down/cracked, to get rid of the condensation. If its really cold, it will freeze to the inside of the windows, and you will need an ice scraper. The defroster fan will help.

Lee in Alaska

 

[nk14zp]

Yea the heater I have has a hose on it and i will secure the tank in the bed.If thats the route
I take.

 

[kc5mzd]

If you are going to be driving your truck in cold weather I would strongly recommend getting a heater that uses engine coolant. I would look for one that can be permanently mounted in your cab after you get it home. If you figure out where the hoses go before you leave you should be able to hook it up in less than a couple of hours when you pick up your truck.

 

[nk14zp]

Well a coolant operated heater is not in the budget right now.Since I bought two trucks instead of one.Robert do you get om 20m much?

 

[kc5mzd]

I have a Kenwood TS 2000 but no HF antenna. By the question I am guessing you are a radio operator. Not to get off subject but I just picked up a couple of HF Radio Fax / RTTY receiver - printers from GL. They turned out to be in very good physical condition. I hooked them up when I got home and they didn’t deem to work to well. I left them on tuned to New Orleans freqs and in the morning the static went away and they started printing all kinds of weather maps. I was the only bidder.

 

[pilot]

When I was delivering a non heated Beech 18 seaplane from Juneau AK to Campbell River BC I series wired two 12 volt auto defrosters for the windshield (24 volt aircraft) and used a catalytic camping heater on the floor to warm my hands.

Greg

 

[mangus580]

I have one of these... and one of these days I will be smart enough to take it in the deuce with me!!

I would consider it reasonably safe for in cab use, and should get the edge off for you. I have driven my deuce in pretty cold temps... my biggest problem is defrosting the windshield....

For that you might pick up a 12v clip on fan from some place and come up with a way of powering it?

 

[11Echo]

Various items can be powered from the 12v DC oulet in most portable power packs. They are for more than just a jump start.

 

[kc5mzd]

For that you might pick up a 12v clip on fan from some place and come up with a way of powering it?

If you use 2 of the same kind of fans you can hook them up in series and power them with 24v.
That reminds me all the trucks I have picked up from GL have had bad batteries except one. The GL trucks I bought that said, "Runs" all had bad batteries. The one that said "Jumpstarts" had good batteries. Make sure you have a way of re-starting the trucks if they stall or you need to turn them off.

 

[rockman]

Use a propane and a big magnet to hold it on the floor. I did this way for one winter and it worked well.