Need cab heat for drive home

[Rgdl]

Are you flying in or how are you getting here? There is a Cabela's in Owatonna and the last I knew the Mr. Heaters where on sale. They have the hose and filters if you wanted to go with a 20 lbs tank. The heaters are also at Fleet Farm and at Lowes. I have a small Mr. Heater that I use in the back of my M109. It takes a while to heat up that big box, but it sould do just fine in the cab of the 818. You might be able to strap a 20 lb tank some where behind the cab and run the hose under the back of the soft top. Let me know when you come to town and if you need any help.

Thanks for the offer to help.

I will be hitching a ride down with a friend who frequently travels to Minneapolis. I'll still check out Cabela's though if I have time - those stores are awesome and we don't have them here.

Do you know Andy @ Army6x6 in Owatonna? He's been great to deal with so far, but it sounds like he's over-run with work right now. When I get down there I will need to dismount the stock wheels and tires and mount the new 16.00 x 20 & Hemtt rims before I drive away. Do you know if there's a tire shop in or near Owatonna that can handle this job?

 

[littlebob]

When I got my m818 I had to drive it 250 miles in January w/ no heater.

I dressed warm, and I used a propane heater. Helped alot, my right side was warm (strapped to the passenger seat, and my left side was ok.

You will need alot of propane. I think I went through 4 bottles on my trip.

Do yourself a favor and get a CO detector to toss in the cab w/ you.

I agree with the CO detector for sure. These all have many leaks around the seals and holes in the cab that should keep it ventailated well enough, but I wouldn't want to doze off From CO.
I'm planning on getting a Mr heater to use for mine and the daughter could use it
on her VW Bus during the week in the winter.
When i do, I'll try and find a detector i can use with velcro and swap back and forth between the vehicles.

 

[wldrbob]

well propane gives of moisture. my frend left the propane torch( not heater) burning in his van while we were in playing hockey . crazy kids it was 43 below . we spent almost an hr chiping and scraping 1/2 in of ice that was on everything and i mean everything . that van didnt dry out till summer .

 

[OPCOM]

I got hold of an old add-on heater and plumbed it into the engine. It took the better part of a day but if that's an option the details of where the heater hoses go, the fittings needed, etc, are in the Chester, IL road trip thread. Note it was 12V, and so I used a 12V converter.
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/milita...oad-trip-dfw-chester-il-dec-26-jan-9-a-3.html

If you have no co-driver, the propane would be a good way to go. The generator set idea sounds good until you considert the power deverable to the heater unit. Even a 5KW genset will barely make enough electricity to heat the cab in that weather. If you can imagine 5 1000W heaters strapped in place.. Just go propane and while you are at wally world, buy a couple of the foam-type fire extinguishers. Seriously, if something goes afoul with the heater while you are driving it could be many seconds before you could attend to it.

 

[SGTStewart]

Thanks for the offer to help.

I will be hitching a ride down with a friend who frequently travels to Minneapolis. I'll still check out Cabela's though if I have time - those stores are awesome and we don't have them here.

Do you know Andy @ Army6x6 in Owatonna? He's been great to deal with so far, but it sounds like he's over-run with work right now. When I get down there I will need to dismount the stock wheels and tires and mount the new 16.00 x 20 & Hemtt rims before I drive away. Do you know if there's a tire shop in or near Owatonna that can handle this job?

I was just down to Andy's shop tonight. He is sure busy right now. There is a couple of places in town that could do the tires for you. I will send you a pm in the morning with some names and phone numbers of tire shops.

 

[fireball]

Frozen fog right now in Fargo-visibility of 500 ft hopefully gone tommorrow but they are predicting major snowstorm for the weekend

 

[Bunkerbuilder]

Providing you have a excellent electrical system with no issues I would run a few IR spotlights in the cab pointed at you, connected to a switch so you can shut them off if it gets too hot for ya.

That or a heater that has a (12VDC or 24VDC being a m series truck) electrical coil for heat and a electric fan to circulate the hot air.

I've seen these things on truck, jeep boards.

My grandfather had one back in the mid 1960's in a old TLC he owned.

 

[Sgt Hulka]

Well, from a safety point of view, I recommend you rig an inverter (probably a converter and inverter) and run a small electric ceramic heater. IMHO, propane in the cab and combustion in the cab are just not the best ideas... The good news is the inverter will come in handy in the future.

 

[Stan Leschert]

Listen to Hulka this is the safest route. Hang on, You're CDN. You got a snowmobile suit? Batt powered?

 

[jimbo*]

I bought an old M51 which had been converted for sand duty on an airport, which had been fitted with an electric heater mounted over the glove box. I assure you, it will run you out of the cab. I will get pics later today.

 

[Rgdl]

Frozen fog right now in Fargo-visibility of 500 ft hopefully gone tommorrow but they are predicting major snowstorm for the weekend

It will be at least a couple weeks I'm sure until all the paperwork is finalized, so it looks like I will dodge that bullet. Would have made for a fun trip though - after-all that's what these trucks were made for.

Do you guys have much snow on the ground in Fargo right now? There's very little here so far this winter. Not enough to make snowmobiling enjoyable.

 

[Rgdl]

well propane gives of moisture. my frend left the propane torch( not heater) burning in his van while we were in playing hockey . crazy kids it was 43 below . we spent almost an hr chiping and scraping 1/2 in of ice that was on everything and i mean everything . that van didnt dry out till summer .

This is an interesting point.^^^ Propane is a "wet" heat.

I've been thinking of borrowing a friend's gas generator and strapping it down behind the cab. I have one of those box-type electric room heaters with a fan and I can sit that in the cab, and run a cord out to the generator.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Rgdl]

Listen to Hulka this is the safest route. Hang on, You're CDN. You got a snowmobile suit? Batt powered?

What's funny is I can ride 30-70mph all day long on a snowmobile at -30 degrees, barely protected from the wind by a too-low windshield. Yet if there's no heat in an enclosed vehicle I become a baby.

 

[motorpoolmedic]

Rgdl

This guy traded me some tires for a winch. Then backs out after making the deal. Tried to get a better deal elsewhere since he needs other parts.

BEWARE!
BEWARE!
BEWARE!

 

[Rgdl]

This guy traded me some tires for a winch. Then backs out after making the deal. Tried to get a better deal elsewhere since he needs other parts.

BEWARE!
BEWARE!
BEWARE!

^^^^^^^

 

[Snarky]

Mr. Heater is the way to go, it produces almost no CO, just CO2 and it shuts off in low oxygen situations, you can also strap it down anywhere... It's an indoor and tent safe heater. My suggestion would be to get a 20 pound propane tank and tie it some place outside the cab, and run accessory hose to the Mr. Heater. The Mr. Heater is safe, the tanks are not. Or you can just bulk buy a bunch of 1# tanks, but you'll be changing those out 20 times as often.

 

[Monty]

I drove mine home and it was 21 degrees, I was in a one piece insulated Carhart and a hat/gloves. I drove a good portion with the drivers window down and really wasn't cold ( It might have been the excitment of driving it home).

I would recommend some asprin for your back, bobtailing one of these down the freeway can be quite a pain in the you know what.
I drove mine 30miles down some country roads when I brought it home and with all the frost heaves in the roads the truck was bouncing all over. Even with a spring seat it was quite the ride.

The 16x20's should give you a better ride and more freeway speed, I may opt to swap 14x20's onto mine in the future so I can still hook it for trailers.

Good luck If I was closer I'd say you could bring it over here and swap them out.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[dskchevy]

We used a school bus heater........ The one in the way back off the bus ......
Its just a heater core with a fan in a box. or try the back of a Suburban some had same idea (not as big) on the right rear floor...........They work good........