By Nanci Dixon
Brrr! It is cold riding in a motorhome in the winter! Granted, we left Minnesota in a snowstorm, so we knew it would be cold, but it is amazing how quickly heat dissipates when it is below freezing outside and the only heat is coming out of the dash. The cold was rushing in from the back and we needed a barrier!
I had already installed command hooks on the very edge of the slide near the driver’s and passenger’s seat for hanging hats and coats when parked with the slides extended, but as I was sitting there shivering, I got a whole new use for them!
With the slides in it was easy to quickly hang a fitted double sheet from the hooks, creating a barrier between the front of the motorhome and the back. It immediately warmed up! It’s not pretty, but hey, it works! In fact, it warmed up so much that we turned the dash heat down!
The next step would have been to turn on the generator and plug in an electric heater…
##RVT971
Have a DP with privacy door to back bedroom area. We close the door and turn on the front heat pump to whatever mode applies. Works for us.
While driving in extreme temperatures where the heat or ac is needed, we always run the generator and use the house ac or heat pumps. The generator is supposed to be exercised monthly anyway so that kills 2 birds. Plus the engine no longer has to take power to make ac and possibly overheat.
For those of us with a fiver or a travel trailer, simply install a curtain rod above the front door and place an insulated curtain on it. Leave a little hanging on the floor because there is a lot off heat lost on the front door! All you need to do during the day is slide it open, fold it together and clip it open. I leave mine up summer and winter because I face the morning sun.
We did something similar, but with an adjustable shower curtain rod. And we used two clear shower curtains. The doggies liked it because they could see through the “barrier.”
We do the same trick for AC in summer.
We too use curtains to keep cool and heat in the living area. We installed a Curtain track on the ceiling right behind the diver / passenger seats. Purchased the track and hooks at Camping World (online). We also installed curtains over the window blinds and the entrance door (yes the entrance door) using tension rods. Camping World sells a cover for the roof vents and shower dome. Maureen made all the curtains. Can’t tell you how much difference it made in the triple digit areas this past summer. I am sure that we will benefit from this in the cold weather
We do this same thing to keep AC up front in the summer. Works great in both seasons. We also stretch a blanket between the cockpit seats to keep heat in the “living room”. Entry stairwell is not insulated and lets in lots of cold.
Just finished my annual application of bubble wrap to all the windows. Cut to fit; spray glass w/water; apply wrap, support bad areas with a little tape. Works wonders on the windshield that is not double glazed glass.
If I’m parked overnight and too lazy to put the windshield shades, I throw a blanket down from the overhead bunk. It’s large enough to just about hit the floor. I will do that for the winter while driving now!
When we purchased our older (2002) Newmar we noticed that there were heavy duty curtain rod holders behind and above the driver’s and passenger’s seat. Driving from “up north” to the south a couple of winters ago we realized that keeping the front warm in winter was exactly what they were used for. We now hang a curtain behind us and stay toasty while driving in cold weather. The reverse works, too. It keeps the cold air up front in summer driving.
In our MH we put up a spring loaded shower curtain rod and strung a twin size sheet on it(shortened), We close this for numerous reasons: keep heat in the cockpit when driving, keep heat in the main living area when parked(why heat the cockpit), when parked facing the sun and using AC, keeps the AC in the living area.
We did this, but for the heat outside and to keep the AC cooling us in Texas. We have a power bunk over the cab, so we inserted a dowel rod through the pocket-edge of two flat sheets to make a pair of curtains behind the {bleeped} pit. The pair makes it easy to come and go. We just tucked the dowel under the bunk’s mattress. When we arrive, we just toss the curtains up onto the mattress out of the way. Great to know it will work just as well in the cold as it does in the heat.
Thanks for the tip! I have been thinking about doing kind of the opposite for when we are parked up andit gets down to 30’s and 40’s — hanging something to reduce all the cold radiating from the cab area glass. Our rig has MCD shades, but I am debating adding thermal curtains. DH says we should just drive south, lol.
My wife and I have a set of thermal drapes that we hang from the overhead cabinets over our motorhome’s dash… they go around each end and also cover the cockpit windows… this creates a thermal break between the blind that comes down over the windshield and the drape… when the temperatures hit the freezing mark, you really notice the difference it makes in just how warm the living room is… when you stick your hand through the drape you can feel the cold air being trapped between the drape and windshield blind… I installed simple 90 degree hooks to hang the drapes and it only takes a minute to put them up and take them down… the drapes match our custom made cockpit window curtains so the interior looks great even in the cold…
I purchased a tension rod and an inexpensive set of drapes, that matched our color scheme, from Wal Mart. I put it up just behind our seats on the top of the slide out trim in our Itasca Ellipse. Works great to keep the cool air or warm air up front.
Love the idea of a curtain! It would look so much better. Thanks.
We followed the same idea… A tension rod with a curtain between the slide walls. But the slide walls are not directly across from each other and on some rougher highways the rod would slip and fall. I like the command hook idea and we’ll try that! Thanks!
Coincidently, my wife ordered a tension rod and drapes last night on Amazon. Same concept Debra. Friends have done it this way for years.
We have a class C with an overhead bunk. Years ago we took a 6′ piece of 1″ pvc pipe and duct taped a sheet of 6 mil plastic to it. The tube tucks neatly to the bunk mattress and easily unrolls to block the cab from the camper.
Great tip!!!
Good idea with the Command clips. My last RV I installed a curtain rod for showers, and a nice 2 pc. shower Curtain (designer model) that slides open in the middle. Works for both heat, and cold!