Auxiliary Heater Ideas (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

This is an intriguing idea. I can picture in my head a series of T's and valves to allow retention of the rear heat as installed as well as functioning independently. You would have to put a valve on the intake and return lines into the heater and place T's on both sides of the valves. The ones in front of the valves(engine side) would need to be connected with a valve in the middle. Close the two valves and open the valve b/w the T's and you've isolated the rear heater. Hook up extensions to the Ts on the heater side and run them to wherever you want your "quick connects" to be. Open your in-line valves and close the valve between the engine side T's and you have a normally functioning rear heater. As for the heat exchanger, I have no idea. Also how you would access all the valves without crawling under the truck I don't know. I'm sure you could route them under hood one way or another. Just some more ideas to further complicate things :D

Ary
 
Just thought of a briliant way to control all that I just described! Solenoid valves! They're valves that work off of a switch. Brilliant! (from that commercial with the two cats, you have to have seen it :D ) This is all assuming that you care to retain the stock functions of the rear heater, but for those of us that may, I think it is a very feasible possibility.

Ary
 
Last edited:
I havn't folowed this thread to closely but if you're sleeping in your cruiser and its cold bring a scraper to scrape the insdie the next morning. Many years ago my wife and I were sleeping in the 60 in the parking lot of a ski area and I'm a light sleeper....at about 4:30AM I hear a noise, quietly sit up and can barely make out a person with a flashlight looking the truck over....there was a layer of frost over the entire inside and you couldn't in or out....As the guy walked around the truck and came to a rear door I rolled down the window.....his face was about 3" away and he jumped about 15 feet. I startled the heck out of him....
 
I have a couple of warm sleeping bags and have spent many cold nights in the cruiser in this warm bag. Coldest was around -15 F. It is not my own wimpy ass I am worried about as much as the effects of the condensation throughout the vehicle. As anyone who has slept out in the cold weather knows there is a certain dew point where condensation from breathing, (especially while a warm sleeping bag with cold surrounding air) fills the air, covers the windows, and freezes. Then as stayalert mentioned you have to scrape the inside of the windows. This is a pain in the ass not to mention probably detrimental to the long-term condition of the interior of the truck. Constant moisture and freezing/thawing cycles. I've slept with the windows wide open and this helps but is not really compatible with strong snow and wind. I will try the stupid rain guard things as they may help a bit but I am still wanting a better solution. When the truck is running with the heater on (A/C or not), the condensation is kept to a minimum. What I am trying to do is limit or eliminate altogether the condensation when sleeping in the truck in cold temps. I've tryed a chemical dryer in a can that captures moisture but these work over several days and are not quick enough. The small electric box heaters are nice but draw ~1200 watts and drain batteries quickly, and the catalytic heaters are supposedly safe in enclosed spaces but I'm skepticle. I will try one in my house though as I'm too cheap to turn the heat on (made it to February last year). I am planning to have a CO detector thanks to photoman's suggestion for times the truck is running but I would like to make the rear heater operate with low power consumption and the engine off also. I slept in a van in New Zealand for six weeks in the winter and their was a propane heat exchanger heater that worked really well, built into the side of the van. You had to go outside to light it and then it was toasty and condensation free all night. This could be another option but I thought that converting the existing rear heater that I do not use anyway would be the slickest option. Now just figuring out the details.

Arya, these solenoid valves are intriguing. Do you have anymore infor or possibly a source?

Another thought was to use the auxiliary heater in last months Off-Road adventures rigged up with a heat exchanger but that is basically what the rear heater is and it is already mounted and plumbed into the truck. Too bad fuel-cell technology is still pretty expensive. Until I figure this out I have some cold damp nights ahead.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

Snow
 
Just got off the phone with Webasto. Their blue-heat heater sounds like the ticket although a bit spendy at $1500. Apparently it is mounted under the hood and taps the gasoline and coolant lines and runs independently of the engine. It is on a timer or switched on remotely and heats the inside of the vehicle through the existing heater core while at the same time providing a warm engine thus eliminating the need for a block heater and the stresses of starting an engine during those cold spells. The heater uses about an ounze of gasoline every hour and keeps the cabin warm and the windows ice-free. They do not currently have an application for Toyota Landcruisers but said that they could develop one. Aside from this, the main heating unit is pretty much the same and the mounting and plumbing is what differs from vehicle to vehicle so one could use an existing application. Unfortunately the heaters must be installed at an autohrized shop and there is only one in Pennsylvania...and several hours from me. If anyone is near a place that installs these, please have a look and report back here on the construction/build quality of the units. I know they are a bit pricey at $1500 installed but can any truly equiped winter expedition vehicle be without?

Christo, this may be an item you want to install...just a thought.

Snow

And please keep the other ideas rolling!
 
Last edited:
Snow, solenoid valves are basically regular valves that are operated via a solenoid mounted to the housing instead of a knob or handle. I don't have any source in particular, but I'm sure if you look around www.grainger.com you could find one to fit your needs. You also might try talking to your local plumbing supply house to see what they can do for you. You should also be able to get them in 12VDC. I have a friend that works in a plumbing supply house, I'll get in touch with him and see if he knows of anything. Does anyone know the size of those heater hoses off-hand? I'd go look, but it's raining right now.

Ary
 
Not sure yet but I should have pricing sometime tomorrow. I also sent an email to the engineering department regarding the development of a "gas" powered Airtronic unit to compliment their deisel version.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that they are going to be very costly. Maybe in the range of $600-$800 per kit. One of those luxuries that you really have to weigh. Kinda like an ARB fridge, pricey as all get out but worth every penny.
 
There are some 12 volt heaters available. I have not tryed any of these but I am sure that they draw a ton of power. The 110 variety draws 600-1500 watts! Another option is a 12 volt electric blanket. These will help preheat a sleeping bag but not do much for the dewpoint and condensation/build up of ice on the windows.
 
I just heard back form a n Espar dealer in Buffalo. There are two opitons to heat both the engine coolant and the interior of the truck. One is gasoline powered and the unit would mount somewhere on the outside or underside/underhood area of the vehicle. It has its own pump and is plumbed into the coolant lines. It is also connected to a new line that would be run to the gas tank for a fuel supply for its internal heat exchanger. A control unit is then mounted inside the truck and has a digital timer/remote from which you control the ignition of the heat exchanger and the on/off of your heater fan.

The second option is the same as above except that it runs og Kerosene/Diesel/#1 Fuel oil and gets around adding a second line to the gas tank. You simply add a sepearate aux tank for your fuel of choice. This option has the benefit of being slightly safer as diesel has a much higher flashpoint.

Unfortunately the prices are extremely high. ~$1350 for either unit to do a self install. An additional $180 for a 2 gallon Espar flat diesel tank 3 inches thick or some other tank is required for the diesel option. Too rich for me but it does provide ideas. As used unit that could be plumbed in without the timer and remote may be cheaper. I am told that many, many cars in Europe have such heaters to avoid long idling times, save engine wear and fuel consumption with their high prices.

BMAN Have you heard anything back yet?

Snow
 
Yeah, I figure any type of electical type heater will draw alot of juice, but if it's good enough, you prolly wouldn't even have to have it on for too long just to warm the rear cab area. Then you could just turn it off, and let the regular heating system take over to maintain the heat, say, about the time you're ready to go drive.
Also fellas, FYI, FJ 55's have a rear, coolant employed type heater. If you could find one, you could prolly hook it up in a similar fashion.
 
Snow,
I got crazy busyat work last week and didn't get a chance to talk to my local espar rep. I did however doa a little "e-pay" research and found that the recent Espar Airtronic and Hydronic units were upwards of $800 to $900. Although a little more expensive that what I was hoping for, they are still a viable option.
What are the longterm effects and costs of repairing damage caused by repetative interior frosting cycles? Here in Arizona the occurences are few and far between and therefore the "up-keep" costs are low. But in northern and eastern states I could imagine that the cost of an Espar unit could be offset solely by the repair costs due to cycling damge. This doesn't bring into account the convienience and added comfort of having one of these units.
Example: An ARB or similar fridege/freezer. Although the upfront cost of one of these units is great, the cost of purchasing ice all but goes away. I know that on an annual 2 night and 3 day trip that I take in Sept of each year, I personally use at least 8 to ten bags of ice. At $1.49 per bag, it's a $15 cost. Now, if I made say, 5 similar trips per year for 10 years, the cost of a fridge/freezer is justified. This again does not take into account, additional uses and benefits. How nice would it be to carry a cold beverage in your rig at all times. Tailgating at a game changes completely. Long trips (5 days or longer), no longer require a trip out to get ice half way through the week.

If I were considering any type of expedition-type camping, and were buidling a rig to suite those needs, both of these rather expensive but quite useful upgrades would be on my list.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom