10 Secrets to Keeping Your RV Warm in Cold Weather

We had a brutal initiation to cold, wintery weather during our very first RV trip.  But before I tell you how we ran through 1/3 of a tank of propane in a single day (and how you can avoid that same fate), let me back up a few steps and set the stage…

Buying an RV in the off-season

After months and months of research, we finally found our RV in early 2018. There was only one catch…it was 1,100 miles away in Maryland.

After closing the deal, we flew out to the East Coast to pick up our new RV and drive it back home. At first, fate seemed to be smiling upon us. It was an unseasonably warm day when we arrived at the RV dealership. The sun was out, and it even creeped into the 60s that early spring afternoon. All in all, life was pretty good when we pulled into our RV’s first campground.

Unfortunately, a mere 18 hours later, a Nor’easter hit Maryland. We’d barely made it 70 miles up the road on our journey home; and now we weren’t going anywhere soon. It was crazy! We got 14 inches of snow over the next two days. And with that, we also learned some valuable lessons on how to keep our RV warm.

How does the RV’s heat work?

As complete newbies to RVing, we didn’t REALLY understand how our heaters worked during that first trip.  But, we quickly learned many of the basics of RV heating systems before we made it home.

Before I dive into the tricks to keeping your rig warm, it’s worth reviewing the items already in your RV to control the temperature. There are basically two types of interior heating systems in most RVs: (1) electric heat pumps and (2) propane furnaces.

Electric Heat Pumps

The electric heat pump is part of the heating and AC system mounted on your RV’s roof. If you look at the photo above, you can see we have two roof units on our RV.

Because they are electric, these heat pump systems usually run off shore power (but they can also be powered by a generator too). Thus, using heat pumps can be a terrific, inexpensive way to keep your RV warm when you are staying in campgrounds where the electricity is included with your campsite’s cost.

If you have multiple roof units on your RV’s roof like us, they control the temperature in different ‘zones’ of your RV.  Longer RVs tend to have one zone in the front of the RV, and second zone in the rear of the RV. You can set your thermostat to turn on each zone separately. Or you can choose to run them at the same time to warm up the RV more quickly.

Running a single heat pump can be done on 30 amp hook-ups without any issues. But you’ll definitely want to book a campsite with 50 amps if you plan on running multiple roof units.

Heat pumps are an economical way to warm your RV, but there’s some downsides too. The most notable drawback is that they don’t tend to work when the outside temperature falls below 40 degrees. As you get into fall or winter, this can be a huge dealbreaker! After all, that’s when you need heat the most.

So, with the baseline knowledge on heat pumps, let’s switch gears to your other heating system.

Propane Furnaces

Nearly all RVs have a built-in propane furnace. As the name implies, the furnace uses propane gas from the same source as your RV’s stove, water heater, and oven.

A furnace can be used by itself to heat your RV, or you can use your it in tandem with your electric heat pump. For example, we have settings on our RV’s thermostat for (1) electric heat only; (2) gas heat only; and (3) a combination of both systems. This combo setting allows the heat pumps to run first, then the propane furnace kicks in to supplement them, as needed.

One of the benefits of using a propane furnace is that you don’t need to be hooked up to shore power to warm up your RV. You can use it while boondocking or virtually anywhere. Furnaces also tend to warm the RV up more quickly than electric heat. And most importantly, they continue to work as the outside temperature drops below 40 degrees.

Some upscale RVs models even have vents from their furnace to the basement compartments where their water systems are located. This helps keep those mechanical systems from freezing up.

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to propane furnaces too. The biggest downside is that your furnace can suck through propane very, very quickly. And refilling your propane tank can be a costly proposition.

During our initial trip bringing the RV home from Maryland, we discovered a single night running the furnace in freezing conditions can burn through a 1/3 of a tank of propane! Yikes!! It take us months of using the stove and water heater to use an equivalent amount of gas.

Easy and cost-efficient ways to keep your RV warm

Ok, now you know your heat pump won’t heat your RV when it’s below 40 degrees outside. And I’ve shared that the furnace burns through lots of propane when it’s cold out. So, the big question before us is how to keep your RV warm without breaking the bank.

Invest in a space heater

If you’re RVing in weather that consistently drops below 40 degrees at night, chances are you’re probably hooked up to shore power. The absolute best way to warm up your RV space quickly in those conditions is with a space heater.  There are numerous space heaters out there that will do the job, but some of the factors we considered when purchasing our space heater were:

• The amount of noise the heater makes
• Whether it stays in a static position or has an oscillating feature
• How much we can adjust the temperature
• What the heater weighs
• The amount of space it takes up in the RV
• How many amps of electricity it uses

After a bit of trial and error, we finally settled on the Lasko AW315 Bladeless Ceramic Heater and we’re extremely happy with it.

Add an electric (or traditional) blanket

An electric blanket or electric mattress pad can keep you toasty warm if your heating issues are mostly limited to overnight stretches. This option won’t warm the entire RV, but it may allow you to turn the thermostat down much further for those 8-10 hours when you aren’t up and moving about.

Of course, the downside to this bed option is that it doesn’t work very well if you share your bed with some who sleeps considerably warmer or cooler than you (for example, Keith and me).

If you share our dilemma, I recommend you consider switching to twin-size bedding in the winter like we did. We still use a queen size fitted sheet, but then we add two separate twin duvets on our bed. I sleep under a heavier duvet, while Keith sleeps under a lighter one. This solution allows each one of us to warm up separately, sleeping like many Nordic countries do.

Add throw rugs to bare floors

Consider adding some small area rugs to the floor during the colder season to keep it feeling warmer indoors.  Rugs will add an extra layer of insulation to the floor, and are a warmer surface on your feet. It’s a good idea to buy rugs with some grip or add a rug pad underneath them. This precaution will keep your rugs from sliding across the RV’s floor and creating a slippery hazard.

Use socks/slippers

My feet are the first part of my body that feels cold, so I’m a huge fan of thick socks once the weather turns chilly. Once my feet are warm, the rest of my body seems to follow suit. Slippers are equally good for this purpose too.

Choose Warm Meals and Drinks

There’s a reason we associate hot chocolate and hearty soups with winter. They naturally keep our bodies warm when the temperatures dip. Other healthy foods that increase your body heat include: spicy foods, homemade chili, oatmeal, baked apples, sweet potatoes, and coffee or tea.

While I’m on the topic of food, baking in your RV’s oven is an additional way to warm your living area. Yes, it uses propane, but like all good RV hacks, it serves dual-purposes. You can use the propane to bake a lasagna or some garlic bread.  And then, once the food is done, turn the heat off, crack the oven door open, and let the remaining heat slowly escape to warm your RV up.

Minimizing Heat Loss from your RV

After focusing on how to warm the interior of your RV, you can turn your focus to ways to ensure that precious heat stays trapped inside your rig.

Get a skirt for your RV

If you’re planning to stay in a colder climate for an extended period of time, it’s worth looking into a skirt for your RV. These skirts attach to the bottom edge of your RV and drape down to the ground so air can no longer blow underneath it.

Adding a skirt allows the underside of your RV to remain at a consistently warmer temperature, and decreases the amount you’ll need to heat the interior. If you’re interested in the different kinds of RV skirts, HERE’s a good place to start.

Increase insulation on windows

Manufacturers often design large windows on RVs to let additional daylight and the beauty of the outdoors in. Unfortunately, glass is a poor insulating material. We’ve noticed that the front of our RV is considerably cooler than the back due to the large class A windshield and windows in the driver’s compartment.

One way to increase the insulation is to pull the shades and/or blinds down or invest in windshield covers like the one in this photo. And if you find yourself in extended periods in cold weather, you can also make removable or semi-permanent insulation barriers. Try using reflectix (a reflective silver material used for car sun shades), bubble wrap, or styrofoam.

For other creative DIY ways to insulate your windows, check out THIS POST by Ashley Mann at RV Inspiration.

Insulate vent hatches

One for the easier ways to eliminate heat loss is by insulating the inside of the overhead vent hatches and skylights throughout your RV. There’s RV vent insulators selling on Amazon for less than $20, and they fit most standard 14″ overhead vents.

Or, if you’re on a tight budget, a piece of thick foam board can be quickly cut to size and pushed up into those square cavities. This will ensure you have a nice barrier that traps the warm air inside your RV.

Plug any holes/gaps

There’s nothing worse than feeling a draft in the winter. Unfortunately, draft sources can be hard to locate in your RV. Common areas that develop drafts are:

• Around your RVs slides or other movable exterior elements
• The rubber seals around your window and doors
• Vents on the dashboard (if you’re in a Class A or Class C)
• Any holes you may have added to the RV’s body or roof to run cables to your electronic gear

Final Thoughts

This approach helped us extend our RV adventures to more places when the temperatures dropped. As a result, we’ve comfortably stayed in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains long after other RVers moved south to warmer climates.

Even if you don’t plan to RV in colder weather, these suggestions could help you become better prepared to ride out the random Nor’easter or Polar Vortex that unexpectedly hits your campground this winter.

Bonus Tip

For the hardcore RVers out there interested in camping in snow/extreme winter conditions, this article only scrapes the tip of the iceberg on what you may need to do to live in your RV comfortably. For other super helpful winter RVing tips, I recommend you check out THIS VIDEO by Marc Leach from Keep Your Daydream.

Stay Warm!