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» Winter tips for Vehicle dwelling
Three nights ago, it was so cold that my hazelnut spread froze.
That finally motivated me to share some cold weather vehicle dwelling tips. :)
First, a general concept:
When living inside your vehicle, get away from hiking/"expedition" thinking.
Examples:
- We move very little, generate less heat, and sweat less.
Sweat is still a major issue, however nowhere near the same as when hiking.
- Many of us have no "base camp" or home base.
- We can carry more gear & consumables.
Keep those in mind, for the following tips...
Mylar:
- Beneath:
Wrap a mylar sheet/"blanket" around your mattress or sleeping pad, then wrap a regular fabric bedsheet (I prefer cotton) on top of the mylar.
The mylar will reflect your heat back to you.
The bedsheet will be more comfortable, and feel less weird/slippery, than sleeping directly on top of the mylar. :)
- Above:
When I slept in my car (pre-van), I used a regular fabric fitted bedsheet (i.e. the kind with elastic corners, meant for snapping onto a mattress),
which I would hook over the backs of the front seats and the corners of the back seats.
In all seasons, this would act as a privacy shield.
In winter, I placed a larger mylar sheet on top of the fabric bedsheet.
The mylar sheet reflected heat back to me, and the cotton bedsheet collected/absorbed condensation.
Effectively, this makes a mylar enhanced "tent".
Originally, I did not use a pad, then bought a blue closed cell pad (about $7 at Walmart), which was more comfortable and warmer.
Some dwellers prefer collapsible open cell pads (note: they are far more expensive).
In my van, I have rigged some paracord over my bed,
placed a (regular) flat bedsheet over the cord,
and a mylar sheet over the bedsheet.
- Lower end (i.e. cheaper) mylar sheets can be found in the camping section of most general stores (e.g. Walmart, Target), and cost about $2 there.
They can be bought in bulk packs for about $1 each at Amazon.
This grade of sheet is not as robust, however they work very well, and should last at least one season (rips can be patched with duct tape).
- Higher end mylar sheets include:
"Sportsman" blanket (a tarp with mylar embedded on the inner side),
AMK "Heatsheet" (a much sturdier & quieter mylar sheet, with one side colored orange).
Both can be found at Amazon, and sometimes at discount retailers (e.g. "Sierra Trading Post").
- In the morning, if your "tent" bedsheet is wet, lay it on your dash (or another convenient & sunny spot) during the day.
Use a face cloth to wipe any water from the "tent" mylar.
I've never had condensation issues with my bottom bedsheet.
- In late spring, I fold & roll up the mylar sheets, and store each in a
separate ziplock bag within a cheap daypack with some of my other cold weather gear.
They don't fold back as small as their original size.
I don't even try, and don't fret about it.
- *** Even if you never intend/plan to sleep in your vehicle in cold weather,
I strongly recommend that you carry two or more mylar sheets.
They're cheap, tiny (as originally folded at the factory), and can save your life. At the very least, they'll make you feel less miserable.
They're great "stocking stuffers" for Holiday gift giving. :)
Clothing:
- Wool rocks! In particular, socks, hat, scarf, mittens and gloves.
- Socks:
Wool socks are scratchy, particularly if worn for extended periods.
Merino wool is much less scratchy, however if worn continuously for days, can still be an issue.
Hiking socks are form fitting, which can be less comfortable when worn continuously.
The solution is simple: wear a loose, light, non-wool inner sock,
and an oversized wool sock over it.
The inner/liner socks are more comfortable, and absorb sweat.
During sunny days that are above freezing, around mid-day, I usually remove my oversized wool socks,
then put them back on at night.
This gives my feet and ankles a breather.
I only have one pair of oversized wool socks
(they're very thick, about 30 years old, and large/loose enough that I can wear a pair of Merino wool socks between them and my liner socks).
I change the inner/liner socks regularly, and usually go a whole season before washing my heavy oversize wool socks.
It's important to experiment and see what combination works best for you, particularly if your feet sweat a lot.
- Wear layers, and adjust them throughout the day.
I start & end each cold day with a wool hat & scarf, which I remove during any less cold part of the day. At first, it may (briefly) feel weird wearing such inside.
Thermal underwear is great. :)
Pajamas serve well as long underwear, and often are much cheaper than hiking type thermal gear.
- I use wristlets for typing,
cooking, and general inside-van tasks that require finger dexterity.
I have several pairs of wool gloves and mittens, distributed around my vehicle.
In a pocket of my jacket and coat, I keep a pair of cheap acrylic gloves (one dollar per pair at many dollar stores), just in case I forget to wear mittens/gloves outside.
I have a pair of lined rubberized overgloves for outside-the-vehicle tasks.
- Chemical hand/foot/body warmer packets are extremely effective,
and will dramatically improve your comfort.
The best easiest-to-find deal is
"HotHands Hand Warmer Value Pack (10 pairs)",
which should cost about $6 (e.g. at Walmart, Amazon).
Each packet contains two small warmers, one of which typically lasts half the day/night.
They have a good shelf life (no noticeable degradation after three years, about half strength after about six years).
Try them at different locations on your body, and shift them around as needed.
When typing/Coding, I tuck one into the palm of one wristlet, then swap it to the other hand as needed.
When sleeping, I move it around between my feet, knees, and elsewhere.
Hygiene & Health:
- Bathing in cold weather sucks.
It's not gonna happen!
Take advantage of bright sunny days, and do at least incremental cleaning at the warmest point of those days.
- Before bed time, if you have any sweat (e.g. armpits), use a face cloth (or similar) to wipe it off.
- Relieving oneself in cold weather is unavoidable, and it sucks the most. :(
I usually eat one moderate to big-ish meal mid-day then avoid drinking (to reduce peeing-at-night).
Every evening, even when it's very cold, I grit my teeth and urinate one final time before going to sleep. In general, temperatures fall until about dawn, so it's only going to be more painful to get out of bed later.
Females: use more toilet paper and wipe more thoroughly (any water against your skin is bad).
Experiment and find what works best for you.
- During prolonged cold spells, you may experience acid reflux due to prolonged time lying down (i.e. tucked into bed).
Antacid tablets are very effective and inexpensive.
They're high on my list of First Aid must haves (I'll be writing an article about FAKs, soon-ish).
Living:
- Check the weather forecast every day, and plan for each day & night's challenges.
- During the day, if it's cold but above freezing, I'll sit up with a light blanket wrapped around me,
and a heavier blanket layered tent like on top of me.
With wristlets and hand warmers, I can use my laptop down to about freezing (temperature inside the van, but outside of my coverings).
- Frankly, when it's below freezing (inside), it's too cold for me to do much in the way of Work.
I mostly stay in my bed/"tent", watch DVDs and/or read/listen to books on my Kindle.
- On a bright sunny day, even if it's a few degrees below freezing, the van warms up enough that I can be Human. :)
Those days are surprisingly frequent, and precious.
- Dealing with frozen water:
Store water in different size containers
(smaller ones generally both freeze faster and melt faster than larger containers),
place some small ones higher (warm air rises),
during the day, place bottles on your dash or another convenient & sunny place.
- Hot drinks (like cocoa) are a great morale boost, but are best drunk early (i.e. to reduce the need to urinate at night).
"Morale" food makes a huge difference, so stock up & indulge yourself. :)
- Increase your food and water reserves, in case you are trapped by snow.
- Moist food will freeze.
The Sun can be used to defrost it.
Place some ready-to-eat snacks in a bag adjacent to or within your "tent",
so you'll always have something easy to eat on very cold days.
- Roof Vent:
For years, I had been thinking about putting some sort of insulation into my van's roof vent hatch, just during winter.
A month ago, I finally got around to chopping off some of my blue closed cell camping pad, and have been using that.
So far, based on my min-max thermometer, it actually does help!
Not a huge amount, but definitely worth the effort.
I'm still collatin' data on that. :)
On a final cheerful note,
when I discovered my hazelnut spread had frozen,
I was making tortillas (from scratch).
It was a generic (Aldi) knockoff of Nutella, is much more watery, so after the initial shock, I realized it made sense that it had frozen.
I scraped off a bit, and laid it on top of the tortilla that was currently cooking, which melted it readily. :)
It was the first time I had tried that combo, and I enjoyed it. :)
© 2021 "Kaylee" c/o PitaFree.com
Last update: 2021-Nov-24