Has anyone ever put a small woodburning stove in a fifth wheel?
I live in an mid 90's Avion 5er. It stays plenty warm with propane (had it down to 10 degrees so far) but it uses a lot of it. I live in it full time, it will probably NEVER be towed again. It's permanently installed on a lot in a remote area of Arizona's high country. We get lots of snow and unpleasantly cold weather. (We had 30 mph winds and it never got above 35 degrees today.)
Wood is basically free. I can get all the juniper, oak, or manzanita I need to burn. We use wood to heat the main cabin on the property and I'm pretty familiar with wood stoves and love them. (I'm disabled -- I have Ehlers Danlos with pretty much every complication that comes with it -- and I live with my folks.)
I have a space about 4X8 I could devote to a stove and hearth.
Would it be totally crazy to put a small wood stove in the trailer? Yes, I know trailers are fire traps -- could it be installed in a truly safe manner, since the trailer's never going to be towed as long as we own it? A small stove (including hearth and chimney) would pay for itself in a couple of months given we can get the fuel for free.
Also, would I need to add supplemental heat to the compartments where the black and greywater tanks are? I'm thinking one of those little doghouse heaters would work, if that's the case. I think the furnace also heats the compartments under the trailer, as they're always nice and warm when I open them.
I live in an mid 90's Avion 5er. It stays plenty warm with propane (had it down to 10 degrees so far) but it uses a lot of it. I live in it full time, it will probably NEVER be towed again. It's permanently installed on a lot in a remote area of Arizona's high country. We get lots of snow and unpleasantly cold weather. (We had 30 mph winds and it never got above 35 degrees today.)
Wood is basically free. I can get all the juniper, oak, or manzanita I need to burn. We use wood to heat the main cabin on the property and I'm pretty familiar with wood stoves and love them. (I'm disabled -- I have Ehlers Danlos with pretty much every complication that comes with it -- and I live with my folks.)
I have a space about 4X8 I could devote to a stove and hearth.
Would it be totally crazy to put a small wood stove in the trailer? Yes, I know trailers are fire traps -- could it be installed in a truly safe manner, since the trailer's never going to be towed as long as we own it? A small stove (including hearth and chimney) would pay for itself in a couple of months given we can get the fuel for free.
Also, would I need to add supplemental heat to the compartments where the black and greywater tanks are? I'm thinking one of those little doghouse heaters would work, if that's the case. I think the furnace also heats the compartments under the trailer, as they're always nice and warm when I open them.