So rewind back to the fall when we set out for the mildest possible Canadian winter we could manage and headed for Vancouver Island. November, December and January had us laughing at how impossibly tame the coastal winter was until February came along and knocked us off of our high horses straight into a big ol’ pile of snow.

Needless to say, we thoroughly tested all of our van life winterization tips and discovered a bunch more good ones along the way. Let’s get cozy!

1. INSULATING EVERYTHING ISN’T ENOUGH

Although the Reflectix window inserts help tremendously (and are also going to be lifesavers in the scorching summer sun), cold air will still manage to creep its way in unless you’re totally airtight. Any older rig like ours is bound to have lots of little nooks and crannies where a draft can enter. We replaced a lot of the rubber seals around the doors and windows with new rubber weather stripping to try and block out the cold air as much as possible. We even added a Reflectix “wall” in front of the back doors to retain as much heat as possible around the bed. Of course we covered it in fabric so it doesn’t feel like we’re sleeping inside of a pizza delivery bag but at -20°C (-4°F), that doesn’t actually sound too bad.

You might also want to get a little area rug to make getting out of bed in the morning less painful and definitely up your wool socks game. Justin’s Nan in Newfoundland has hooked us up with some of the warmest slipper-like socks around and they’re awesome. If you don’t have a local grandma to knit you things, those funny looking down slippers are actually pretty great. They’re super warm and roll down into a tiny little pouch that you can take with you for overnight hikes or for just randomly whipping out at parties when your friend hasn’t paid their heating bill. Basically, even a cave of insulation isn’t going to keep you warm if it’s freezing outside so sometimes you might have to suck it up and go to bed with a toque on or wear a couple pairs of socks and long johns to be comfortable. And remember, snow is a great insulator so if you’re stationary for a few days, letting the snow pack onto your windows is actually better than trying to brush it all off.

2. MOLD IS REAL

Like we said in Part I, moisture prevention is just as important as trying to stay warm. Unless you’ve got an electrical hookup, a space heater is out of the question and the dry heat of a wood stove is not feasible in a lot of rigs – especially if you do any city/stealth camping. Propane heat creates moisture and when you’re in places with a damp winter (hello PNW), condensation is pretty much inevitable.

We got more of those dehumidifying beads at the dollar store and put one in every corner and every cupboard. They might not look like they’re doing much but we noticed a huge improvement in the more confined spaces like the storage boxes under the bed. Just make sure to not let them tip over and spill their juice out because it makes for a greasy mess (yea, that happened). But most importantly, a bit of airflow is key in preventing condensation from building all while saving you from carbon monoxide poisoning – a win-win!

Unfortunately despite all of our dehumidifying efforts, we still had to deal with a bit of mold. Mainly in tight spaces that don’t get a lot of ventilation and on the panels of our back doors that we hardly opened, we found small circles of black mildew like you often get in your shower. It was gross and as much as we’d love to say we found some natural solution that magically made it disappear, we used a bleach-based bathroom cleaner and eradicated it as best as we could and as quickly as possible. Yea, it smelled like a swimming pool and wasn’t good for our skin but it did the job and also worked as a preventive for regrowth in the areas that we sprayed it.

3. POCKET WARMERS ARE KING

Sure, hot water bottles can be great. They’re reusable, cheap and work well…for 3-4 hours. By morning all you have is a super cold bottle of water dressed up in an ugly sweater laying in your bed that you definitely don’t want to be cuddling anymore. When we discovered the HotHands Super Warmers, our winter sleeping situation became a lot more comfortable. Technically you’re not supposed to sleep with them on but we put them under our fitted sheet (flannel sheets = huge upgrade) at foot-level and didn’t look back. So yes, they’re evil one time use chemical packets but we got a 10-pack for $10 at Walmart and I don’t think we would have been able to get through some of our coldest nights without them. Zippo sells refillable butane warmers that work in a similar way and would be better for longer-term use but these worked great in a pinch. Did I mention they stay warm for 18 hours?!?! Ok, it’s probably actually closer to 12 but that’s still pretty fantastic for $1.

4. BE PREPARED FOR WORSE

Nobody wants to be in a situation where you’re stuck in the snow or slipping down a hill but it does happen. If you think you’ve got the gear for the current conditions, get the gear for if it gets worse. With all of the forest road driving that we do, we were not nearly prepared for what the road conditions had in store. Winter tires are a given but do you have chains or a shovel to dig yourself out if you get stuck? We learned this the hard way after not bringing chains from Calgary and getting into a couple of really sticky situations. Take, for example, when we were at the final hill getting into Twin Lake and got REALLY stuck in some unbelievably wet snow that took us 2 hours to dig ourselves out of. All we had was our collapsible poop shovel and an ice scraper that saved us from sliding into the ditch. Long story short, even if you don’t think you’ll need a shovel, bring one because you won’t regret it when you do. Tire recovery boards or traction mats are also not a bad thing to throw in the back since you can use them in the snow and sand.

5. LOOK INTO A CHINESE DIESEL HEATER

These things have become really popular lately and seem to be an all-around more efficient alternative to a propane furnace. If you have a diesel engine, you can route the fuel to come straight from there or use the auxiliary tank for your designated heat supply. The fan doesn’t draw a ton of power from your battery bank and diesel creates a much drier heat than propane. They’re also quiet and easy to install. We don’t have one currently but if we stay in Canada next winter, we’re definitely going to get one.
**2019 UPDATE: We got a diesel heater! Total game changer. Nice, dry heat that heats the space up super quickly and doesn’t take too big of a toll on our battery. Yes, now we have to get three different types of fuel (gasoline engine, propane stove + fridge, diesel heater) but it’s totally worth it. 1000% recommend.

6. DON’T RELY ON SOLAR

Installing a solar system has been the best decision we’ve made along our entire van life journey. When it’s summer and you can charge your laptop and camera while enjoying the breeze of a fan, life is good. In the winter however, the limits of your battery bank will really be tested. We’d go days without sun and barely manage to absorb any rays even on the clearer days because the sun sits so low in the sky and is only up for a few hours. We have our alternator tied in to our batteries so they charge while we drive and we’d highly recommend this to anyone looking into a solar setup, whether you’re in a cool climate or not. Our old propane furnace draws a lot of power and even with our new batteries, it hogs all of our electricity in the winter so we rely on portable battery packs to keep our phones topped up. We’re extremely mindful of how much power we’re consuming and usually don’t stay in one spot for more than 3 days so we have managed fine with our current setup but a generator definitely wouldn’t be a bad thing to add into the mix. These Honda ones are efficient and relatively quiet and would make for a great back-up power supply.

7. BE PREPARED FOR THE WINTER BLUES

As we said in Part I, winter is only fun if you’re into winter activities like skiing and snowboarding. For the rest of us, the short days with little sunlight can really get to your head. Just like in a regular house, you’ll have to deal with spending a lot more time inside. That can be really tricky when you’re in a van because it’s such a small space and it takes a lot more effort to keep cozy than a regular home where you can take a hot bath or just veg out and watch TV in a Snuggie.

That being said, try to seek out other indoor spaces you can hangout at. We often seek refuge at bars and restaurants but that can get expensive so look into local museums, libraries, or book stores where you can hangout for a while and not have to worry about your propane levels or keeping your battery topped up. If you’ve got friends in the area you’re in, maybe you can hangout at their place and even spend the night if the weather is really bad, or hey, why not splash out on an Airbnb if you’re feeling fancy. You should also put effort into the little things you can do to warm yourself up from the inside like drinking hot drinks and making soup for dinner. Your beach bod can wait when it’s super cold and you just want some comfort food.

All in all, winter is a challenging season whether you live in a van, an RV, or even a house. Cost of living inevitably increases with heating costs and supplementary entertainment to keep yourself sane. While a tank of propane (35L) usually lasts us at least a month, we have to refill every two weeks in the winter and factor that into our budget. Some nights you might even need to plug in your block heater to make sure that your van will start the next morning. There’s no denying that going south is the easier option but we aim to show that surviving the winter in a van or RV is possible with the right preparation – even in Canada. Who knows where we’ll end up next year but with two van dwelling winters under our belt, I think we’ll be A-OK wherever we choose.

Got your own helpful winter van life tips? Share them in the comments so we can share the warmth!

Winter can be dreadful enough living in a regular sticks and bricks home, but when you live in a metal box outside, it poses a whole new set of challenges. In an attempt to make our van more comfortable for the season, we’ve done a few things to bring Clementine into winter mode. Have a look at our winter van life tips below and start getting cozy!

1. INSULATE. EVERYTHING.

Whether you built out your van yourself or bought an already converted van or RV, hopefully all of the walls, ceiling, floors, and doors have a layer of insulation behind them. Our van was already converted in the 80s so it has classic fiberglass insulation in the walls and doors but unfortunately lacks anything beneath the floor. If we were to have added this during our renovation process, we would have had to gut the whole thing. In the interest of time, we opted not to BUT wish we had done it in retrospect.

In any case, the biggest heat loss point is usually the windows. We made custom-fitted panels with Reflectix and scrap fabric to help offset this. Something super key about Reflectix that a lot of people overlook is that it needs a bit of airflow in order to function properly. That means that it’s beneficial to have small gaps around where the Reflectix meets your windows instead of trying to make them airtight — that’s how Reflectix works.

Another thing to consider is that the shiny silver bubble wrap showing in your windows from inside and out looks pretty ugly. It’s a win-win to cover these in fabric because it adds an additional layer of thickness, creates another layer of air space, and looks much neater. Don’t be scared off if you don’t know how to sew, you can make covers pretty easily with a good glue or double-sided tape.

Last thing to note is that it’s important to take these window inserts out for at least an hour or two every day. It’s inevitable to build condensation behind them that can eventually lead to mold and other issues you don’t want to deal with. Remember, insulation doesn’t just help with the cold – good insulation helps to keep your van cooler in the summer, and window inserts can be a huge relief on hot days where the sun is baking your windows full force. They also make pretty fantastic blackout curtains for when you want to sleep in or just be stealthy.

2. GET A PORTABLE DIESEL HEATER

Space heaters are great but draw A TON of power. Unless you’re at an RV Park with a 50A hookup, chances are that your batteries will only sustain you for a little while or you’ll be constantly tripping breakers. Even with a massive battery bank, power from solar – especially in the winter with fewer hours of daylight – just doesn’t cut it to run a space heater.

Wood stoves are awesome but can require a lot of planning to find the best location and sacrifice that space in your van even when it’s warm outside. If we were in a skoolie then I think a wood stove could be pretty sweet for heat and cooking but it’s just not feasible for our current van. A propane heater is a good solution for the sake of portability and longevity. Propane creates a ton of moisture. A dry fuel source, like diesel, is a much better option (see update below). Like most cold weather rated RVs, our van has a propane furnace built in. We also use propane for the stove and fridge and have to fill up about once a month (35L tank). We are lucky in respect to not having to install an additional heating system but our furnace draws a fair amount of battery power and isn’t in the greatest location.

Portable propane heaters, like the Buddy Heaters, are a decent solution for people who don’t have a furnace and only experience cold temperatures for a couple months of the year. Just like outdoor stoves, they hook up to the small green propane canisters that you can get pretty much anywhere. You can also buy an attachment to hook it up to a regular 30L BBQ tank if you’ve got the space. Although they are rated as safe for indoor use, always have a carbon monoxide detector when running propane appliances.

It’s also important to note that propane creates moisture as it combusts, which isn’t great in a small space. While other options that run off of gasoline or diesel exist, propane is generally the most economical. *2019 UPDATE: Goodbye propane and hello diesel! With the rise of more affordable options for diesel heaters coming from China (that perform just as well as expensive European ones), a diesel heater is the way to go. Dry heat, efficient fuel consumption, and reasonable power draw make Chinese diesel heaters the best option for vans and RVs. 

3. DIVIDE THE CAB FROM THE LIVING AREA

Some may have already done this for privacy, but adding a thick blackout curtain between your front driving area and your living area helps big time with keeping heat in and being stealthy. Even in newer vehicles, you’ve got some major heat loss points with the windshield and front doors. Creating a layer to separate this area helps to keep the heat from your heater where you need it. The blackout curtain also blocks light (hence the name) from the outside coming in and from the inside going out. When city camping on a residential street or even a Walmart parking lot, closing off your entire living area from your driving zone makes your van look like less of a home and more of a cargo van. Blackout curtains for van life are essential.

We used a thick black knit fabric for the side facing the driving area and doubled it up with a patterned fabric for our view from inside. We added screw-in snaps to the ceiling so we can easily attach and detach the curtain and store it folded. You could also put in a curtain rod or use hooks and sash wire if you’ve got the space to tuck the curtain away when you’re not using it.

4. COMBAT MOISTURE

If you, like most people, spend your whole day breathing, then you’re bound to build up a lot of condensation during times of cooler weather. Whenever you breathe and see your breath, that’s all the moisture you’re visibly releasing into the air. After a cold night’s sleep, chances are you’ll find your windows fogged up the next morning. Seeing as there’s nothing you can really do to stop this unless you find some magical way to never exhale, all you can do is find ways to help absorb the existing moisture in the air. This is especially problematic when using propane heat.

Your classic solution is a dehumidifier. Similar to a space heater, these are great in regular homes but aren’t as viable in vans because a good one will take up a lot of space and draw a lot of power. They do sell battery operated ones and 12V options but they don’t seem to perform as well as traditional units.

Unfortunately, the only route we’ve been able to take are dehumidifying beads that work like the silica gel packets you find in the box when you buy new shoes. The beads expand as they absorb moisture and need to be replaced once they’ve expanded fully and discharged all their juice. You’ll notice that liquid will start to collect in the bottom of the container just like a dehumidifier fills up with water. It’s not an instant fix but the beads are inexpensive and it doesn’t take any power or batteries to work.

Air flow is also another important factor in reducing condensation. Don’t think that you need to have your windows open when it’s -20, but a slight crack in the window really helps. This allows the moist air to escape and not build up on your windows or surfaces.   

Side note: We’ve also heard great things about the Eva-Dry dehumidifiers but haven’t gotten a chance to try one for ourselves. Apparently activated charcoal or road salt are also moisture absorbing options that we also haven’t tried.

5. GET A HEATED BLANKET

Heated blankets just feel downright cozy. If you’re not in the coldest of places then along with proper insulation, a heated blanket could be your ticket. Obviously the hotter the blanket, the more power it will draw but there are plenty of options on Amazon for low voltage blankets or battery-operated heating pads that’ll help to give you that extra bit of warmth while you sleep or just hangout.

If you don’t want to go the heated blanket route, then be sure to buy the right fabrics for maximum toastiness. Wool is definitely the best bet because it has lots of air space between the fibres that circulate warm air close to your body. Plus, Pendleton blankets definitely don’t look too shabby either. Naturally, wool can be expensive so anything fuzzy or fluffy will also do a good job at trapping warm air – hence why down blankets work so well.

Stay away from synthetic materials like acrylic and polyester because they’re less durable and don’t insulate as well. Here’s a very simple comparison of natural vs synthetic fibres. If you’re into it, a really good sleeping bag could be your best friend but we’re more comfortable with blankets that aren’t so noisy. Additionally, packing some hot water bottles around your bed could make for an inexpensive “rechargeable” heated blanket.

6. WRAP YOUR PIPES

If all of your plumbing and water tanks are inside of your van, then it’s technically winterized. Assuming you’ll keep your living areas warm for sleeping and hanging out, your tanks and pipes should all be fine and not freeze. If like many RVs, your pipes are outside, you may need to wrap them to insulate and prevent freezing. If you have a steady supply of power, you can also string in a trace heating cable to really keep ’em toasty.

Full winterization would include draining all of your tanks and hot water heater and putting antifreeze in your lines and using fresh water from a jug…but that kind of sucks. If you’re stationary and have electricity in an RV park or campground, you might even opt for putting a small space heater next to your tanks to prevent them from freezing. Justin’s mom lives in a fifth wheel in Calgary, Alberta, where winters are usually below -30°C (-22°F) so they have a space heater under their kitchen sink and above their tanks. Not ideal but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

7. SKIRTING

Skirting isn’t something that we personally do but if you’re stationary then this can help a ton. Whether you get custom skirting, use tarp-like material, or use insulation board, this helps to prevent cold air from travelling under your van or RV. This can help keep your floor a bit warmer and protect the underbelly of your rig – especially if your pipes and tanks are outdoors. Also, if you’re in an area that gets snow, this helps to keep snow away from under your vehicle.

VAN LIFE WINTERIZATION SHOPPING LIST

You can get pretty much everything you need to warm up your van on Amazon or at Home Depot:

Reflectix – 24″ x 50′ roll
Diesel Heater – 12V 5 kW
Blackout Curtain – You can buy pre-made thermal-lined curtains if you don’t want to make one yourself
DampRid Dehumidifier or Eva-Dry Dehumidifier
Low Voltage Heated Blanket – 50″ x 60″
Pendleton Wool Blanket – 64″ x 80″ (lots of different patterns but I particularly love this one)
Hot Water Bottles – 2L bottle with knit cover
Pipe Insulation – this one is 5/8″ thick but base the thickness on how cold it is where you live
Antifreeze – if you’re fully winterizing your pipes

Wishing everyone the coziest of winters and hoping these tips will help a few folks realize that winter van life is possible! Got your own insider tricks? Leave a comment below!

Check out Part II for our post-winter update. We reflect on which winter van life tips worked best and have added some new ones along the way.