Newbie from Chile!

[hrogersb]

Hi everyone!

I'm Harold Rogers, from Santiago de Chile, here in south america. I'm 35, airline pilot, husband and father of two children, a 5 year old girl and a 2 year old boy. We've just bought a 2012 QS 10.0 and this weekend we gave it a first try at my parents house in Rapel lake, about 3 hours south from Santiago. We are thrilled about the recent family addition and the kids loved it!!!!
The one and only thing that is bothering me a little bit is the cold feeling in the early morning. Do you guys use something to keep you warm in the cold mornings or even when camping in the winter time?
I want to go camping at least 1 weekend a month (hopefully more) and to do that I need something efficient enough to keep us warm when in the camper in the fall and winter seasons.
As soon as I can I will post some pictures of the QS... I'm so so happy!

Please, sorry for my not so refined english... I'll do my best to keep it improving.

regards to everyone!

Harold...

[admin]

Welcome! I have a QS 10.0 as well and its been a great camper so far.
As for heating it there are a couple of factors I look at such as access to electricity, and how cold the temps are. We tend to camp in non-electric locations most of the time so I chose to go with a propane heater. I personally like the indoor rated Mr. Heater brand Big Buddy like this one http://amzn.to/1TPpU3L. It has the ability to run off 2 1lb cylinders or a bulk tank. It also has a built in fan to help with circulating the heat which can run off D batteries or a 120v adapter.
Since the tent will provide about 0 insulation I don't typically run a heater all night, rather I just use an appropriate temp sleeping bag. So in the chilly mornings I turn this on first thing and have found that it takes the chill out of the air in no time.

I'm sure you will find plenty of great information here.

-Sean

[hrogersb]

Thanks a lot Sean!!!! I've been reading different threads about the heating, and all of you guys here seem to use the same.... propane heaters. I think I'll do that too. Our sleeping bags are good enough to keep us warm and confy during the night. Since is summer here, I have the advantage of time before I have to get things moving with the heating issue....

thanks a lot!

Harold.

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/17660/thread" timestamp="1452534337" author="@hrogersb"]Thanks a lot Sean!!!! I've been reading different threads about the heating, and all of you guys here seem to use the same.... propane heaters. I think I'll do that too. Our sleeping bags are good enough to keep us warm and confy during the night. Since is summer here, I have the advantage of time before I have to get things moving with the heating issue....

thanks a lot!

Harold.[/quote]If you don't have a propane furnace built in, and are using a portable heater in the enclosed space, please be very sure it is a catalytic heater and not something that puts off CO. And in any case you will still need ventilation, as it will consume all the O2 in the space and still kill you.

[hrogersb]

Yes!!! I'm aware of that. Thanks anyway for the advice. If I use a propane heater, I'll leave a couple of "Windows" in the dinette area "semi-open" so we can have a little ventilation while using the heater.

Harold.

[christianm]

Welcome, Harold! We are so glad you've joined us. I hope that you and your family make many happy memories with your Livin Lite product. 

I am here on behalf of the factory, so if you ever have any questions or need any help, please feel free to ask. 

Also, if you ever take any fun pictures of camping with your family- I would love to feature it on the Livin Lite facebook page! 

[peislander]

Welcome aboard Harold! Is there a QS dealer in Chile? If not is yours the only one and how did it come to be imported?

Regarding propane heaters...  Perhaps someone can help me with this question. If you have a catalytic heater is it necessary to crack the window open? In other words are they safe to use in an enclosed space? 

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/17671/thread" timestamp="1452551287" author="@peislander"]Regarding propane heaters...  Perhaps someone can help me with this question. If you have a catalytic heater is it necessary to crack the window open? In other words are they safe to use in an enclosed space? [/quote]I think this was recently discussed [a href="http://livinlite-owners.com/post/17662/thread"]here[/a].

[peislander]

Thanks Pinstriper -- you prompted me to read  the earlier postings more carefully + read up on safety issues w/ catalytic heaters. >> [a href="http://sierranevadaairstreams.org/owners-guide/living/catalyticheaters.html"]I found this summary.[/a] << Interestingly (to me at least) it noted you should never sleep with such a heater in use. Also they will produce carbon monoxide if they have an insufficient supply of fresh air.

[admin]

Thanks Pinstriper -- you prompted me to read  the earlier postings more carefully + read up on safety issues w/ catalytic heaters. >> [a href="http://sierranevadaairstreams.org/owners-guide/living/catalyticheaters.html"]I found this summary.[/a] << Interestingly (to me at least) it noted you should never sleep with such a heater in use. Also they will produce carbon monoxide if they have an insufficient supply of fresh air.

The advice in that article is good, but I would encourage a bit more research based on the type of heater and the manufacturer's instructions. Dealing with any type of combustion heat comes with risks. Combustion will always burn Oxygen, as it will always expel some amount of byproduct. The catch is mitigating the risks. For example the very definition of an "enclosed space" is not as clear cut as it may seem. I'd have to dig out the manual, but I recall there is a formula that defines the enclosed space based on sq ft in relation to how air tight it is. This is how a gas log fireplace can be used as vent free in an average size home. The assumption is that your square footage is large enough, and that the air is exchanged often enough, that you will not run out of O2 or add enough CO to become toxic.

In our pop up I always run a carbon monoxide sensor and the heater has a low oxygen sensor. The sensors coupled with the fact that the pop up isnt exactly air tight I feel reasonably comfortable running the heater inside. Of course that is a very personal choice so dont take the advice from an internet voice on faith alone. Every year there are plenty of stories where people die because they run a camp stove for heat, or their heater is left too close to a combustible material, the list goes on. My point is not to scare, but rather to show that there is a risk, but the risk(s) can be minimized with a good understanding of how to use the heater.

[hrogersb]

[quote source="/post/17666/thread" timestamp="1452544078" author="@christianm"]Welcome, Harold! We are so glad you've joined us. I hope that you and your family make many happy memories with your Livin Lite product. 

I am here on behalf of the factory, so if you ever have any questions or need any help, please feel free to ask. 

Also, if you ever take any fun pictures of camping with your family- I would love to feature it on the Livin Lite facebook page! [/quote]Thanks a lot!!! We're very happy with our new "family member"... I'm just getting some camping equipment together in order to get the QS ready to go. I'll get in touch with you very soon I think, to ask you some things about the additional items that I could buy for my QS. As soon as I take some pictures I'll send them to you!

bye!!!

Harold.

[hrogersb]

Welcome aboard Harold! Is there a QS dealer in Chile? If not is yours the only one and how did it come to be imported?

Regarding propane heaters...  Perhaps someone can help me with this question. If you have a catalytic heater is it necessary to crack the window open? In other words are they safe to use in an enclosed space? 

Hi!!! there's not a QS dealer here. Mine is one of just two QS's in Chile. There's a small RV company that import from the US, but mostly used RV's... and above all, Coleman tent trailers, Starcraft, etc.

Here in Chile, the "GORving" experience is pretty new... sadly as everything is imported, camping equipment is a little expensive, but currently, more and more people are preferring the "camping vacations" as they are less expensive than renting a house or going to a hotel.
Also, RV infrastructure here is not as good as in the US or other countries, but there are some places that are taking a few steps forward, and they are improving their campsites and making them "rv friendly".... we are very happy about that, as we are looking forward to spend at least 1 weekend a month in our QS during the year, besides the possibility of going camping for a week or two now during this summer.

[hrogersb]

Hi everyone! Didn't notice that I can upload photos directly in the forum!

Well, here are a couple from last weekend, when we took it to my parent's house at a lake not far from Santiago, here in Chile.... hope you enjoy!
  
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[hrogersb]

a few more....


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[christianm]

Hi everyone! Didn't notice that I can upload photos directly in the forum!

Well, here are a couple from last weekend, when we took it to my parent's house at a lake not far from Santiago, here in Chile.... hope you enjoy!
  

These are AWESOME! Check the Livin Lite facebook page soon for an upload of these. :-)