Hot Air

 


The Boles originally had a propane floor furnace - basically a grate in the center of the floor with an open burner below it that was also open to the outside. I guess the heat would rise and the CO2 would exit down when the furnace was burning. It was also an excellent door for field mice. It was pretty beat up because it was the low point for the trailer and caught on things. When I got the trailer it was mostly peeled off. Obviously it needed to be replaced.

I don't really plan any really cold weather camping so something to keep the trailer reasonably warm in the morning and evening in the spring and fall is all I think I'll need. I searched around and found that the Propex HS2000 is a popular unit in the van community. It's small, burns clean and the blower is very efficient. Another attractive feature is that the combustion gases enter and vent down through the floor so I wouldn't need to cut a hole in the side of the trailer.

The unit is so popular that I needed to find a dealer and get on the wait list. I purchased mine through Frank Condelli who specializes in VW Vans but sells Propex units as part of his business.

The HS2000 is real simple. There's an intake and exhaust that vent through the floor. They connect to extended pipes that run to the edge of the body and need to be separated so that the intake isn't drawing in the exhaust. And the exhaust needs to be located a certain distance from any windows. The instructions are pretty clear on these points.

There is a propane inlet and a hot air output that you run to a vent you can install in a location of your choosing. You can connect more than one heat output/vent if you choose. I did the simple thing and installed a single vent near the door.

Hot air duct running under the fridge

Hot air vent near trailer door

The cold air inlet is not ducted, it simply enters the unit through a large opening. Mine is mounted under the bed, so it'll draw cold air from under the bed and heat it. I think this is an advantage because the area under my bed is insulated and the fresh and gray water tanks are also located there, so some heating of this space will help prevent freezing.

The furnace blower needs 12V DC, but it's reportedly very efficient. The HS2000 also needs a thermostat and Propex offers several different models. I purchased a simple digital thermostat. It connects to the HS2000 and is powered via the DC connection to the HS2000 (no separate electrical power line required). The thermostat cable is pretty long so you can remotely locate in a place of your choosing. I installed mine near the other electrical monitoring and switches.

Propex digital thermostat 2nd from bottom

Propane line, black air intake line and stainless steel exhaust vent entering trailer through floor

Positioning and separation of air intake and exhaust at edge of trailer

While the HS2000 is well regarded it is a small unit, only generating about 6500 BTU. That should be plenty for this small trailer in the fall and spring months. It's probably not even close to enough in colder climates.

It's also pretty expensive, but I guess there is that whole supply and demand curve.

I'm looking forward to using this furnace on my first trip in the Boles.

Update 1/29/22:

I was having some difficulty getting the furnace to turn on and generate heat. The digital thermostat red LED was flashing which indicates a fault. The digital thermostat doesn't provide any additional information on the fault other than a constant flashing LED. Apparently the lower model "standard" thermostat flashes a code that indicates one of several different possible faults.

I went through all the possible fault modes and couldn't find any issues so I tried to follow the reset procedure in the manual I missed the section on "For heaters manufactured from April 2018". The reset procedure is easy if you follow the instructions. Imagine that. There's also a YouTube video on the reset procedure.

In the process of troubleshooting I found some good Propex reference info on the Van Cafe/Rocky Mountain Westy site. I will mention that the Propex factory site is sparse on information and I never got a response to any support request I submitted. This could be a result of the on going COVID pandemic.




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