Jason'sLawnCare
Viva Baja
In researching how I wanted to heat the Flippac camper I found much information about heater selection and options but not too much information about installing them in pickup based campers. I hope this gives you some ideas. I'd also like to share some of my thought process and research but I encourage you to research what fits you and your application best.
Heater Model Selection
I considered two types of heaters, catalytic heaters and forced air heaters. Popular catalytic heaters include the Camco wave and Mr. Buddy heater. Catalytic heaters are great for being simple to integrate. They only require a fuel source to be hooked up and you're off making heat. I have a Little Buddy heater and although it is inexpensive and effective at heating up the Flippac a few degrees, it also provides moisture and burns through a decent amount of propane. It should also not be run overnight since it consumes oxygen. This led me to look at forced air heaters as they separate the combustion air from the heated air.
Forced air heaters run off a few common fuels types: gasoline, propane, or diesel/kerosene. My truck is gasoline and I often carry extra gas with me. From a logistics standpoint gasoline would make sense. Unfortunately, there's more to it than that. From what I read, the gasoline models tend to be more finicky. More importantly, gasoline is flammable which is of much concern since the heater is going inside my camper where I sleep and take to remote areas. Secondly are the propane fed variety, a solid option is the Propex brand heaters that burn clean and quiet. A downside is well, the propane. Propane should not be stored inside and I don't have a good way to carry propane outside. It could be transported inside the bed and removed for camping but that would require extra camp setup which I try to minimize. Furthermore, propane refilling is not found at most gas stations so would require an extra stop before a trip or a little more effort during a trip to seek a refill station. For these reasons, I chose a diesel, although it is still a dangerous fuel, it is only combustible and thus much safer and readily available at most fuel stations.
In searching diesel heaters I found there to be three main types available. German, Russian, and the Chinese. The German ones are the high end, with price to match, manufactures like Webasto and Eberspacher. The main Russian manufacturer is Planar and the Chinese ones don't have a brand name that I could find. The German 4 kW heaters with install kits are in the range of $1500, the Planar is around $800, and the Chinese are a couple hundred but I didn't look into them too much. The German units are high quality and generally rated well. I read many positive experiences with the Planar heaters and their quality. The Chinese products seem to be well regarded with some quality control quirks but for the price seem to be a solid unit. Personally, I wasn't willing to take the risk with the safety of the Chinese heaters but I didn't come across any catastrophic failures to steer me away, that is purely based on my opinion.
Ultimately I decided to try the Planar and spend a little more on the integration of it. The model I went with is the 44D-HA-PU5. I went with the 4 kw model designated by 44D because the Flippac has a lot of heat loss through all the fabric and it was recommended for the comparable Habitat model on the Adventure Trailers group. The HA is for the high altitude model which is rated for 8200'. At higher altitudes, the regular models can burn rich and soot up the burner. Although only rated for 8200' higher altitudes shouldn't be a problem particularly if running the cleaner burning kerosene.
Planar Impression
I am impressed with the quality of the unit, the included hardware, and the documentation available about its dimensions, installation, operation etc. I also couldn't be happier with the support provided by Planar Heaters out of British Columbia. They went out of their way to answer all my questions, entertain my curiosities and quickly get me additional hardware needed to install.
Integration Philosophy
Minimally invasive meaning as little irreversible modifications to the truck itself.
Space efficient to reduce lost camper space since it's only a 5' bed.
Heater Mounting
Mounting Location Considerations
I considered two main places, over the wheel well and within the bed sides. In the bedsides would be nice because no space in the camper would be lost. The downside is the heater would be less protected from dirt, mud, etc. thus would require a full enclosure and be harder to access if service is needed. In the Tacoma bedside, it would also be a tight install for the 4 kw model. The main place I was considering it was behind the driver's side rear wheel as it could mount to the existing bolts that the storage cubby uses and make for a short exhaust run to the back of the truck. The second location I ultimately chose was over the driver's side wheel well. This would protect the unit from the elements better, provide easy access should the unit need to be diagnosed or removed, simplify cabin air ducting, make for a simple bracket from the existing bed rail (make sure to check which orientation your heater can be mounted in), and not compromise floor space. Previously I stored my camp chair in this area so that had to be relocated. The older Tacomas had a storage cubby over the wheel well so I didn't have to cut a large hole in the bedside for the combustion air and fuel. I considered the driver's side due to my specific setup and layout of the Flippac. If you have a choice consider the side away from the vehicle fuel tank for an extra level of safety to keep the hot bits as far away as possible from the flammable stuff.
Mounting Execution
The bracket is hand drilled, drill pressed with hole saws for the larger holes, and hand bent. It's certainly not a production piece but it's sufficient and goes to show you don't need all the fancy tools all the time. It bolts into the bed rail with t slot nuts. I lined the existing hole in the bedside with rubber foam to create a little better seal. It also isolates some of the truck vibration from the heater.
Combustion air
The intake is made of a plastic pipe with a silencer on the end of it. This is routed towards the cab and p clamped to an existing fender bolt. The exhaust is stainless flexible pipe with a muffler and end cap. It's routed back over the fender liner, under the rear storage cubby, and towards the hitch receiver.
The bracket and p clamp are made out of the same sheet of stainless that the heater bracket is made out of. The bracket is a simple bent piece with a rivnut installed. I made my own p-clamp because I had the material on hand and find it satisfying to make parts out of raw material. I used a large socket to roll it over. The bracket is held to the inside of the bedside using 3M double sided sticky tape. It's quite stout and can flex the bedside a decent amount without feeling like it's about to come off. I'll be monitoring it to see how it ages as I've found in other places sometimes time works it's magic on its strength. My contingency plan is VHB tape.
8/21 Update: The 3M double sided sticky tape failed around October 2020 and has since been replaced with 3M VHB 5952 tape which is still holding up well.
The muffler is mounted with the bracket that's supplied with the Planar kit. It came as a 90 degree but I bent it to around a 45 degree to tuck the muffler higher up. I opened the mounting hole up to be able to use one of the rear bumper/receiver bolts to hold it.
Some fiberglass exhaust wrap has since been added to further reduce the the heat transfer to the bracket.
I've since added the cap to the end of this as recommend by Planar to keep the wind from blowing up the exhaust and larger critters out.
Heater Model Selection
I considered two types of heaters, catalytic heaters and forced air heaters. Popular catalytic heaters include the Camco wave and Mr. Buddy heater. Catalytic heaters are great for being simple to integrate. They only require a fuel source to be hooked up and you're off making heat. I have a Little Buddy heater and although it is inexpensive and effective at heating up the Flippac a few degrees, it also provides moisture and burns through a decent amount of propane. It should also not be run overnight since it consumes oxygen. This led me to look at forced air heaters as they separate the combustion air from the heated air.
Forced air heaters run off a few common fuels types: gasoline, propane, or diesel/kerosene. My truck is gasoline and I often carry extra gas with me. From a logistics standpoint gasoline would make sense. Unfortunately, there's more to it than that. From what I read, the gasoline models tend to be more finicky. More importantly, gasoline is flammable which is of much concern since the heater is going inside my camper where I sleep and take to remote areas. Secondly are the propane fed variety, a solid option is the Propex brand heaters that burn clean and quiet. A downside is well, the propane. Propane should not be stored inside and I don't have a good way to carry propane outside. It could be transported inside the bed and removed for camping but that would require extra camp setup which I try to minimize. Furthermore, propane refilling is not found at most gas stations so would require an extra stop before a trip or a little more effort during a trip to seek a refill station. For these reasons, I chose a diesel, although it is still a dangerous fuel, it is only combustible and thus much safer and readily available at most fuel stations.
In searching diesel heaters I found there to be three main types available. German, Russian, and the Chinese. The German ones are the high end, with price to match, manufactures like Webasto and Eberspacher. The main Russian manufacturer is Planar and the Chinese ones don't have a brand name that I could find. The German 4 kW heaters with install kits are in the range of $1500, the Planar is around $800, and the Chinese are a couple hundred but I didn't look into them too much. The German units are high quality and generally rated well. I read many positive experiences with the Planar heaters and their quality. The Chinese products seem to be well regarded with some quality control quirks but for the price seem to be a solid unit. Personally, I wasn't willing to take the risk with the safety of the Chinese heaters but I didn't come across any catastrophic failures to steer me away, that is purely based on my opinion.
Ultimately I decided to try the Planar and spend a little more on the integration of it. The model I went with is the 44D-HA-PU5. I went with the 4 kw model designated by 44D because the Flippac has a lot of heat loss through all the fabric and it was recommended for the comparable Habitat model on the Adventure Trailers group. The HA is for the high altitude model which is rated for 8200'. At higher altitudes, the regular models can burn rich and soot up the burner. Although only rated for 8200' higher altitudes shouldn't be a problem particularly if running the cleaner burning kerosene.
Planar Impression
I am impressed with the quality of the unit, the included hardware, and the documentation available about its dimensions, installation, operation etc. I also couldn't be happier with the support provided by Planar Heaters out of British Columbia. They went out of their way to answer all my questions, entertain my curiosities and quickly get me additional hardware needed to install.
Integration Philosophy
Minimally invasive meaning as little irreversible modifications to the truck itself.
Space efficient to reduce lost camper space since it's only a 5' bed.
Heater Mounting
Mounting Location Considerations
I considered two main places, over the wheel well and within the bed sides. In the bedsides would be nice because no space in the camper would be lost. The downside is the heater would be less protected from dirt, mud, etc. thus would require a full enclosure and be harder to access if service is needed. In the Tacoma bedside, it would also be a tight install for the 4 kw model. The main place I was considering it was behind the driver's side rear wheel as it could mount to the existing bolts that the storage cubby uses and make for a short exhaust run to the back of the truck. The second location I ultimately chose was over the driver's side wheel well. This would protect the unit from the elements better, provide easy access should the unit need to be diagnosed or removed, simplify cabin air ducting, make for a simple bracket from the existing bed rail (make sure to check which orientation your heater can be mounted in), and not compromise floor space. Previously I stored my camp chair in this area so that had to be relocated. The older Tacomas had a storage cubby over the wheel well so I didn't have to cut a large hole in the bedside for the combustion air and fuel. I considered the driver's side due to my specific setup and layout of the Flippac. If you have a choice consider the side away from the vehicle fuel tank for an extra level of safety to keep the hot bits as far away as possible from the flammable stuff.
Mounting Execution
The bracket is hand drilled, drill pressed with hole saws for the larger holes, and hand bent. It's certainly not a production piece but it's sufficient and goes to show you don't need all the fancy tools all the time. It bolts into the bed rail with t slot nuts. I lined the existing hole in the bedside with rubber foam to create a little better seal. It also isolates some of the truck vibration from the heater.
Combustion air
The intake is made of a plastic pipe with a silencer on the end of it. This is routed towards the cab and p clamped to an existing fender bolt. The exhaust is stainless flexible pipe with a muffler and end cap. It's routed back over the fender liner, under the rear storage cubby, and towards the hitch receiver.
The bracket and p clamp are made out of the same sheet of stainless that the heater bracket is made out of. The bracket is a simple bent piece with a rivnut installed. I made my own p-clamp because I had the material on hand and find it satisfying to make parts out of raw material. I used a large socket to roll it over. The bracket is held to the inside of the bedside using 3M double sided sticky tape. It's quite stout and can flex the bedside a decent amount without feeling like it's about to come off. I'll be monitoring it to see how it ages as I've found in other places sometimes time works it's magic on its strength. My contingency plan is VHB tape.
8/21 Update: The 3M double sided sticky tape failed around October 2020 and has since been replaced with 3M VHB 5952 tape which is still holding up well.
The muffler is mounted with the bracket that's supplied with the Planar kit. It came as a 90 degree but I bent it to around a 45 degree to tuck the muffler higher up. I opened the mounting hole up to be able to use one of the rear bumper/receiver bolts to hold it.
Some fiberglass exhaust wrap has since been added to further reduce the the heat transfer to the bracket.
I've since added the cap to the end of this as recommend by Planar to keep the wind from blowing up the exhaust and larger critters out.
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