# Pop-up in the cold



## KKrueger (Jul 30, 2011)

There's pretty good odds I'll draw a mule deer tag in South Dakota this year. Since it's a 20 hour drive i'm thinking of dragging a pop-up with me rather than a bigger trailer.

Last time I deer hunted this area the highs were in the 20's and the lows were in the low teens.

Will I stay warm enough in a pop-up?


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## stu454 (Jul 30, 2011)

A buddy of mine used to have a pop-up.  With it's propane heater and electric fan we'd stay toasty down to single digits.  Of course having our women next to us didn't hurt


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## ospreydog (Jul 30, 2011)

If you have a really good sleeping bag you might be ok. Your head will get cold first so wear a warm hat.


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## Oldstick (Jul 30, 2011)

That would be a big NO, but this answer is coming from a lifelong GA native.  We about froze one night in January,  with temps down to around 30, and that was with a 1500 watt electric heater full blast all night.


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## GA DAWG (Jul 30, 2011)

I have one of them double burner buddy heaters. Hook a hose to a big tank. Turn it wide open. Its also got a fan. Will run you slap out of my pop up. In the 20s anyhow.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Jul 30, 2011)

A few things I've learned about camping in a pop up in late deer season.

1.  Put a tarp over it that covers the entire camper end to end.  If not, your breath will condense on the canvas and drip down on you and your sleeping bag

2.  Get you a GI Extreme Cold Weather mummy bag.  They're about $100 from the army navy store, but I occasionally find them at yard sales for $5-20.  If you can't stand being inside a mummy bag, then unzip it and and get under it.  You can stick your feet in the pocket and pull the pillow over your face.  Fluff it every night before you go to bed to increase the insulation factor and lay it out every day to dry any sweat.

3.  Put several blankets under you to keep the wind from blowing through the plywood and cushions.

4.  Put several blankets on top of the mummy bag to trap in heat around your feet and shoulders.  Otherwise, when you roll over, you'll let cold air into the bag.

5.  Wear a toboggan, gloves, and socks in case any extremities get outside the bag they won't lose as much heat as fast.


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## gmchd (Jul 30, 2011)

No you will not stay warm. My wife and I stayed in our pop up in 13 degree weather with a 16000 btu furnice on full blast and the camper never got above the low 50's as I recall and the furnice never shut off all weekend. Never again. All you can hope for is about a 40 degree improvement in the temp. A 20lb. tank will last about 2 days. At least the plumbing didn't freeze.


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## KKrueger (Jul 31, 2011)

Thanks for the input everyone! I might look at small travel trailers, or maybe a slide in for the truck bed.


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## 7Mag Hunter (Aug 2, 2011)

Dead Eye Eddy said:


> A few things I've learned about camping in a pop up in late deer season.
> 
> 1.  Put a tarp over it that covers the entire camper end to end.  If not, your breath will condense on the canvas and drip down on you and your sleeping bag
> 
> ...



Good advice.......


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## manley (Aug 2, 2011)

Heck, I've got a travel trailer with the polar package, and I wouldn't even camp in those kind of temperatures!  Guess it's better than a tent, but not nearly as good as the motel 6!


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## Randy (Aug 2, 2011)

I sleep in my hammocks in the 20's.


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## one hogman (Aug 2, 2011)

Dead eye said it right, you can survive, get two of the Mr. Heater Buddy heaters, The Big ones and lots of gas, with the right bags and clothing you can stay Ok but it won't be toasty, it is like being in a tent with a pop up.And the smaller the vspace [ camper] the better.


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## merc123 (Aug 10, 2011)

Buddy and I used his popup with holes everywhere in 25* weather and were fine?  All we used was the stove eyes to keep it warm.  We had a burner that went on top of a LP gas tank but it would about burn us out.  Wonder why we stayed so warm?


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## stu454 (Aug 10, 2011)

Maybe my buddy's popup was super-insulated.  We were comfortable down to the single digits.  Not hot, but not teeth chattering either.


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## mudracing101 (Aug 10, 2011)

I about froze to death in my pop-up, with one buddy heater. Put two in it the next night and slept like a baby .  A cold breeze will come through the canvas just like a tent. My pop-up is kinda big when set up, i think that was the major prob. Dead eye eddy is right with all of his tips, by the way, any body want to buy a pop-up? Too cold for me


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## HoCoLion91 (Aug 10, 2011)

I've hunted for 5 days at a WMA in January where the highs were in the 30's and lows in teens all week.  Here is what I have learned over the years.  We started out in a tent, then a pop up camper, now I have a 26" dutchman camper so I've seen a little of it all.
1. You cannot sleep if your are cold. I started with a $20 walmart sleeping bag.  I now own 3 of the Army Extreme Cold  weather sleeping bags.  Bought at MP Surplus in Pinckard Al.  Paid $99 new, $50 used condition.  Best money I've ever spent. Since using them, I've never been cold while sleeping.  Agree 100% with Dead Eye Eddy, and use all the techniques he mentioned.
2.  Don't try and keep the camper, popup, tent, etc. at a toasty 75 deg.  You will waste lots of gas and energy trying.  I don't run the heat at all.  Use the gas for cooking or lanterns only.
3.  Take plenty of cold weather clothing and good boots.  Dress for the weather temp and your body will adjust.  A sunny 30deg day will feel like 70deg.  Cabelas is your friend.  Buy boots with 800 grams insulation, wool socks and wear them everyday.


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## huntmore (Aug 12, 2011)

Every body is different. I can sleep on the ground when it is in the 20's my son however can't sleep  wink if it is under 40 without a heater.


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## hummdaddy (Aug 12, 2011)

hope you enjoy yourself , let me know how toasty you stayed in South Dakota if its winter time.


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## pine nut (Aug 13, 2011)

Not sure about S Dakota but we camped in Colorado and it was 24* over night September elev.8000 ft.  Also in Kansas in Nov second week last year.  Cold at night but oK.  One thing we did when warming up in the morning was to purt a terracotta plant pot upsidedown on the stovetop.  It absorbed heat and radiated it better rather than it all rising to the roof.  Might help some.


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## 243Savage (Aug 13, 2011)

See if you can find a Zodi tent heater.  That's what I used when I had my pop up and still use it for the tent now.  It will sit outside and you run a duct into the space you want to heat.  They work quite well and there's a double burner on ebay now that has a few days left on the auction.


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## Davis31052 (Aug 29, 2011)

*heating up the pop-up*

A few things you can do to your pop up are....

1) Line the bed ends with REFLECTIX from Lowes Home Stores. It comes in a roll and you can cut it with scissors. Put it under the mattresses and inside the zip-down windows. Also line the roof of the bed ends with it.

2) A Mr. Buddy Heater is a definite. I sit mine on the dinette table with a hose running outside to the bulk tank. I have a roof a/c unit and turn on just the fan. As the heat rises it enters the A/C unit and gets blown to the opposite ends of the camper.

3) Also, make some skirts to put around the bed ends on the outside. You can attach them with some snaps that you can get at Lowes. This will, along with the REFLECTIX, helps keep the bottom of the bed ends from getting too cold.


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## Sterlo58 (Aug 29, 2011)

Depends on your tolerance for cold. We stayed in Montana with single digit nights in an outfitters tent. We had a propane heater and as long as you have some good thermals, a good sleeping bag and wear a hat to bed you should be fine.

Now all that being said...you will tend to get dressed quicker in the morning.


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## jimkirk (Sep 3, 2011)

had good luck in a small tent trailer using a big buddy heater attached to a large bbq style propane bottle. temps in low 30s outside, 60-70 inside. left a window zipped open about 6" for ventilation. a tank of gas lasted 4 days just using at night.  this was at an elevation of 9K in new mexico.


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## Georgia Hard Hunter (Sep 8, 2011)

All right there have been 2 types of "Buddy Heater mentioned here. The True Buddy Heater Brand that either connects to a #1 bottle or can be converted with a hose to hook up to a #20 tank has a Oxygen depletion valve and are safe to use. The other type of heater is a tank top heater and produces carbon monoxide and can be deadly used in a camper


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## Mossy Broke (Sep 26, 2011)

When I was in the Marines we used to sleep outside with no tent sometimes in the single digits depending on where we were. 

Something no one seems to have mentioned whether you are in a tent or not is to get you something that keeps you off the ground. Even the roll up mats that look like yoga mats, or the inflatables ( better quality and packs smaller) make a HUGE difference.  That and a really good sleeping system and there is no reason you shouldnt be fine.


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## donald-f (Sep 26, 2011)

Be careful with the propane heaters. You may not wake up in the morning.


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## Corey (Oct 11, 2011)

We did this last year when it was getting down to about 29 or so 
here in GA, im not going to lie and say I was warm but we were 
ok. I found out the hard way to make sure you have a tarp over
the top. It was not fun to have water dripping on your face..lol 

If you do what they say you would be ok, I would be worried 
about snow the most where your going.


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