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Ideal Heating System
Having made extensive use of the factory installed LP Gas hot air furnace during all season camping I can state with some authority that this system is totally inefficient and very uncomfortable.
Huge 20 degree temperature spikes between the furnace starting and completing, vast amounts of electrical current consumed by the blower, constant blower motor replacements because the axial bushings weren't designed for continuous demand and a most terrible blower noise to remind you of the fact that your system may break down tonight at 2:00 AM in sub-zero temperature.
I believe that the ideal system would be a hydronic furnace (water boiler) connected to thin profile radiant baseboard heaters. Each area would be zoned and easily adjusted to suit the current need of the occupant and the low current draw brush-less motor water pump for circulation to stretch battery reserves.
The hydronic furnace would be heated with propane when camping, electric elements when connected to the mains and a closed loop off the engine coolant system to isolate any chance of failure to operating the engine when on the road. The domestic hot water would be heated from the furnace using a closed loop, as the furnace would have glycol as an antifreeze precaution.
There are some existing furnaces designed for the RV and Marine market that use gasoline or diesel for fuel. They have a larger current draw, as the fuel must be pumped through a jet into the combustion chamber. While it's true that gasoline has 10% more BTU per pound than propane and that we carry at least 500 pounds of it compared to the 60 pounds of propane. It boils down to battery amp hours available when dry camping because if we're plugged into a campsite with 30 Amp mains we could use two electric space heaters.
This type of heating system would make cold weather travel much more bearable for the passengers seated in the lounge area of the motor home because the engine coolant would be heating the furnace which in turn would be heating the baseboards. The interior water lines and tanks would be less likely to freeze with furnace lines run in close proximity.
The external gray water tank would continue to not be used when winter camping and a smaller gray water tank would need to be installed under the kitchen sink so that it is in our heated space as is the black water in the re-circulating toilet. This wastewater storage becomes the limiting factor on winter dry camping.
The final and perhaps the greatest add-on that could be performed with the hydronic furnace would be a radiant wood floor throughout the motor home. Imagine walking around barefoot in the mornings before stepping out into the freshly fallen snow.
