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Old 03-04-2009, 08:54 AM   #1
richfaa
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Location: North Ridgeville
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Warm & Toasty Option ??????

This option was not available when we purchased our 06 3400. We have observed many post on how "warm and Toasty" these campers are and we sure wish we could have got that option.
We are here in Florida near Disney where it is supposed to be warm. In the Month of February we used 6 tanks of propane at a cost of 127.00. That is one tank every 4.66 days.We keep the camper at 70 degrees. We have no propane leaks. We do not leave the windows and doors open. We do notice drafts when sitting in the slides. Items in the cabinets along the wall are cold to the touch and we note the floor is colder than the rest of the camper. Apparently the Warm and toasty option that we do not have eliminates all of that.
Since our stick home is over 5 times larger than this camper that 127.00 bill would equate to about a 700.00 gas bill in our stick home in NORTHERN OHIO.. It has of course been very cold here.. The temp has been as low as freezing a few nights and it only got in the 60's a few days. The warm and toasty option has kept these camper wellllll warm and toasty in temps far less than that. We are envious of those with the Warm and toasty option and sure wish we could have got it... We will have a chat with our dealer to find out whay it was not offered..We do not remember seeing it on the option list...


What does the warm and toasty option include and what do we need to do to upgrade . We are gonna have to winter in the keys to stay warm.






 
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Old 03-04-2009, 10:18 AM   #2
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Poor Rich!!

When it gets below 80 you must put on a sweater?? And, get out of the flip flops and into some socks??

Our propane bill for the stick built for 1 month and 3 days, January 13 to February 16, or something like that, exceeded $430.00, like you said it was a tad cold up here. And, I was chilly and cold much of that time, my stick built ooozes coolish air at least as badly as you say your unit does.

My dishes in the stick built have been very cold this winter.

When we get to use Tana: the cold floor in the units we fight with throw rugs and socks and slippers.

The draftiness we fight with layers of clothes and when we get really cold, we grab a blanket or two, a dog or two and take a nap.

I will say, that mostly we are fairly comfy in our Tana, down to around 32ish. After that, the drafts start getting uncomfy/noticeable. We have the storm door thingy that Al made in and truth is, we never take it out, we have the main door open from temps around 45 to 85, either side of that, it is too extreme, and we must close the main door.

We do leave a ceiling vent open about 1/2 inch pretty much any time the air conditioner is NOT running, so, when the air goes off, for any extended amount of time, the vent gets opened. When we are in temps that require heat, that vent stays open 24/7. The humidity that builds up otherwise actually makes us mucho colder.

And, you know all this!

Sorry you did not get the warm and toasty option!
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Old 03-04-2009, 10:33 AM   #3
richfaa
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Looks like you guys also did not get the warm and toasty option but have learned , as we have, to make up for it. These are the coldest temps we endured in the Montana and the lesson learned is... They are NOT warm and toasty unless you dress like Nanook of the North inside the camper..... Black Russians and Brandy Alexanders don't hurt.

BTW are you guys looking at the G.L rally??? looks like great group...
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Old 03-04-2009, 10:57 AM   #4
exav8tr
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Rich, I guess we have the warm and toasty option. After living in Alaska for 14 years we have learned to adapt. We have used two tanks of propane since the end of Oct to present. We keep our Monty around 65 and dress for the rest. I really prefer to wear sweats and slippers around the Monty and the ocassional sweat shirt. Not having to pay for elec makes a huge difference, another one of our military bennies that we have accumulated over a period of 41 years combined service. We are getting ready to hit the road and I am sure that we will be spending more on CG's as we travel around this summer and fall, although "no pay nights" at Thousand Trails is a big plus along with the ocassional mil base. BTW: When we hit 70 in the trailer, we are looking for the AC switch...But, glad you and Helen, and the bird, are keeping warm. Hopefully we'll see you at Clermont in a couple of weeks. Try to stay warm untill then......
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Old 03-04-2009, 11:25 AM   #5
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Rich,

Until we are cleared to hit the road and can fly the coop, we are making NO plans.

I did go look up the dates, for the Great Lakes Rally, to see if it would work with us toting the twins along, ooops, does not, they will already be in Germany.

We have spent some coooooollllllllll days and nights in Tana, we lived in her from July 15 to November 1st one year, I gotta say, it was getting a bit chilly by November 1st here in lower SE Michigan, specially around that rear desk, which, ask anyone who has a 3295, and sits there in coolllissssshhhhh weather will tell you, there tain't no insuluation back there, ohhhhhh, brrrrrr. I have fixes, called several blankets stuffed in there, I will tell you they are for the fur kids to lie on, and I fib too! HAHA

I wear multiple layers in the stick built and in Tana. Anyone who knows me, knows I am kinda a whiner when it comes to being cold, as in, I HATE BEING COLD!! GRRRR

Gotta say tho, I would trade ya even up right now, your chilly weather for my frozen tundra. Ya make me jealous, whining bout a few nights of 32 in your unit. SIGHHHH, I wish. Well, maybe next winter, God willing and the creek don't rise.
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Old 03-04-2009, 11:46 AM   #6
wswebster
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We pulled into Lakeland, Fl on Sunday and when Bill got out of the truck asked do we want to keep going south? I replied we would probably have to go so far south we'd be finding out if this Montana floats!! It's still better than lower MI. Stacy
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Old 03-04-2009, 12:09 PM   #7
richfaa
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We have had plenty of campers. We know about "warm and Toasty" Helen is walking around it what I call her "old ladies sweater" My Granny had one just like it but Helen is Irish and has no blood. I am in sweats and the good news is it 7:12Pm and the furnace has not come on yet. Will be 80 by Friday so I can quit complaining. Low of 19F at the home Ohio base tonite.. It is warming up. It is good to be in Florida......
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Old 03-04-2009, 12:25 PM   #8
bob n pam
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The "warm and toasty option" is when you stand over the furnace vent in the galley. Then you're "warm and toasty". Works for me!

Pam
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Old 03-04-2009, 12:33 PM   #9
winter texan
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Rich, We are in South Texas and have used 3 tanks of propane ($63) in 3 months. Have used the portable electric heater a few times. In 92 days our high temp has been above 70 degrees for 80% of the time. That's about to end as we start working our way back to KY this weekend.

Ed & Laura
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Old 03-04-2009, 01:07 PM   #10
corncob
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We have used slightly over 1+ tank of propane since being in Fla for the last two months. Fireplace does well to limit gas use and it has been chilly the last few days here in Jacksonville, and very windy from the ocean side. Ditto for Ocala last week. It was also chilly for a few days during our Jan stay in Key West area.
Needless to say, this winter seems to have been a bit colder. The Northeast is getting slammed with cold and snow this year.
Still I will take the Fla winter over the NE winter.
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Old 03-04-2009, 01:28 PM   #11
HughM
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We must have the "warm and Toasty" option. While not full time we have stayed on and off in Ocala, FL 4 weeks since the first of the year and have yet to turn on the propane heat. Our coldest was 28 degrees.
We have the fireplace which does not run at while we sleep. Our solution is a cermanic heater with digital readout. We put it in the bedroom set it for 68 degress and close the door. About 6am I turn on the fireplace and by 7:30 am it's "Warm and Toasty"
Sweaters...yeah we wear them....sitting about the fire pit at night.
This has worked for us for years. My propane bill is one 30lb bottle a year...every year.
Hugh
Hugh
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Old 03-04-2009, 02:33 PM   #12
richfaa
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We pay for electric and we have a couple of those heaters. When we turn them on that little wheel on the electric meter spins about 100MPH. At 18 cents a KWH that would run up a good size bill. Our next door neighbors, in a Montana had a 175.00 electric bill running two ceramic heaters at night. We keep the temp set at 70 degrees day and night. That is what we do at home..that is what we do in the camper. We will not dress like Eskimos inside the camper. We do not close any doors. In the morning I go to the kitchen and make some coffee..it is 70 degrees. We have used 13 tanks of propane since October 21 here in Florida. We do not use the electric heaters that draw 12 amps on high. We run the hot water tank and the fridge on Propane. The hot water tank draws 10amps, the fridge 5 amps. Our electric bill for Feb was 62.00. Believe it or not there were days we ran the A/C. On the 1,2 and 3 of Feb..warm days we used 83KWH running the A/C during the day sometimes both of them. Our total propane and electric bill Oct 21st to Feb 28th is 513.00..or about 128.00 per month. That is what it cost us for our version of "warm and Toasty" and if it gets to where we can't afford that we will pack it up and stay in our warm and toasty stick home in Northern Ohio. Anyhow everyone has their own life style and comfort level. we TRY to maintain the same levels here in the camper that we did in the stick home.Anndd . I was just kidding about the 'warm and toasty" package...everyone knew that.....right....








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Old 03-04-2009, 03:35 PM   #13
sailer
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I think if you ran the frif on elect you would cut down a lot of lp gas bills , its not all heating as the hot water heater on gas runs all the time but on elect you can turn it off at nite and back on in the am , its a simple thing hit the switch if you want to save money or pay the price of happiness on the go .. or go back to ohio and freeze your you know what all winter,, sailer
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Old 03-04-2009, 04:16 PM   #14
Farmhawk
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Essentially the "warm and toasty" option is now referred to as the Arctic Package which is tested to 0 degrees with no freezing pipes. Last week I was in Idaho Falls in 10 to 15 degree overnight temps and we keep the trailer at 60 during the night with out discomfort. The meat of the package is insulation, R14 in the walls and ceiling and a toasty R21 in the floor. The furnace cycled about every 10 mins., I did go through almost 2 tanks of gas during our 2 week trip to Yuma, but that included running the furnace at 45 during the day while traveling the first 2 days out in sub freezing weather and the last 3 days of our return trip. Also the week we were in Yuma was dry camping so everything ran off of the gas including the DW baking one birthday cake and 2 loaves of bread, it was our maiden voyage so we were testing everything to the max. Our 2955 came through with flying colors. There were no drafts around the slides but you can feel the cold coming off of the windows just like a stick house.
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Old 03-04-2009, 06:08 PM   #15
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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I don't know if anyone remembers some of the photos showing the thermometer and snow outside of our trailer that I put under our signature between October 2007 and April 2008, when we were living in our Monty on the back side of a lake, in a wind-swept canyon, in Montana. Frequently the temperatures were -30 and -40. Like Rich said, "Warm & Toasty" wasn't an option on our rig either, but we had the Arctic Package, which I'm sure did help until the temperatures fell and stayed so far below zero. Still, we never were uncomfortable, but we probably did look like badly-dressed astronauts at times. I do remember sleeping most of the winter in longjohns, flannel PJ's, thermal socks, gloves, and a knit hat with earflaps, and buried under a feather quilt that only added to the claustrophobia I was suffering wearing that hat and gloves to bed. The worst part was having to climb out of that nest to go out to the Porta-Pottie at night. On the plus side, it would have taken a determined coyote or mountain lion to break through all of that gear to get to the flesh when we were making those midnight dashes outside.

Those were the days (notice I didn't say "good old days," just "days").

Carolyn
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Old 03-04-2009, 07:24 PM   #16
Rondo
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Rich-- The idea to be "Warm and Toastie" is to do more "Cuddling"! Come on now-- you should know that by this time in your life!!
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Old 03-05-2009, 02:03 AM   #17
richfaa
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Rondo..Will have to mention that to Helen.. We are not trying to pinch pennies on our great adventure. Our lifestyle is within a predetermined budget. When we can no longer afford to live that lifestyle we will pack it in. It was our plan to maintain our quality of life in the RV as near to the level it was in the stick house. We have been in temps ranging from @28/30 at night to 95/100F during the day and these things do pretty good in that range considering the construction. Our observation is that these things do a better job of cooling than heating.

If you had a kill A Watt meter or a PT 50C where you can see and measure your current draw you might be amazed at what the appliances , Furnace,A/C, Hot water tank, Fridge, Toaster, Micro wave, Vacuum and those space heaters use. During a mild day, with only the PC's and the freezer running, maybe a TV,
nothing else we will draw a total of 4 amps. When the freezer kicks on it will jump to 8 amps Total(between the two legs).

Here, under normal circumstances propane is more cost effective than electric.








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Old 03-05-2009, 03:34 AM   #18
ols1932
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Rich,
We solved the problem by the installation of a catalytic heater six years ago. It used a whole lot less propane than the furnace. We have since installed a Blue Flame heater which provides 20,000 BTUs of heat at about the same propane use as the catalytic did with much more comfort. The next time you're in Quartzite, check out Grandma's Heaters located just north of the propane refill station a couple blocks north of Main St.

Orv
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Old 03-05-2009, 03:57 AM   #19
richfaa
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We have been looking into that as a replacement for the inefficient furnace. I think that the OEM furnace blows more heat outside than it does inside.
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Old 03-05-2009, 03:59 AM   #20
simonsrf
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Unfortunately, we didn't get the “warm and Toasty” (get it) package either, but we did teach ourselves to improvise and adapt; so far, no complaints.

We bought sweat pants, sweat shirts, sweaters, slippers, a down comforter for the bed a few blankets, and learned how to set the thermostat to 55* for those nights where the temperature might reach freezing, or the possibility of water pipes freezing. The other nights (33*+), we leave the furnace off and add more blankets.

You can learn to sleep when the temperature is NOT 70*, or you can move back into a stick house; no thanks we made our choice a while ago. Move back into the stick house vs.: adapt (?); for us, we’ll improvise and work harder on adapting and continue our dream.

Sleeping under the down comforter with the cold on the outside, and the warm on the inside…aahhhhh….noisy heater?....and burning electricity? …no thanks!

Here in the west, we have seen very few RV Parks that charge by the kWh for electricity, they usually charge a flat rate, so, when we have the opportunity, we use our ceramic heater and our fireplace, depending on whether it is 30 or 50 amp power.....sometimes at the front desk it says 'NO ELECTRIC HEATERS'.....sure, right!... we still improvise and adapt.

When dry camping, the furnace only runs in the morning for about 15 minutes to where we are very comfortable.

The style of camping determines propane consumption and thus the cost burden. If you call it a camper, then camp, but don't complain about the amount used or how much propane costs are a burden to an excessive lifestyle.

Our comfort levels and priorities are adjustable so we can afford our dream.

JOHO

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