Radical Camper - Heating a Tent

• Home
• Heating a Tent
• Camping Tips
• Pictures

Table

The FrenzyBird Folding Picnic Table fits very well in the ShiftPod tent and can hold up to a 50" TV.

Ceiling Fan

The OPOLAR 5000mAh Camping Fan is a very nice USB powered ceiling fan. The light is not very powerful, but the fan works great.

Carbon Monoxide Detector

The Alert Plus Carbon Monoxide Detector shows PPM which is helpful.

Mattress

Camp like royalty with the MondoKing 3D, an ultra-comfy 4.5-inch thick sleeping pad for resting better under the stars

Cot

The KingCamp cot uses a very nice fabric and is sturdy. It does sag a little and the bar in the middle separates the two sides which is fine for an air mattress, but not as great for the Thermarest mattresses. A less saggy top with no center bar would work better. Please let us know if anyone finds a better cot option for the Thermarest mattresses.

Oxygen Meter

Oxygen Meter - This is a must have piece of equipment when heating a tent. Non-vetilated heaters use a lot of oxygen.

Exhaust Fan

An exhaust fan is another critical piece of equipment for maintaining oxygen levels and it also helps keep moisture from condensing on the tent. The OPOLAR 8 Inch Desk Fan works great with the ShiftPod 2 tent.

Heaters

The Camco Wave-3 heater is an often overlooked tent heater that is perfect for a ShiftPod. The Mr. Buddy Heater is too hot for sleeping above 25 degrees.

The Mr. Heater Buddy heater is still a valuable heater for very cold nights and fast heat-ups. The Wave heater does not get near as hot as the Buddy heater, so this heater would be better than the Wave-3 heater for non-insulated tents.

How to Heat a ShiftPod 2 Tent Safely

If you are looking for an easy to set up, comfortable, spacious, insulated tent, James and Kerry like the ShiftPod 2. It is much quicker and easier to setup than a canvas wall tent and smaller and lighter weight when packed. Note that when packed the Shiftpod is 76" long so it will not fit easily in all vehicles. James and Kerry use a Thule roof rack for the ShiftPod 2, heaters and propane bottles The ShiftPod 2 is heavy enough that its takes two people to load it on the roof rack easily.

The SHIFTPOD2 has DARK-OUT super composite fabric with synthetic down thermal insulation and highly reflective UV layers which is very usefull for low or high temperature camping. In addition, the fabric blocks some of the light which makes it easier to sleep in when the sun comes up. The insulated fabric has allowed James and Kerry to camp comfortably in sub zero temperatures. The interior is tall enough to stand up and feels larger than it looks from the exterior. You can fit a queen sized bed and table and still have plenty of room. If you need more space you can use a tunnel to connect another ShiftPod 2. The manufacturer, Advanced Shelter Systems, has exceptional customer support too. They are the kind of company you feel good about giving your money to.

James and Kerry used to camp in a canvas wall tent with a vented wood stove and found heating the tent to be relatively easy. Unfortunately, the ShiftPod 2 tent does not have a port for venting an indoor heater. James And Kerry found that heating a tent with a catalytic heater is very difficult to do safely. While catalytic heaters are not going to fill up your tent with carbon monoxide, they do burn up the oxygen very quickly. An oxygen meter is a MUST HAVE device when heating with a catalytic heater.

UPDATE 6/2023: The new EcoFlow WAVE 2 heating and air conditioning looks perfect for the Shiftpod Tent. It is expensive at $1,799.00 and up, it sure looks like the best and safest way to heat a tent. Note that I have not purchased an EcoFlow Wave 2, so I do not have any experience with them.

The catalytic heaters do not seem to affect the carbon monoxide levels, but it doesn't hurt to keep one in the tent. James and Kerry had their detector go off in the middle of the night for some unknown reason. A nice lady with a Chinese accent told them to evacuate.

An exhaust fan is another critical piece of equipment for exhausting the oxygen depleted air and bringing in fresh air. It also helps eliminate the moisture that can get on the inside of a tent. James and Kerry found a fan that is the same size as one of the ShiftPods 2's heating/cooling ports. Just add some velcro to the edge of the heater and it sticks onto the velcro on the tent heating/cooling port perfectly. Note that the exhaust fan requires open windows to work. Use the oxygen meter to help decide how many windows to open. The amount of windows to open depends on many factors, the most important being the wind direction and speed. Start with one window open opposite of the exhaust fan, and use your oxygen meter to keep track of the oxygen levels. Open more windows as needed starting from the side opposite the exhaust fan.

Most people recommend the Mr. Heater Buddy heater for tents. While it is a nice heater, it is way too hot for sleeping in the ShiftPod 2. In addition, it sucks up the oxygen quick. The Camco Wave-3 heater provides the right amount of heat for sleeping down to about 15 degrees. Plus, it uses less propane so your propane will last longer. We like to use 11 pound propane bottles instead of the little green propane bottles. We still use the Mr Heater Buddy heater for sleeping in temperature below 15 degrees and for quick heat ups or if we want extra heat for doing an activity in the tent.

Other ShiftPod Tent Items

The ShiftPod 2 tent easily fits a queen size bed and a table. Air mattresses always seem to end up losing air resulting in the taco effect when you wake up in the morning. James and Kerry much prefer a cot and Thermarest mattress. The Thermarest MondoKing™ 3D Sleeping Pad is very comfortable. The Modo King is fairly large when packed up so you need plenty of storage space left in your vehicle to use the larger mattress. For a pillow, James likes the Thermarest pillows better than any pillow he has had at home.