Heater

[rick freeman]

Looking at my choices for my heater which I don’t need at the moment, I admit I don’t know the difference between heat pump and furnace. Any experts out there?
Thanks

[BandJCarm]

Most southern homes that have central heat use a heat pump. It's electric and pulls heat from from ambient air.......at least until outside temp gets to about 20 degrees. Then it can't function well. It's an optional function of your roof a/c unit. Optional order on almost all trailers.

Propane furnace uses.......propane. Very warm, does great, but uses propane. Standard on almost all trailers.

[Marnenorden]

Originally Posted by rick freeman

Looking at my choices for my heater which I don’t need at the moment, I admit I don’t know the difference between heat pump and furnace. Any experts out there?
Thanks

What model RV is your question about? On my Sunseeker, the heat pump runs the air conditioner and the furnace runs off of Propane only.

[Duckogram]

The OP has a 2017 2861DS.
IMO, the best choice for a heater is one that sombody else pays for the fuel to run it.
On shore power, if you have a heat pump, that would be choice #1 until the OAT drops below about 40*f. Thats the cutoff for efficiency for a heat pump and if you have an AirCommand, that is the factory cut off. Heat pumps will work at lower temps but not well. Then there is the holding tank issue.
Still on shore power, choice #2 would be a ceramic space heater. I use mine for temps below 40*f but above freezing.
Choice #3 is your furnace. When the temp drops below freezing you should run your furnace to keep your pipes/tanks/pump/filter from freezing.

Not on shore power: The furnace is your best choice over running the genset. If you do run the genset, the same shore power temp range choices apply.

Note: A heat pump is an air conditioner that runs the fluid backwards via a valve. In residential applications, heat pumps are predominately used in moderate climate areas.
For example; Where I live heat is only needed (for comfort) 4 days a year. A heat pump, which costs more and is generally not as efficient as an air conditioner, makes no sense.
I use a heat strip for those rare days. Electric meter sings a happy tune when the strip lights up.

[Radio]

Under the general topic of heaters and staying warm...

These are called "milkhouse heaters"

Light, noisy, cheap ($20 or less) indestructible, every retailer carries them.

Run a heavy extension cord out through your slide seal to the pedestal. One of these will keep my trailer warm in weather I am willing to camp in.

As a bonus, the temperature control on these heaters can be set very low, like 40 degrees, so in the winter here in Georgia I don't really winterize the trailer until it drops into the 20's. I just plug in my little heater and open all the cabinets where the pipes are. Saves a lot of trouble.