Seeking opinions on the necessity of a Heat Pump

[SacRV]

I'd like to seek some opinions on the necessity of a heat pump on our new Cedar Creek Cottage.

Let me start off with explaining our situation. The trailer is currently on back-order from the manufacturer waiting for the heat pump before it can be shipped to the dealer. There is no ETA on the heat pump.

This trailer will be semi-permanent when delivered and placed on blocks. The trailer will be completely off-grid and powered off a propane generator. We have a 250-gal propane tank to feed the trailer and generator. So there will be no shortage of propane. We will only use the trailer 2-3 nights a month and the temperature rarely goes below freezing.

The reason we ordered the trailer with the $400 optional heat pump was to have some redundancy in case the furnace stops working. We also have the Cadet in-wall heater in the bedroom.

So the question really comes down to the reliability of the furnace. Do you think the furnace will be reliable enough with our limited use to omit the heat pump? Everything will ultimately be powered by propane so there's no advantage or disadvantage there.

[TowPro]

i really like my new heat pump. my current Atwood Air Command is the best one on an RV I have ever had. It has an external temp sensor that switches the system over to propane when temps hit around 40 deg. But Dometic bought them out (I assume to suppress the competition)


But in your case you don't have electric accept for generator. your propane will run on 12V, but your heat pump needs a generator. in that case I would have no problems not buying a heat pump.



have you thought about installing solar for your new camper? for those couple nights a week you need heat a pair of batteries might get you through with solar alone, not needing a generator. Plus the solar will allow you to keep the refrigerator running on propane all season.
if you have sun 200-300 Watts would probably be enough.


I did not look up your location so I don't know your AC requirements during summer nights, but it sure is nice to sleep with windows open out in the country

[SacRV]

Originally Posted by TowPro

i really like my new heat pump. my current Atwood Air Command is the best one on an RV I have ever had. It has an external temp sensor that switches the system over to propane when temps hit around 40 deg. But Dometic bought them out (I assume to suppress the competition)


But in your case you don't have electric accept for generator. your propane will run on 12V, but your heat pump needs a generator. in that case I would have no problems not buying a heat pump.



have you thought about installing solar for your new camper? for those couple nights a week you need heat a pair of batteries might get you through with solar alone, not needing a generator. Plus the solar will allow you to keep the refrigerator running on propane all season.
if you have sun 200-300 Watts would probably be enough.


I did not look up your location so I don't know your AC requirements during summer nights, but it sure is nice to sleep with windows open out in the country

Yes, we are looking at installing solar and/or an inverter and battery bank after delivery. We're still trying to get some design ideas and pricing. But I didn't want to take that into consideration as whatever we do will probably be a smaller system for our minimal use.