In January 2022, Jason quit his job and took a week before starting the new gig at OK4WD — so naturally he hit us up to hit the trails. We planned a couple possible trips, but landed on making a last-minute decision to do as much of the Kentucky Adventure Tour (KAT) as possible. The KAT is roughly 1000 miles of pavement, gravel, and technical trail through Central Kentucky, including parts of the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB) as part of the route.
On our trip, the temperature got down to about 18 degrees Fahrenheit. At those temperatures, your water freezes.
Cold temperature camping wasn’t a new concept. Rachael and I had stayed in cold weather with the camper before. In 2021 on our way out to visit family, we camped in Santa Fe, NM. Not only did the downtown capture our hearts, with traditional architecture and various art studios featuring indigenous artists, but the scenery was beautiful, too. We got into Santa Fe in the evening and found a campsite in the foothills near a Buddhist retreat center. That night, it got down to 8 degrees. The camper was all buttoned up, and the Dickenson was running on full blast, but at that point, we didn’t have anything in the interior built out, and the electrical wasn’t wired. We didn’t have any air circulation, and the stove’s fan wasn’t on, so the camper got cold. We woke up with frost on the non-stove side, and it was about 30 degrees inside, despite the stove running on high all night.
Now, we know better.
The interior is built out, and the electrical is wired. With the stove on LOW and the fans running, the camper stays about 40 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature outside, which the pups now appreciate.
Insulating the Camper
Standard practice (as far as I can tell) is to utilize a BedRug as the primary source of insulating the beds. These kits are carpet-lined, closed-cell foam that fit the truck beds nicely. Naturally, I wanted to try something different and do it a way more difficult way.
I actually did this twice.
The first time, I used radiantguard. This is just a thermal barrier that’s about as thick as two sheets of paper. I installed that, then put the Goose Gear on top of it. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t do much for insulation.
The second time, I bought some 1/4-inch closed cell foam insulation lined with Raidant Guard. This stuff is most commonly used in attics. With that and about 4 rolls of aluminum foil tape, the bed of the truck was lined and insulated. This did a much better job of keeping the heat in.