Cold weather tips from the cargo trailer camper community

Winter temps can bring some unique challenges for cargo camper conversions.

How do experienced cargo trailer camper (CTC) builders update their setups for the winter months?

Groups like Cargo Trailer Conversions on Facebook have a wealth of knowledge.

Builders share how they are planning their projects, and what they wish they’d done differently.

Recently a poster asked:

What is the coldest temperature you have spent more than one night camping in? What did you find out about your build/conversion that you need to address before doing it again?

We rounded up the top advice and pro-tips below:

Consider window covers

I cut 1” pink styrofoam panels slightly smaller than the windows, wrapped them in fleece blankets, pressure fit them in each window, worked awesome!!

My windows have way too much thermal bridging with the single pane glass and aluminum frame. The inside of the window and frame was covered with ice. The second night I made temporary covers from cardboard and it really made a difference. I am going to make nice wooden interior covers for the windows and make sure they are well secured and sealed.

Watch below to learn more about Thermal Bridging:

Keep your batteries safe from a freeze

Low 20's. I learned from it. Keep your AGM batteries inside your CTC where it is warm. If they freeze they get damaged.

Don’t forget your floors

Floor, even though I insulated the floor, there is a lot of cold air from the areas where the frame meets the plywood. I only insulated between the frame rails and left the single plywood areas over the frame.

It was the coldest camping we've ever seen in 25 yrs at our Kentucky farm. We kept the inside temp at 68°. The floor will get insulated this spring. We could feel the cold come up thru the floor as quickly as the furnace thermostat kicked off. Also throw rugs, runners or even an electric heated rug pad would help as well. Problematic as the underside of our Aluminum trailer is square beam aluminum with no I (eye beam) ledges to hold up the insulation.

…And your doors

We camped in the teens this past weekend. The only thing I noticed was the rear swing door had frost build up around the inside lip, not really an issue but I’ll likely add additional weatherstripping on the door for a better seal. The diesel heater kept it 80* all weekend long and we slept comfortably under a light throw blanket in minimal clothing. I did not add any insulation and don’t plan to based on my experience so far.

We slept in the Cargo trailer this weekend using our little Chinese diesel heater. Was -20 outside and +20 inside. Floors were warm and walls. The trailer is insulated but the door is the weak spot so we hung a thick blanket over it and it did wonders at one point we had to sleep on top of the blankets. Only down fall is the heater makes it a little too dry inside.

Bonus: Insulate well from the start

If you plan to camp in cold weather, a good base of insulation will be your best friend. Check out the video below from YouTuber Joel Tremblay. The rest of his build series is also a must-watch.

How do you plan to stay toasty warm in your cargo trailer camper conversion? Let us know in the comments below!

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