Hot water bottle

Okay so we’re really going back to basics here but sometimes the oldest methods are the best. Hot water bottles have been around since the 16th century, and have come a long way since those hard pottery devices you often see in Victorian museums. Not to be overlooked, a hot water bottle really can make the difference between a chilly night and a comfortable one. You can share one bottle between two people, or for maximum warmth cuddle up with one each, or use it to keep frostbitten toes at bay. If you have a stove and a kettle, you’ve got heating. 

Sleeping bags and blankets

A good quality 4 season sleeping bag (be that double or single), a heavy wool blanket or a cosy fleece can do wonders on top or underneath a duvet to double up on trapping body heat, or even just for cosying up by the fire outdoors. When the weather warms up, we like to lay ours flat on our mattress and make the bed on top to save on storage space.

Electric blanket

What a wonderful world we live in, that you can now get 12V electric blankets which plug into the cigarette lighter in your van. Great for driving long distances, using as an under-blanket in bed or wrapping around your shoulders, they also consume very little energy (average between 21W and 75W), although be aware that leaving them on unattended could be a potential fire hazard, however small the risk.

Electric heaters

Electric heaters aren’t the most practical type of heating for a van because they require a constant power draw, and the heat generated from them tends to dissipate fairly quickly. However if you have a decent off-grid battery and solar set up, or if you plan on spending a lot of time on campsites which provide power and just need something to take the edge off the cold, then an electric heater could be a good option for you.

There are many different types of electric heaters such as ceramic and oil-filled, offering different warm up speeds and heat outputs. Unfortunately, there does not yet seem to be any option for a 12V electric heater for a camper van, although you can make do with low wattage heaters, so just make sure you have an inverter with a peak output capable of running your chosen heater. 

If you’re looking for a low wattage heater for your camper van, we recommend the Outdoor Revolution heater, which is remarkably compact and low-energy, consuming between 600W and 1200W and easily capable of warming a small space with its built-in fan.

The Pro Breeze ceramic mini heater uses even less, just 500W, but is mainly designed as a desktop heater, so while it makes a great personal heater it would make little difference to the ambient temperature of your van.

Although probably more associated with your nan’s house than a van, we have nothing but good things to say about a simple oil-filled radiator, which is capable of heating a van to a very comfortable temperature in less than an hour- in fact, you’ll probably end up turning the heat down! This one on eBay consumes just 700W, but as long as you avoid using the fan function they’re all pretty good on power consumption.

LPG heaters

If power consumption is your main concern then a gas or LPG camper van heater may be the way to go. They are generally portable heaters, silent, use very little gas to operate and heat up a space very quickly. Unfortunately they also carry risks, such as carbon monoxide poisoning and fire, although they do typically come with built-in safety features to minimise these risks. 

The main issue is that they create a lot of condensation in a small space, which is generally the opposite goal of having a heater in a van, but proper ventilation should reduce the amount of condensation and the risks of carbon monoxide gas build up (i.e. you’ll need to have your door open while the heating’s on).

LPG appliances should always be installed by a gas safe engineer. Read our guide on Safety below.

LPG should also be stored externally to the van, such as in a gas safe cabinet. An underslung LPG tank is a large initial investment but will make refuelling cheap and easy with no risk, and can be used for heating, hot water and cooking.

A portable camping heater runs on small gas canisters and is a simple and portable way to generate heat, although they can be quite heavy on consumption, and should really only be used outdoors or with plenty of ventilation. These usually generate around 1.3kW of heat.

The Propex Heatsource is probably the standard for built-in gas heaters, offering a safe and efficient way to heat your camper van. These can be programmed to maintain a set temperature using an electronic thermostat, and a 4.5kg bottle of butane can run the heater for up to 32 hours, generating 1.9kW of heat. 

The Truma Combi is literally the crème de la crème of camper van heaters, combining a space heater and water boiler with a 10L integrated water tank and app-compatibility. They come with a hefty price tag, but you pay for quality, and the Truma can generate up to 4kW of heat for a supremely toasty living space.

Diesel / Petrol heaters

In our opinion, a diesel heater (also known as a parking heater or night heater) is the best camper van heater, not least because you can heat your camper van without electricity and extremely cheaply.

Diesel (or less commonly petrol) heaters operate by drawing fuel and combusting it inside a heat exchanger, which is then blown into the room by a fan. They generally take a few minutes to reach peak heat, and most consume no more than 0.3L of fuel per hour as well as a very low 12V current, making them extremely efficient to run. Some are quieter than others, many operate as a night heater maintaining a constant temperature throughout the night, although these programmable heaters are significantly more expensive than manually operated ones.

While the wiring is usually fairly straightforward, running a fuel line into your van’s tank can be a tricky process, and installation will require cutting a hole in your van’s floor or wall through which the exhaust will be installed. Fortunately, a diesel or gasoline heater can be a fairly flexible option as many people opt to install them underneath their van’s seats or under the bed, so a secondary tank can also be installed alongside it, which eliminates the risk of accidentally running your main fuel tank low.

Cheap Chinese diesel heaters have been much talked about online in recent years, offering an entry-level way of heating your van for under £100, but is it too good to be true? The general consensus is that these are surprisingly reliable, and when they’re not they are relatively easy to fix, depending on your level of skill and determination. HappyBuy is perhaps the most recognisable of these knock-off heaters, and you can see for yourself the number of mixed reviews they have on Amazon, so really it’s up to you if you want to take a punt to save a few hundred quid.

Eberspacher are long-time manufactures of diesel heaters and a great mid-range option for camper van heating. Their Airtronic models heat the room, while the Hydronic models heat water (more on this below). They do not offer this in a combined unit, so you would need to purchase the two separate models if you wanted both hot water and air, or adapt a Hydronic model as we did in our LDV using a coil and a heater matrix. You can also install an EasyStart timer for full control over your heating settings, and Eberspacher offer a different model of heater for use at altitudes above 1500m. An Airtronic D2 can generate up to 2.2kW of heat, consuming up to 0.28L of fuel per hour.

The Webasto Air Top is a top-of-the-range diesel heater offering superior efficiency and whisper-quiet operation with a 7 day programmable timer, and we should hope so too for that price tag. It can generate up to 2kW consuming no more than 0.24L per hour.

If you’re looking for a petrol heater for your camper van, try the Webasto Air Top petrol, or the Eberspacher B3L. A petrol heater requires extra care in maintenance and installation due to flammability. 

Underfloor heating

Underfloor heating in a van? Surely that’s a typo? No, it’s true! No more cold feet when you get up to wee in the night, and your pet dog will surely love you forever if he doesn’t already.

As extravagant as it may seem, 12V underfloor heating in a camper van is not only possible, it’s not as expensive as you’d think either.

Pioneering the way are US-based company Van Life Tech, who offer entire kits to create an app-controlled radiant floor heating set up in your van. Prices and whether they ship to the UK & Europe remain a mystery, but what we do have here are British based company Termofol, who offer 12V heating film mat for use in greenhouses and- yes, camper vans! This film uses carbon crystal technology to generate infrared heat that is warm to the touch, and they have more information as well as installation guides over on their website. The heating film runs on 12V, consuming between 140W and 220W per m² installed, and can be controlled by a thermostat. They also offer underfloor heating kits with thermostat, wires and vapour membrane included.

The only question that remains to be seen is, why? Underfloor heating, while no doubt a luxury, is not an ambient heat source, and so if it’s -20ºC outside your feet will be warm, but the rest of you will still be frozen, so you’d still need a space heater in addition to the underfloor heating. We’ll leave that call up to you.

Woodburning stove

Wood burning stoves are kind of the classic hippy van accessory, and the smoke billowing out of the flues of traveller vans and buses was an iconic scene at many festivals or Solstice gatherings a few decades ago. Still today they’re just as popular as they ever were, competing for top spot with diesel and gasoline heaters, and it’s easy to see why. The romantic notion of curling up by the fire at night, and the appeal of free fuel for heating and cooking forever are hugely attractive. Unfortunately however there are many practicalities to consider too.

Although the fuel may be free the initial costs of setting up a wood stove and the many components to go with it are high. They must be maintained regularly to ensure the fire rope is not leaking smoke, and that the flue is clear of soot which is liable to catch fire. They take up a lot of space in your van, especially with the added storage of often damp wood, and as such should seriously be considered before the conversion as they can be difficult to add in as an afterthought. Cutting a hole in your roof is also a big commitment, but the hot, dry heat of a burner is a wonder for drying out clothes and keeping condensation at bay.

If a wood burner is your only heating source however it can be a huge drawback for stealth camping, as the smoke rising out of your flue is like a big neon sign saying camper! Everything you own will smell faintly of woodsmoke, which can be a pro or a con depending on your preference. However one of the most important things to consider is whether the installation of a wood burner is going to wash with your insurance company, and in some cases it can even invalidate your insurance so make sure to check first.

We recommend purchasing a heat-powered stove fan to help spread the heat evenly around your van too. Really you don’t want a wood burner that’s any more than 2kW, unless you live in a bus, as the heat would be too intense for such a small space. This does limit your options somewhat, but here are our recommendations for mini wood burning stoves.

Glastonbury Burners are the go-to for camper van-sized stoves, with their Mini Cyclops and Gnome burners being among the most popular. Lead time is generally a few weeks and they deliver anywhere in the UK for £35.

Anevay Stoves make some of the most stylish wood burners out there, locally crafted in Cornwall in either satin black or the delicious honey glow brown. Their Shepherd Stove is the perfect size and output for a van at 1.7kW, and they offer stoves for outdoor cooking too.

You can also find handmade budget options like this micro wood burner, which comes in at just a fraction of the cost of other wood burners, although sadly lacking the option to see the flame inside. The only downside with mini wood burners and rocket stoves are that they are unable to take logs, which means you will be topping them up with fuel more frequently.

Be aware that not all wood burners are suitable to be used indoors, so always check before ordering.

Here we’ve compiled a variety of options for camper van water heaters and hot water options to consider.

There are two main types of water heaters for a van: using a tank, or tankless. Here are the key differences between the two:

Tank:

Some heaters will require a full system set up including plumbing, pumps and a tank. The tank acts as a holder for the water while it is heated up and then dispensed, usually fed from an adjoining cold tank. The most common types of heaters that require a tank are diesel, gasoline and electric. Calorifiers and Combi boilers have their own integrated tanks.

Tankless:

Tankless water heaters are also known as instant water heaters as they provide hot water on-demand. While they still require some sort of tank to hold cold water prior to heating this needn’t be installed in your van; it could be something as simple as a bucket. There is no need for dedicated storage for the hot water as a pump will draw cold water into the heater where it passes over a heated coil before being dispensed. The most common type of tankless water heater is LPG or propane.

Kettle

There’s not much washing of plates, dishes and bodies that can’t be done with the aid of a kettle, which is all we now use for all of our daily chores. To do the dishes we pour ⅔ of a boiled kettle into the bowl, scrub and use the remaining ⅓ for rinsing. It’s a similar process to hand wash our clothes, which usually uses around 2-3 kettles, and we wash with a flannel and shave using a plastic tub. We use a larger aga kettle for washing, which we fill up in a clean river or lake for washing clothes if possible, and a milk pan for boiling drinking water. It’s not elegant, but it’s simple and effective, and kettles don’t break down.

Tankless LPG water heater

A favourite option among van-dwellers is the instant LPG water heater, but we have some bad news for you. 

While you may have seen countless videos and photos of people showering out of their back doors using one of these, they cannot be used as a permanent camper van hot water solution, owing to the fact they vent directly out of the top and not out of a flue. Read: carbon monoxide. There’s nothing to stop you installing one of these in your van and using it in the kitchen or shower room at your own risk, but for a hire van it’s a big no no, and won’t meet the regulations to pass a Gas Safety Certificate.

So that’s the bad news out of the way, but the good news is that these are a relatively inexpensive way of getting instant hot water that requires little to no installation. Brands like EcoTemp and Joolca offer slightly upgraded versions of the same thing, but they all run directly off a bottle of propane and a D battery for the ignition, delivering 6L /min of lovely hot watery goodness. Cue backdoor shower photos.

Diesel water heaters

Diesel heaters, or less commonly petrol heaters, are an efficient and economical way to heat water in your camper van. They can heat air, water or both simultaneously, drawing on fuel from your van’s tank or its own unique fuel source.

They work fundamentally the same as a gas water heater, however the water is heated in an external tank over a period of time, usually between 10 and 20 minutes, before it achieves optimum temperature. Diesel water heaters were originally designed as engine pre-warmers for cold climates, but have since been adapted to heat living spaces in caravans, boats and of course camper vans.

There is a bit of installation required with wiring and plumbing but nothing too advanced. An external exhaust will need to be installed to vent fumes outdoors, and the heater needs to be coupled with a plate heat exchanger and an insulated tank or calorifier (see below) to function (i.e. a vessel in which it can heat water via a coil filled with coolant). If this all sounds too complex, you can buy complete kits including everything you will need to get set up.

Installing an Eberspacher Hydronic is probably the cheapest option for a diesel water heater, although as mentioned before it does not double as a space heater, unless you are able to adapt it. The D5WSC model is a 5kW water heater with built-in fuel pup and with an EasyStart pro controller it can be programmed to operate on a 7 day timer. You can also buy an Eberspacher Hydronic S3 kit with everything you need to get set up.

The Webasto Thermo Top C does much of the same as the Eberspacher, but it combines hot water and heating into one easy package, such as with the Webasto Thermo Top C 300 which is created specifically for camper vans and boats. This guide explains how to install the Webasto system in far more detail than we ever could. You can find an entire installation Webasto Thermo Top kit including a plate heat exchanger, fan matrix and exhaust pipe.

The Truma Combi range also integrates both heating and hot water, but with an in-built 10 litre stainless steel water tank and Bluetooth app connectivity, as well as digital controls via the Truma CP digital control panel. It can run on either diesel or 230V mains electric, and takes around 20 minutes to heat water to 60ºC.

Caravan water heater

Okay, technically this is the same principle as the tankless water heater above, but hear us out. A caravan water heater like the Cointra 6L is the best camper van water heater because it has an external flue which vents out of the roof of your van, meaning, unlike the unflued water heaters, it is Gas Safe and can be used in hire vehicles when installed by a professional. Yay! Of course this isn’t a problem if you don’t ever plan to hire your camper van out, or if you don’t mind breathing in noxious fumes, but for us this felt like the perfect solution after months of searching for something that seemingly didn’t exist.

The Cointra runs on bottled gas and ignites with a D battery, and can be plumbed in to give you a hot shower and hot water in your kitchen- just don’t use a thermostatic mixer for either of those; a regular mixer is fine. It’s very efficient and despite its size looks pretty smart and unobtrusive too.

We have more information on installing the Cointra boiler and gas safety over on our Plumbing page.

Calorifier

TLDR: A calorifier is a bit like a kettle.

Okay, so technically a calorifier isn’t a standalone camper van hot water heater, but it can be made into one, and one which will cost you precisely zero extra pounds to run.

A calorifier is basically an insulated water storage cylinder with one or more heat exchanger coils inside that contain a liquid such as coolant. They are known as indirect-fired water heaters because they do not contain a burner. Instead, they can be connected to your van’s (or boat’s) coolant system, which recirculates extra coolant between the engine and the coil inside the calorifier, thus using waste heat to heat the water inside, like an extension to your engine’s cooling system. They can also be heated electrically with an immersion heater, or connected to a diesel heater; the calorifier is simply the vessel to heat water in.

Imagine spending the whole day driving, parking up somewhere nice, and being able to immediately have a hot shower to wash off the driving dirt. That’s what a calorifier can do.

On the flip side, if this is your primary hot water source and you want hot water after a whole day not driving, you’re going to have to run the engine. So for someone who does more parking than driving, it may not be a great solution.

Back boiler

A wood burner is an often overlooked potential source of hot water. While you could simply boil up a kettle of water on its top as you would on a gas stove, there is another more ingenious way of using wood to heat your water.

This clever device is called a back boiler, a metal box which sits behind your wood burner filled with water which is then heated by the fire. It’s a system that was used hundreds of years ago before domestic showers were a thing, but its simple ingenuity is one that can be brought into the 21st century. 

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