Do you want fresh ideas for getting and staying warm?
Are you trying to keep warm on the road in winter?
Maybe you’re on the road or parked up in your RV this winter?
We’re living in a house bus with our kids full-time and I hate being cold. Especially the kind of cold where your digits can’t be felt!
If I got to choose, I’d take warm and tropical over icy any day. Despite this, last year we travelled further south in New Zealand for the deep of winter, which sounds mad sometimes too!
However, the theory was that, while colder, it would at least be drier than the wetter, wintry north of New Zealand at this time of year. And we thought that since we were travelling with kids, that it would be better to be able to get outside if it’s dry, even if it was colder.
This decision was based on discussion on the NZMCA forum around whether to head north or south for winter. And so we decided to head south. Plus we hadn’t seen the South Island in winter so we expected a visual treat, if not a thermal one.
I must say that I am super glad we enjoyed such a long summer up north where it was warm and fine most of that time.
If you find yourself wondering how you can keep your temperature up in winter, here’s a post about getting and staying warm even through winter.
10 Awesome Hacks for Staying Warm in Winter
People with lower body mass tend to feel cold quicker. So, being smaller, that often leaves me feeling cold before my husband Neil so here are some ways I keep warm in our bus even in the winter.
*Some of the links in this post are to affiliates. This means we may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you choose to make a purchase.
1. Stay active
Exercise releases body heat so going for a walk, run or other activity will keep your body temperature up, keep the chill off and also help you unwind. Win-win!
2. Wear warm clothing
And wear it in layers. Layers help keep the wind out, the heat locked in, and can be changed when you warm up.
Often if your torso is well insulated the rest of you can cope well so wear good insulators with wind-fleece and windproof overcoats if outside.
Some of us also wear thermal clothing which is usually made of natural fibre e.g. merino or synthetics e.g. polypropylene. We love the thermal tops and bottoms from Postie+ in New Zealand as they’re soft, cheap, and durable and they don’t itch.
Big D wears his to bed and they keep him snug all evening and night. The ones we like are the Thermo brand and are 50% polyester and 50% viscose so are strong and stretchy too. Priced from $6 apiece they’re super value too. Tights or leggings under trousers are another option for warmer legs.
My current keep-warm-clothes for daytime include fleece/ tracksuit pants, a t-shirt, and a fleece hoodie. If I’m ultra cold I have a feather filled puffer style coat I wear too. I also like an ear and neck warmer and fleece-lined gloves for windy, ice-cold days outside.
For bedtime, there are flannelette PJs, thick bed socks in slippers, and minky dressing gowns over the top – plus a hot water bottle in the evening.
If I’m sitting still for a while at night journalling or blogging I also wrap a fleece blanket around my legs and ankles to keep them warmer.
Keeping your feet and head warm makes a huge difference to your thermal condition.
I get really cold feet so always wear slippers in winter. My favourites are sheepskin slippers which to me seem way warmer inside than any of the synthetic types that are cheaply sold in almost any clothing or shoe shop here.
I once bought sheepskin slippers at The Warehouse but haven’t seen them there since. Number One shoe has them for around $80 a pair or any of the tourist shops stock a range of options.
Online is another good place to look but you can’t try them on before you buy this way. The last ‘Mi Woollies’ pair I bought was from Hannahs for around $70 on a buy one, get one half price special which was a steal.
3. Eat & drink yourself warm
Drink hot water, tea, coffee, or hot chocolate & eat hearty stews and soups. After you eat, your body temperature rises as digestion kicks in. This is so good for staying warm.
On the wintry food front, supermarkets often have deals like 4 boxes for $5 on the Maggi or Continental soup sachets. Some boxes have 2 packets and others 4 inside them and their gram weight varies so it can pay to check what you’re getting.
Our current soup favourites are golden pumpkin, hearty beef, tomato, and chicken noodle.
Living in the bus, I’m also more into add-a-packet meals, like the ones in the middle picture below. They, and the recipes at the front of NZ supermarkets like New World and Countdown, often help add speed and variety to our winter diet.
Most are delicious and only require a few easy to find additional ingredients (listed on the packet) but we found one of the satay sachet’s contents made a super spicy meal.
My current favourite packet meals are the chicken chasseur, beef stroganoff and butter chicken ones which are so good to eat when it’s cold and eating them feels nourishing too.
Warm breakfasts like bacon & eggs, cooked oats, or semolina are nice to eat too when it’s cold.
4. Snuggle hot water bottles and get under the covers
I love hitting bed early; snuggling up under a feather duvet and blankets with a hot water bottle. I find this the best place to raise body temperature in winter and it brings everyone together, though sometimes the boys have ice-cold feet that take a little to warm up!
Neil fills our water bottles daily and it’s such a nice ritual. We use water bottle covers as the rubber bottles are too hot without them against skin. And by morning everything is delightfully warm until you throw back the covers and leap into your day!
It does seem that getting up is somewhat more delayed in the winter months 😊
5. Use hand warmers
My sister in law gave me some of these ingenious little gel bags that give you instant heat once you activate them by clicking the little metal tag inside. They are pocket-sized so can go with you in your jacket or trouser pockets to keep your hands warm.
They gradually go cold and harden but can be boiled in a pot of water to reset them. Reusable – Perfect! Of course gloves, hats, and scarves don’t have to be reboiled and probably keep you warmer overall but for extra warmth these are nifty.
6. Diesel heater
If there’s one winter item we would not want to do without in winter, it’s our diesel heater!
All 5KW of heating goodness is packed into a tiny box and neatly installed. It vents outside and is safe to run overnight. We bought our heater from here. It came with a 10L diesel tank, wall control pad, and other accessories.
The instructions took some interpreting given the poor English but it was easy to install and vent to the outside of our bus through the floor.
It uses about 200mls of diesel to heat for an hour depending on your heat setting of course. We find it super handy as it starts up quickly and has a short cool downtime.
We set it to come on during the night when its coldest and in the hour before you get up, making it more pleasant to rise and dress for the day. We don’t find it very noisy and find ourselves switching it off once we’re warm so it’s low cost too.
We know someone who just installed the 8KW version in his 43ft boat to heat the downstairs living area and finds himself as toasty as a roast chicken on cold days he says. He sets his to warm to around 22ºC and finds it heats well and is more than ample for his space.
Do we wish we had a higher KW one? No. For our bus (heating an area of around 16m²) we think what we have is perfect. Another person installed the 3KW in his yacht and wishes he’d chosen the 5KW instead now that he’s tried it.
Our advice is, choose the one you think will suit you and warm your space. You can always turn a more powerful one down.
Before buying, carefully read the fine print around what’s included, sizing, ventilation requirements, and shipping before you buy and follow the instructions for proper use and you’ll be toasty.
7. Park for sun
While the days are shorter in winter, we suggest parking your vehicle to maximise your sun gathering potential. If you park side-on to the sun, you’ll have the afternoon sun streaming into the windows of your vehicle and, since most jobs are done by this time, it’s the best to curl up and read or play cards together in the natural warmth of the sun.
If you have solar panels on your roof, avoid the shade of trees or hills as much as possible in winter. This way all sunshine hours will count towards your solar input and battery health daily.
Of course, solar panels can be mounted in a range of ways. One option is flat. One of our solar panels was added after we had converted our bus and to save drilling more holes in the roof, we instead bought mounting brackets for the panel and glued it down with Sikaflex 291. Easy.
Our other panels were mounted to tilt if we want so there’s the choice of maximising their potential by following the sun with them.
Another option is to have portable panels that you can orient yourself when you park. There are even flexible/ fold-able ones available!
8. Curtains
Thermal lined curtains help retain heat. In addition to these, we use a few blankets to cover the side holes up by the front curtain, which is full length because it separates the front driving area from the rest of the bus.
This works quite well to retain warmth in our inner zone. We usually close all of the curtains around 4 pm in the winter, aiming to maintain solar warmth accrued during the day.
We’ve also tried to close off draughty gaps in windows and doors wherever possible so we don’t leak out our warm air. Mitre 10 has a range of silver wrap on a roll that you could line window glass with.
Some people also buy extra wide bubble sunshades from Super Cheap Auto to use as insulation, which I understand has a double glazing effect, reducing heat loss and condensation.
The shades are cheaper from AliExpress if you have time to wait for delivery which is estimated at 17-36 days for this product.
Or you could try Reflectix from Amazon.
It worked well and was removable later on for the summertime views.
Insulation under the floor makes a big thermal difference too. When we built our house bus we installed polystyrene sheets under the ply floorboards then carpeted the back half and laid vinyl on the front half.
*If I did our flooring again, I’d vinyl the whole bus for ease of cleaning and use more carpet or mats which you can easily remove for cleaning.
Ironically, despite all our anti-draught and warmth efforts, we do always keep a small vent open to allow moist air to escape to reduce condensate on the windows internally in the mornings.
9. Bedding
I love my feather duvet. I’ve tried a wool inner but feather keeps us the warmest in winter. Ours is a 70/30 duck down blend from Briscoes who often has sales.
In the coldest months we add a blanket on top of our duvet and switch to flannelette or fleece sheets which feel warmer and are nicer to get into on colder nights. Bed, Bath & Beyond, and The Warehouse are two sources I know that stock these in New Zealand.
Our boys use the same bedding as us and have soft fleece/ minky blankets. They swear it’s warmer to have their blanket over their body and the duvet on top of that.
If you find blankets too scratchy, putting a wool blanket under your mattress sheet can warm you up nicely too.
If you have the power capacity or plug in to power lots, you could even add an electric blanket to your bed in winter. I miss my one from home as it was great for taking the cold edge off before you get into bed.
10. Plan ahead
Do jobs outside during the heat and light of the day in the winter. It’s way colder and harder to change gas bottles or cassettes or anything else when it’s cold, dark and your fingers are going numb.
Also, we recommend arriving at park-ups in daylight, getting settled, and getting warm inside once you’re all set up. It’s better than arriving, settling in late and having to level your vehicle or fill/empty tanks in the cold.
Got any more great tips for staying warm on the road in winter?
Feel free to comment below so I can update this post with more great ideas.
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Thanks!
Meagan
Good to read your comments Meagen, think I’ll stay in my cosy warm home though. Travel safe, Love from us