Keeping warm in a vintage caravan end of October?

[KatyMac]

So I am staying away for 1 night for work
I have a leisure battery
The caravan is not well insulated

I will be cold

Apart from lots of clothes a hat and an electric blanket what can I do?

Hot water bottle and those heat pads you can put in gloves etc

I'm going camping next week

Below zero sleeping bag and thermals is my solution, oh and a hat at night

You mention leisure battery so I assume no electric hook-up (mains) to power a heater of some kind?

Avoid the temptation for a gas heater of any kind as you will end up with condensation running down the walls.

Good quality sleeping bag and blankets/duvets etc. Thermal PJs, big socks, hot water bottle, hat should be enough

One man tent inside the caravan, nice small space to heat, you'll be toasty

With a 12v electric blanket you’ll be fine!

Oo hot water bottle good move!

No hook up or gas inside the caravan (insurance)

I have thermals but no sleeping bag

You all posted while I was thinking

No room for an inside tent!! But I love the idea - it'll be good for power cuts this winter!!

My blanket is an ordinary one but I have an inverter - I just hope it lasts

If you're going for work, why on earth aren't they paying for a hotel? They are being vvvvu asking you to sleep in a vintage van in October!

(hardened camper here but not for work in October!)

I lived in a caravan (mobile home type) for a whole winter with two v. young children many years ago. I found that a simple two-bar electric fire heated the indoor space up v. quick... and only needed to be on periodically...

I'm self employed and it's kind of necessary 😄😄

I have a little oil filled radiator that might work

You won't be able to run heating from a leisure battery. If you've got no hook-up, forget the oil heater and the electric blanket (unless it's 12v and it's a high capacity battery in very good condition).

Why don't you get a sleeping bag?

For me, the biggest thing is not getting into bed cold. So, early evening get changed into your thermals then joggers and sweatshirt over, thick socks and hat (plus big coat if you are going out of the caravan obv) and sit with a hot water bottle.
On your bed, duvet folded under you, one on top, pre heat with another hot water bottle and then take your evening hottie with you as well. If getting boiling water means going outside, make sure to take a flask so you can fill up your hotties and have a hot choc before bed without getting cold

Oo double Duvets good idea

& I had an idea about the indoor tent thing
I have a clothes rail above my bed so if I tuck a blanket under the inside edge of the mattress and over the rail it will make a little tent

I'll look for my hotties- don't know if I have any but I can improvise I reckon

Layering clothes I can do

I dont imagine the car would be any warmer unless I run the engine which wouldn't be ideal...

My brother has forbidden my heater/blanket idea cos of the voltage (or something) & he sent me this
tentcampinglife.com/heat-tent-without-electricity/

If I'm buying I'd rather buy a 12v heated blanket than a sleeping bag but I'll keep my eyes open

I was camping last week in the back of a van. I took my gravity blanket and wore leggings and a onesie. It was frosty in the morning but I was lovely and warm and dry.

If you have to buy a hottie, then the Dunelm really long ones are lush. They don't seem to stay hot as long as a normal one, but are soooo snuggly

We have used an electric blanket with an inverter, but only to take the chill off the bed before we got in. They can pull around 10-12 amps plus the inverter inefficiency, so a normal leisure battery is unlikely to last all night.

Really? Get a sleeping bag and man up. Plenty of us wild camp in the north east of Scotland in winter never mind autumn

It’s 12 degrees outside at the moment- it’s mild. Inside a caravan with warm clothes and a duvet and you’ll be fine.

There's no need to be sexist because you choose to sleep outside hun x

Hardly sexist when both me and op have a cunt. Possibly my Shetlandic blood stands me in better stead but there’s no need to be dramatic.

How will you heat water for hot water bottles if you have no gas or hook up? We used our caravan 12 months a year but had gas & hook up, we used a heater as well at night because it was quieter than the blown air. You need thick socks, thermals, thick pjs, 2 duvets at least 15 tog, one under you & one on top with a blanket under the top duvet. Could you get a large power bank so you can run an electric blanket? You must be mad to stay in an unheated poorly insulated caravan in winter, it used to take about 2 hours to get ours warm when we arrived & you could bet the bedding felt damp the first night. Once we got it warm we kept the heating on day & night, just going in the bathroom felt freezing & we had an awning to stop the worst of the cold if we had to open the door.

Wrist warmers if you're wrists are kept warm then the blood in your hands will be warm.

"Hardly sexist when both me and op have a cunt."

Ugh, between that and your "man up" language 🤢