Trail rig heating

Wes

Wes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Location
Ridgeway, SC
I’ve found a rig I’m interested in. It’s been stripped down pretty bare. Not a lot of creature comforts. Not concerned with AC but I would like heat for the family to tag along in the fall/winter. I’ve been researching some of the hot rod auxiliary heating. Most folks seem pleased with them. They’re loud, but appear to produce a fair amount of heat. Anybody had any experience with these? Do you guys run heat, or just suck it up? If it were just me I wouldn’t care, but I’d like for my little man to tag along.
 
If you want heat, get heat. A windshield defrost is probably the most important function to add.

Summit carries some stuff, and the traditional players like Vintage Air. Maradyne makes a lot of stuff for tractors and industrial vehicles that are similar to those (Maradyne might private label units for companies like Vintage Air, etc).

How loud they are just depends on fan speed, type of fan (squirrel cage blower, axial fan, etc), and how much ducting you have to damp the fan noise and air noise. Also, having it behind a dash...
Squirrel cage blowers are generally quieter.
 
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Fabrik8 said:
If you want heat, get heat. A windshield defrost is probably the most important function to add.

Summit carries some stuff, and the traditional players like Vintage Air. Maradyne makes a lot of stuff for tractors and industrial vehicles that are similar to those (Maradyne might private label units for companies like Vintage Air, etc).
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I’ve looked at the summit stuff. There’s another one called a mojave heater. Had good reviews. Some of the reviews claim it’ll run you out of a CJ cab.
 
Most rigs because of the slow movement get a really hot floor and supply plenty of heat. Both my rigs I wind up with the heat off all together after about 30 minutes. But, defroster is pretty important.
 
77GreenMachine said:
Most rigs because of the slow movement get a really hot floor and supply plenty of heat. Both my rigs I wind up with the heat off all together after about 30 minutes. But, defroster is pretty important.
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I haven’t seen an aftermarket defroster. I’m guessing they make them I just haven’t researched it.
 
Wes said:
I’ve looked at the summit stuff. There’s another one called a mojave heater. Had good reviews. Some of the reviews claim it’ll run you out of a CJ cab.
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That's what I have in my Ranger. Works excellent. Heats up my extended cab truck where you can't take the heat
 
You could just get a heater core for say a ,78 Merc Grand Marq, make a box & add a blower, add ducts as needed. It's a pretty cheap core and rectangular, lines both come straight out the same side, easy to do..

shopping.jpeg


$30 online, not much more through advance
 
a_kelley said:
You could just get a heater core for say a ,78 Merc Grand Marq, make a box & add a blower, add ducts as needed. It's a pretty cheap core and rectangular, lines both come straight out the same side, easy to do..

View attachment 300186

$30 online, not much more through advance
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If I'm not mistaken, I believe some year of 4Runner uses a small heater core with a fan for rear heat very simular like your talking.

If it were me, I would just pick up one of the summit heater. There cheap enough to try it out.
 
Seat heaters are fairly cheap and easy to add.

I have the summit heater that plumbs into the engine’s water system and it works really well.
 
I have never found the need for a heater in a wheeling rig. The heater in my Samurai never worked.
 
I bought the Mojave for my CJ I am working on. Have not installed it yet but it looks quality.
 
The floor of the xj gets pertty toasty after a bit of wheeling. I still have all the factory stuff atm though. I could see a rig staying quite warm if it has full skins and a roof to help hold it down. @Wes more details on the rig.... ;)
 
Caver Dave said:
After fighting to get heat for years (new core, fan, blah, blah, blah) I yanked it all out and went with a set of insulated coveralls... which work great, especially when out of the rig!
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That doesnt work in a buggy @30 degrees wind blowing and raining making you wet to your boxers.
@woodrow that was a cold day in Harlan
 
ghost said:
The floor of the xj gets pertty toasty after a bit of wheeling. I still have all the factory stuff atm though. I could see a rig staying quite warm if it has full skins and a roof to help hold it down. @Wes more details on the rig.... ;)
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82 CJ7
Fiberglass Tub
Stretched
TBI 383 sbc
TH400 reverse manual valve body
40” stickies
Full cage tied to frame
Custom dash (no heat, heater core and everything else was removed during build)
Twin stick 300
Dana 60 up front and either a 14b or 70 out back. Can’t remember. Have to look back at what the guy sent me. I haven’t had a chance to put eyes on it yet. Just a lot of talking back and forth. It’s about 5 hours away from me. I need to make time to go check it out. I drool over it daily.
 
Stuntman Autoworks said:
That doesnt work in a buggy @30 degrees wind blowing and raining making you wet to your boxers.
@woodrow that was a cold day in Harlan
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I’ve spent enough nights in the woods cold, wet, and tired. I’m a puss now. I like my creature comforts too much now. Plus, I want to bring the family. I agree that more layers won’t work for this application.
 
Wes said:
I’ve spent enough nights in the woods cold, wet, and tired. I’m a puss now. I like my creature comforts too much now. Plus, I want to bring the family. I agree that more layers won’t work for this application.
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I am planning to add a Mojave style heater to my buggy and more solid skins. A little warm air blowing by is better than nothing lol.
 
Stuntman Autoworks said:
I am planning to add a Mojave style heater to my buggy and more solid skins. A little warm air blowing by is better than nothing lol.
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No doubt. My dad has a 69 Fairlane. If you sit up front it’s manageable. I sat in the back last winter for about an hour ride to a car show. It was just above freezing out. I was certain I was gonna die of hypothermia before we got there. Not to mention it’s an old drafty car. No way I would have a rig without heat after that. Let alone expect someone to sit in the back.
 
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