Winter Vanlife Guide

Winter Vanlife Guide

Winter-Vanlife-How-To-Tips-FarOutRide-Induction
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Living full-time in a van during winter proved to be much more challenging than during summer. Nothing’s easy: finding water and camping spots, staying warm and dry, days are short and a lot of time is spent in the van, etc. It’s not a glamorous life but it is extremely rewarding if, like us, chasing epic skiing / snowboarding conditions is what you’re after… Let’s review the challenges we faced and how we mitigated them. We hope you like cold and snow as much as we do!

Logo-FarOutRide-Winter-Vanlife-(nov-2019)

1- Traction and Driving in Snow

1.1- TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM (TCS)

The Ford Transit’s Traction Control System (TCS) is a safety system that prevents loss of control during acceleration, by limiting power transmitted to the rear wheels when slip is detected. In other words, it prevents unintentional fishtailing. As opposed to what the name suggest, its role is not to improve traction; it’s to keep you safe

turn OFF the TCS temporarily in these situations to increase traction:

Before getting stuck.
After getting stuck.
When climbing a steep slippery incline at "low" speed.
Weight Traction Uphill

Remember that turning off the TCS is a temporary measure; don’t turn it off for highway driving even in winter conditions.

To deactivate or re-activate the Traction Control System, press the TCS ON/OFF button for 2-3 seconds:

1.2- Limited Slip Differential (LSD)

The Ford Transit’s Limited Slip Differential (LSD) is a feature to increase traction. If the propulsion wheel slips, power is transmitted to the other wheel simultaneously; in other words, both wheels are helping together. It is not an electronically controlled system (by sensors or such); it’s actually a mechanical device (clutch) on the differential. The LSD system cannot be turned off (which is fine).

The LSD is an optional feature. We HIGHLY recommend it as it makes a huge difference! (On a non-LSD Transit, all the power is transmitted to only one wheel at a time.)

1.3- 4x4

Is a 4x4 necessary for winter Vanlife adventures?

It's not necessary.

We spent the last two winters snowchasing all over the place: Utah, Wyoming, Washington, Montana, British Columbia up to the Alaska border. 

We skied the resorts, but we went mostly to remote places for backcountry skiing. We drove on all kinds of conditions: dry pavement, black ice, hard pack snow, fresh fluffy snow, you name it. We could go everywhere we wanted, keeping in mind we’re not a snowmobile… 

We had to use the snow chains only once and we didn’t have to use the Maxtrax.

But yeah, it would be nice!

If you don’t mind the price tag, go for it! 

We say 4×4 is not necessary, but it’s a nice-to-have feature for sure. We didn’t get stuck so far, but there was a few close calls and it will happen eventually. 

If you are an off-road enthusiast (personally we go off-road just to get to the trailheads, not because we enjoy it) or if you don’t like shoveling or using the recovery devices, 4×4 is the way to go.

Update: We are building a second van, and this one is AWD! See our Build Journal here:

1.4- Rear wheel drive (RWD) vs Front wheel drive (FWD)

We often ask the Ram ProMaster owners why they chose it: FWD is almost always one of the reasons why.

FWD is known as being superior for winter driving. We agree to this statement for cars, empty pickup trucks and empty vans, because most weight is in the front. More weight on the powered wheels = more traction.

But for converted vans, there is most likely more weight in the back. For example, here is the actual measured weight of our van’s front and rear axles (including conversion AND payload: gas, water, propane, driver & passenger, etc):

Axle Weight Traction

Knowing that MORE WEIGHT = MORE TRACTION, we’re glad our van is RWD!

Weight Traction Uphill

We get more traction when climbing a steep incline, because there is even more weight on the rear axle!

That being said, don’t go crazy and add too much weight in the back, or you will experience “steer drifting” (i.e. the front wheel won’t have enough traction to turn left or right)…

1.5- Winter Tires

Are winter tires necessary in winter?

Yes they are!

Don’t get fool by the “All Seasons” appellation on some tires; they’re NOT made for winter driving. In Quebec (Canada), they are simply illegal during winter. You want true winter tires; it’s day and night in term of traction! And remember that traction is not just about moving  forward; it’s also about slowing down, taking curves and having better response during emergency maneuvers. While we think of 4×4 as an improvement (optional), we think of winter tires as a safety feature. If we had to choose between 4×4, LSD, chains, etc, we would choose winter tires first. EXCEPT: if you’re from an area where you have to drive only occasionally in snow (i.e. to go across a pass at higher altitude), snow chains (without snow tires) are probably fine. 

We run the BFGoodrich KO2 tires year round; full review in the following article:

Ford Transit larger tire upgrade

1.6- Snow Chains

You should know that vans are not renowned for their excellent traction on ice… once you lose your momentum on a small icy incline, you’re going nowhere. For example: an icy inclined parking lot of a ski resort. Or an icy/snowy road going up a pass.

We had our first “real” use of snow chains when trying to get to Hankin Evelyn Backcountry Skiing Rec Area near Smithers, BC. The following video shows our second attempt at climbing that hill. It doesn’t look that steep in the video, but it is relatively steep and the road condition is a thin layer of compacted snow on top of blue ice…

In our first attempt (no chains, TCS turned off), we made it to about 30%, then the van lost its momentum. I activated the 4×4 (slammed the brakes…), but the van just started sliding all the way back down. Trying to steer (in reverse) a 8850 lbs sliding object is not great. Pumping the brakes to regain control wasn’t very useful, so the van just followed the “fall line”; fortunately we didn’t go off the road.  With the chains on, there was no wheel slip at all.

This place was literally in the middle of nowhere: no cell signal, 30 minutes drive from the main road, and there’s pretty much no one coming here during the week. So that’s a pretty good testimony of why we categorize the snow chains as “Safety Gear”…

We are using the Thule/Konig XG-12 Pro snow chains (Buy on Amazon) and we wrote an in-depth review/guide here: faroutride.com/thule-snow-chains-review

1.7- Maxtrax

We also carry Maxtrax (Buy on Amazon). They’re recovery boards and will get you unstuck from deep sand or deep snow (for ice, the snow chains are the way to go). It’s after we got stuck in sand that we decided to get them… it would have save us a few hours of digging!!

So far we used them once, but not for us. A pickup truck was parked beside us and he couldn’t engage its 4×4; he was parked on ice without any load in the back. It was totally flat, but he couldn’t move an inch! We were in the same situation and the van got out without any problem at all…  Again: more weight = more traction!

1.8- How to climb like a boss

Here is our approach to climb sketchy off roadS:

If it’s safe to attempt (and potentially fail) to climb that hill (for you and for others):

  1. Choose your favorite tune and crank the volume to 11.
  2. Deactivate the TCS.
  3. Use the manual mode to prevent shifting during the climb.
  4. Keep the RPM steady throughout the climb.
  5. If loosing traction, don’t release the gas. Keep going so the LSD can work its magic! You want to keep your momentum here!
  6. Some fishtailing might occurs; it’s fine as long as you can stay in control.
  7. No luck? Time to put the snow chains on…

2- Staying Warm

Park-Ride-Warm-Up-Relax-FarOutRide

2.1 - Heat Source

If you have enough budget to invest in a van, ski gear and ski passes, then you have enough budget to invest in a dry heat source; we can’t recommend that enough. The most popular options are Webasto/Espar (both are available for diesel or gasoline) or the Propex (propane). Here are a few pros:

  • Because the combustion is external, no carbon monoxide is released inside the vehicle (safe).
  • Because the combustion is external, no moisture is added to the ambiant air (dry heat). The relative humidity stays at around 30-40% inside the van and outdoor gear dries fast!
  • They push a lot of heat and have an integrated powerful fan to help distribute the heat evenly in the van. Both options we mentioned are rated at 6500 BTU.

Gas, Diesel or Propane Heater?

The main advantage of the gas/diesel heaters is that they are fed from the van’s fuel tank; there is no need to monitor anything (as long as we keep the tank above 1/3 full)! For this reason, we use almost exclusively our gas heater over the Propex. We found that the gas heater produces a little more heat too. You might be interested in:

What size heater?

Are the 2kW Webasto Air Top 2000 and Espar D2 powerful enough? See our observations below, but keep in mind you might get different results depending on your insulation, window covers, layout, etc…

Above 3°C (37F)

If you don’t plan on travelling where temperature drop below about 3°C, the Webasto/Espar are probably overkill. If they run on “low” too much, that could lead to carbon buildup issues. A Propex might be more suitable.

3°C to -18°C (37F to 0F)

The Webasto Air Top 2000 or Espar D2 are perfect for the job!

-18°C to -26°C (oF to -15F)

The Webasto Air Top 2000 or Espar D2 are OK, but don’t expect them to warm up your van real quick… it takes time to reach the desired temperature. You might want to use your van’s heater as a “boost” if you’re in a hurry, or program the heater to start a few hours before. 

Colder than -26°C (-15F)

At -26°C (-15F), the maximum temperature in the van is about 15°C (58F)*… It’s nice to have the Propex as well for “boost” or as a safety backup!

*Measured early in the morning to discard the effect of the sun and of the thermal mass (residual heat from the day).

Prevent the van from freezing at all time

WE NEVER LET THE INTERIOR OF THE VAN FREEZE. Indeed the plumbing would crack, the walls would be painted with booze, our food supplies and household products (liquid dishwashing soap) would become unusable, and so on. 

To prevent the van from freezing, no need to run the heater 24/7 (it is not recommended for gasoline/diesel heater as this could lead to carbon buildup issues. It wouldn’t hurt a Propex heater though.). At night or when we go out skiing, we turn off the heater for a few hours (the shutoff can be delayed using the timer feature of the Webasto Multicontrol HD) as it take a while before the temperature to drop near freezing level. We program the heater to start a few hours later, thanks to the programmable controller (Webasto Multicontrol HD). How long can we leave the heater off before it freezes? There is no specific answer; it depends on your insulation and layout, the outside temperature, if the sun is out or not, etc. Don’t worry, you’ll learn and adapt!

2.2- Insulation

We used Thinsulate to insulate our van and we’re very happy with it! It’s very easy to install, there are no chemicals added and it keeps us warm even in extreme cold:

2.3- Insulated Window Covers

Can’t recommend them enough. The windows are the weakest link and you will feel cold drafts if they’re not properly covered. It truly is a game changer. Here is how we made our own:

3- Condensation and Moisture

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the humidity level in the van stays around 15-35% in winter without too much efforts, sweeeet! Here is our recipe to stay nice and dry in the van:

  • We use a dry heat source (section “Staying Warm”).
  • We run the roof fan when cooking or drying gear, then we turn it off with a small crack most of the time. The amount of ventilation depends on the outside temperature a lot; you will soon learn what’s your own recipe!

Even with low humidity level in the van, expect some condensation/ice in the windows overnight. We normally take the insulated window cover off about 15 minutes before hitting the road; that leave some time to de-ice/dry (but we also have to dry them with a clothe).

We have an in-depth article about managing condensation and moisture in a van:

SensorPush Screenshot Humidity
Humidity inside the van (screenshot taken from the SensorPush app)

MONITOR YOUR VAN (OR RV) TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY REMOTELY

4- Electrical & Solar

4.1- Daily Consumption

60Ah

60Ah

Our consumption is quite similar for summer or winter. That’s because our biggest loads (fridge and Webasto) balance each others. In summer the fridge runs a lot, but the Webasto don’t. In winter the Webasto runs a lot, but the fridge don’t.

So the “problem” with winter is not the high-consumption, it’s charging the battery… keep reading!

4.2- Solar Charge

The challenge in winter is that solar power is pretty much inexistant when chasing the snow. Here is some data we recorded using our Victron MPPT Solar Charger (faroutride.com/victron-review):

Daily Solar Input, Summer VS Winter, Van Solar Power
NOTES: 1- Winter data gathered between January 14th to February 14th. 2- Once the battery if fully charged, there is no more solar input recorded. It means we could harvest more solar power than the graph shows during summer. 3- Winter data was gathered during an unusual stretch of “nice” weather here in the Pacific North West; it’s normally even worst…

4.3- Alternator Charge

For winter adventures, charging from the alternator (when driving) is the solution. How’s that? The DC-DC Battery-to-Battery charger uses the van alternator power to charge our house (auxiliary) battery while we drive. It’s an install-and-forget device: it turns itself ON/OFF automatically when driving the van, doing its things without user intervention. Neat! It means that we don’t have to worry about running out of power AND that the house battery lifespan is maximized. Sounds too good? Keep reading this review as we get into more details…

5- Water & Showers

5.1- Water System

We’re happy to report that we can use our water system in winter (tested down to -30°C/-22F)! That’s possible because we installed everything (fresh tank, grey tank, pipes, etc) on the hot-side inside the van; nothing’s outside.

We do, however, winterize the bike wash and the hot shower by draining the water thoroughly out of them (no antifreeze added).

5.2- Finding Water

In summer, easy peasy. Most RV dump stations have drinkable water faucet: we use sanidumps.com to find water 95% of the time. We also sometimes use ioverlander.com or just inquire when fueling at a gas station.

In winter, it’s a different story if you find yourself below freezing temperature. Most faucets are closed to protect the plumbing. We found that places like Salt Lake City, Seattle, Vancouver, Squamish, etc. are usually fine because the temperature is mild. Otherwise, you have to be creative: there is no easy way! It’s case-by-case. Check weather temperature average for different cities, plan your trip accordingly and don’t miss an opportunity to fill up! Here is where we filled our fresh water tank last winter:

  • Friends’ house (and seize this opportunity to shower and to charge your house battery too!)
  • Gas stations (say thanks by fueling at the same time)
  • Random commercial building (we inquired before using the faucet)

5.3- Showers

We obviously don’t use our exterior shower (faroutride.com/exterior-shower)… We spent the last two winters mostly in British Columbia and most towns (large or small) have out-of-this-world municipal Aquatic Centers! For about $5 to 8$ CDN (if you’re flexible on time, they sometimes have the “toonies” = $2), you get access to:

  • Swimming Pool
  • Hot Tub
  • Steam Room
  • Dry Sauna
  • Lazy River
  • Waterslides
  • Wave Pool
  • And of course the SHOWERS!

Not all the Aquatic Centers have all the amenities; check out online to find out. 

Aquatic Centers British Columbia
Revelstoke Aquatic Center.

6- Finding Camping Spots

Winter vanlife is all about finding epic places to stay! We normally use freecampsites.net or ioverlander.com to find campsites, but in winter most of them are covered in snow: BLM, National Forest, etc. So we’re left with this:

  • Ski resort parking lots. Be careful, most of the ski resorts are pretty aggressive with their “No Overnight Parking” policies! If they allow it, please follow the designated overnight parking zone not to interfere with the snow plowing. As a general rule, Canadian resorts are more RV friendly than in the USA. Here is a good list to start with: https://www.curbed.com/maps/ski-resorts-overnight-parking-rv-camping
  • Residential streets. As a general rule, this gets easier in the smaller, less-touristy towns. Make sure there is no overnight parking restrictions. We normally try to get there late (when it starts to get dark), leave early (but not too much we don’t like to use alarm clock) and it’s a good idea not to stay twice at the same place.
  • Hotel/Motel parking lots. Obviously we’re not welcome here, so this is more like a “last-resort” option. But it worked every times. Just get there late, leave early and be stealth so they think you are staying at the hotel/motel…
  • Making business at a small ski shop? Drinking a few beers at a small craft Brewery? Ask them if you can sleep in their lot! Some will be very happy to help you, some won’t. If they can’t they might give you some hint…
  • Sno-Parks. There are Sno-Parks (snow-plowed parking lots) throughout California, Oregon and Washington state. You need to buy a permit to access them: http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1233. Honestly, it’s a pain in the neck to figure which Sno-Parks allow overnight parking let alone to find them; we couldn’t find a user-friendly map and the permit system is quite confusing. So we didn’t really used that option a lot (only once in fact and we’re not sure we were allowed to sleep there).

7- Drying Our Gear

We installed a clothesline between the Webasto outlet and the roof fan; it creates the perfect giant drying machine 🙂 It takes about 1 to 3 hours to dry our ski gear:

As you know, drying boots is not that easy… but the Webasto makes it really easy since it blows a nice stream of hot air right into them! It takes about 2 hours to dry one pair of boot (we need to alternate them).

Note: the drying time will vary with outside temperature! Let’s say it’s 15F (-10C) outside, the heater will run much more than if it’s 42F (+5C); it means more hot & dry air for drying. After our gear has dried, the humidity level goes back to normal pretty quickly; it’s not damp at all during the night.

Conclusion

With proper planning, winter vanlife is a magical thing! Go get it!

Rogers Pass Skiing Overnight Camping Van
Winter 2020-2021 Tales From The Road (feeling small)
Faroutride Sixth Month (3)
Seventh Month on the Road (4)
Seventh Month on the Road (5)
Rogers Pass Backcountry Skiing
Lyall Deep Snowpack
Faroutride Snow (2)
Winter 2020-2021 Tales From The Road (antoine climb)

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Hello! We’re Isabelle and Antoine 🙂 In 2017, we sold our house (and everything in it), quit our engineering careers, and moved into our self-built campervan. Every day is an opportunity for a new adventure... We’re chasing our dreams, and hopefully it inspires others to do the same!

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48 thoughts on “Winter Vanlife Guide”

  1. Do you ever regret not putting a fixed interior shower in the van? This is one of the big things we’re debating for our build – we’re leaning toward having an exterior shower and just using local gyms when it’s cold since a fixed shower takes up so much real estate inside the van, but it’s always good to get opinions from people who have been out there for a while!

    Reply
    • With all our sport gear for the two of us (skis, mtb, etc) and amenities (oven, fridge, toilet, etc), there is just no room for an interior shower. Maybe we would include a shower inside otherwise.

      cheers!

      Reply
    • My winter capable truck camper has a dedicated shower stall with a porta-potti and a portable shower: http://www.hotjugz.com/ and I heat the water on the stove. I store clothes in bags and take the bags out of the shower stall to shower.

      Reply
    • We remove the snow with a Snow Joe (amzn.to/2KbVTlB). And to get access to our roof, we use our telescopic ladder: amzn.to/2J1wZVm

      Reply
    • We had a rust proofing before our first winter in Quebec in 2017 to protect the van from the road salt. We realized the roads on the West Coast are not really salted during the winter, so haven’t treated the van since.

      Reply
  2. Wow your post was very detailed and exactly what I needed for my future van life adventures. Thank you so much for sharing. Safe travels.

    Reply
  3. Amazing Blog in general. Can not even start to explain how much help it been, my 2020 AWD Transit build is going beautifully!

    I am also from Canada and the winter is coming soon! I normally got a rust check for my SUV to protect it from rust and mainly salt in the winter. Have you got a rust check for your van and what do you think about it (is it worth it?)

    Reply
  4. Great blog. I’m looking to travel in sub minus winter conditions. I’m thinking of installing a diesel heater, but am worried about the bit you mention on carbon monoxide. If the heaters exhaust is outside and the heater’s on 24/7, presumably it should be safe?

    Reply
  5. Great site, thank you both for all the info. I’m in the beginning stages of research and trying to decide on a van.

    Above you mentioned steer drifting if too much weight is added to the rear. I’d like to add a dual sport motorcycle (maybe 400lbs) to a rear hitch rack for off road adventures. Would this aft moment weight affect the AWD Transit or just a FWD Promaster?

    Safe travels!

    Reply
  6. This is amazing!! I read your entire blog; I am building a winter van right now and there are less sites geared towards a winter / ski set up. Thank you so much for your insight!

    Cheers!

    Reply
  7. Thanks for all the great info!

    I’m curious, have you ever run into issues with the vent fan or sliding door freezing shut? Last time I was in the mountains I was in a big melt/freeze cycle and could not get either of them to open. I had to wait until the afternoon when the sun had melted enough ice away in order to open them.

    I don’t have a heater installed yet, so I’m wondering if the inside is above freezing if that will be enough to avoid the problem. Or maybe when it snows you are getting on the ladder and clearing around the fan and door on a regular basis?

    Thanks!
    Brett

    Reply
  8. Are you happy with your system for drying gear, and is it hard to do much of anything besides lounge for the few hours it takes? I kayak and figuring out how to work in storage for a wet-drysuit + all the other wet gear is leaving me going back and forth with design ideas. Been thinking of essentially replacing where a lot of people put an internal shower with a showerless-room for the gear to permanently hang in–wet or dry. Be curious to know your thoughts/suggestions/preferences with what your build has led to!

    Reply
    • I’ve had similar thoughts! i was going to duct the heater into the indoor shower, and potentially put a small maxx air dome fan inside. However, ski gear (especially if its more than mine) is just so plentiful and bulky, it would be too packed together to dry effectively and the whole purpose woudln’t be fulfilled. Wetsuits are a bit easier, chris benchetler has an amazing simple system he shows on his tour. if you have the maxx fan running and the webasto pumping, i dont see why this system wouldn’t work great, if it can dry 12 pieces of soaked ski gear in a couple hours, im sure a wetsuit would be lightwork

      Reply
  9. Awesome info, thank you two so much!!!

    …..what do you do with your skins during the summer? I live in van full time and have had skins go by due to getting too hot. Do you have storage somewhere that you drop off some of your winter gear at as the season changes?

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Excellent question! We initially moved into the van in August, so our skins were fine for the first winter. Second winter, our skins were cooked we had to buy some (that’s how we learn skins can’t handle the heat). Third winter, we went to Mexico.
      We haven’t checked on our skins following our trip to Mexico, but I’m pretty sure they turned into goo.

      All of that to say: we didn’t find a solution yet, but obviously we should try to find a storage next time we buy new skins…

      Cheers!
      antoine

      Reply
      • Antoine,

        Thanks for getting back to me! Yea, very curious how this is handled. I have considered fridge storage, but that’s so much precious space.

        Do you guys often fully transition from summer to winter? I like to bounce around….surf in SoCal in July and ski Shasta the same month. So I’d like to keep the skins with me all the time. But so far have had to store them at friend’s places.

        Cheers!

        Reply
  10. Did you guys ever use a block heater or anything in Canada?
    We’ll use ours at home here in Alaska when super cold, but not sure how best to handle this on the road through Canada.

    Reply
  11. Having rear wheel drive with the extra weight of a van conversion really helps with traction. I disagree with your comment about the ProMaster. It is almost impossible for a normal ProMaster camper van conversion to have more weight on the back wheels than the front wheels. I’ve compared a lot of ProMaster van weight ratios and most have about 700 pounds more on the front wheels than the back wheels. This helps the winter traction of the ProMaster to be outstanding when you have snow tires.

    Reply
    • AWD for snow; I don’t think we’d ever need it for summer. That being said, we’re doing well without the AWD and we’d have to evaluate the cost… Depends on your budget!

      Reply
      • One of the issue with AWD is that it shaves around 300 pounds of payload off the van due to the extra weight of the transmission components themselves. If a build brings you very close to the payload/GVWR (as it usually does) then, the driving behavior of the vehicle can be affected so you better plan in advance accordingly.
        For example, on a RWD F-250 of 9070 lb GVWR, if your actual van weight with load is 8850 lb, you still have a buffer of 220 lb. On AWD, you would already be shy of 80 pounds.
        I actually wrestle with that problem since I will order my 2021 Transit this week (F-350 with HD front axle that pushes up to 4500 lb upgraded payload). I plan to be 200 pounds below if AWD and 500 if RWD so both would be safe but AWD already claim some restrictions though design is not over yet… The van will be used for MTB, Fatbiking and backcountry skiing.
        Any advice on this issue?

        Reply
        • “The best design is always the best compromise”… Easy to build, light, strong, cheap, reliable: you CAN’T have it all 😉
          So you need to compromise on something here. You could compromise on the AWD, but that’s kind of sad if that’s what you want. It means you need to find ways to make your build lighter, at the expense of build complexity (tools and techniques) and cost.
          – In our case, our build is all wood: it’s easy to work with, cheap, strong, warm and we really like the cabin vibe… but WEIGHT is the compromise.
          – Maybe you should look into aluminum for the structure (bed, table, etc)? I doubt that you will save a significant amount of weight if you use 80/20; welded extrusion would definitely be lighter. Do you know anyone who can weld aluminum?
          – Instead of building overhead cabinet (and storage) out of wood, maybe you could use Mule Bags: https://shop.nomadvanz.com/products/mule-overhead-storage-locker
          – Then we used tongue & groove for our wall, that’s nice but heavy. Maybe you could look into something else? (1/8″ plywood with fabric?).
          – Also, remember that we carry EVERYTHING in our van (summer & winter gear). Will it be your case?

          Honestly, our next build will most likely be an AWD Transit. I feel like it can be done and still be under GVWR (with some effort and compromises).

          Sorry I’m not sure if it’s helping, but there is no easy answer. But the single fact that’s you’re concerned about weight right from the start is a good thing; too many people just ignore that requirement.

          Good luck!
          antoine

          Reply
  12. Allo!
    Merci tellement de partager vos expériences! On a notre El_Funzo (sprinter converti) depuis mai dernier seulement. On se prépare présentement à notre premier “long” trip d’hiver dans l’ouest canadien: snow, fat et ski de fond au menu (on va peut-être faire de petits crochets au états si dame nature insiste). Nous avons déjà dormi à des température sous zéro sans problème, sauf un peu de condensation… j’ai lu votre section là dessus, on va tester cela dans notre semaine de pratique hivernal avant de prendre la route afin de finir notre “setup” d’hiver.
    Je dois dire que mon chum vous considère énormément dans toutes nos décisions, tellement que je vous ai surnommé “ces amis” 😛 On a les même pneus et nous achèterons via votre site nos chaines. Est ce que les Maxtrax sont une nécessité si on ne fait pas vraiment de hors piste? Funzo n’est pas 4×4…

    Bref je voulais surtout remercier pour votre site si bien remplie!
    Au plaisir peut-être de se croiser sur la route ou sur une piste cet hiver!
    Safe drive, happy trails

    Reply
    • Salut vous deux!
      Les Maxtrax sont inutiles… jusqu’à ce qu’on en ait vraiment besoin! On s’en est servi juste une fois, mais je sais pas ce qu’on aurait fait autrement; ça nous a sauvé des heures! Pas facile de sortir une van quand s’est prit… Alors oui on le recommande!

      Bon trip, vous allez adorer!

      Reply
  13. Hey! Thanks for the detailed write up.
    I’m having a hard time deciding between the Transit v.s Sprinter. The purpose of the van is to chase powder, so my question to you is do you know anything about Sprinters having LSD or a similar feature. Considering how much it’s helped your snow travels, LSD would sway my decision.

    Reply
  14. Hey hey!! Love your site. We use your links and reference it on the daily! We are from Colorado so if you need any trail ideas for mountain biking or skiing we will send you ALL the goodies!

    This is our first winter in the van, and we already experienced below freezing temps causing our water lines to freeze. Yikes!!!

    My question is how often are you running the heat during the day and night?! We have a propex and have been trying to push that heat towards the garage (we copied your garage set up) but they are still freezing.

    Thanks for any insight you might have!! – Kat

    Reply
    • We don’t let the inside of the van freeze. There are some areas that drop below freezing temp though, if it’s really cold outside. That’s why we have a valve to shut the portion of the water system located in the back of the van (shower and bike wash); we don’t use it in winter anyway.

      If your pipes are freezing locally, maybe re-route them so they’re more exposed to the ambiant heat? Or heat a little more…

      Good luck!
      Antoine

      Reply
  15. I’m getting ready to leave Eastern Canada for winter 2020 and was wondering about the Natures head composting toilet in Winter. How does it go with cold temperature? Unless there was comments somewhere, I couldn’t find any.

    Reply
    • We were worried about that too, but we found that it’s the same in summer VS winter. Because we’re full time in the van, there’s not really enough time for composting happening; so the fact that it’s colder in winter doesn’t change much.

      Note that we don’t let our van freeze during the winter; that would be a different story.

      Cheers!

      Reply
  16. Awesome article, super informative. I am looking to purchase a transit but really want LSD installed for the winter months. I am running into trouble finding parts and dealerships that will install. Would you be able to share some greater detail on what you purchased for this upgrade?

    Reply

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