Here's a walk down memory lane. It was our first campervan Class B experience. G is intolerant of the cold and we've since upgraded to a Class B with better heating systems which include a heat pump, 1500 W electric space heat, propane furnace and electric blanket. I also have a 250 watt surface mount flat panel heater (about 1/2 inch thick) and a plug-in electrical thermostat. That could be mounted in the sleeping area and I've tried a 400 watt panel in the bedroom of a humongous 5th wheel and it is simply marvelous.
However, our first experience was in an all electric solar powered or 30A shore powered Class B. It had no propane and that means no propane furnace and no propane stove top. The coach was dependent upon the batteries and that 30A shore power electrical connection.
I would say it was wonderful above freezing, but when the temperatures in Utah dropped to about 20F at night it became chilly, with only a small space heater for comfort. And attempting to run the electric stove top with the space heater on was pushing it. That's one of the things about a Class B. They have a maximum plug-in service available of 30A.
For some insights about how far a 30A 120V circuit will go, consider this. A 1500W small space heater requires 12.5A. A dual burner electric hot plate also requires about 1500W or another 12.5A. Add a 6 gallon electric hot water heater which requires 1650 watts or 13.75A and you have just connected 38.75A to a circuit with a maximum capacity of 30A. It is obvious that all of these things can't be used simultaneously in a Class B.
So the occupants of an all-electric such as the one we were in had to do some manual load shedding and decide what was most important at any point in time. This was complicated by the fact that the electric hot water heater did not have a readily accessible power "Off-On" switch. When the temperatures were mild and no space heater required it was a breeze. With a single burner on the stove and the hot water heater on the system only required about 20A plus lights. Add the second burner of the stovetop and we still used a peak of about 26A plus lighting. Of course, if the coach batteries were "low" and no solar energy available, the mains powered charger could consume another 2-10 amperes. The all electric coach was not ideal at such low ambient temperatures.
Furthermore, the typical Class B has a lot of window area and these windows have an R-value of about 0.1. This means that the heat in the interior of the coach is constantly escaping to the outside world. And that world is really large, so with exterior temperatures below freezing and with little insulation the interior temperatures would plummet if some source of heat wasn't used.
In our first campervan experience we didn't have any Reflectix. While some diss that product, it does have an R-Value of about 1.0, which is 10 times better than glass. We now use it in all window but the side entry at night when winter trekking below freezing.
So our first Class B experience was a true "campervan" experience, with the emphasis on the word "camp" as in "camping."
On one particular morning we got up well before dawn for coffee and an oatmeal "starter". Just like camping in a tent! But we had shelter to cook in, whereas when tenting I usually cooked outdoors in rain, snow or shine.
I thought the use of the camp cookwear was an appropriate touch. After some coffee and oatmeal G actually took her mittens off for the above photo. Do you think I'm kidding?
After this brief warm-up we left Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah and headed north on US 89 as we headed to our next encounter (Arches National Park). En route we stopped for a real breakfast at the Cactus Cowboy Restaurant at the Riverside RV Park in Hatch, Utah and I had the opportunity to pose with some childhood friends. The food was very good and it was like dining in someone's home.
Ah, yes, the memories and the learning experiences. Here is a link to a very short video of our first cooking experience in the 19 ft. Class B with a dual electric burner. Soup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DgBe1UqQ9g
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