The fine line between cheap and smart

[Skegmeister]

I have a 01 enclosed trailer that has a zillion miles pulling sleds, quads, furniture, poker tables, etc.
The one thing I wish it had was furnace. I have used 2 or 3 electric fan heaters over the years,it works fine to keep warm enough to be a bunkhouse in -15C, I need to run a 3000W genie that will cost me about $2000.
My cheap side says, put in a propane furnace for about $2500 and be done with it. My smart side says I am wasting $2500 bucks I could be using to buy new trailer with a furnace for about $20K.
Thoughts...?

 

[arff]

First a zillion is a lot.

I would purchase a new trailer.

 

[Puba]

Buy a new one

 

[papajake]

is that anything like a brazillian

 

[catalac]

You can't fix cheap, and cheap don't know they are cheap so you are hooped.

 

[gates559]

This is a sled forum, i think everyone will agree.... spend the 20k

Are you looking for ideas how to justify this expense to your wife?

 

[arff]

This is a sled forum, i think everyone will agree.... spend the 20k

Are you looking for ideas how to justify this expense to your wife?

If he is we all can help with the reasons.

 

[Skegmeister]

Bingo!
It may have been too 'suggestive' to have the title "The fine line between the wife and smart". LOL

 

[arff]

Bingo!
It may have been too 'suggestive' to have the title "The fine line between the wife and smart". LOL

Sound like a new trailer this fall...

 

[lilduke]

Ill give you 1000$ for your old trailer to pay towards your new one. A furnace, is worth 19000$ all day long.....

 

[moyiesledhead]

Wellllll....you can only use a furnace to heat your trailer. You can use a generator for all kinds of stuff.

Or you could just buy a new trailer.

 

[Keith Brown]

Depending on how much you heat your trailer (number of hours you actually heat your trailer a year) a propane furnace is a lot more efficient/cheaper to heat with then a generator and electric heater and does not require a baby sitter for fuel. I can't understand why some one has not figure out how to use the waste heat of a gen set for heating RVs/Trailers. E.g.. A 3000 watt generator operating at full load produces 20.520 BTUs/Hour assuming combined efficiency of 50% of the Generator and motor. 3000w x 3.42 Btus/watt divided by .5 efficiency = 20520 BTUs per hour. Obviously as the gen set load drops so would the heat output. A gen set would really make sense in a co gen application where you can use the heat. Its reality on a large scale so hopefully it will be available on a small scale some day

 

[rusty]

Cost me 500$ to put a furnace in my trailer. My opinion is to keep your trailer so long as it is all beat out. chuck a furnace in.

 

[Skegmeister]

It is looking like a new one in the fall, insulated with furnace, lots of lites and tall enough for me to walk up straight... I hope oil goes back up over $80 bbl...
Has anyone ever owned a Flaman's Everest model? Local made, looks like real nice trailer.
Anything looks real nice compared to my old one. Smells better too, especially after 15 years of beer farts and 2 stroke smoke.

 

[gates559]

It is looking like a new one in the fall, insulated with furnace,

oh yeah...big surprise, glad we swayed your decision. The new extra height trailers are so much nicer!

 

[Trashy]

Cost me 500$ to put a furnace in my trailer. My opinion is to keep your trailer so long as it is all beat out. chuck a furnace in.

 

[rusty]

lol , I will get you a few pics