Have enjoyed reading the pros and cons of the Mr. Heater Portable Buddy;
decided that it would be worth a try for me.  Did a lot of online
shopping around, and ended up getting one on sale at Cabelas (online)
for $69.95 + $8.75 shipping.  Should arrive in about 1 week, so will of
course go camping next weekend to try it out!

By the way, Amazon.com had 47 reviews for the product; most people think
it's a winner.  Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00005LEXI/ref=cm_cr_d
p_2_1/103-3270604-4720627?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-S
ubmissionDate&n=228013

Rich
'85 Vanagon GL homemade camper

Geza,

I just tried my Mr. Heater "Buddy" for the first time last weekend. I
have the larger unit that has the capacity of two cans of propane.
The outside temperature was 20 degrees F, and I ran the unit on the
medium setting. It kept the van at roof level (top down) at 70
degrees and 60 degrees at the lower bunk level.

I kept the unit on the floor near the front seats facing backwards.
For a while I tried it on the small table between the two front
seats, however, the roof and the top frame became really hot!! I put
it on the floor closer to the bunk for a while, but the edge of the
mattress got hot as well.

As far as any issues regarding CO, the unit is supposed to have a
fuel cut off if the oxygen level gets too low. I installed a CO
detector in the van just in case. I kept one of the sliding windows
open about 3/4 of an inch during the night and the CO detector did not
go off.

Hope this helps...

Ric

At 05:26 PM 3/13/2006, Geza Polony wrote:
>Just got my new Mr Heater "Buddy" off Ebay, fired it up, wife says--No
Way.
>I was thinking we could use it to heat up the van while stopped and
while
>awake, like on cold evenings and cold mornings.
>
>Anybody use these in the Vanagons?
>
>It's written all over that they're intended for indoor use, including
in
>tents, which is why I bought it in the first place. You barely touch it
and
>the thing shuts off, and it has a low-oxygen sensor that shuts the
flame off
>as well.
>
>Her point is that in close quarters (us, pit bull, 10 year old kid,
usual
>camping mess in the V) a piece of cloth or something could fall in,
start a
>fire, and toast us all for good.
>
>A penny for your thoughts. (And a lot more if you agree with MOI.)
(Grrrr.)
>
>C'mon, guys!
>
>Geza