We have the same problem here in SE PA.  -4 the other morning 3 this morning.  Takes a while to warm up.  Only so much heat 90 hp can make.    The saving grace is that we're leaving for SW FL tomorrow morning before the next cold wave comes down this weekend.  

Bob C

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Roy Nicholl
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2018 2:44 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: It's cold out there

Dave:

We have the same issue - I just keep telling myself it’s much better than the J-tubes on the ’66 trying to send warm air to the front of the bus.

> On 02-Jan-2018, at 15:11, ddbjorkman@verizon.net <ddbjorkman@VERIZON.NET> wrote:
> 
> Ford battery died and the Bus (Vanagon) has been put into extra service.  Always starts right up, hope I didn't put a whammy on myself with that.  Well, it's into the single and low double digits here in New England and I have noticed the Bus has a hard time maintaining heat to the interior.  My temp gauge sits on the lower edge of the red light.  It takes the normal 5 + minutes driving to warm up enough to move the gauge far enough off bottom to turn the heat on at all.   I am considering constructing some sort of bra to go over the upper grille to decrease air flow over the radiator.  First I thought  I might post this question.  Is this normal in the frigid cold?  Have others experienced this?  Could it be a malfunctioning thermostat?  Does someone make said bra/cover?  I await your reply.
> 
> Dave B.