Steve, this is pretty much what I did with my van. I really liked my Suburban
heater. That puppy would melt the snow off the outside of the van if I wanted
to. It took a little getting used to....the constant cycling on and off. But I
adjusted. It helped when I bought me some of those little soft foam ear plugs.
Slept like a baby.

John Rodgers
"88GL Driver - 30 years in Alaska

Steve Elfelt wrote:

> Got several emails about my RV heater.... here it is for the whole
> world
>
> Brand: Suburban (Dayton Tennessee)
> Model: Unknown
> Cost: $50 used from a RV shop
> Installed by me in an 84 Vanagon, formerly a passenger van.
> I have the rear heater.  I laid plywood down over the entire
> interior behind the front seats.  Built a box around rear heater.
> This made two spatial "holes" to either side of the heater in front
> of the sloping rear "fire wall".  I put 2 golf cart batteries in the hole
> on the driver side and built a box around them.  I then built a box just
> in front of the battery box for the furnace.  The box is double-walled
> and lined with fiberglass insulated sheet metal as a fire precaution
> just because I am paranoid     The furnace is (very roughly)
> 9" X 9" X 24".  It requires 1-2 " clearnace on sides
> and top, so I built the furnace box that big with a bit extra clearance.
> The rear has intake and exhaust vents for which
> I had to cut holes in the side of the van.  (That was emotionally
> difficult!)  The front of the furnace had a solid plate, and there
> were punch-outs on the sides where I could hook up ducts.  Not
> needing ducts for such a small van, I covered the ducts with sheet
> metal (screwed down) and bought a small louvered vent thingie
> from the RV shop, which they had in a box and sold to me for
> a buck.  This looks very attractive and screwed onto the front
> of the furnace after I removed the solid plate.  Now the warm
> air blows into the van through that thing.  The orienation is
> crosswise in the van.  Thus, the furnace box and the battery box
> both extend from the side of the van crosswise towards and
> up to the rear heater.  The passenger side of those two boxes
> lies in a plane with the drivers side of the rear heater box.  That
> plane mark a plane that extends all the way to the driver seat,
> and encompasses the fronts of many other innovations, including
> cabinets, stove, and icebox.  I have a semi-permament oneperson
> bed in front of the sliding door, and an aisle the width of the
> rear heater box going down the middle.  The plane I was mentioning
> includes a 2x2 support ridge upon which I can rest extra pieces
> of plywood to turn the aisle into additional bed width when I am playing
> instead of working.  ;-)  Plywood for the added bed width is stored
> behind the drivers seat.  I also laid fiberglass insulation in the
> ceiling and blocked off and insulated the two rear side windows
> entirely.  I use a regular RV (12 volt) thermostat to set temp and
> if I wanted it would be 80 degrees when it was below zero
> outside.  The sucker really pumps it out.  I also have a smoke detector
> on the ceiling, a CO monitor near the floor, and a propane alarm/auto
> shutoff unit if a leak is detected (20% of combustion saturation).  And
> a fire extinguisher, not that it would do any good, but it makes me
> feel nice.  If I had it to do over, I would have
>
>     invested instead of the furnace into better cold weather clothes/bag/etc
>
>     Hooked up the equipment IN MY HOUSE before installing (but without
>     hooking up gas) and tried sleeping with it clicking off and on next to
> my
>     head as my house furnace took care of the actual heating.
>
>     Relied on an open window and a coleman heater and a CO alarm instead
>     of cutting holes in the car and buying a $800 propane tank.  My first
> tank
>     was not designed for VWs and hung suspended below the frame.  Actually
>     I  still have that one.  I stopped carrying extra days of gas when I
> heard
>     something fly up from the road and bang it.  I caught a vision of a
> headline
>     starting "SpaceShuttle Vanagon".  Uh-uh.   I took some of the $800 and
> bought
>     good cold weather gear, and keep the propane empty as much as possible.
> But
>     I will get a good tank eventually, particularly since my travelling
> companion
>     is less cold tolerant.
>
> Steve
> 84 vanagon
> Lansing Mich