To all that have COMMENTED and given FANTASTIC ADVISE AND SUPPORT to everyone watching this video! YOU ARE AMAZING HUMANS. YOU are helping someone keep warm, stay safe and most of all giving them hope. 😊 I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU. ❤️💯🥹

This works. Remember when we were all kids and built blanket forts in the living room. Those forts were warmer than the rest of the room.

I do like your idea. While homeless in Montana, I put a 2 person tent in a 6 person tent. That and my military sleep system worked out well.

Most insulation lets radiant heat pass through. A good portion of your heat loss is through radiant heat. Night vision cameras are made to see this heat coming from a body. If you use a reflective material like a space blanket over your tent you will be much warmer. It will bounce back the radiant heat that you are losing.

Omg you know how everyone has figured out when we google something it shows up on our social media feed etc… and how people are now saying they’re noticing they could just be thinking of something and they then start seeing it on their feeds… well,,,, I have been watching alot of videos on how to heat your vans, electric, gas etc…. And just last night I was thinking to myself why don’t people just put a tent in their vans so they have less area to heat AND I get on KZfaq for the 1st time today and this is the 1st video pops on my feed!!!!! Omg it’s true 😮

Absolutely what I’ve been preaching. The folks that were dying in Texas from the freezing would have survived in a home, especially with family members, all sleeping in a small space. Using an insulated sleeping pad and perhaps throwing in an electric blanket for 15 minutes before going to sleep is helpful. Also a hot drink before bed, as well as light activity will warm you before getting into bed. Stay away from cotton and sweating, cuz it’s going to make you really cold. Pro tip: pack the clothes you’re going to wear the next day into the bottom of the sleeping bag so they are warm when you put them on.

The best way to stay warm: two $40 sheepskin rugs from ikea, one under you, one above, with the wool side toward your body. I had no heat in my uninsulated cabin, was always warm and cozy for sleeping through a harsh winter. Get the real sheepskin, not synthetic, because real wool is warmer. Even though they're small, they work beautifully. You can also sit on a sheepskin any time during the day, and it's amazing how much warmer you feel.

You are fortunate to be young and not have to get up two or three times a night to pee. lol. It’s really an excellent idea to try. However as a frequent night time potty goer getting out of 1 much less 2 zippered sleeping bags is a sure to be disaster. Thanks for your creative thinking.

That big airplane is the sound of freedom. Appreciate it!

I can tell you, your tent solution will work and keep you warm. I've used a similar setup for decades. Keep on rolling!

That’s a great idea! I know for a fact it will work I live in a tent for 1 1/2 years and I built a wooden structure inside the tent as large as a tent would allow and hung quilted blankets on each side. I slept very cozy with a hoodie., sleeping bag, an extra blanket in 17°, ice storms, and snow storms. I was in my 60s and stayed very comfortable while sleeping. Now I sleep in a 12 x 28 cottage and heat it was a woodstove but it’s still not as warm as my little quilted-lined tent.

This is brilliant. It is is like the concept and utility of a four poster bed, where with drapes all around and a 'ceiling' coverlet, you create a cosy warm 'bubble' from exhaled heat....... even inside a large mansion or castle - with no central heating - from ye olden days.

This is why beds used to had a canopy!!! This is why in winter, everyone slept in the warmest room! Blanket forts - age old warming tool.

Never apologize for our nations military procedures that are working/practicing to our nation safe! I love to see it.

Reindeer herders on the Arctic tundra make smaller ‘tent’ compartments to sleep in within the large main tent itself, l’d say the Inuit are just about the top authority on keeping warm while camping so l think your idea is a very sound one

It does work very well. I have done this for years but instead of a moving blanket I have used a large thick reflective emergency blanket. It reflects your body heat back and keeps it inside. I have slept comfortably like that in 20 degrees and less. The moving blanket will work nicely.

I can't see what your mattress is but most are full of air. THAT GETS COLD. You need something underneath too, maybe another quilt and space blanket to reflect your body heat.

Good idea And u have to consider the draft under the cot So I use under my cot Extra insulation Around and under (I close around the cot with blankets )then I use A sleeping system that backpackers Use: 1 Windshield Reflecting mat first 2. Accordion mat 3. Sleeping pad Then my 10 degree sleeping bag Then Sleeping bag cover. Wool blanket and wool socks Down booties And Marino wool Long John’s Top and bottom It works for me

These moving blankets are available at Harbor Freight and are quite affordable. Good content! 👍

Well that's one solution gives you a lot of privacy. A car electric travel blanket would also help keep you warm.

Genius!...and so is your audience. I've enjoyed the video and the comments!

You could also use Hot Pockets inside your sleeping bag

Its called a MICRO CLIMATE. and it is a great idea for people to know about. Also, use candles for heat. They work well.

This is a great idea. Also throw a couple of handwarmers in the sleeping bag about 15-20 minutes b4 u crawl in.😊

I slept in the back of my truck camper in my sleeping bag with a medium weight blanket over me, over my head to toe. Kept me very warm. Down to mid teens.

I did this in my house when we had no power a few years ago in January. I put up a small tent on a queen size mattress in the living room and myself, my daughter and our pets stayed warm. We have a small generator like you have, but I used that for a space heater in the bathroom so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

Good idea & it's stealthy somewhat, especially if you don't have window covers. My cold car camping setup: * Full sized heavy wool blanket. A zero degree rated sleeping bag. A thick down filled comforter. * I wear sweat pants & a long sleeve t-shirt under a hooded zip sweatshirt. ( A hooded sweatshirt & a beanie hat are critical to reduce heat loss through your head.) Also, cheap brown garden gloves for exposed hands & wool socks. This setup works great in a vehicle, no need for a dangerous or expensive heater. ( Also, having a dog to cuddle up with under the covers makes a huge difference too.) In the cold mornings, I just make a cup of coffee in the suv on my propane stove, this warms the interior up. Hope this helps. Nice, to the point video.

Well Done!! Simple, Efficient. Perhaps if you add a solar blanket under your quilt will help reflect the heat you do radiate back to you. Living Out Of My Van but rarely cold and my walls aren't insulated. I use very similar system over my cot. Also, consider 3-5 tea candles on ceramic plate covered by ceramic pot. Adds nice heat too, and inexpensive simple!! Stay Strong, Live Long!! 😊

😅 I didn't even think of that 😂 EXCELLENT IDEA... Thank You. It's getting colder I have a Grand Caravan, I'm doing that TONIGHT 🌛 I'm so happy I found your channel 💖😁👍

One candle works perfect for small space, did a tent in a apartment that lost power so it lost heat , was fun to put a tent up and cooking with my camp stove spaghetti. UCO original collapsible candle or the India version RHOAM. my late hubby used only UCO but be aware these candles are expensive do to size used. Instead of cursing the darkness LIGHT A CANDLE.

Another thing to get would be a survival blanket or space blanket, the space blanket is lite weight and will reflect 90% of your body heat, be careful you don't want to sweat that is bad. Make sure you have clean dry cotton or wool sock (tall ones) that will keep you warm. I grew up in northern New York State and always had one in my glove compartment. The space blanket will wear out, I would get a few, the heavy blanket will last forever but cost about $20. Cover you windows, you lose a lot of heat through them. Be very careful using any flammable heat source, you need to crack a window to not die. I would buy a battery operated carbon monoxide detector and keep spare batteries, I would bet a smoke detector also, they are cheap and could save your life. You should have a fire ext. remember that is your home.

So funny to run across this video. Just today I wondered if using a small tent would help trap warmth! Great minds...

This was lovely and inspiring. Basic and simple. I like it.

Excellent idea! This is similar to what Europeans did during medieval times (think canopy beds with heavy drapes) and what modern nomads do in Mongolia. For those who can afford it, a wool blanket would do a fantastic job as well.

It is a great concept. I have put a two man tent inside a six man tent on cold outings before, same concept lesson space to heat up

At first, I thought , WHAT?? But then right away, I was thinking, this might be a great idea! I have a moving blanket exactly like this one that my son only used once and then gave it to me. I folded it a few times and played it under the bed of the dog, Rosie. It helps to keep her bed warm . Thanks so much for the idea. I'll call it the warming idea from YOU. See you on your next visit. I'm from Central Oklahoma.

Good idea. I have a 12 volt electric blanket and a hot water bottle. I am toasty warm. 😊

I had considered getting a large plastic laundry basket and cutting away half of it to put a blanket over it & sleep with my head under it /-/ never did get it done . BUT this is less bulky. Nice ! This will work!

I agree with your idea, as well as all the great comments. I also think this setup also guards your privacy from prying eyes trying to see if you are in the van.

This is also great advice for anyone who has lost power in their home in the winter time to do this over their bed, especially when people have children to keep warm.

It works. Survived 5 winter's with a setup similar to this without NO heater✌️❤️🌳 #enjoythejourney

I’m with you , I’m a simple man …

Been living in van past 3 years. Thats first thing i did during winter time. I added thick wool blanket all way around my bed to block my body heat inside and helps me stay bit warm during 20-0 degrees during nights. It works.

Due to regulations (in Spain where I come frome) I can not use my woodstove where I want in the van (in the mountains) and after much thought two winters ago I made the same thing but with a zippered sleeping bag that I open and it looks like your blanket. I promise you that it changed my "life" many nights, I stopped sleeping with a hat... Thank you for sharing and have great routes.

Creating an insulating layer/barrier. It should work well to keep colder air out of your cot area.

Used this for years works good better than nothing

Great idea. It would probably work in your house with no heat or electricity. Seal off one main room from the rest of your house by using drop cloths.

When it is super cold in a tent, I use a chair to make a tent over my head and get in a nice sleeping bag. I've handled 6F in a tent no problem.

A 5gal bucket with a garbage bag. Cut a pool noodle to length and slice the length for the top edge. Very comfortable, and easy to clean toilet.

In a documentary it was shown that the natural peoples in the far north used the same technique in winter; in a bigger tent there was a smaller tent where they all slept together. The part between the two floors was a storage room and a kitchen and such.

“Tenting your bed” is something i recommend to EVERY van lifer i run across…. The whole point of four poster beds was to hold in the heat around a bed . When i was in the army and we were going to be out in the field for s training exercise, even if were were assured we would be sleeping in squad size tents the more experienced soldiers always took their shelter half and three poles … this would be tented over the cot so that body heat escaping from the sleeping bag would be detained in that small space before dissipating out into the larger area…. However the materials you used and how you secured it… I would secure it to your head rest not the visor… the clip that holds the visor in place is not that strong …. And while the moving blanket is insulated, its quilting is much more densely packed so its weight to insulating value isnt all that great… triple layered bedding of a cotton or satin sheet, a flannel blanket, and then a light quilt gives you a better insulator for the weight. And if gives you six levels of insulating options from just the sheet to all three . This is also alot easier to clean than a moving blanket. Capping the ends are easy and can be done using multitasking materials…. Simply using hangers with a shirt or jacket draped from the ^ part of a clothes hanger and a towel, flannel throw, or pants from the __ part of a clothes hanger can cap off either end …. Hanging up light weight T Shirts inside your tent from hip to toes can also create heat baffles …. In this way you can fold back your tent near your head while at the same time having a heat seal trapping in the warm air from toes to someplace below your shoulders ….

You have a table, and you could use the terracota pot with tealight candles as it removes humidity and keeps you warm

Extremely practical thinking, I can't imagine this wouldn't be much better than not! Please never use a propane type heater unless you are awake, and even then use a CO2 alarm, stay safe!

Thank you for cleaver video , watching you from Istanbul

It’s a van bivy... adding a cordless electric blanket for the coldest hours will make for a comfortable night. 👣🕊👽

Hey, smart gal! I've had a few cool nose nights myself so, I give you a grade a for this one, much thanks.

a couple of wool blankets will help one you put between the bed and the sleeping bags and the other you fold in half and put over top at your feet

One more piece of advice, and it's short: Put as much insulation OR MORE *underneath* you as you have above you. Why more undereneath? Because compression will reduce that insulation's heat-trapping capacity. It's the same reason why tight clothes will make you colder than loose clothes, same with tightly wrapped blankets versus looser ones!

One piece snow suit. I used to wear one,I work outside all year round. That would keep you warm.

That’s A Great Idea!

This idea always made perfect sense to me. Plus you can take it down when you’re finished.

"and the reason I chose this is two fold". HAHAHA great pun

Ingenious! I’d think about making a tent using a reflective blanket designed for wilderness rescue.

A splendid idea … I did something very similar to this one time in a pinch and it worked. I now keep the quilted drop cloth in my rig permanently.

Great thinking, try making more of a teepee just over your head/chest then you will be even warmer in colder weather, even easier. Learned this from old Alaskan bushman .

Great topic. Reflective blanket seems most cost efficient and way lighter. Same set up otherwise. Thanks.

Good idea, also gives you some privacy.

Good idea, I will be free in 4 years and am planning to go for 2 to 3 months as soon as I can and see all the things I have not, best to you!

They did that back in the day canopy over the bed with roof and side and it did work great ideal your thinking every little thing you can do helps solve the problem hot water bottles in your bag wool soxs they had bed warmer helped not getting in to a cold bed. Trap and hold the heat works for animals and keeps them alive when it's bitter cold keep thinking thanks for sharing we are all in this together

I built a quilt tent like this two years in a row through the winter when I was super hard up on my luck and couldn't afford a sky high electric build. What I did was moved into the smallest room in the house, and then the first year I built a survival tent like this in that room... with an electric heating blanket under me, and one electric heating blanket draped under the quilt roof of the tent... and I blocked off the ends. The idea being, only my nose was sticking outside of the blankets, and the body heat and roof heating blanket would keep me from having to breathe cold air which is very disconcerting and will keep you from falling asleep. In the morning I would turn on the electric oil filled heaters to heat up the room during the day with a computer at an office desk. The next winter I got smarter, and built a huge canopy bed and a canopy office attached to it, for a bit more heating space... the canopy bed allowed me to at least sit up in it if I wanted to... and get on a laptop. By the third winter, I was done with all that, and figured out a better way to heat my house that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

So goods van

You can actually improve upon this even further. You will need the quilted moving blanket, a mylar "space" blanket / emergency foil blanket, a cheap thrift store bedsheet (or bedsheet & wool or other lofted blanket), thread, and a sewing needle. You'll also need a reasonably large flat area to work for the initial positioning. Double-sided sticky-tape, the cold weather tape seen in the video below, or a spray contact cement / adhesive can help a bit, too, though not all glues are compatible with the slick surface of the space blanket. Position the base insulation layer on the ground or table (the quilt/blanket), position the mylar blanket on top of it so that it's pretty much centered, then position the sheet over that. Then carefully stitch through the edges, at least two inches inside the edge of the mylar blanket. Make sure to minimize your stitches through the mylar, as it rips easily, and just do enough to tack the space blanket in place, with perhaps a few farther into the center by several inches / a spread hand-width. You don't want to do a running stitch, saddle stitch, or anything of the sort. Just a little knotted loop through the quilt to anchor the thread on that side, a single stitch through the mylar, and then an anchoring knot through the sheet (or second blanket, whatever). You want to limit the holes you puncture in the mylar as it is prone to tearing. If you have cellophane tape, use that along the outer edge of the mylar where you're going to stitch, to help keep the holes from tearing the stitches. This will be awkward and time consuming, but trust me, it will be worth it. Once the reflective space blanket has been secured in its position, go back around the edges of just the quilt and sheet, beyond the mylar blanket, and do a much more thorough stitch to hold it together, such as a running stitch. This will be a stitch that is designed to hold the blankets together as a unit, ensuring stability that will keep the mylar blanket in position without risking nearly as much chance of it ripping when handled. The key to the greater insulation is the reflective material BETWEEN layers of insulation. The insulation is the key, because it provides an air-gap so that your body does not touch the mylar. Once it touches the mylar, heat from your body gets conducted away, and you get cold. The insulation layer blocks that heat transfer. Ideally you'd use 2 quilted moving blankets, but they can get pretty heavy when it comes time to set up your tent, so you just need one on the side facing toward you, and a sheet on the other side to protect the mylar from getting ripped when handled. A variation on this was created by a channel that is called Fun In The Woods, and he managed to make an insulated camping pad that did a really good job of keeping the ground from leaching away his body heat in the night, and he did it fairly cheaply with just a cheap space blanket and some of that thin foam sheeting that often comes in boxed furniture, to keep it cushioned in transit. Here's the video of him constructing and testing the ground pad he made: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ntWciK2FqKrUgGw.html You can also make this out of bubble wrap and a mylar blanket, or get the silver reflective bubblewrap insulation from a hardware store, though you'll have to remember that you still need an air gap because there's one more issue when your body touches a space blanket. That's sweating. You can end up sweating from reflection as well as losing body heat from conduction, so you'll still want at least a little bit of insulation air gap. If you watch the video, you'll see that the fellow puts insulation inside a tube of mylar blanket, then insulation on the top and bottom, tapes that up, then puts cloth around the outside of all that to help hold it together and allow it to be changed out and cleaned. He also tests an inflated down ground pad for an hour to see how its insulation keeps him comfortably warm in mid-forties fahrenheit temperature. Then he tries his homemade heat reflective insulated ground pad...and he doesn't even need the full hour. He can tell it makes a huge difference. Your mileage may vary, of course, but if you use the mylar space blanket to reflect heat back at your body, and insulation to retain that heat and prevent it from being lost to conduction, you may very well have great results, too.

I hope you have noticed some ladies who are solo van people have an Amazon front or a wish list I’d like for to consider it. Also Walmart will work. You can list items you are in need of or want to make van life a little easier. I’ve noticed people respond well. I might suggest setting up a cash account or a Venmo account so if peopled would like to help you out financially. I hope this helps you are a delight to watch.

My dear i do believe your right!😂👍🏿😂

Army wool blanket, together of course with a good sleeping bag and a pad with true high R value wrap the blanket all around you like a cocoon, wool socks too. I swear I’m able to increase the temperature easily by 10 degrees just by adding the army wool blanket to my sleeping bag. Remember when buying bags the low temperature is only to keep you alive, for comfort add about 20 degrees to what is marked.

If you cover your windows, it will help keep cold out, a HUGE difference, huge. ❤😂❤😂❤ Love what you've done. ❤😂And easy too. I know that quilt, HF❤.

An emergency blanket would be even better, because it's reflective

makes sense...I was supposed to do some fallcamping in a canvas tent. I just cover my small tent with 2 wool blankets then the rainfly and that traps in the heat.

I think that's genius kudos to you

Another tip is to get 4 gal square food grade surplus buckets with snap on lid ( $3 on craigslist ) you can put everything from food, water, cloths, gear, you name it. Use these as a legos style base for your bed instead of sleeping cot frame. Modular mix and match, easy to swap in and out, great size, not to heavy water proof, air proof, better than any Rubbermaid or other purchase totes. You can even use one for your toilet.. Check them out.

I like this simple idea for those really cold nights in my Land Rover Defender 90. ❤

This is great. I tried to make a tent in my Tacoma shell. Couldnt figure it out. But now i have a van and I'm def doing this!

If you have the option of heating water, a hot water bottle is also very helpful. Love the idea of the tent and have to admit I've thought of it myself but never actually tried it.

I have a seat warmer for the driver seat which is 12v. It is low consumption - you can plug it into your Jackery and use as an electric blanket. Nice and toasty!

Basically you created a thermal layer. That's actually encourage if one is familiar with 4-H and boy scouts

Love this idea! I also love how simple your builds are.

We have power outages on the East Coast. I rigged up something similar over my bed to keep me warm. It worked perfectly. Thank you for sharing 👍

Seems good, a basic tent in a van, you could possibly pad out the visor connection to avoid damage from the cord. If you have a camping stove, you can heat up a hot water bottle. Wild campers use Nalgene bottles for this, but you could just carry a purpose designed one.

Good idea to keep more heat\moisture off your body and reduce condensation on the windows, which is really annoying if you heat\humidify the whole car. By the way, 12 volt electric heating helps too, I just use a cheap heated seat cushion on the lowest setting to add some heat and keep my mattress dry. My seat cushion uses 30 watts max, but actually less because it turns on and off periodically.

Simple and effective. It would help.

Love the idea. Only point of contention is I think you should tie off to the driver headrest instead of the visor. It would be very easy to trip and rip the visor off. Tying off from the headrest will introduce some tilt, but you can fix that with a clothes pin or any of the methods that Dave Cantebury teaches on his channel for setting up ridgelines. Tying to the headrest may also help close some of the gap near the feet.

A tent in a car, nice ide

Hey I met somebody yesterday coming into good will, Who does van life. They've been doing it for a year and a 1/2 really, really cool people. I told him about your channel when they said they were going to sub up to you

Moving blankets are highly flammable and the ones I bought stated do not use for bedding or put in dryers.

I recently stayed in my van and it got down in the 20's. It's the first time I tried one of my heat solutions, a twin mattress heating pad. I put it under my mattress and plugged it into my solar generator. It's an off brand, said it was a 800w but acts more like a 500w. It ran the heating pad for 9 hours and kept me warm enough and I only had one comforter on top. If it had been colder I would have needed something else producing heat and some insulation in the my full size van would have helped too

One thing I learned winter camping is I put hand/body warmers under my sleeping bag. They will definitely help keep you warmer.

Good tip

Yes! I think it's a fantastic idea. I'm always trying to hold up my blanket over my head like a tent. My arm becomes tired and having the blankets lay right over my head suffocates me. Thank you, I'm going to do this.

Very good idea, you're braver than me with the cold. Waiting for warmer weather. Njoy!

Seems like a good idea along with the comments. I’m not a fan of my DGC. It really isn’t big enough for me and my dog unless it is just for a few days.