Sleeping bag use January 02, 2015, 04:27:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150165How many use a sleeping bag instead of a blanket or comforter? One friend uses 2 matching bags to form one. To sleep both him and her.GeorgeRetired Plumber
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #1 – January 02, 2015, 04:58:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150166We do. We actually in the colder months (now)encase our mattress topper made up with a set of sheets in our two bags made as one. It keeps everything together. And rolls up easily. Art and Sandy Late of Vermont
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #2 – January 02, 2015, 05:02:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150167That is exactly what we used to do. It's so much easier to make the bed. We also used the sheet idea. My wife sewed little tie strings around the periphery of the bags. Just make sure you use standard, rectangular bags. Although mummy bags are often made to zip together, they don't work as well in this application due to their funny shape.Dick
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #3 – January 02, 2015, 05:40:17 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150169Due to bone loss complications, we now sleep in separate areas, but when sharing sleeping space, we had regulation covers and then we each just tossed our own sleeping bag over the top. This allowed individual placement and temperature control. We still do the same thing in separate areas, and it works out perfectly.Be sure to have a warm watch cap handy. If your feet are cold, put on a hat.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #4 – January 02, 2015, 06:05:33 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150170I have found that a down comforter, thermal underwear, and thick wool socks are your friend when camping in the cold. If you have hook-ups a small electric heater is nice. It was 24 degrees here last night. All were in use. I wish I could fit a small heater in my bathroom. I have a TK and one of the trade offs is a tiny bathroom.Bob
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #5 – January 02, 2015, 07:15:47 pm Yahoo Message Number: 15017227 Mid Bath. Curbside rear couch pulled out, 2" memory foam, mating sleeping bags.5 mins to set up & take down. Stow in overhead. Foam folded in quarter, bags folded in half lengthwise, still mated, then rolled, held together with DW's old "fabric" belt.Right comfy for us.YMMV.Bob & Judy
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #6 – January 02, 2015, 08:15:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150175"Be sure to have a warm watch cap handy. If your feet are cold, put on a hat."? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??I usually put a hat on my head,......but not to keep my feet warm.
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #7 – January 02, 2015, 08:31:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150176When we pick the unit up in May, we are considering setting it up as two traditionally made up single beds with heavy bedspreads allowing the beds to be used as sofas during the day, then a simple turn down in the evening. This setup allows for frequent bathroom runs, separate temperature control, and skips the daily fire drill with sleep bags/sacks, which (for me) are not as comfortable as a real bed. Has anyone tried this?Kristen Sawyer
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #8 – January 02, 2015, 08:58:18 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150177It is said that you lose a lot of heat out of your head when not wearing a hat to create a warm layer of air between you and the outside cold. Your body will likely send resources to keep your brain functioning, taking it from a less-needed place - your feet.I keep a watch cap and a hoody with shoulders (it's like a long, giant balaclava) tucked up on the bunk with me. If it gets cold enough, I put the hoody on to keep the cold air from going down my neck. I find this preferable to slipping completely under the covers to keep my head warm. I sleep with the over bunk vent open a crack even in the coldest weather. This is preferable to the frame of ice that collects during the night from my breathing. I also keep a good-sized, absorbent cloth within reach for when any ice that does collect starts to melt.A down quilt and a down sleeping bag, flannel sheets, a fleece blanket, the above emergency "garments", and a 12-volt mattress warmer, and I am all set for the coldest weather.Hint: Don't drink a lot of fluids after about six o'clock in the evening. ;->Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #9 – January 02, 2015, 09:42:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150179If your feet & fingers are cold you are starting to cool down. You loose something like 70 to 80% of your body's heat through your head. That is why the saying works. Think about how much blood there is in your head vs your feet or fingers. Also in the summer that is why you put on a hat. It is shade to get the blood in your head out of the direct sun (this part works less well in the high humidity of the SE and Mid Atlantic.
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #10 – January 02, 2015, 09:47:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150180I keep a few down bags in the RV for winter. I unzip them and use them like a quilt. One is rated at 15 and the other was in the 70's but I would not trust it below 25 now. In the summer I use the good one to block off the heat from the cab. John
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #11 – January 02, 2015, 09:59:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150181Kristen Sawyer asked, "When we pick the unit up in May, we are considering setting it up as two traditionally made up single beds with heavy bedspreads allowing the beds to be used as sofas during the day, then a simple turn down in the evening.This setup allows for frequent bathroom runs, separate temperature control, and skips the daily fire drill with sleep bags/sacks, which (for me) are not as comfortable as a real bed. Has anyone tried this?" Kristen, that is what the wife and I do. Simply because it is much easier to get up in the middle of the night for both of us. We pull one or both of the beds out just enough to let the cushion that is the seat back slide down to the platform but still remain in the upright position. This way you up against something soft instead of wood. In the winter the cushion is warmer. In the Mid Bath on the drivers side it also allows for a someplace to place one's glasses, kindle and the like. On cold nights we use unzipped down sleeping bags as a comforter because sleeping bags are much warmer than even very good comforters. John
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #12 – January 02, 2015, 11:10:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150184Monday's medical myth: you lose most heat through your head
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #13 – January 02, 2015, 11:15:44 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150185We have been traveling for ten days in New Mexico and Arizona and have not seen a night's low above 20 degrees. We had a couple low single digits nights Bosque del Apache We don't use supplemental heat at night, depending on a combination of sleeping bags, sheets and blankets, held together with Velcro, grommets, cord, clips and carabiners. We do use a 12-volt mattress heater, for a half hour or so, to warm the bedding before going to bed. This is a great addition for winter camping, assuming your electrical system is up to it.We sleep in the cab over bunk, leaving the bed permanently setup. The bunk has a 3" memory mattress on top of the Factory cushion, with the mattress heater on top of that. A series of small eye screws have installed around the perimeter of the bunk.Next is a light sleeping bag with Velcro sewn around three sides. The bag has small grommets in the corners which are used with light cord and clips to attach it to the corner eyes, pulling it straight and keeping it in place. It also has two large 1/2" brass grommets located in the foot of the bag, used to attach top sleeping bags and blanketsThe top and bottom sheets are sewn together at the foot, with Velcro sewn to three sides of the bottom sheet. The bottom sheet attaches to the bottom bag with the Velcro. The sheets and bottom bag are used year round.The top bag and blankets vary according the seasons. A pair of 1/2" grommets are installed in the feet of each set of light and heavy sleeping bags, along with several blankets of varying thickness and warmth. A pair of large caribiners are used to connect the top bags to the bottom bag, utilizing the 1/2" grommets. The top and bottom bags can be zipped together but we don't find it necessary.Right now, we are using two heavy fleece blankets and the winter bag. The Summer bag is also clipped on and rolled back, for use in case of extremely cold weather or if our feet get cold. This system has worked well for almost twenty years. It's a comfy nest.Along with the sleeping bag system, we also use two electric space heaters and two Wave 3 heaters The 22'-24' Front Lounge models have a perfect layout for heaters at both ends of the coach. Using either the two electric heaters or the two Wave 3s, we can keep the rig comfortable in zero degree weather, once warmed up with furnace. The short LDs have less cubic footage to heat, compared to the longer models, and are better adapted to cold weather campingWe always use the onboard water and pump, never using the city water connection . Freezing of the holding tank valves has been eliminated by wrapping them with electric pipe heating cord and insulation. We were able to dump on a 8 degree morning last week.Camping in the winter is cool. Time to turn the mattress heater on.Larry
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #14 – January 02, 2015, 11:15:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150186How many use a sleeping bag instead of a blanket or comforter? One friend uses 2 matching bags to form one. To sleep both him and her.GeorgeRetired Plumber3c Re: Sleeping bag use Fri Jan 2, 2015 3:02 pm (PST) . Posted by: That is exactly what we used to do. It's so much easier to make the bed. We also used the sheet idea. My wife sewed little tie strings around the periphery of the bags. Just make sure you use standard, rectangular bags. Although mummy bags are often made to zip together, they don't work as well in this application due to their funny shape.DickWe do this too, but we use sheet blankets tied to the inside of the bags, instead of regular sheets, because they don't seem as cold when you first climb into bed. And the sleeping bags are different. Make sure the zippers match. We use a 3# bag zipped to a 4# bag. When it's COLD, the 4# bag goes on top, when it's not so cold, the 3# bag is on top. A hot water bottle works wonders to warm up the area where my feet will go. RonC
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #15 – January 03, 2015, 04:38:02 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150193Thank you John !Kristen
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #16 – January 03, 2015, 05:03:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150194No kidding about the socks! I won a pair at the nelazydaze auction. Best thing ever. Sandy
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #17 – January 03, 2015, 05:09:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150195Larry: All I can say is WOW! We are wimps! We have the 30IB and snuggle under a winter blanket in cold weather. We use. Small electric heater in the front cabin to ward off extreme cold. We use a custom insulated curtain to close off the cab, which seems to work well. But we have rarely purposefully camp in WX below 20.Stay hearty.Bob in Florida.Bob in Florida. SE 5
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #18 – January 03, 2015, 06:50:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150198The idea that we lose large amounts of heat through our heads turns out to be a medical myth:"The myth is thought to have arisen through a flawed interpretation of a vaguely scientific experiment by the US military in the 1950s. In those studies, volunteers were dressed in Arctic survival suits and exposed to bitterly cold conditions. Because it was the only part of their bodies left uncovered, most of their heat was lost through their heads. "The face, head and chest are more sensitive to changes in temperature than the rest of the body, making it feel as if covering them up does more to prevent heat loss. In fact, covering one part of the body has as much effect as covering any other. If the experiment had been performed with people wearing only swimming trunks, they would have lost no more than 10% of their body heat through their heads, the scientists add."Andy BairdTravels with Andy
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #19 – January 03, 2015, 07:10:06 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150199I Googledthermal imaging of body heatand then clicked on Images. Lots of images that show the heat of different parts of the body. There are other animals there, too, besides humans. Interesting.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Sleeping bag use Reply #20 – January 05, 2015, 08:03:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 150220We did that for many years car camping and in the back of the pickup. Rolled up neatly for travel. Had 1 heavy/ 1 light one joined. Temps decided which was on top. joel