The "Get Out Of Your Car!" Fund

Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Fourth Rule for Living In Your Car

I need to add a fourth rule to living in your car: NEVER BE COLD OR HOT.

The weather this week has dipped into the mid-40s twice week, the coldest so far this month. The rest of September is supposed to be back in the 50's at night, and I'm comfortable with that.

I've been researching how to use a marine battery to keep warm in a car, but I've concluded that there is no way I can run a small electric heater in the cabin of my car with a battery there. Batteries give off hydrogen and can be explosive if not properly ventilated. How do people keep warm inside tents when they camp in the winter? I don't mean at night when they're asleep inside a sleeping bag. What about when it's 6:00 pm and freezing outside and I want to sit in my car and read? Or when I first wake up in the morning and have to crawl to the front seat and the car hasn't had time to heat up, yet? I wrote to a lady who also has a livinginmycar blog. She told me Maryland is not as cold as Vermont is. My response is "cold is cold."

Anything below freezing is cold to the human body. In fact, if you get cold at 50 degrees and you’re living in your car, that’s not good and I feel for you. Everybody should be able to get warmth. I felt like she was comparing experiences in a way that didn’t make much difference.

I bought a burner and priced fire extinguishers so I can try boiling or frying my own food at the park some weekend. This might be especially good in the winter when I want some warm soup or hot water for tea. I need a fire extinguisher in case my car overheats, as well as an emergency kit. I showed you a picture of my storage unit. I want the center of it to be clear so I can buy a narrow cot and sleep on it if there’s a cold snap and I can ‘t keep my car warm. The storage building may not be much better since it's not climate-controlled. There are also cockroaches there, so I don't see myself sleeping comfortably.

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