Sleeping in your portable???

[Uncle Grump]

I've been seeing some decriptions of some portable fish houses which say to the effect "big enough to sleep X fishermen...".

I know there are some high quality sleeping bags available, and w/ a folding cot and a good foam mat, you might sleep reasonably well, but.....

With a heater running? I can't imagine trying to sleep in a portable w/ a propane heater going - lest CO start building up.

Have any of you die hards out there tryed this?

Thanks

UG

[Guest]

uncle grump,
me and my cousin and some of his friends went fishing one night and stayed out all night in his portable ice house.we had 2 ice houses but since we only had one heater we had five people sleeping in one ice house with the heater running.dont ask me how we did it but we did.if you put your stuff on one side and your heater on the other you should not have any trouble.how many people do you plan on have sleep in your house?1 or 2 would be fine but i would not suggest putting 5 people in one house.

Danny

[hawgTime]

All I have to say is, "sleeping in portables SUCKS." Ok, that's not all I have to say, but it does. Portables just are designed to sleep in, hence the word "portable"--"not permanent." In my experience, unless you have enough antifreeze (booze) in you body, it's very hard to stay warm, for obvious reasons (sitting on a huge ice cube with only plastic/canvas insulation). It's very hard to keep the bottom 2-3' of a portable comfortably warm--or at-least warm enough to sleep comfortably. That's all.

hawgTime

[vikingtom]

I got a clam jr. and with a cot and my no-vent heater I sleep mighty fine in it. But thats just me. Had a kid 14 years old come to see what I've been catching. All he could say is how hot it was. Holes stay open and I stay toasty. Bring on the ice.

[Guest]

I've spent the night in my Shappell a couple times. With a cot or a reclining lawn chair it's more comfortable than sleeping in a vehicle. This portable has a door on each end so I unzip the top of each door and clip a depth finder weight on each to keep a little gap open. With temps above zero and only light wind, I can still keep it comfortable for sleeping. But I don't climb into a sleeping bag, I just sleep with my snow suit and boots on.

[pikehunter]

I do the same as Gem Eye., but I have a cot that fits in one half of my Shappel nicely.
Doors partly open to vent , rattle reels attached to buckets and cozied in my sleeping bag ... I can't wait.

Happy Fishin!
(ain't it always?)

[Guest]

There is a tent heater available (I think it's a Coleman, not sure) that does it's thing outside of the unit and has a heat exchanger that vents warm air into the tent through a duct. I can't remember where I saw it. It makes good sense though. I wouldn't rreally trust any other heater even if they say they are ok for indoor use for two reasons. 1. carbon monoxide buildup (odorless/colorless and lethal.) 2. Combustion requires oxygen and will eventually deplete the supply if adequate measures aren't taken to vent the portable. I see that some of you have different ideas about how to guarantee the flaps stay open which is good. But personally, I would not trust any heater when I'm asleep in a small confined space. Seems every winter we have a "story" about this in the news. Don't be a statistic. Please be safe if you do it......T

[Guest]

I sleep outside in the winter without a heater, I usually combine winter camping in a tent and ice fishing without a shelter during the day. All you need is a sleeping bag rated for the temps you will be sleeping in, and a quality sleeping pad or two for insulating your body from the ice. A mummy style bag is the most efficient, you do not want to dampen the bag with water vapor from breathing inside it. Open some vents or zippers a few inches to vent some of the water vapor. Then in the morning, fire up the heater, make some coffee, get dressed and start fishing again...

[MNice]

T-Bone, you are right on the money!! Let's all be safe out there guy's!!

[Seabass77]

Coldone,
Has anyone ever told you your crazy? J/K

If you can swing it, I suppose it beats spending money on motel or cabin! Plus, you never have to worry about losing your honey hole.

- Joe

[Guest]

Lots of people have told me I am crazy, although I spend alot of time trying to get away from lots of people. Winter camping is the best, no bugs, no crowds, no rain and you can always get a site. I figure as long as I am living in Minnesota, I will enjoy the outdoors and the climate all year round. I say, if you can't hack it, move south...

[Guest]

Never spent the night in my portables on purpose but have, knocked off for several hours at a time after a having a rough night previously. The Original Frabil Rangers were pretty comfortable if you got your butt on the floor with your head agains the back wall and using a cushion or coat for a pillow. Sling your feet over the seat in front and it's pretty good.
It's a little tricky getting out of if you're over 250 lbs but the first time I slept like that, I didn't plan it that way....just kind of ended up there.
Be careful with the heaters. I lost a good friend years ago because of a propane heater leaking while he was sleepng in his trailer at hunting camp in Idaho. It's not only the Co2 that'll kill ya !

[Guest]

My date and I have spent the last 4 valitine's weekends "camping" on the ice in a 8x8 clam sleeper. I insululate it with a product called Reflectex. I use 2 sunflower type heaters, a small celining fan, (to blow the warm air onto the floor) and a carbon monxide detector.
this has worked very well for us.
I hope these ideas will make your next "overnighter" a suckcess!!!!!
P.S. stay in school, learn to SPELL. I wish I did.