We have a forest of trees all around us at most of our camps. I’d rather wake up every 4 hours and throw another log in the stove than pack compressed logs 7 miles up the mountain. 
As stated above. Make sure the rocks are dry. Wet rocks can explode when they get hot.
4" twin memory foam on top of hay bales. Double sleeping bag rated for as low as possible. Stuff a down comforter into the sleeping bag. Sleep in sweat pants and hooded sweat shirt.
Also, solid fuel handwarmers. http://www.amazon.com/Texsport-27930-Solid-Fuel-Handwarmer/dp/B002LFSLIA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1255493364&sr=8-3
They use a stick that slowly burns in the case. It will stay HOT for 4 to 6 hours, but sometimes can be difficult to get started. You just light the end, and keep the case open for about 15 minutes until it is glowing really well. Then close the case. Mine had a fabric (like felt) bag that the case slipped into. Then it definitely could not pop open.
I find all kinds of good camping stuff, for cheap, at the local army surplus store and ‘recreation outlet’ store. Recently picked up a 0 degree rated mummy bag for $29.
I often sleep in my two horse bp when truck camping- way easier than pitching a tent- it has a curtain on the back which I put down and I use my comfy cot, one of the compact air mattresses, and a sleeping bag. Toasty.
If it’s really cold and you want to heat up your sleeping bag, you can put boiling water into a Sigg bottle. Then place the bottle into your sleeping bag. It is easy to do, cheap and quite effective.
As mentioned in this thread, there are great bargains to be found at army surpuls stores. I’ve also bought a few “Swiss Gear” products at Sam’s Club and found them to be of good quality. They have a zero degree bag pretty cheap. I have one that I’ve used a lot and found to be nice and roomy - but I haven’t put it to the zero-degree test - but it would certianly be a good bag at least down to the teens - of course you have to have a closed cell foam pad or the equivalent for insulating under the bag but this has been covered thoroughly in the thread already.
Best way to stay warm when camping? Space heater. 
I don’t have electric in my trailer, or a generator, but often camp places that do. I’ll run an extension cord through the door or window and the space heater works wonders.
I also have a down filled sleeping bag that I use as a blanket, not zipped. I sleep pretty bare, but if needed, will wear socks and a tight fitting long sleeved shirt.
Lots of blankets is the key. UNDER you. Not sheets. Wool is best.
What Beverley said.
Army Navy stores have inexpensive cold weather gear and sleeping bags. Very economical. They also have the little heating units and stoves.
Sure cheaper than those big box sporting goods stores.
I go to Emmanence Mo twice a year for ten days each time.
June and OCtober. While the june ride can be pretty warm the
october ride can get cold.
The people I go with have living quarters set up for just the two of them.
Their trailer twenty years old and in great shape has a full back door
that swings open and the sides of the trailer are also open. They made
wood sides to fit in the openings for october. When we get we clean the
back of the trailer out. I had measured and cut a blue tarp to hang over the wood sides. I hang thoose and then I put garbage bags up over the blue tarps using magnetic tape. After that a blue tarp is put on the floor with
a small piece of carpet over that. I picked up a camp cot at the
local thrift store for five bucks and I have a twin vinyl coated four inch
piece of foam. I put that on top the cot and put a flannel sheet on the
pad. I put my sleeping bag on that. The underside of the back door
has about a 1 1/2 inch gap so I cut a piece of foam rubber and stuff under
the door. We do have electric hook up so I have a small electric heater
that I use at night. I also have a porta pot too. In june I do the
same thing only the wood sides arent’ on so I actually have thoose
heavy duty grip clamps I put the tarp up to the sides with that
and cover the tarp with the garbage bag. They have a 3/4 escape door
a piece of plywood goes in the escape door then the small airconditioner
goes into the hole in the plywood.
Here at home. I have a two horse stock type trailer with open sides
when I camp at some of the parks I cover the sides with the tarp as
I do with the other trailer above and just put my cot in the back of
trailer. When it gets cold I always take potatoes with me wrapped in
aluminum foil. I throw them in the campfire and before going to bed
I get them out of the campfire and put them inside my sleeping bag at my
feet. At times I will take two sleeping bags and stuff one inside the other.
I would suggest you use flannel sheets on the air mattress. They are
a bit thicker than a regular sheet and your sleeping bag won’t slide
on the flannel. Flannel sheets can sometimes be found at a thrift store.
The Boyscouts camp in sub zero temps and have a booklet that gives great winter camping tips. Our boys camped in shelter made from pine boughs in -2* last winter and swear they were warm. Maybe you can find a scout with a spare copy. I do know they say do not use an air matress and do not wear cotton clothing as it retains moisture.
Very good suggestion and I was going to say the same thing. Check out backpacking gear. My husband and I are into backpacking and we are headed out for a winter hike in the mtns of Georgia the day after Christmas on the Appalachian Trail.
You need to lose the air mattress also…an uninsulated air mattress is a fast way to be cold all night. They make insulated air mattresses (what we use) as well as self inflating insulated mattresses that are a bit heavier.
A mummy bag with down is probably the lightest/warmest you can get. A sleeping bag liner is also a good idea and can serve as a summer sleeping bag. We are using North Face 20F bags with a warm liner in ours…and ours are synthetic due to my allergies for down.
Two great places to shop for good outdoor gear is www.campmor.com and www.rei.com
[QUOTE=cloudyandcallie;4433295]
Get good double sleeping bag.
Get former North Dakota farm boy in grad school.
You will stay warm. (worked years ago for me when I lived in St Louis and we went canoeing and camping in the ozarks, Little Current and 11 Forks rivers.):lol:[/QUOTE]
Perhaps I could rent out Mr Jeano. He is like sleeping with a blast furnace. We camped out in an unheated shed with an airbed, a double sleeping bag with a down comfortor over it, and our cat.
A zillion years ago I went winter camping with some college buddies. My sleeping bag was completely inadequate and I had to double up with one of the buds. It was too cold to get romantic, even. Nothing froze but I didnt feel warm until I got back to the dorm and took a loooong hot shower. Ah, impetuous youth.
The b/f and I haven’t done any winter camping together, though he’s talked about past trips where he woke up with two inches of snow on the ground.
However, we HAVE had some very chilly camping trips in the past. Back in October, we spent a week at Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois and it rained (that kind of misty rain that sends a chill through you). I think temperatures dipped into the upper 30s one night, and it was too miserable to have much of a campfire.
Fortunately, the week before we left on that trip I found a set of those really plush flannel sheets on sale/clearance. I also brought along my own electric blanket with dual controls, since we’d have electric hookup at the site.
My boyfriend was thanking me ALL WEEK for bringing that blanket along. . .definitely made the cold, damp evenings more tolerable.
At least until it was time to get out of bed in the morning to go feed.
change your clothes before bed
Even though you don’t want to get nekkid, take off those warm clothes you have been wearing all day and put on warm sleeping clothes. I sleep in poly pro long underwear (and I wear a hat to bed).
wool is the best fabric. I put a wool army navy blanket ($20) (also works as cooler for my horse when I am willing to share), under my sheets.
Coleman makes a nice catalytic heater that runs off propane that won’t kill you and will take the chill off before you snuggle in.
eat spicy foods (honest)
At one time in my life I camped every month of the year for 4 years straight and we don’t exactly live in the banana belt. I will say that the rating on a sleeping bag is the temperature that you will still be alive in the morning at. This is not the temperature that you will sleep comfortably at. I have a big old Kodiak bag from cabelas. It is a heavy pig but I don’t backpack and if I go into the high country I take a pack horse. I also have a canvas bedroll cover. It is a heavy canvas that encases my bag and my pad. It keeps the air from getting me from the below when on my cot, or the frozen ground from coming up through the bottom. One of my best nights sleep was at -10 and a clear as a bell night. I rolled out my bedroll and climbed in. DO NOT sleep in the clothes that you have been wearing. Change to fresh clothes before bed. I strip clear to my BVD’s then wear thermals or just my Fruit of the Looms. The right equipment is imperative to having a good experience.
Story time… Please do not read if you can’t laugh at my expense.
I am camping in late November. The temperature is to be about 0 and we were settling down for bed. We had eaten a hearty meal of baked bean, dutch oven potatoes, grilled steaks, and a side of lemon raspberry cobbler. Yea, we rough it. 
Anyhow, I have sleep apnea and sleep with a CPAP. Basicly a blower that keeps the positive air flowing. I love my little sleeping machine and hook it to a battery and an inverter to sleep. So I get all in bed and fall right to sleep. I awake about an hour later to an icy nose. The mask had ice crystals on the inside. I was a pretty unhappy camper. Being the resourceful person I am I figure stuff the blower into my bag then the air won’t be as cold. So I am back to sleep breathing the warmer air, warm and toasty in my bag. Well beans, potatoes and meat along with my gut the digester had created an awful brew. I let a little gas off in my sleep and the blower sucked up that warm albeit smelly air and blew it in my face. :eek: I woke up coughing and gagging looking for fresh air and couldn’e get the mask off. The only consolation is that it was my stink instead of someone else and I was warm. LF
Hi,
We are using our Earth Products Jamboree Military Style Aluminum Camping Cots for 3 years already. We have two of them (me and my wife). We mostly go camping in the warm season, but we also go at least 5 times camping in winter. These cots are simply amazing. They are very sturdy and super convenient. The side storage system is the best thing about it, because I am a gadget guy and carry lots of small things like USB power banks, two flashlights, LED headlamp, knife and so on. My wife also finds it very useful. She puts her lady stuff there 
This is my third camping cot. Previously I have been using a no-name camping cot and then I have been using a simple Coleman ComfortSmart Camping Cot, but I was too simple. Squeaky and too weak.
I recommend the one I am using - Earth Products Jamboree Military Style Aluminum Camping Cot. Good value for money, guys.
All the best
I’ve backpacked at around 0 degrees f and it’s not easy to stay comfortable. Definitely wear wool socks and a wool hat if you aren’t already, and hot water bottles in your sleeping bag are magic. In a pinch, I’ve put boiling water in my nalgene - you just have to remember to take it out before it gets cold. I invested in a -30f primaloft sleeping bag ($$$!) but I plan on it lasting a lifetime. When it’s really cold I sleep in all my clothes (wool long underwear, fleece jacket, primaloft coat, and wool hat/socks) in my sleeping bag with a silk sleeping bag liner. Even if you sweat, wool and fleece keep you warm. Like you, I hate sleeping in my clothes but I hate being cold more :). I’m also a cold sleeper. When waking up in the morning, do a few jumping jacks and make hot beverage ASAP
I use a foam pad and then a good cold rated sleeping bag (not a mummy one but a nice big square one) and sleep in sweats. Also, helps if you have warmed yourself well at the camp fire before turning in. If you crawl into bed cold and shivering it takes till dawn to warm up!
I wanted to add that a silk scarf or a silk wild rag works miracles for me, keeping my neck from unpleasant drafts. I wear one 10 months a year I think!
Some great suggestions here, enjoyed the read! I’m a naturally cold person with previous frostbite damage already, so I’m really sensitive to camping in the cold. I NEVER camp without a -20 degree bag (even in summer).
[QUOTE=suz;4432839]
obviously we need to be better equipped, i’m thinking of starting with a couple of those nasa blanket liner things. plus, i cannot stand being confined in a sleeping bag, and dislike sleeping with clothes at all, so need to find what, maybe a double bag? over a nasa blanket? i’d love to someday afford a sheepskin cover fro the entire bed, they are fairly pricey, though.
what else do you suggest for tight budgets?
thanks, i hope we can do some more camping before the weather gets too awful in new england.[/QUOTE]
Late to the party here, but had a number of years endurance riding where I slept in the back of my stock gooseneck on some nights when it went down into the 20’s. Learned a lot - principally that the quickest you can convert a section of your trailer to an LQ - even a DIY job - the warmer you will be on those frigid nights. If you want to know how to do that on a slim budget, just ask. I can help you design a fast, temporary, WARM and cozy LQ at a bargain basement price that can go up in minutes, and be taken down just as fast.
So for the super tight budget rider just sleeping overnight in a trailer - my learned comments follow:
If you are going to camp in the back of a horse trailer again, bring along a tent that will open up and fit you snugly inside. The less air space around your body, the less it will steal from you as heat. Don’t use an air mattress - it just wicks heat from your body. Use a thermal pad - like a memory foam - and use two sleeping bags - one as your mattress on the thermal pad, the other as your blanket. Also the best blankets are made of microfiber. They hold and retain heat the best. If you have some hay or straw handy, use that as an extra ground layer for your bedding/tent. Flannel pjs will keep you warm all night long, and make for comfy sleeping. Smart wool socks, and a warm wool cap on your head.
Sheepskin is NOT a good choice for bedding - it is heavy, inclined to pick up moisture from the air and get wet from condensation, and is not the best insulation because your weight packs the fleece down flat. (Source: I had sheep for over 40 years, have lots of sheepskin, and lots of years of trying to find the best use for it. Best use is for sitting on it.)
If you have a way of covering the interior trailer walls and windows with lightweight polyester bed sheets, do so. The more you can insulate the interior from letting the cold seep through the metal and affect the surrounding air inside the trailer, the better. With steel trailers just use kitchen magnets to stick the sheets to the walls. Even a super lightweight bed sheet will do a brilliant job in insulating a wall. You just need that barrier.
Your trailer ceiling is also a cold conductor, and also a condenser for air moisture which comes mostly from your breathing. Hence the reason a tent inside the trailer is smart both for warmth and for keeping you dry. If you want to continue using the trailer for camping, look into gluing indoor/outdoor carpeting on the ceiling. It stops the condensation, and insulates the roof from cold.
You can also add a small tent heater, like a ventless Coleman catalytic heater that runs on a small can of propane and burns just below the ignition point of fire. These are wonderful SAFE means of heat and work for a lot of people…as long as the propane residue doesn’t give you a headache. Do NOT get the Mr. Buddy, or any heater that produces a flame. The exhaust is comprised of dangerous gasses. ALWAYS and ONLY use a catalytic heater when you are confined in a small place that is mostly enclosed. Just leave the heater on until you are ready to go to sleep, then turn it off. That will help keep your trailer warmer for several hours at least. Turn it on early enough in the morning (like 4am) so that it has time to warm your trailer nice and toasty before you crawl out of bed, and you’ll be a much happier camper overall. There were many times that I just left the catalytic heater run all night long, or until it ran out of fuel. The trailer stayed warm enough - about in the high 50’s - on night where it was down into the 20’s. About in the high 40’s when it was in the teens and single digits. Well worth the investment.
Good luck!
I did some truck camping around the US in January. I generally tried to stay places with electric and ran a space heater.
No air mattresses! I can’t even sleep on those in the summer without freezing. I used a cot with a 3 inch foam pad on top. Slept on top of a cheap sleeping bag and wrapped myself in a down comforter. I wore layers of fleece to sleep. Added a Border Collie on top for good measure.
Tips from a long time cold weather backpacker and horse camper (most of which likely have been mentioned):
All of these items can be obtained from garage sales,thrift stores, military surplus stores, and discount online retailers like Sierra Trading Post. Ebay can yield some real gems. REI has “garage sales” that are great sources for outdoor gear.
The backpacking sites will be full of great advice too.
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