How to sleep through a Canadian winter in a van with no heater, with gear from Canadian Tire and what you already own.
Put insulation under you before you put more on top of you. The floor is where the night is won or lost.
Mike Lindqvist · the method from the videosWhen the first cold snap hits, most people try to buy heat. Here are two example budgets for one winter: one spent on a heater and motel nights, one spent on keeping your own heat in.
Buying heat
Plus diesel for the heater every night it runs.
The complete set + the right gear
One payment. No subscription for the guides.
The difference in these example budgets
$1,476 less this winter.
Example budgets in Canadian dollars, not retailer quotes or guaranteed savings. Prices for heaters, installs, motels and gear vary by store, city and season. Taxes are not included.
Different things, different costs. A properly installed, vented heater is a good choice if you can afford one. Never use an unvented heater or run the engine while you sleep. Whatever you choose, keep a carbon monoxide alarm in the van. This compares spending only.
Every guide stands on its own. The complete set gives you all three, in the order I'd do them before the first cold snap, for $97.
Your sleep system, from the steel floor up.
PDF · 120 pages · cold-night checklists
Your bed, your van and your safety plan, in the order you'll need them.
Only want Vol. III? Get it on its own for $87
Make the van smaller than the cold.
PDF · 140 pages · step-by-step builds
I grew up in International Falls, Minnesota, across the Rainy River from Fort Frances, Ontario. The town calls itself the Icebox of the Nation, so cold was the first thing I ever learned about. I've spent the last fourteen years in Alberta, four of those winters in an unheated van.
My nephew Tyler spent his first van winter in a Walmart lot outside Calgary at minus thirty-one, in a bag that was supposed to be good to minus twenty. Everything he got wrong that night is in these guides, along with what fixed it.
Read a chapter, fix one thing in your van, then come back for the next.
Read the guides, fix your setup and sleep on it. If they aren't for you, write within 15 days and you get your money back.
Get all 3 guides · $97 →Instant PDF downloadNo. You get PDF files to download straight after payment, and nothing is mailed to you. Download them while you have Wi-Fi and they'll open on your phone with no signal.
No. Each guide gives a budget option first, most of it from Canadian Tire, Walmart or what you already own.
Three digital guides in PDF format. You can buy each one on its own for $27, $47 or $87, or all three for $97 CAD, which saves you $64.
Right after you pay, you get an email with your download link. The files are yours to keep.
Yes. Payment runs through Dodo Payments' secure checkout, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. It's a single payment with no subscription.
No. It's practical experience from cold-weather van living. If you're in danger from the cold, go to a warming centre, a 24-hour business or an emergency room, or call 911.
You're covered by the 15-day money-back guarantee. Write to us within 15 days and you get a full refund.
All three guides for one price, with 15 days to try them on a cold night.
Get all 3 guides · $97 →Instant PDF download