Mod Description:

Turn down the heater. You’re roasting me out of here! Turn up the heater. It’s so cold in here I can see my breath! Give me more blankets. Fine! Take all you want. He’s hot and she’s cold. Sound familiar? One thing that can be agreed on though is that an RV heater can dry your nose and throat out faster than a desert sandstorm. How can you sleep in your own relative comfort and at the same time save the peace? Do the electric mattress warming pad mod!

Mod Difficulty:

Warming Pad With His and Hers Controls

Warming Pad Controls With 12-volt Power Cord

Warming Pad Securing Tabs

An electric mattress warming pad is different than an electric blanket. You sleep on top of the mattress pad rather than the blanket being on top of you. This has the effect of heating the mattress rather than having most of the heat generated by an electric blanket go to waste as it radiates in to the air. And you can start warming up the mattress before you get in to bed so you’re not trying to warm up the mattress with your body.

Mattress pad warmers come in two types: 115-volt AC and 12-volt DC. The AC models are fitted sheets that stretch over the mattress while the DC type is pinned to the top of the mattress. For RVs, either type can be used but if you dry camp and don’t have AC power, the 12-volt model will serve you well. It can be plugged in to the typical RV 12-volt receptacle. The 12-volt warmer does draw a bit of current, around 200 watts at the max setting. But chances are you won’t be at that setting for long. Average consumption is about 100 watts so ensure your battery is topped up before hitting the sack.

And there are even warmers that have two separate controllers so you can dial in your own comfort level. A his-and-hers arrangement that sure to keep both camping happy!

If you are powering and AC mattress warmer from an inverter, be sure it is not a modified sine wave (or MSW) type inverter. The digital controllers found on most AC mattress warmers don’t like the MSW power and will refuse to work. A true sine wave inverter must be used instead.

ModMyRV recommends these parts for this mod:
Patented Products T-36 12-Volt 60 x 36 Twin Size Bunk Warmer Pad
Roadpro 58″ x 42.5″ 12-Volt Heated Premium Fleece Travel Blanket with Built-In Thermostat - Blue
Wagan 12V Heated Seat Cushion

9 Comments For This Mod

1. jmt (February 26th, 2009 at 12:42 pm)

   Great idea..never thought to toss my electric blanket and just get a mattress heater. Dah…In the tip above I’m a little confused at how I would know what type of inverter I have? I have a 2009 TT.
2. ModMyRV (February 26th, 2009 at 3:55 pm)

   Usually less expensive inverters are the MSW type. For example, if you have a 400 watt inverter you paid $50 for, then it is very likely a MSW type. There are 2 other ways to tell: hook up the inverter to an oscilloscope and look at the AC output wave form, or just look at the user manual that came with the inverter. Pure sine wave inverters are costly because they provide very clean AC power. But bargains can be found.

   What brand/model is your TT? And what brand and power rating is the inverter?
3. jmt (March 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 pm)

   I have a 2009 KZ Spree. I’ll have to take a look at what brand and power rating I have.
4. jmt (March 5th, 2009 at 1:25 am)

   Inverter is a World Friendship Company 70VF. Output 55 Amps (charging and load) Input 950 watts. Now what in the world does all that mean?
5. ModMyRV (March 5th, 2009 at 9:36 am)

   Those sound like your CONVERTER specs rather than those of an inverter. A converter converts AC voltage to DC voltage. An inverter does just the opposite: converts DC voltage to AC voltage. Every RV has a converter. Very few, except for the more expensive ones, have an inverter.

   BTW, the converter you have is a good one as it has a smart 3-stage charger that is much more friendly to your batteries than the cheaper single stage chargers.
6. jmt (March 5th, 2009 at 2:47 pm)

   Great I’m learning here. (Keep in mind I picked up my first TT Jan 16th of this year) Ok so glad to hear that I have a converter and not an inverter. When would I want to convert AC to DC? I’d need to have stuff the runs on DC right?
7. ModMyRV (March 5th, 2009 at 3:28 pm)

   Your converter will automatically do this for you. All of your TTs lights, water pump, fans, etc., all run on 12 volts. Your converter provides this DC power when plugged in to shore power. When you are not plugged in, your battery provides the DC power.

   An inverter is used when you have no shore power. It uses your battery to invert DC power to AC power, so you can run appliances or a TV. Check out Mod #10. There is a good explanation on inverters in that mod.

   And congrats on the new TT. You’ll find the more mods you do, the more you want to do more mods. Hey that sounds like a slogan…
8. jmt (March 5th, 2009 at 9:14 pm)

   Great thanks for the wisdom.
9. Rolling Condo (February 5th, 2010 at 3:51 pm)

   I bought 2 of the last 3 30″X60″ Electro Warmth 12V heated mattress pads from http://www.backwoodssolar.com that they had, as I have twin beds. Electo Warmth now only makes the 36″X60″ in 12V. I had previously wired in extra 12V outlets when I upgraded my converter to a PD-9145 model.
   I tried it out last weekend in the backyard. I can definitely say that having the heat below is alot better than above (ie. electric blanket). Slept very warm and cozy, outside temps at 34F and using just a ceramic heater held the temp at 64F inside.

Let's hear your comments about this mod!