Well the weather has turned, the leaves are falling and people are suddenly thinking about the cold. At the moment we seem to be snowed under (no pun intended) with campervan enquiries. One thing that’s noticeable is how many enquiries we’ve received from customers who want a Webasto diesel heater fitted. In the last 7 months we have only fitted a couple; now almost all of our winter conversions have one specified.

There are a number of options when it comes to heating your VW T5 or T6 and a lot depends on when and where you plan to use it.

If you only plan to use the van during the summer, you don’t really need a heater at all, unless you’re very unlucky of course.

If you plan to use the van a little bit during the autumn or spring and you’re certain that you’ll only use sites with an electrical hook-up, then you can probably get away with a small fan heater.

But what if you want to be able to use the van in any place and at any time of year? If this is the case you need an auxiliary heater. Unless of course you plan to run the engine all night!

The range of auxiliary heaters is quite extensive and a lot of the options relate to where the unit is to be fitted. It is possible to locate some auxiliary heaters externally, but we choose not to. This is because in extremely cold weather a lot of heat is lost to the atmosphere and at best you end up with luke warm air being blown into your van at the very time you most need it to be warmer.

Hence we fit heaters internally that offer a compact and reliable design which maximises efficiency and ease of use. The electrical supply is powered through the auxiliary power circuit on our conversions, making use of the high capacity leisure battery. The fuel supply comes from the vehicle’s standard diesel tank, so there is no need for an additional fuel cell.

The majority of the ‘gubbins’ (wiring, fuses and pipe work) is located out of sight. Inside the van the only really visible element is the heater vent itself, which we usually locate under one of the front seats.

The thermostat is pretty similar to the one you have at home for your central heating and we locate this either at the rear of the vehicle’s B pillar or on the dashboard. So you can set the thermostat to the desired setting and the heater will warm the interior of the camper to the desired temperature and then keep it there. Homeostasis for the VW Transporter.

So you may be in the wilds of Scotland in February with the sleet lashing down but you are as snug as a bug in your little home from home.

Central heating for vans. A brilliant option.