The furnaces in RVs have received no major improvements in years. They are inefficient, noisy and a drink lots of LP gas. We did not want to quickly drain our 32 gallon LP tank, listen to the roaring noise of the furnace's fan and drain our batteries when boondocking so we decided to buy a catalytic heater which needs no electric, is silent and is 100% efficient.

In February 2002, we stopped at Jolyn Enterprises near Lake City, Florida. (941-928-4573, website jolynenterprises,com e-mail: john@jolynenterprises.com) They are a unique business for RV owners. They sell solar panels and controllers, catalytic heaters, inverters, batteries, vents, blinds and other items. Co-owner John Palmer sells RVers the parts and supplies, rents out tools, supervises installation and inspects the final job or he will install the purchased items himself. John also converts RVs from 30-amp to 50-amp service. Co-owner, Linda Wheeler, plans nightly meals for everyone over-nighting there. Our first night at Jolyn there was a pizza party, the second night beef tips and noodles and other nights may be pot-lucks. Customers are welcome to boondock on their many acres and they have miles of walking or biking trails.

We had an Olympian Wave 6 catalytic heater installed and we love it. It keeps the entire motorhome warm, uses very little gas, no electricity and is silent. The heater has three temperature settings and on maximum it uses only 1/4 pound of LP per hour. A quick disconnect is installed at floor level under the range and a six foot flexible hose lets us point the heater toward the front of the motorhome or toward the bathroom and bedroom. When not in use we disconnect and store the heater. Since it is a gas burning appliance we open a front window one- half inch and open the bathroom vent one inch to allow fresh oxygen to flow through the motorhome.

I could have installed the heater myself, but we wanted it done correctly and safely. We paid $431 for the heater, legs stands, a six foot flex hose with fittings, and a tee fitting, hose and shut- off valve under the range. John Palmer did a professional installation job. Now when boondocking in cold weather we can keep warm with little LP usage and no battery drain. When we have hookups we still use the catalytic heater in cold weather because it is so efficient and silent.