Has anyone used a vintage propane heater?

I love your last idea. Simple, cosmetic and take it off at night. I would like to go with a wave heater so we can boondock. Thanks for the idea...

You should always have some ventilation in your trailer, especially if you're using heat of any kind. Crack your vent and a window to make sure you have fresh air circulating.

Keep in mind, our rebuilt trailers are probably much tighter than the originals.

John Palmer,
Can you answer a question for me please. If I did get the existing gas furnace cleaned and functional, would the fact that it has direct exhaust to the outside, cut down on fumes on the inside? Or can there be byproducts just from running it? Would a CO2 alarm catch this? Thanks

Let me qualify my view point by saying I'm not an engineer.

Lets first not discuss the heater, how efficient, or inefficient it may be in burning the fuel.

The first thing everyone needs to remember is these trailers were never very well sealed as far as being "air tight", when they were new sixty years ago. We come along "as restorers", and do a much better job of sealing up a trailer than they ever were when they were new. We pack them full of insulation, we wrap them in house wrap, we caulk and seal every crevice. We install new window and door seals.

You had to have a window, or two, open back in the day for adequate safe ventilation, and you certainly still need to provide for adequate safe ventilation today "with, or without" a gas burning heater. If people are breathing inside a fully enclosed space, it should just be common sense that since it's a sealed space, and your consuming the available "limited" oxygen, that at some point in time your going to die!

Yes, I would agree that you want to take every step possible to make sure you have a clean burning heater. It should have all the intake and exhaust air paths cleaned of debris, spider webs, leaves, etc. The basic's are you need to have a path for fresh "air to enter", and a path for spent "air to exit". Keeping a window or two cracked open on the downwind side of the trailer, and the roof vent cracked open an inch or two will make a "life saving" difference. If the gas heater is turned on, make sure you have everything clean, and you have a nice blue burning flame.

If in any doubt, contact a heating/air conditioning professional.

How you feel If someone was injured, or worse, in your trailer?

I'm camping in a trailer tonight without any alarms! But, I'm a big believer in their safety importance. This thread will remind me to pick up a couple the next time I'm at the store.