What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Heated Clothing Recommendations

T

Tony Spicer

Well Known Member
Been flying my -3 for two years with no cockpit heat. Lack of space where needed would make it a real engineering challenge to install. A heated vest/jacket might be just the ticket. Read all I could find in the archives. Spent hours with Google. Here's some of what I've found:

http://www.gerbing.com/Products/liners.php

http://www.tourmaster.com/

http://www.warmnsafe.com/

http://cozywinters.com/shop/wg-mhvl.html

Would appreciate good/bad feedback from those currently using a heated vest/jacket.

thanks,

Tony
 
I recommend a vest liner...

I recieved one as a gift and use it in my Biplane. The liner is light weight and a vest style gives you more freedom through the arms, where you really dont need the heat.
These vests get really HOT! They are made for motorcylce riding with lots of exposure to wind and cold. Most have the option of a rheostat or thermostat controlled device. I would highly recommend that or you will find yourself turning the vest on and off to moderate your temperature.
http://www.harley-davidson.com/mcm/mcm_product.jsp?WebLogicSession=LDVBnIXU0Vcq4TSoCSdDhVY7FlXEu3X2K0J05kmeSwnoLA9HOtQg!-388345060!hiwpbmsp03.ihd.hd!7005!8005&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524448772414&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374307790291&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374307790291&bmUID=1262703937711&bmLocale=en_US
 
Recommend Jacket

Gerbing makes the heating clothing for Harley-Davidson. The jacket is plenty warm on the motorcycle and it comes with an on-off switch, but a thermostat is available. The jacket draws about 6 amps and a list of what their other clothing draws is on their website.
 
Check e-bay

I use a full jacket liner when riding my Harley, with the temp controller. My 8 isn't flying yet but I'm putting in power jacks in front and back in case heated gear is required.

The stuff I use is from Gerbings and it works wonderfully! I would tend to agree though that the heated sleeves would be a bit much inside the airplane and would try a vest first.

At any case, don't buy the stuff from Harley unless you have money you don't need. Buy direct from Gerbings or whoever you end up dealing with.

I found mine on e-bay and got a great deal on it. You have to keep your eyes open.
 
If you want to roll-your-own, I can help you with that. I have made a number of heated jackets for use on my motorcycles and ATVs. I even have all the parts and electronics to make the jacket and controller.
 
Cold

Saw a guy on a motorcycle on the interstate in East Troy, Wisconsin the other day.

Car thermometer said 15 Degrees F.

I assume he was wearing electric clothes!

The stuff works!
 
I have the Tourmaster Synergy heated gloves for motorcycle riding and they don't have heat in the thumbs for some reason. SOOO, if you like all your fingers and thumbs to be warm you might look elsewhere.:rolleyes:

I hear Gerbing is the brand to have in heated clothing.
 
Guy: Have the vest for Jane. What connector did you use for the vest power. Thanks in advance for info! Bill
 
Tony, go with the Gerbings. Their new microwire technology is unmatched, and they have all the accessories an options to configure whatever system you want. I've been recommending them to all my Cub customers who have been freezing all winter and haven't had an unhappy customer yet.

How's the formation work coming?
 
Last edited:
Veetail88 said:
I use a full jacket liner when riding my Harley, with the temp controller. My 8 isn't flying yet but I'm putting in power jacks in front and back in case heated gear is required.

The stuff I use is from Gerbings and it works wonderfully! snipped.
Click to expand...

Jesse,
What sort of power outlets does the Gerbing clothing require?
Charlie Kuss
 
I have been riding my motorcycles in the SC winter with a Gerbing jacket for years. They feature 12v systems with a wide variety of styles and features. They have a plug for each piece of clothing (jacket, vest, gloves, pants, etc.) that connects to the next item in line. The jacket typically connects to a 12v "pigtail" that is wired to the power system of whatever you are using it with (motorcycle, RV, etc.). I have a Gerbing jacket, pants, and gloves and they are so warm (altogether) that I can't imagine you needing much else. Even on my motorcycle out in a winter (around here that would be 30-45 degrees) breeze, the gloves make my hands so warm that they sweat.

I would say get a Gerbing vest and see how that goes. If it is not enough, give it to your backseater (who can safely wear warmer, thicker clothes) and get yourself a good Gerbing jacket. I don't believe you will ever need the pants or gloves. The thermostat is expensive, but probably a good idea in an RV without the breeze you'd encounter on a bike.

Good luck,

Lee...
 
re:Gerbings

I have a full set (jacket liner, pants, gloves) of Gerbings that I use on the Goldwing. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have a dual controller/thermostat. You'll want a controller. Gerbings has an adapter that plugs into a cigarette lighter. Each piece comes with fused connector that connects directly to the battery. All the "gear" is made so that it plugs together ie. controller plugs into the vest, pants plug into the vest, gloves plug into the sleeves of the vest and so on. the best thing to do is to go to a motorcycle rally and someone there will be selling Gerbings stuff. Try it on. If something doesn't fit just right, Gerbings will custom make a size at no extra charge. All the electrical in the Gerbings has a lifetime warranty. You can pick up this stuff used lots of places. GWRRA (Goldwing Road Riders Assoc.) message boards, several other m/c boards, E-bay, etc.

Marshall Alexander
 
I've been very satisfied with the Warm-n-safe jacket liner on my MC. A great vendor to do business with also. I have the liner and two pair of the gloves.
 
tony, if i remember correctly you are in north atlanta. i live at 7 lakes airstrip (62ga) just east of mallards landing. i have two full suits of gerbing heated gear that i ride my motorcycle and fly a gt-400 with. if you would like to try them out before buying a set, just let me know. i would be glad to loan you the jacket, gloves, pants, dual temp controllers and a battery harness. it works great, you will never fly cold again.

hank
titanhank at yahoo.com
 
on the way

Thanks for the offer Hank, but I'm in eastern NC. And thanks to all that provided advice. Because Randy Lervold has never steered me wrong, I took his advice and ordered the Gerbing's vest liner and controller. About the same time Gerbing's emailed me to let me know it was on the way, I had a eureka moment with the cockpit heat when I realized there's no reason that the flapper box has to go on the firewall. So I may end up with a foot warmer as well. Still waiting to hear from tech support as to which of these connectors will fit the Gerbing's male plug:

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=coax panel mount&origkw=coax panel mount&sr=1

thanks again,

Tony
 
Or heat muff, or scat tubing....

Tony Spicer said:
Thanks for the offer Hank, but I'm in eastern NC. And thanks to all that provided advice. Because Randy Lervold has never steered me wrong, I took his advice and ordered the Gerbing's vest liner and controller. About the same time Gerbing's emailed me to let me know it was on the way, I had a eureka moment with the cockpit heat when I realized there's no reason that the flapper box has to go on the firewall. So I may end up with a foot warmer as well. Still waiting to hear from tech support as to which of these connectors will fit the Gerbing's male plug:

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=coax panel mount&origkw=coax panel mount&sr=1

thanks again,

Tony
Click to expand...

Make it even simpler and a little lighter. Way to go.

Randy has never steered me wrong either but I misread his original post and thought he said they where using "microWave" technology! I was going to call him and ask "are you nuts!" before I caught my mistake.

I have never needed anything more than the vest in my Biplane. If your core is warm, everything else stays cozy for me as long as I dressed for it, and that is with 115 mph wind whistling by my open cockpit.
 
err... correction

JonJay said:
Make it even simpler and a little lighter. Way to go.

Randy has never steered me wrong either but I misread his original post and thought he said they where using "microWave" technology! I was going to call him and ask "are you nuts!" before I caught my mistake.

I have never needed anything more than the vest in my Biplane. If your core is warm, everything else stays cozy for me as long as I dressed for it, and that is with 115 mph wind whistling by my open cockpit.
Click to expand...

you will still need the muff if your carb'd.
 
Why HEAT???

Not sure why we need heat with "GLOBAL WARMING"????:confused:




Tony Spicer said:
Been flying my -3 for two years with no cockpit heat. Lack of space where needed would make it a real engineering challenge to install. A heated vest/jacket might be just the ticket. Read all I could find in the archives. Spent hours with Google. Here's some of what I've found:

http://www.gerbing.com/Products/liners.php

http://www.tourmaster.com/

http://www.warmnsafe.com/

http://cozywinters.com/shop/wg-mhvl.html

Would appreciate good/bad feedback from those currently using a heated vest/jacket.

thanks,

Tony
Click to expand...
 
Go Gerbing

On two wheels I've used Aerostitch and Gerbing down to some ridiculously cold temperatures, and I'm planning 100% on using the latter for cold weather ops in my RV when finished. Love the Gerbing stuff.

Size it to fit snugly (like only room for a t-shirt underneath) and the warmth a good vest w/collar will put into your body will keep you smiling in the coldest temps.
 
Gerbing all the way here too.

What more can be said? Gerbings for me, nearly a decade.
I live in Washington, so I rode my bike to their factory to see the whole set-up.
Then I noticed it had gotten cold and I had to buy something. I bought the vest liner, which comes with a battery pigtail harness and a switch. I installed it right there in the parking lot and never looked back. Now I have their heated gloves too. They hook into the vest wiring.
I use Radio Shack Avionics connectors on some of my bikes. It's an N or M size, I can't remember, but I always take the mate to the retail store and check the fit before I buy.
I've done that a couple of times, you'd think I would have remembered.
Anyway, front and rear connetors are going into the RV-8. I'm planning to group all the headset, oxygen and suit heat connectors on the left side below and aft of the throttles to keep them neat and managable.
 
re: plugs

Scott:
Not hijack the thread, but when plugging up the Gerbings gear to the jacket liner, I thought the jacket liner was supposed to be wired (from the factory) to also control the pants. And the other "hole" is for the gloves, so they can be controlled separately. But, my pants don't work unless the glove thermostat is turned on. Do you think maybe it may be miswired? I thought the gloves were supposed to be controlled separately from everything else. UNLESS (this thought just crossed my mind), the heated insoles, gloves, and pants are controlled from one controller, with the vest/jacket liner completely separately.

Marshall Alexander
(2008 GL 1800 Goldwing):D
 
re: Gerbings

I rode my Goldwing last night on a dinner ride for about 60 miles. The temp was 18 F. The only cool spots on me were my toes and my shins.

Marshall
 
gerbing... another china outsource company

up until a couple of years ago gerbing clothing was being made in the usa, at their facility in washington state... now it is all made in china.

i am pretty sure that the widder gear continues to be made in usa.
 
The Widder gear is sold through the Iron Butt Association now.

I tried a Widder vest for a year and decided I'd prefer a jacket with sleeves. It was a good move for me. I get much more use out of the jacket, my arms stay warm, I like the dual controller, and the BMW plugs work much better than the Widder connections.

BTW, there are heat controllers for the gear that you can hard wire in your panel.
 
GERBINGS

Hey guys,
This is Tyler gerbing.I have recently spoken to Tony and he shared this page with me.First I would like to say "thank you" to all the supporters of Gerbings on here.It was nice to see all the positive feedback about us on this forum.I am on here now so I can answer any questions you may have about our gear in your aircraft.

Also,I spoke with my dad [Jeff Gerbing,ceo] after Tony mentioned the idea of Gerbings putting together some sort of package for aviation.With that said,what would you like to see included in it?
 
SAE vs. Gerbing connectors

Tyler,

My RV-8A is hardwired at each of the two seat positions with an SAE connector for Aerostich electric clothing.

Do you make or stock an adapter (or know where one is available) to connect the Gerbing electric clothing?
 
Last edited:
mtclay said:
Tyler,

My RV-8A is hardwired at each of the two seat positions with an SAE connector for Aerostich electric clothing.

Do you make or stock an adapter (or know where one is available) to connect the Gerbing electric clothing?
Click to expand...

If you go to our accessories page here you can see that we have an SAE to male COAX http://gerbing.com/Products/accessories.html We do have an SAE to female COAX as well but it is not on our site for some reason.You could call tho and give them the part # which is: ACADF.Our number here is 360-357-1110 or 800-646-5916

-TYLER
 
Tyler Gerbing said:
Also,I spoke with my dad [Jeff Gerbing,ceo] after Tony mentioned the idea of Gerbings putting together some sort of package for aviation.With that said,what would you like to see included in it?
Click to expand...

For sure two fixed sockets/connectors suitable for surface mounting in .030 to .070 aluminum.

Some might like an adjacent temperature control knob suitable for panel mounting, rather than an inline controller. You have them of course, but we would prefer to wire the components ourselves, as we generally use tefzel aviation wire. So, we would want a controller with 1/4" fast-on terminals.

From there I suspect your standard vest liner with heated collar would be plenty.

If you wanted to make a really desirable aviation-specific product, how about a green nomex heated jacket with matching nomex heated gloves? Not a bike jacket; take a look at standard aviator style jackets, perhaps a CWU45/P style. And speaking for the tall folks, make sure you offer it with enough sleeve length.
 
DanH said:
For sure two fixed sockets/connectors suitable for surface mounting in .030 to .070 aluminum.

Some might like an adjacent temperature control knob suitable for panel mounting, rather than an inline controller. You have them of course, but we would prefer to wire the components ourselves, as we generally use tefzel aviation wire. So, we would want a controller with 1/4" fast-on terminals.

From there I suspect your standard vest liner with heated collar would be plenty.

If you wanted to make a really desirable aviation-specific product, how about a green nomex heated jacket with matching nomex heated gloves? Not a bike jacket; take a look at standard aviator style jackets, perhaps a CWU45/P style. And speaking for the tall folks, make sure you offer it with enough sleeve length.
Click to expand...

Hey Dan,
Thanks for the input.im not sure as to what we would do as for garments.Thats not really up to me here but I will definatly put the idea out there.


-TYLER
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top