There is a topic over at the yahoo group where someone has gotten ahold of a gas heater. Haven't been paying attention to it though so I'm foggy on the details.
Here is an excerpt, though:
> The Espar rep was at Kamas and did a presentation aimed at
> diesel fuelers. I asked him whether they were working on a unit for
> us gassers and he said that they had just brought one out. The SMB
> rep (Jonathan?) said he had seen it but never installed it, but if I
> had an extra $2,500 he be willing to mount one on my van for me.
> The Espar rep seemed a little insulted when I asked him to compare
> it to the Webasto Blue Heat 2000 and naturally said there was no
> comparison (which is just as well since none of the Webasto service
> centers I contacted had ever installed one on a Ford van).
> One complaint I had heard from the diesel owners of the Espar
> unit is that it was kinda loud when it cycles on, so if you're a
> light sleeper you might want to see if there's some way to listen to
> it prior to doing the install (fat chance). The Espar rep said the
> company was aware of the noise problem and had made some design
> changes on the new gasser model.
FWIW, I don't think the air heater in my van is particularly loud, but maybe I'm partially deaf from the diesel
The water heater unit actually sounds cool (to my ears) like a small turbine. I get giggly every time I hear it. My van is dynamatted all the way around, so that may make a difference with the noise levels.
It'll be nice come January at the SMBF Rally in death valley when I can compare van to van what else is out there.