Being Nomadic is a reader-supported blog. When you purchase anything via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission without costing you anything extra.

How to Keep Car Warm Overnight in 7 Easy Ways

Planning for a long road trip or camping in a car where you can watch the stars and spend some time with your loved one. Sounds so amazing, right! But winter somehow stops you from having fun during those adventurous experiences.

However, if you know how to keep car warm overnight, then you’re good to go.

how to keep car warm overnight
How to Keep Car Warm Overnight?

 One of the biggest difficulties is keeping the car warm during camping or spending the night in a car. There are many ways to keep your car warm. Using an engine block heater can help you to keep your car warm. But even if it does not work, we got you!

In this article, we will share some details on how to keep your car warm overnight so that you don’t have to struggle to get your car started after a cold night.

Keeping this in mind, we will talk about warming the car, not your body, for that blanket is the solution for you. Let’s get started.

What’s the Need for Keeping the Car Warm Overnight

If you want to enjoy your moment while camping in your car and don’t want to spoil your night shivering in the cold.

In most cases, if you don’t make sure your car is warm, later you can take way too long to start. You don’t want to miss your important day because your car was outside on the winter nights. In some extreme cases, it can have a negative impact on the engine, which you don’t want. 

Sometimes the engine gets frozen due to the temperature outside. Fluids present in the vehicle protect the engine and get frozen due to low temperature; therefore lose the ability to protect. Those fluids help keep the engine going, and if it stops doing its work, life-threatening accidents may happen when you are riding that car.

The low temperature even slows down the chemical process in the battery. That is the reason why it is difficult to get your car started in the first place.

keep your car engine warm
Keeping Car Warm

How to Keep Car Warm Overnight

Winter can be harsh and cruel to us and can affect our car in many ways. As an adventurous person myself, I used to face a lot of problems during the winter season.

But now, keeping my car warm is easy, and that is why I am going to share everything I know so that you don’t have to worry about keeping the car warm.

Using an Engine Block Heater

This is the most common way to keep the engine warm. Most of the cars have block heaters installed when they are produced. And if you don’t find it in your car, you can easily install them with the help of a professional.

The work of the block heaters is to heat the engine first and then transfer the heat all over the engine. All you need is to find the cord of the heater. Just take the cord and plug it in any of your household’s outlets.

Using Electric Blanket for Engine

An electric blanket is something you can find in your nearby store or online. Placing an electric blanket over the engine or placing it under the car’s hood is all you have to do.

 Once done, you can plug the cord of the electric blanket into the outlet and wait for some hours.

 In some blankets, you can even change the setting and regulate the temperature you want. Make sure to buy an electric heater with a good fabric like polyester, and they provide you with amazing heat insulation. Just be careful to remove the blanket before you start the engine.

Using Dipstick Heater

If you want something under your budget yet worthy of your bucks, then this one is just right for you! Dipstick heaters are cheap and are very easy to use. In fact, it was the first trick that I tried when I was learning how to keep car warm overnight.

 Usually, cars have in-built engine oil dipsticks, so you have to remove the old one and install the new one. The dipstick heater heats the oil directly and works with ease into the engine. It also has a power cord so that you can plug in the socket. You can use that.

Note: Don’t forget to put back the oil dipstick heater after use.

keeping car warm overnight
Keeping Car Warm

Using Oil Pan Heater

Before going further, let’s talk about what an oil pan heater is. An oil pan heater is a device that contains a heating element that is placed at the bottom of the engine to keep the oil inside the engine warm.

This helps the oil present in the car engine to run with ease when you give a start to your car. It prevents the parts of the engine from getting damaged due to over friction. Even in some cases, due to friction, you may need to repair it as well.

Attach a Light Under the Hood

Generally, this method is relatively simple, but it takes a little bit of time. Attaching a light under the hood. Installing a light inside the bonnet helps the heat to transmit around the engine, and later, when you start, it won’t cause any trouble.

Usually, it takes time to heat the entire engine, but it can come in handy if you have an emergency.

Try to Park the Car in an Insulated and Heated Garage (If Available)

Parking your car in an open area is not the best idea and therefore causes the engine to freeze during winter times. Parking it in an insulated and heated garage is always the perfect solution to keep the car warm.

Nowadays, there are many places to rent so that you can keep the car overnight and then take your car in the morning. A heated and well-insulated garage prevents the heat from leaving the car after it is turned off and helps to resist the cold winds entering the garage.

Cover the Windshield

The job of a windshield cover is to protect the vehicle from snow, frost or extreme temperature. And this results in keeping the parts of the car warm and protected, including the engine.

All you need to do is cover the windshield with some good quality material, and later when you are done, remove the cover and put it in the trunk or the garage.

How Long Should You Warm Your Car?

One thing you should keep in mind, it is not mandatory to warm the car all night. Usually, 4- 5 hours is enough to warm the engine, and the fluids present in the engine flow through the parts.

how long to warm a car
How Long Should You Warm Your Car?

It is recommended to warm your car with the help of the devices only when the temperature is -10 to -15 or less.

If you think doing all the work at night is difficult, try using the devices with automatic timer settings. It’s easy to install, and the timer can be set whenever or however you want.

Final Thoughts

By now, you understand that trying to start your engine at extreme temperature is a big no. It takes a big toll on the engine, as it is only a waste of time and gas but damages the engine and other parts of the vehicle as well.

All the tips and details regarding how to keep car warm overnight are really effective and very simple to apply. I hope this article guides you and solves the issue you are facing. So what are your results after using those tips, do let us know!

Rocky D

Leave a Comment