The 8 Best RV Wood Stoves for a Cozy Winter

Imagine transforming your RV into a warm, cozy retreat amidst the chill of winter. With the right wood stove, this dream can become a delightful reality.

In this post, we’ll tell you all about the best RV wood stove on the market, with why RVers chose these particular models. From compact designs to eco-friendly options, we cover a range of stoves to suit diverse needs and spaces. We love how efficient and cozy RV wood stoves can be.

Get ready to bring the comforting crackle of a fire into your camper.

The Best Wood Stoves For RVs We Could Find

Here are our in-depth descriptions of each camper wood stove recommended in the chart. We’ve also included some reviews and opinions of van lifers who tested them. We hope this helps you pick the best wood burning stove for your motorhome.

1) The Cubic CUB Mini Wood Stove

This Cubic CUB mini wood stove boasts the coveted classic design of a cast-iron stove, but with lightweight, steel-plated construction. Less than a cubic foot in TOTAL unit size, this unique little stove is full of charm.

Its small size limits its heat output and it’s ideal for spaces between 100 – 200 sq. ft. This tiny stove is designed to heat boats and RVs up to 40-feet long.

With dramatic gold-plated accents and a whimsical, dollhouse feel, this stove will add warmth and character to any small space.

The Cubic Mini Cub is an eco-friendly stove that produces very little smoke thanks to a secondary combustion system. It also removes humidity from an RV, which is important when the weather gets chilli.

If you remove the rail, you gain a handy cooking area of 6 1/2″ by 13″ – it goes from the flute to the edge of the plate and from side to side. To install the Cubic Mini Cub you’ll need a horizontal clearance of 20″ in all directions without shielding and a vertical clearance of 30″.

The best thing about getting a Cubic stove is that the Mini Cub and Grizzly models are super popular among van lifers, so you can find plenty of opinions, reviews, and installation tips online.

Linnea from Linnea & Akela chose the Mini Cub because she wanted a better source of heating than a diesel heater to spend winter months parked up in the backcountry. “I love it, I’m so happy I switched to this [stove]” she says. Linnea admits that it takes more work to operate and clean the stove than a remote-controlled diesel heater; however she prefers the coziness, extra warmth, and comfort the stove provides.

Even though the manufacturer states that the stove has been designed to work in small spaces in the spring and fall, reviewer Fabian says it has kept him warm in -13°F during the harsh Swedish winter. User Stanford installed a Mini Cub on his sailboat to sail from Washington State to Alaska and he says his crew was warm and dry all the way there and back. Others, like Vlad, found they needed a bigger stove in the colder months. If you prefer a toasty camper, upgrade to the Grizzly model.

2) The Small Dwarf 4k

This sturdy little wood stove is made out of steel and cast iron with a large viewing window so you can enjoy the look of a dancing fire in your RV.

The Small Dwarf 4k emits about 12,500 BTUs when lit, but you can also choose a more powerful stove (the 5k) or a less powerful one (the 3k or the 3k LITE). Bear in mind that some van lifers installed the 4k model on a skoolie, so it can heat up a pretty big space.

Tiny Wood Stoves builds its wood-burning stoves with three separate, air-tight air supplies for better control of burn rates. You’ll also get a cooking surface on top.

The Dwarf can burn wood, coal or compressed logs with a fire box made out of cast iron and fire brick, which reflects heat back into your space. Genius.

You can buy a number of add-ons for this stove, such as tall legs. I would definitely recommend adding the Direct-Air Intake Box, which allows fresh air to be piped into the stove for combustion, rather than allowing it to escape up the chimney. This keeps your camper nice and warm and helps burn fuel steadily, while keeping drafts at bay.

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This company has been designing wood stoves for small spaces for many years and offers plenty of information on installing stoves and choosing the right one for your RV. That’s a huge plus in my book.

Mike and Kerry chose the Small Dwarf 4k on their beloved skoolie because they needed: “A stove that is big enough to efficiently heat the bus, yet small enough to safely meet the clearances specified by the manufacturer. This is the perfect stove for us and our bus!”

Amanda from @amanda.w.riley says: “We love our little stove from @tinywoodstove. It packs a punch considering how little it is, and it immediately makes the camper feel like home.”

3) England Stove Works Cub

The England Stove Works Cub has an amazing 168 sq. in. cooking area, which makes it top almost all models of its size in cookability. It can reach up to 600° F and features an optional side plate on which you can pop your hot pots and pans. So if you’re planning to do much cooking with your RV wood stove, this might be the option for you.

The heavy-duty American steel brings its weight down to a very manageable 45 lbs. Perhaps a more superficial factor, this wood stove does not have a viewing window.

This exclusion likely allows the fire to heat slightly more efficiently, but many RV wood-burning stove lovers wouldn’t consider an option without the dancing flames and warm firelight that a window provides.

Beware: the manufacturer’s website states you shouldn’t use the Cub in a house, but only in a cabin, tent, or outdoors. The specs say it’s not mobile-home-approved. However, it seems some people have successfully installed one in a trailer or skoolie.

4) Dickinson Marine Newport P12000 Propane Fireplace

The Dickinson Marine Newport P12000 Propane Fireplace isn’t exactly a wood-burning stove, but it’s a popular heater for RVers and van lifers, so I figured I might as well include it.

The stove does create soft blue flames that mimic the look and feel of a fire, but without the wood smoke and crackling. Not a bad compromise.

This fireplace is less than 10 inches deep and weighs just 25 lbs. For such a small unit, its heat output of 4,000 – 5,500 BTUs is pretty incredible. The fan mode helps blast the hot air out when you need some extra air flow. The higher fat setting is pretty noisy, though.

This small propane stove is built for marine living and claims to be unaffected by motion, winds, or weather conditions. For this reason, you can successfully install it on a van or RV, even if you often travel in windy areas.

The body is made of non-rust stainless steel, which isn’t quite as durable as cast iron, but at 26lbs, this unit is ideal for boat or van dwellers, and it comes with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.

The best bit? The body doesn’t wam up much at all, so you don’t need to worry about bumping into the stove and burning yourself. This is perfect for sailors and clumsy van lifers alike.

The Newport PT120000 is easy to install but has one big drawback: you need to keep propane on your van at all times.

Vanlsle RV Wanderer installed one on his sailboat and finds it very easy to operate. He also appreciates the fact that it doesn’t emit any smells, even if you burn it with the door open.

Reviewer Lala Mood installed one on her boat and says it’s “very effective,” as it raises the temperature in the cabin quickly even on low mode. She also likes the look of the “fireplace.”

5) Kimberly Wood Stove

Look out, the future of RV wood-burning stoves is coming in hot. This unit is pretty amazing.

The Kimberly wood stove is built off the history of an inspiring father who moved his small family into an even smaller boat out of desperation during the Great Recession.

He needed a small wood stove that didn’t burn through much wood and minimal smoke output with a longer burn time. So, he created an innovative two-stage combustion chamber to successfully accomplish everything he needed, boasting an incredibly efficient, nearly smokeless stove.

As you can see in the video below, the smokeless claim is accurate. The stove stops releasing smoke after 15 minutes of use. That’s pretty helpful for stealth camping.

As this tiny stove burns up to 8 hours, you don’t need to get up in the middle of the night to add wood to the fire or wake up to a freezing van in the morning. That’s huge. The stove also sports a small cooktop, so you don’t have to use your burner when it’s on.

The other thing I love about the Kimberly wood stove is that it only requires 6 inches clearance. That’s amazing! It won’t take up much space at all.

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Reviewer Steve B. writes: “Extreme cold testing complete. Not only passed, but passed loud & proud!” He tested the Kimberley in North Dakota in -34°F.

6) The Mini Woodsman

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The Mini Woodsman is a tiny stove produced by North Woods Fabrication in the US and looks rad – it’s a mini version of a traditional-looking wood burner.

The Mini Woodsman only burns dry wood, so you’ll need always have some on hand, and can heat up a room as big as 200 sq ft. Beware: the logs need to be 9 inches or shorter.

It’s made out of thick 1/8″ steel, although it’s black, so it looks like it’s made of cast iron. Because of this, it only weighs 23,5lbs, which is really handy as it doesn’t add much weight to your rig. The handles are covered with chrome coil spring so you can open and close the door and damper without gloves.

Bear in mind that the Mini Woodsman takes a 4″ stove pipe and you’ll need to install it at least 36″ from combustibles. If you add a heat shield, you can reduce this distance by two thirds.

Reviewer Jessica I. uses it to heat a 28ft tiny house and found it drys most of the condensation that’s on the walls. Kels and Jay installed one on their skoolie and they report that this little stove can heat their 200 sq ft home on wheels in as little as 10 minutes. Impressive!

7) The Hobbit Stove

Salamander Stoves produces a traditional-looking tiny wood stove with the cutest name: The Hobbit Stove. It’s tall and thin, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to save space in their build.

This burner is compatible with wood, coal or eco logs and can take logs up to 8″ long. The Hobbit Stove provides 4.1kW of heat, which is enough to heat a decent-size van or RV.

While I haven’t found van lifers or RVers who installed the Hobbit on their home on wheels online, the company itself says it successfully warms up canal boats, treehouses, campervan conversions, horse boxes, and much more.

Bear in mind that Salamander Stoves is based in the UK, so shipping to the US will be more expensive. If you think this could be “the one”, the extra cost will be worth it.

Canadian Renegade installed The Hobbit Stove in his tiny house and loves it. He placed it next to his kitchen, so using the stove as an extra cooktop is super convenient. He says: “Overall we rate The Hobbit stove as an A. The only problem we’ve had with it had to do with the design and size of our tiny house, rather than the stove.” When it’s not very cold, he needs to keep the fire smaller to avoid overheating the structure, which is easily done.

8) The Spark II Wood Stove

Is your RV bigger than 250sq ft and mainly stationary? Then you’ll want to install a bigger stove. The Spark II Wood Stove is made by Quebec-based company Drolet and it can heat up to 1,200 sq ft. Impressive, huh? It’s also pretty economical. Burn time is five hours max, though, so not quite enough if you want to wake up to a cozy cabin.

It’s a big stove compared to the other models we looked at above. It measures 22¼” x 20⅞” x 27½”, so it will take up considerable space. The Spark II is best suited to stationary RVs and tiny homes, as it weighs a whopping 235lbs. However, it looks amazing and it can fit (dry cordwood) logs as long as 16″.

The Spark II is mobile home and alcove installation certified. Reviewer Steven says: “Great stove, heats the 600 square foot space well.”

What is an RV wood stove?

RV wood stoves are not just for RVs, and are also used by people living in tiny homes, vans, buses, boats, travel trailers, and more. It’s just a small, usually somewhat self-contained wood stove.

They come in many different styles, but all will need some sort of chimney pipe for the combustion gas.

Different styles of RV wood-burning stoves

Cookstoves.

Some camper wood stoves double as heaters and cookers. You might have to sacrifice a bit of heat efficiency during cook time, but other than that, this can be a great option for some buyers.

Window doors.

While this category is totally superficial, it often makes a big difference for buyers. Having a window door turns your wood stove for an RV into a fireplace. If you’re all about the wood-burning aesthetic, this might be a must.

Size of your RV wood stove.

This will largely be dependent on how much space you have inside your RV. The bigger the area you need to be heated, the bigger stove you’ll need. Though size is usually a good indicator of capability, the next category is even more so.

Heat output.

This can get a bit tricky with RV wood-burning stoves, as there are so many variables at play that affect how much heat your small wood stove will throw. Even things like the type of wood or the wetness or sappiness of the wood can drastically affect your heat throw.

If you’re going to be traveling in particularly cold climates, definitely overestimate how much heat output you’ll be needing from your camper wood stove.

Pros and cons of installing a tiny wood stove in your RV

Things to consider before picking out the best RV wood stove

Tiny wood stoves for RVs come in all shapes and sizes. No matter how small or strange the space you’re looking to fill may be, there is a camper wood stove out there for you.

If you’re shopping online, make sure to measure carefully and check the measurements of the unit you’re buying.

Sometimes it’s hard to gauge the size of a mini wood stove from the photos, and familiar proportions might lead you to think a small wood stove is much larger than it actually is.

Find something roughly the size of the stove you’re going to buy and use it as a reference.

You should also really consider the upkeep and maintenance of an RV wood burning stove before you purchase.

Are you ready to chop all your wood, haul it away, dry it, store it, light it on fire, keep it on fire, and clean all the soot and ash that it produces?

The challenge can be fun and incredibly rewarding, but make sure you’re ready to take it on.

Using a wood-burning stove in a campervan

Vandwellers are perhaps the most space-starved of all tiny livers.

For that reason alone, many may scoff at the suggestion of using a small wood-burning stove in their van, but if you haven’t already written off the idea, it might be worth your consideration.

The biggest downside to a wood stove in a campervan is the loss of stealth camping.

With plumes of smoke (though many new models tout massively reduced smoke outputs) and the unmistakable scent of burning wood (which is also said to be minimized in newer, more efficient models) it’s hard to go unnoticed.

Campervans are the most discreet option of nomadic living and many vandwellers make use of that stealth often. If this is an important factor to you, and your locale requires near-constant heat, a mini wood stove might not be an option for you.

If space is your biggest concern, you should look at the dimensions of some smaller models, they might surprise you.

Many travelers with smaller stoves also choose to elevate them and use a shorter chimney pipe, allowing for storage or other use of space below the stove. This can be an awesome option, but make sure your stove has the proper overhead allowances for safety.

For most small wood stoves, that likely won’t be an issue.

Q&A about wood-burning stoves for an RV

Conclusion on an RV wood stove for winter

Living a nomadic or minimal life is extremely rewarding, but it does come with some undeniable challenges, one of which tends to be comfort. With these tiny RV wood-burning stoves, you can turn virtually any size space into a welcoming, warm environment.

And with a huge range of styles, sizes, weights, and materials, it’s hard not to find one that can work for you.

Even if you’re living in a van or a sailboat, a small wood burning stove can offer not just coziness, but efficient and affordable heat.

Take care during installation and adhere to all safety procedures, and you’ll do nothing but enjoy this investment.

So which one of the RV wood-burning stoves we’ve listed here will be your next big purchase?