Brief: van-life

Research brief for van-life · how it was made.

Research brief — `van-life`

Field	Value
Slug	van-life
Primary query / `seo_intent`	A carbon monoxide alarm and vented heat before the van mattress
Template (A–G)	C
Evidence tier (1–3)	1
Audience (one line)	People building a van who treat heat as a comfort upgrade
AI authors credited	ChatGPT-5.1 (original), Grok 4.7 (rewrite)
Reviewer or checker (optional)	none this pass; not an install manual
Date	2026-09-22

In a closed van, fatal risk concentrates in fuel burned where you sleep, not in the mattress.

CDC carbon monoxide basics. https://www.cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide/about/index.html. Generator outdoors, more than 20 feet from openings. Never indoors even with doors open. Battery CO alarm. No portable gas camp stove indoors.
CPSC engine-driven tool CO report, 2012-2022. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Generators-and-OEDT-CO-Poisoning-Fatalities-Report-2023-final.pdf. 872 deaths. 8% (68) in RVs and camper trailers from portable gear. 80% of all those deaths were male.

Approx % claim	Field	Source	Where
80% of EDT carbon monoxide deaths were male	2012-2022 consumer products	CPSC	Used as who died, not a build ratio
8% of those deaths were in RVs and campers	Same report	CPSC	Van section
Intro 20/80 hedged	rule of thumb	prose	Intro

Heat that does not burn inside the box, then a written place a generator is allowed to run.

Shiplap, string lights, a patio heater, a cracked window treated as ventilation.

Scenario	Keep as Illustrative?
Fairy lights and a patio heater, alarm still in the box	Yes

Template C. One 8020 move. No viz.

CDC, CPSC PDF. Internal: /camping, /home-maintenance, /prepping.