I thought about the same issue as you at how will i even enjoy this with range anxiety. But there are portable level 2 chargers that plug into rv style plugs at campgrounds.
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So camping mode is useless.
- Thread starter Gamdwelf
- Start date
One even comes with the car - just order the correct adapter from Tesla.
Unfortunately, this campground didn't have *any* electricity. For me, 20% battery = 60 miles of reported range. In the mountains, that is more like 35-40 miles (based on 4 trips experience - mountains just eat up battery life). I think the nearest charging station was probably 30 miles away. I really don't like rolling in with 5 miles to spare.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
Just camp uphill from the charging station. Depart with 30 miles of range; arrive with 47!
The fireplace screen shuts off after several minutes and is replaced with small white text CAMP MODE. This is great news for those who sleep in the car. However the small screen by the steering wheel stays on, so a complete fix awaits another update.
How often have you slept in yours and what model?
Because for me, it was way too bright in a model 3.
I think it depends on a person’s sensitivity to light while sleeping. I’m not bothered by the camp mode screen at all (with brightness set to 0%), but my mother-in-law tapes over the little status light on the hallway smoke detector because she claims it keeps her awake.
I've been sleeping in the S since 2013 (well, not every night of course
but on most vacations for a couple of weeks), and the new X since earlier this year. So the S only started when camp mode was introduced, and the X has always had it.
Or actually go camping without sleeping in your car
I do want to try sleeping in my Model 3 for a night or two, but it just seems like sleeping in a car is sort of defeating the purpose of camping.
Well I used it most recently while visiting a national park and it was below freezing outside and I wanted to be able to sleep warm. As well as charge my car over night. Hotels were over $200/night while an RV spot was $30-60 while also charging.Or actually go camping without sleeping in your car
I do want to try sleeping in my Model 3 for a night or two, but it just seems like sleeping in a car is sort of defeating the purpose of camping.
Worked pretty good besides a few things I learned by doing it. Should be much more prepared next time.
I used camping mode again when my car was locked in a park overnight. The new update where the screen goes dark and says camo mode, is much improved. I approve very much.
Tam
Well-Known Member
I don't know what happened but I guess Tesla has updated the camp mode as it now does blackout except for the message "CAMP MODE. Tap to dismiss"
That's a quick change in a month from the first complaint on 10/15/2020.
October 15th isn’t the first time someone has complained about the screen staying on in camp mode. Bjørn has mentioned it in a few videos. I’m glad Tesla made the change, though. While it didn’t prevent me from sleeping, I didn’t like its potential to draw attention.
I had a 1994 E500 Mercedes before Model X so ride quality and sportiness was a downgrade. I bought MX with unlimited lifetime supercharging specifically for car camping. I had a concussion in 2012 and felt unemployable from memory loss and bought this as a “what if I can never work again and not qualify for disability scenario”. Well my memory took 8 years to recover.
I have camped every winter since 2017 in Colorado from November to March, and then in California ski resorts until April. I have at time spent over 1 year continuous car camping With a bunch of weekend visits to friends sprinkled in .I have camped in -10 weather and 110 degree weather. I have never once been uncomfortable . I have never had to go more than 24 hours without a shower.
I look at my car as a “space sleeping pod” - like in Alien or 2001. It’s not a place to hang out, it’s just a place to sleep. Car camping in Teslas is only for places with weather conducive to outdoor activity most days with almost no continuous days of inclement weather. It is not a replacement for a travel trailer. However it is a replacement for sleeping space in a Travel trailer So you may tow a travel trailer that is mostly livingroom space and use MX as the bedroom -,saves propane too and is quieter than an rv furnace.
If weather is temperate keep in mind each person is worth 500 BTU so you can put the climate control in manual mode- set fan speed to 1 to 3 to keep the fan quiet, and turn off the AC if temperatures are ranging from 71 to 63° at night. If you do that you’ll barely use any battery. if it’s freezing cold out, I say, why suffer? I leave my car at a constant 73°. i use Evanexx insulated sun shields to make the car dark during daytime naps while charging going cross county. The Evannex shields constantly stay on all windows but the front windows. I leave the rear camera on . This conserves battery in winter and keeps cold drafts off when driving since model X has so much glass I even keep the top sunshield on The windshield Except driving at the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, or especially Sequoia national Forest.
I reverse the sun shields at night, as they are black when reversed (stealthy). Then, in the morning when the sun comes up , the car climate control has to work less hard as some of the sun heats up the car. Then I can flip them over to Gold side out to make The climate control work less hard In sun. I typically leave the rear and top sun shade on windshield gold all the time.The tinting in model x makes this barely noticeable.
I used to use a Yeti 1 gallon rambler and two Yeti hopper flip 18 and 1 yeti hopper 20 bag and fill them all with ice . the Hopper flips were in the trunk well atop a layer of 1.5 liter Fiji water bottles. I would fill Yetis with lobsters that I caught scuba diving and freeze the lobsters with dry ice. Once frozen those went into the trunk well in the Yeti 18 hopper flips and I headed for Colorado - ( note:do not have YOU + dry ice in Model x off gassing the C02 levels would get dangerously high.) freeze them when you are out of the car and leave the zippers 1/4 inch open so the bags don’t pop from the dry ice gas, once frozen seal them up!.
The lobsters would stay frozen for months. The trunk well is not insulated so the below freezing temps of Colorado kept them cold at night ( car mattress insulated the trunk well from the warm car , the Fiji bottles would partially freeze to slush or freeze solid over night and keep the coolers from sweating from condensation and this “cold bank” would last during the day. Every other day I would change out the yeti ice for yeti ice I allowed to freeze overnight outside of the car. I had a mix of yeti ice(in plastic bags so,it did not freeze to the regular ice and stayed clean) and regular ice which eventually turns into block ice. Lobsters stay frozen this way from November until the 3rd week of February.
In summer I fill up all yetis with ice and dont bother much with yeti ice. I fill everything up and as the ice in the Hipper Flip 18s melts I replenish with ice from the Hopper 20 bag until that runs out, constantly keeping the yeti rambler 1 gallon jug Filled day 4 I use up the rambler ice. I can make Pina coladas with a battery powered blender too. . Melted ice water is saved for doing dishes and -it’s or for boiling. I can go For 5 -6 days without needing an ice refill. If I dedicated my front seat to a Fiberglass Engel 47 liter ice chest I can almost go 2 weeks this way In the Florida keys.
I also use a Dometic CFX-3 35 liter fridge freezer. When I use this I don’t use the rear trunk cover. In camp mode the draw is minimal. The exhaust (waste heat) can be managed to heat water to 103 degrees in MSR dromedary bags for a Hot showers after scuba diving. This won’t work in winter as the cooler doesn’t make enough waste heat you would have to insulate the trunk well to keep the cooler in 103 degree heat , but water bags placed atop the Evannex turned black side out with bubble wrap under the bags to prevent conductive heat loss makes a solar furnace beteen the windshield and the sunshade. This can heat water to 120 degrees. At 3 o’clock I transfer the hot water to an empty yeti bag and it can keep to a shower temperature for almost a day. Some times I just fill up the quilter MSR with hot water and keep them in yeti bags. I have a 4 liter one that is more manageable and good for quick rinse offs or camp water.
I experimented with every mattress and topper configuration. There are 2 best configurations.
I plug a Resmed Airsense 10 CPAP machine into the center console 12 volt socket. In camp mode it stays on all night long. This eliminates snoring- and makes you more stealth, plus you now have your own snorkel so you can sleep under the covers completely. it also has a built in humidifier and heated air tube so you can set the air temps . So a nap while charging doesn’t require window covering.
Women have camped with me for up to a week. We hit a health club or sometimes hot springs for showers . The MSR 10 liter dromdary bags are put in kayak dry bags and left in the hot springs while we hang out. Then when we get out we can wash our hair and rinse with fresh heated water. And that’s when you appreciate the “romance mode” fire as our hair dries while we watch a movie. I designed a collapsible shower stall that clips onto the falcon wing door, when the suspension is set to “ high “ I have about 6’6” of clearance under the falcon wing door that holds the shower tube stall . MSR bags and sometimes a Helios Nemo pressurized shower is used. Wet towels hang from the rear view mirror at night and are dry by morning.
I have a grandfathered Version unlimited data plan with no throttling. So we stream Tidal high res music and Netflix.
I have (2) iPad Pro 12.9” screens. In landscape mode they can fit without any attachments in the recess of the falcon wing doors when the mattress is set up. We lay back and watch our own stuff, or sometimes share a movie together. Apple BT ear buds make this easy and stealth. If you park where there is lots of ambient light at night, no one can see The glow of the iPads .
An older iPhone docked into the console cradle does wi-FI tethering and is always on, and provides a Wi-Fi network to the Model X MCU as well.
The CPAP lives at the base of the center console in the 2nd row. I have a 5 seater. Sometimes I’m dating just one girl , sometimes like now it’s about 6, some are just friends, Some are longer term, and some are new. At any time only 2 know I’m car camping. Usually I take the “friend girls“ camping to gorgeous forests like Sequoia and we tent camp In the spring and late fall car camp in winter.
For a tent I use a Big Agness 6 person tent with built in lighting as a 2 person, The Exped Mega Mat duo from the car comes out , a Megamat 10 is added, and mattress toppers go atop that. While setting up camp I boil 20 liters of water. that goes into the MSR bags. Those bags then go betweeen the Exped Mega Mat mattresses and the toppers . The 52’ x77.75’ megamat duo mattress and the 30’ x 77.75” Mega mats 10 combine to make a 82’ x 77.75 mattress ( a king size mattress) the hot water are placed about 2.5 feet up from the foot of the bed and about 1 foot inwards , the bags bleed off heat into the cross drilled “Pure. Bliss 3’ Latex foam topper” effectively making a ultra comfy heated bed. The down comforter keeps all that heat in. That heat lasts for about 18 hours. She has her own adjustable side of the bed to make the mattress precisely the firmness she wants . Typically womens hips need to sink in a bit more to have their spine straight as a side sleeper. Every woman has told me that it has been the most comfortable night of sleep they have ever had. Because it’s 82’ wide they don’t feel uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed if the girl is “ friend camping”. My side is firmer , so if she is on my side we won’t “bottom out” .
That Exped Mega Mat Duo is Covered in a queen fitted sheet when in the car with 2 towels atop that as a mattress pad or a fleece blanket in winter underneath so it’s breathable. . Extra towels and sheets are rolled up and added near the rear door areas along side the mattress. This makes it 62’ wide ..between a king and queen in width) in the car and allows easy access to changing sheets or getting towels that you forgot when the falcon wing doors are in ‘lifted shower mode’. In winter I used closed cell foam stuck on the inner tail gate or ski jackets at the base of the bed to keep the cooler tailgate away from our feet.
All pillow cases are filled with clean down ski jackets so you can break everything down and roll up the mattress They function as your outerwear closets , Cell phones live in the tiny triangle windows in the rear when sleeping for easy reach . Both of us have the Tesla app running so we can adjust temps.
The bedding choice is key. At first I used a bulky queen sized synthetic comforter. Ughh. That gave little temperature adjustability . And was just too awkward.
A banana republic cashmere blanket goes atop the queen sheet with a super light weight 625 fill power Rumpl down blanket 52’ by 72’ atop works amazingly well or you can use the wider longer 2 person version.. If she’s really cold after skiing the cashmere can go directly on her skin which is the warmest set up. Remember the car is always 72°. So you don’t need a lot of insulation. if the girl is a warm sleeper she’ll just use the cashmere and give you all the down or vice versa. If you’re both cold sleepers you’ll use both of them and cuddle. if you put the cashmere blanket on top of the sheet and then a down comforter it’s a lot warmer than putting a down comforter atop the sheet and then the cashmere blanket on top of that. So it’s really easy to regulate your body heat for ideal comfort. So one set of bedding works for 5 different combos of insulation .
Usually there’s a girl who’s up for going on a ski trip. The key is limiting the amount of stuff they bring. When driving to Colorado, I mark where my bindings are on the snowboard, then I take them off with a battery screw driver . Or if we’re not bringing food and it’s a shorter trip I modified a piece of stock supporting foam in model X near where the 2nd row is and the snowboards or skis can go underneath so you don’t need a ski or snowboard rack. That means the bed can be left set up, all rear view cameras are not blocked , and snowboards or skis can even be a little wet and since the are under the panels the bedding stays dry. If you have 4 people 2 more snowboards can go under the mattress but above the panels . I have slept 2 girls and myself in the car 4 people would be impossible .
I do laundry every 5-7 days . So a ski date starts with a freshly made bed in the rear of Model X . I pick her up early , and she drives first, and naps in the back at each charging stop. They always remark how it’s more comfortable than any hotel bed. We may or may not check into a hotel for the first night depending on their hair and make-up needs. After comparing the hotel vs car beds the second night they always opt for the car + multiple ski resort adventure with hot springs vs staying in the same hotel + same resort. Day 3 I do laundry with the girls as we have enough for 1-2 loads wash the sheets or use the spare set of sheets. Then they get dropped off at home with clean packed clothes and keep that bag packed and ready for the next ski trip.
So done right, showering, refrigeration, sleeping , and even camping under the stars in a tent or watching movies in harsher weather ( a Mr. Heater BigBuddy with fan comes along then ) can be made comfortable in a Tesla.
For me Camp mode doesn’t suck. Hotels suck, because of check in and check out times And endless packing and unpacking . The cost doesn’t even figure in. Only a premium ski in ski out hotel multinday stay can get me out of the car. Even when visiting friends with ski homes girls Opt for the car for sleeping but shower at the friends home because it’s quieter / privacy , and the temperature can be made perfect, unless they have small bladders Then they opt for the home.
Tips: Girls taller than 5’11’ are awkward (they take up too much limited diagonal) as is any girl over 125 lbs. Tiny girls under 5’1” tend to be space hogs in bed because they are used to taking up,tons of space.
Make all girls bring flip flops for showering, and 2 bathing suits so they Always have a dry one. Use 1 big bath sheet and a medium towel Per person, don’t skimp on comfort here when it can be chilly. Bring one medium thick fleece bathrobe for her…good for at your feet in bed too). park Near a Starbucks that opens early at ski resorts. Book at least 1 spa afternoon for her per weekend. And buy a hyper Ice viper foam roller massager for those inevitable sore legs or you are the masseuse. Remember charging a cold battery takes extra long so sometimes it’s better to drive to the next charger to warm your battery than to take a long time to recharge in the morning. If you use your evannex windscreen as a light blocker between the front seats and 2nd row turn it upside down Gold side towards the rear , to fits the center console contours exactly . Then use “ Dog mode” and people will assume it’s a dog in back When they look inside the car, most of the time they can not see anything - just make sure the mattress is pushed way back so the vents work.
Turn off the floor vents , except when you want to pre-heat or dry your ski or snowboard boots for skiing (orient those open towards the floor vents under the front seats or put them in the front seat wells) . Nothing beats toasty warm boots In the morning ! Toss the ski jackets you are going to wear on the dash and hit defrost to pre warm your coat.
I have camped every winter since 2017 in Colorado from November to March, and then in California ski resorts until April. I have at time spent over 1 year continuous car camping With a bunch of weekend visits to friends sprinkled in .I have camped in -10 weather and 110 degree weather. I have never once been uncomfortable . I have never had to go more than 24 hours without a shower.
I look at my car as a “space sleeping pod” - like in Alien or 2001. It’s not a place to hang out, it’s just a place to sleep. Car camping in Teslas is only for places with weather conducive to outdoor activity most days with almost no continuous days of inclement weather. It is not a replacement for a travel trailer. However it is a replacement for sleeping space in a Travel trailer So you may tow a travel trailer that is mostly livingroom space and use MX as the bedroom -,saves propane too and is quieter than an rv furnace.
If weather is temperate keep in mind each person is worth 500 BTU so you can put the climate control in manual mode- set fan speed to 1 to 3 to keep the fan quiet, and turn off the AC if temperatures are ranging from 71 to 63° at night. If you do that you’ll barely use any battery. if it’s freezing cold out, I say, why suffer? I leave my car at a constant 73°. i use Evanexx insulated sun shields to make the car dark during daytime naps while charging going cross county. The Evannex shields constantly stay on all windows but the front windows. I leave the rear camera on . This conserves battery in winter and keeps cold drafts off when driving since model X has so much glass I even keep the top sunshield on The windshield Except driving at the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, or especially Sequoia national Forest.
I reverse the sun shields at night, as they are black when reversed (stealthy). Then, in the morning when the sun comes up , the car climate control has to work less hard as some of the sun heats up the car. Then I can flip them over to Gold side out to make The climate control work less hard In sun. I typically leave the rear and top sun shade on windshield gold all the time.The tinting in model x makes this barely noticeable.
I used to use a Yeti 1 gallon rambler and two Yeti hopper flip 18 and 1 yeti hopper 20 bag and fill them all with ice . the Hopper flips were in the trunk well atop a layer of 1.5 liter Fiji water bottles. I would fill Yetis with lobsters that I caught scuba diving and freeze the lobsters with dry ice. Once frozen those went into the trunk well in the Yeti 18 hopper flips and I headed for Colorado - ( note:do not have YOU + dry ice in Model x off gassing the C02 levels would get dangerously high.) freeze them when you are out of the car and leave the zippers 1/4 inch open so the bags don’t pop from the dry ice gas, once frozen seal them up!.
The lobsters would stay frozen for months. The trunk well is not insulated so the below freezing temps of Colorado kept them cold at night ( car mattress insulated the trunk well from the warm car , the Fiji bottles would partially freeze to slush or freeze solid over night and keep the coolers from sweating from condensation and this “cold bank” would last during the day. Every other day I would change out the yeti ice for yeti ice I allowed to freeze overnight outside of the car. I had a mix of yeti ice(in plastic bags so,it did not freeze to the regular ice and stayed clean) and regular ice which eventually turns into block ice. Lobsters stay frozen this way from November until the 3rd week of February.
In summer I fill up all yetis with ice and dont bother much with yeti ice. I fill everything up and as the ice in the Hipper Flip 18s melts I replenish with ice from the Hopper 20 bag until that runs out, constantly keeping the yeti rambler 1 gallon jug Filled day 4 I use up the rambler ice. I can make Pina coladas with a battery powered blender too. . Melted ice water is saved for doing dishes and -it’s or for boiling. I can go For 5 -6 days without needing an ice refill. If I dedicated my front seat to a Fiberglass Engel 47 liter ice chest I can almost go 2 weeks this way In the Florida keys.
I also use a Dometic CFX-3 35 liter fridge freezer. When I use this I don’t use the rear trunk cover. In camp mode the draw is minimal. The exhaust (waste heat) can be managed to heat water to 103 degrees in MSR dromedary bags for a Hot showers after scuba diving. This won’t work in winter as the cooler doesn’t make enough waste heat you would have to insulate the trunk well to keep the cooler in 103 degree heat , but water bags placed atop the Evannex turned black side out with bubble wrap under the bags to prevent conductive heat loss makes a solar furnace beteen the windshield and the sunshade. This can heat water to 120 degrees. At 3 o’clock I transfer the hot water to an empty yeti bag and it can keep to a shower temperature for almost a day. Some times I just fill up the quilter MSR with hot water and keep them in yeti bags. I have a 4 liter one that is more manageable and good for quick rinse offs or camp water.
I experimented with every mattress and topper configuration. There are 2 best configurations.
I plug a Resmed Airsense 10 CPAP machine into the center console 12 volt socket. In camp mode it stays on all night long. This eliminates snoring- and makes you more stealth, plus you now have your own snorkel so you can sleep under the covers completely. it also has a built in humidifier and heated air tube so you can set the air temps . So a nap while charging doesn’t require window covering.
Women have camped with me for up to a week. We hit a health club or sometimes hot springs for showers . The MSR 10 liter dromdary bags are put in kayak dry bags and left in the hot springs while we hang out. Then when we get out we can wash our hair and rinse with fresh heated water. And that’s when you appreciate the “romance mode” fire as our hair dries while we watch a movie. I designed a collapsible shower stall that clips onto the falcon wing door, when the suspension is set to “ high “ I have about 6’6” of clearance under the falcon wing door that holds the shower tube stall . MSR bags and sometimes a Helios Nemo pressurized shower is used. Wet towels hang from the rear view mirror at night and are dry by morning.
I have a grandfathered Version unlimited data plan with no throttling. So we stream Tidal high res music and Netflix.
I have (2) iPad Pro 12.9” screens. In landscape mode they can fit without any attachments in the recess of the falcon wing doors when the mattress is set up. We lay back and watch our own stuff, or sometimes share a movie together. Apple BT ear buds make this easy and stealth. If you park where there is lots of ambient light at night, no one can see The glow of the iPads .
An older iPhone docked into the console cradle does wi-FI tethering and is always on, and provides a Wi-Fi network to the Model X MCU as well.
The CPAP lives at the base of the center console in the 2nd row. I have a 5 seater. Sometimes I’m dating just one girl , sometimes like now it’s about 6, some are just friends, Some are longer term, and some are new. At any time only 2 know I’m car camping. Usually I take the “friend girls“ camping to gorgeous forests like Sequoia and we tent camp In the spring and late fall car camp in winter.
For a tent I use a Big Agness 6 person tent with built in lighting as a 2 person, The Exped Mega Mat duo from the car comes out , a Megamat 10 is added, and mattress toppers go atop that. While setting up camp I boil 20 liters of water. that goes into the MSR bags. Those bags then go betweeen the Exped Mega Mat mattresses and the toppers . The 52’ x77.75’ megamat duo mattress and the 30’ x 77.75” Mega mats 10 combine to make a 82’ x 77.75 mattress ( a king size mattress) the hot water are placed about 2.5 feet up from the foot of the bed and about 1 foot inwards , the bags bleed off heat into the cross drilled “Pure. Bliss 3’ Latex foam topper” effectively making a ultra comfy heated bed. The down comforter keeps all that heat in. That heat lasts for about 18 hours. She has her own adjustable side of the bed to make the mattress precisely the firmness she wants . Typically womens hips need to sink in a bit more to have their spine straight as a side sleeper. Every woman has told me that it has been the most comfortable night of sleep they have ever had. Because it’s 82’ wide they don’t feel uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed if the girl is “ friend camping”. My side is firmer , so if she is on my side we won’t “bottom out” .
That Exped Mega Mat Duo is Covered in a queen fitted sheet when in the car with 2 towels atop that as a mattress pad or a fleece blanket in winter underneath so it’s breathable. . Extra towels and sheets are rolled up and added near the rear door areas along side the mattress. This makes it 62’ wide ..between a king and queen in width) in the car and allows easy access to changing sheets or getting towels that you forgot when the falcon wing doors are in ‘lifted shower mode’. In winter I used closed cell foam stuck on the inner tail gate or ski jackets at the base of the bed to keep the cooler tailgate away from our feet.
All pillow cases are filled with clean down ski jackets so you can break everything down and roll up the mattress They function as your outerwear closets , Cell phones live in the tiny triangle windows in the rear when sleeping for easy reach . Both of us have the Tesla app running so we can adjust temps.
The bedding choice is key. At first I used a bulky queen sized synthetic comforter. Ughh. That gave little temperature adjustability . And was just too awkward.
A banana republic cashmere blanket goes atop the queen sheet with a super light weight 625 fill power Rumpl down blanket 52’ by 72’ atop works amazingly well or you can use the wider longer 2 person version.. If she’s really cold after skiing the cashmere can go directly on her skin which is the warmest set up. Remember the car is always 72°. So you don’t need a lot of insulation. if the girl is a warm sleeper she’ll just use the cashmere and give you all the down or vice versa. If you’re both cold sleepers you’ll use both of them and cuddle. if you put the cashmere blanket on top of the sheet and then a down comforter it’s a lot warmer than putting a down comforter atop the sheet and then the cashmere blanket on top of that. So it’s really easy to regulate your body heat for ideal comfort. So one set of bedding works for 5 different combos of insulation .
Usually there’s a girl who’s up for going on a ski trip. The key is limiting the amount of stuff they bring. When driving to Colorado, I mark where my bindings are on the snowboard, then I take them off with a battery screw driver . Or if we’re not bringing food and it’s a shorter trip I modified a piece of stock supporting foam in model X near where the 2nd row is and the snowboards or skis can go underneath so you don’t need a ski or snowboard rack. That means the bed can be left set up, all rear view cameras are not blocked , and snowboards or skis can even be a little wet and since the are under the panels the bedding stays dry. If you have 4 people 2 more snowboards can go under the mattress but above the panels . I have slept 2 girls and myself in the car 4 people would be impossible .
I do laundry every 5-7 days . So a ski date starts with a freshly made bed in the rear of Model X . I pick her up early , and she drives first, and naps in the back at each charging stop. They always remark how it’s more comfortable than any hotel bed. We may or may not check into a hotel for the first night depending on their hair and make-up needs. After comparing the hotel vs car beds the second night they always opt for the car + multiple ski resort adventure with hot springs vs staying in the same hotel + same resort. Day 3 I do laundry with the girls as we have enough for 1-2 loads wash the sheets or use the spare set of sheets. Then they get dropped off at home with clean packed clothes and keep that bag packed and ready for the next ski trip.
So done right, showering, refrigeration, sleeping , and even camping under the stars in a tent or watching movies in harsher weather ( a Mr. Heater BigBuddy with fan comes along then ) can be made comfortable in a Tesla.
For me Camp mode doesn’t suck. Hotels suck, because of check in and check out times And endless packing and unpacking . The cost doesn’t even figure in. Only a premium ski in ski out hotel multinday stay can get me out of the car. Even when visiting friends with ski homes girls Opt for the car for sleeping but shower at the friends home because it’s quieter / privacy , and the temperature can be made perfect, unless they have small bladders Then they opt for the home.
Tips: Girls taller than 5’11’ are awkward (they take up too much limited diagonal) as is any girl over 125 lbs. Tiny girls under 5’1” tend to be space hogs in bed because they are used to taking up,tons of space.
Make all girls bring flip flops for showering, and 2 bathing suits so they Always have a dry one. Use 1 big bath sheet and a medium towel Per person, don’t skimp on comfort here when it can be chilly. Bring one medium thick fleece bathrobe for her…good for at your feet in bed too). park Near a Starbucks that opens early at ski resorts. Book at least 1 spa afternoon for her per weekend. And buy a hyper Ice viper foam roller massager for those inevitable sore legs or you are the masseuse. Remember charging a cold battery takes extra long so sometimes it’s better to drive to the next charger to warm your battery than to take a long time to recharge in the morning. If you use your evannex windscreen as a light blocker between the front seats and 2nd row turn it upside down Gold side towards the rear , to fits the center console contours exactly . Then use “ Dog mode” and people will assume it’s a dog in back When they look inside the car, most of the time they can not see anything - just make sure the mattress is pushed way back so the vents work.
Turn off the floor vents , except when you want to pre-heat or dry your ski or snowboard boots for skiing (orient those open towards the floor vents under the front seats or put them in the front seat wells) . Nothing beats toasty warm boots In the morning ! Toss the ski jackets you are going to wear on the dash and hit defrost to pre warm your coat.
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