So I tried camping in the car for one night......

[M1tch]

Just to be clear, this is when I turned off camp mode and presumably the car fell asleep

I put mine into screen cleaning mode to get the screen off. The rest was a decent experience - until the battery dropped below 20%, the car exited camp mode and and it set the alarm! A lovely wake up call when I next rolled over!

 

[debrooker]

I put mine into screen cleaning mode to get the screen off. The rest was a decent experience - until the battery dropped below 20%, the car exited camp mode and and it set the alarm! A lovely wake up call when I next rolled over!

I went old school with the screen and put a towel over the screen ;-)

 

[Tes1aFanBoy]

Interesting feedback. I used camp mode for the first time when it got to 40C degree heat here in the U.K. I found it a pleasant experience and only woke up in the middle of the night shivering due to setting the AC too high. I have windows tinted too which helps when it got light at 4.30am. Each to their own but I would do it again.

 

[M1tch]

Interesting feedback. I used camp mode for the first time when it got to 40C degree heat here in the U.K. I found it a pleasant experience and only woke up in the middle of the night shivering due to setting the AC too high. I have windows tinted too which helps when it got light at 4.30am. Each to their own but I would do it again.

Likewise. I’d defo do it again, this was an impromptu “camp” as I’d locked myself out but all the same was ok. I’m 6’3 and I’ve certainly done worse.

 

[John_Murphy]

Thanks for sharing, I am also planning camping trip and have purchased Tesmat.

 

[decorbest]

Maybe read the thread

sorry bro

 

[MikeGracz]

also if you need more headroom you can set a ‘campign’ profile that pushes the driver seat far forwards including tilt/wheel if needed. Unfortunately the passenger side doesn’t have memory so a bit more of a faff but doable

Yeah, that's what I did: I have a driver profile named: 'bed'. I tap on the 'bed' profile and the driver seat and steering yoke move all the way forward. The problem was that everytime I would approach with my phone as the primary key, the car tried to return to my profile settings. I was able to catch it in time to prevent the seat from jamming against the bed platform I built. I now try to remember to reassign my phone to the 'bed' profile at night, then back to me during the day. ...A great addition to "camp mode" would be moving and keeping the seats/yoke forward. With the seats forward, the Model S is easily long enough and quite comfortable for 6'1" (185 cm) tall person with legs fully stretched out. With a custom-made plywood bed platform for leveling the back and inflatable camping pads, it is deluxe! The custom platform hinges to allow access to the deeper rear trunk compartment, and separates to allow the seats to fold up when not being used as a bed. The separate hinged half slides onto the ledges that normally hold the removable contents cover of the trunk. We also have a set-up where one down sleeping bag fully zips to the edges of a joiner that has two sleeves, one for each sleeping pad. Very cozy, and a big plus of the car that we weren't expecting! An super-efficient EV-RV!!

 

[MikeGracz]

Primarily noise and not wanting to p*ss my friends off - easily rectified by putting the car away from others, but if your part of a group you end up ostracising yourself

Yeah- the noise and lights, and that camp mode is nothing more than using the climate settings. A real "Camp Mode" should keep all lights/screens/sounds off (the display pops on when the car reaches the target charge level in the middle of the night), close the rear doors silently for night-time exits/reentry, run the fan only on low, and/or vent the windows slightly, and move both seats and the steering device (wheel/yoke) fully forward. A super-duper deluxe additional feature would be a strip of no-see-um mosquito netting magnetically attaching along the edges of the vented windows!! THAT'S Camp Mode!

 

[EverWave]

Yeah- the noise and lights, and that camp mode is nothing more than using the climate settings. A real "Camp Mode" should keep all lights/screens/sounds off (the display pops on when the car reaches the target charge level in the middle of the night), close the rear doors silently for night-time exits/reentry, run the fan only on low, and/or vent the windows slightly, and move both seats and the steering device (wheel/yoke) fully forward. A super-duper deluxe additional feature would be a strip of no-see-um mosquito netting magnetically attaching along the edges of the vented windows!! THAT'S Camp Mode!

THIS!

Slept in our MY this weekend, was disappointed to hear all of the car's battery whining, 'on' hum, and fan noise. That coupled with a screen that doesn't ever turn off it does seem to appear that no one at Tesla has actually used Camp Mode. The whining battery or coolant noise that happens every minute or so is also very audible from outside of the car.
I agree with all of your points and would love to see them implemented, I'd also add the ability to increase or decrease the brightness levels of the internal lights - they are unnecessarily bright when it's dark.

 

[Mr H]

When you set camp mode (with the camp fire scene) then the screen goes black after a while, or at least mine did when we camped at John O'Groats. I do agree the whirring can get annoying but i managed to sleep through it, we've just bought a folding caravan so silence beckons...

 

[MikeGracz]

THIS!

Slept in our MY this weekend, was disappointed to hear all of the car's battery whining, 'on' hum, and fan noise. That coupled with a screen that doesn't ever turn off it does seem to appear that no one at Tesla has actually used Camp Mode. The whining battery or coolant noise that happens every minute or so is also very audible from outside of the car.
I agree with all of your points and would love to see them implemented, I'd also add the ability to increase or decrease the brightness levels of the internal lights - they are unnecessarily bright when it's dark.

Yeah, buddy!
It would also be nice if the driver profile attached to the phone/fob was disabled while in camp mode so that everytime you approached the car the seats and yoke don't try to move back into position...

 

[quentinsf]

Well, I've been trying out Camp Mode recently and found it OK, but with limitations. At this time of the year in the UK it comes under the 'mostly better than a tent but not as good as a campervan' heading

In case anyone's interested:

 

[ACarneiro]

Well, I've been trying out Camp Mode recently and found it OK, but with limitations. At this time of the year in the UK it comes under the 'mostly better than a tent but not as good as a campervan' heading

In case anyone's interested:

"Not as good as a camper van" is the obvious statement of the decade. Of course it's not as good as a camper van, it's not a campervan. It's a car!
It would make more sense to file it under "Probably better than a small tent and definitely better than most cars" for its camping abilities.
Still wish Camp Mode would automatically push the front seats forward, though.

 

[Bouba]

You can definitely see the stars through the roof if you’re in a dark sky area on a clear night and the screen is off…

If you are not in a dark sky area then you are not camping…you are living in your car

 

[Js1977]

Still wish Camp Mode would automatically push the front seats forward, though.

Just setup a driver profile to camp mode

 

[ACarneiro]

Just setup a driver profile to camp mode

Yep, I did. Doesn’t do anything to the passenger seat though.
Very much a first world problems kind of thing, I’ll freely admit

 

[fancealot]

Slept in my 3 a fair few times recently as a scout leader with sleep apnoea it's difficult as a lot of scout campsites don't have electric hookups (some of the larger sites do or I ask for at least a 3 pin I can run a 50m extension from to my tent) when that's not an option I break out my 12V cigarette lighter adapter for the CPAP and sleep in the car, keeping everything on manual with fans down to lowest setting and trying to keep temperature to ambient (if I get cold I tend to use the heated seat) the fans don't frequently do the whoosh ramp up every 10 mins or so. I've got a Tesmat and whilst it's lovely being larger than the average bear it was a challenge to get in and put of the passenger door with the seat down AND the bedding on top, mostly I sleep in the driver's seat fully rclined and I get a reasonable night's sleep. My Tesmat waits in hope of my model Y that i'm replacing the 3 with, at least then I'll be able to get in and out of the boot!

Looking at ordering one of these when the Y arrives

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B2W813RY/?coliid=I36PKHPN33PKAY&colid=8ROAOOWKVUVF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[MikeGracz]

Yep, I did. Doesn’t do anything to the passenger seat though.
Very much a first world problems kind of thing, I’ll freely admit

Yeah on both accoutns: 1st world problem and passenger seat. And one more, you need to be sure to switch back-and-forth between profiles on your phone-as-key, or else when you approch the car the seats move forward/back when you want the opposite...

 

[Aqueum]

Turning it off and locking the car, we had the alarm go off also. So you end up being on edge!

I’m currently camping in a dark sky park, and the camper next to me must want to kill me as my alarm also just went off…

Driving round the water’s edge pretty much every passing place was filled with camper vans. I reached the one I had researched and found someone arrived here before me. She seemed happy for me to camp next to her, and was marvelling about how quiet it was. I agreed, and didn’t mention the whooshing noise I could hear, then went down to the water for a quick walk. On my return I realised that the whooshing was my aircon, so I turned camp mode off. With one bar of 4G, I emailed my wife to explain I wouldn’t be phoning so’s to not disturb the neighbours, then started reading this thread to find whether camping with camp mode off is safe. Oddly the aircon has just turned itself back on, but more quietly than camp mode. No idea why…

Then an electric guitar blares Toccata and Fugue full volume through the stereo the screen goes bright white and the lights are flashing. I eventually managed to turn camp mode back on in the app, then had to take a call from my concerned wife who got a notification that I was under attack.

I read this thread in its entirety, hoping for a solution. It’s been nearly an hour and my heart rate’s still high…

No clear answer here on what to do, so I’m just staying in camp mode, with the temperature up higher than I would choose in order to minimise fan speed and aircon noise. I can’t turn off auto climate from the app & don’t want to wake the touchscreen as it will take 20min to go black again. Won’t risk turning off camp mode to set the fans in case the alarm goes off again

I had high hopes for it, late night drives when the surf Is up for an early morning mission, watching the stars at night. But unfortunately the tint means you can’t see them lol!

Yea, clear night in dark sky park and I need to squint to see the stars through the roof tint.

Aargh… sweet dreams everyone.

 

[Peter N]

Surely it was reassuring to your neighbor to have so cultured a camper next to her, although hearing Bach on an electric guitar may have been troubling. Could that have been what set off the alarm?