Tent camping in the South Dakota Badlands

[WATT TF]

Earlier this week I went on a trip that concluded with 18,500 miles on my M3. My wife and I took delivery in November and have driven from Chicago to Atlanta, Breckenridge twice during bad storms (photos below), and South Dakota. I had an XPEL clear bra and Llumar tints installed the day I got the car and the interior and exterior look brand new.

The purpose of my post is to share photos of the car during our camping trip in South Dakota. We stayed in the Badlands and took a day trip to the Black Hills and Needles Highway. The only oddity was we camped through a storm with strong winds that snapped most tent poles and near golf ball sized hail that bounced head high. The car survived without any dents with the exception of chrome panels covering the side cameras. Those have a ton of dents. Probably a relatively inexpensive part to replace.

Last couple photos are from my last trip to Breckenridge during the bomb cyclone. I was driving west down I-80 when all of the sudden it was closed for 13 hours due to snow that amounted to over a foot while I was parked at a charger waiting for it to reopen.

 

[Sully151]

I’d love to know what gear you took and how it fit in the car. Did you use the backseat or fold them down to put stuff in?

 

[ReddykwRun]

Love the sunset photo. Wow, what wild weather extremes. Years ago on a military transfer from NC to AK (shipped truck out of Seattle) we drove and camped across country, took about a month with all the visiting and site seeing, could of easily done it in two. I feel a road trip coming on.

 

[Watts 4 Me]

What charging adapter did you use for the camping outlet?

 

[jebinc]

Very nice!

 

[WATT TF]

I’d love to know what gear you took and how it fit in the car. Did you use the backseat or fold them down to put stuff in?

I didn’t bring anything long so it wasn’t necessary to fold down the rear seats. I did have to do this to accommodate snowboards when driving to Colorado. I typically drive straight through and nap while charging. Having the seats down is a huge inconvenience because it limits how far the front seats can recline - I’m 6’3”.

For this trip my wife and I brought a Coleman 50 Quart cooler (green in photos), a large plastic tub (pink in photos), 2 sleeping bags, blowup queen mattress, 2 duffel bags, relatively small tent, Coleman grill, 2 camping chairs, and lots of other random stuff. We had room to spare.

We camped at a KOA site with power and water. We called to let them know we drive an EV and they were able to switch us to an EV site with a NEMA 14-50 outlet (not charged extra for electricity).

 

[WATT TF]

What charging adapter did you use for the camping outlet?

The KOA had a site specifically for EVs with a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Very convenient.

 

[jrw]

Reminds me of many years ago my wife and I were going to tent camp in the Badlands. Asked a waitress in a restaurant in Wall if there was any chance of rain. She said “it never rains on the Badlands “. That night there was a bad thunderstorm and the wind blew our tent over.

 

[WATT TF]

For those who are interested I have spent a lot of time reading forums and visiting stores to identify the largest cooler that will fit in the trunk without removing the floor piece or scratching the tailgate / inside of trunk.

It turns out the Coleman 50-quart cooler with wheels is the largest cooler I could find that easily fits in the trunk.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T9X9KJZ

 

[hmgolds]

You deserve 5,000 free miles of supercharging for making the trip. And another 1,000 for reporting on it.

 

[WATT TF]

You deserve 5,000 free miles of supercharging for making the trip. And another 1,000 for reporting on it.

I wish Tesla was that generous! I have done all 19,000 miles of driving WITHOUT free supercharging. For each roadtrip I drove straight through (12-35 hours) and have lots of awesome feedback.

P.S. The new 150 kW superchargers rock! I made it from South Dakota to Illinois a lot faster than I expected.

 

[WATT TF]

The KOA had a site specifically for EVs with a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Very convenient.

My wife and I usually get a good laugh when people often ask what we would do if our car runs out of electricity. While camping (plugged in) I jokingly suggested we ask some of the RV folks what they would do if their RV/generator ran out of fuel on the campground. LOL

 

[BlueCarNut]

For those who are interested I have spent a lot of time reading forums and visiting stores to identify the largest cooler that will fit in the trunk without removing the floor piece or scratching the tailgate / inside of trunk.

It turns out the Coleman 50-quart cooler with wheels is the largest cooler I could find that easily fits in the trunk.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T9X9KJZ

Thanks for testing this. Just to clarify, you kept the cooler in the main trunk, not the sub-trunk?

Also, Amazon often combines products under one link, which can be confusing. Is this the cooler you have?
50-Quart Xtreme 5-Day Heavy-Duty Cooler with Wheels, Green & White

 

[AndrewAllen]

For those who are interested I have spent a lot of time reading forums and visiting stores to identify the largest cooler that will fit in the trunk without removing the floor piece or scratching the tailgate / inside of trunk.

It turns out the Coleman 50-quart cooler with wheels is the largest cooler I could find that easily fits in the trunk.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T9X9KJZ

This is what I bought. Yours is nicer. This one is less expensive. I’m sure the wheels are convenient.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002BMB8QK?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title


Here is the one I got for the frunk. They also stack nicely when not in the car. Both fit great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0030BGA0U?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[BlueCarNut]

This is what I bought. Yours is nicer. This one is less expensive. I’m sure the wheels are convenient.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002BMB8QK?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title


Here is the one I got for the frunk. They also stack nicely when not in the car. Both fit great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0030BGA0U?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

The way those stack is nice. I need to buy one of the shorter ones for use in the frunk, but I wish the taller one was *just* 1/2" shorter so it would fit under the sub-trunk lid.

 

[AndrewAllen]

The way those stack is nice. I need to buy one of the shorter ones for use in the frunk, but I wish the taller one was *just* 1/2" shorter so it would fit under the sub-trunk lid.

I found if you shift it all the way to the back, it’s just a tad high. We moved 3 carry on’s In and out of the car over a week and never had an issue with the lip.