[Nemy]

My wife and I went camping with the Bolt after I tested it out in the driveway to make sure it fit with the Napier SUV Tent 84000. I hate sleeping on the ground so the plan was to sleep in the car and we'd put the dogs and luggage in the tent. Then, depending on the weather, we'd have heat/air conditioning and power to plug things in.

I found some random things around the house that fit in the foot well and were tall enough to line up with the seats. So with the seats down, there was plenty of room to lay flat - especially with the hatch open. This is what I ended up using: 1) a clothes hamper and 2) two of these 33 quart dog food containers

Other than that, the Napier 84000 tent fit perfectly with no issues. It's meant for SUVs but it fits. The windshield was covered by a Heatshield and the side windows were covered with blankets. The only issue I had was that I didn't know which fuse to pull for the hatch light and the manual wasn't particularly helpful (anyone know?). So I just ended up pulling the bulb...

Next time, I'll try it with my cargo box now that people have found some cheap cross bars. Plus I ended up with 50 miles leftover after driving 160 round trip and running the car and A/C for about 3-4 hours over the weekend.

Enjoy car glamping!

 

[MDBolt]

That’s a pretty cool setup you’ve got there! Thanks for sharing. Very inspirational post. This might be just the thing to convince my wife to go camping / glamping.

 

[ricardocabesa]

Nice set up.There are portable cots for those who hate sleeping on the ground. And whatever you feel like sleeping on goes on the cot.

 

[ai4px]

Reminds me of the Honda Element tent and the Aztec tent accessory! Cool beans!

 

[quirkySquirt]

@Nemy, were your legs sticking out of the back of the Bolt and hanging over the edge? I'm guessing that was the case based on the sleeping bags sticking out. Seems uncomfortable.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

@Nemy, were your legs sticking out of the back of the Bolt and hanging over the edge? I'm guessing that was the case based on the sleeping bags sticking out. Seems uncomfortable.

It depends on how tall you are. If you are legitimately 6' or taller, you'll need to sleep at an angle in the back. I'm 5'10", and I had at least an inch or so of give.

https://youtu.be/Vs9QwxP0f8w

 

[Nemy]

It looks like the bags are poking out a bit but our feet weren't hanging over the edge or anything. Like NewsCoulomb's video, us "shorter" people can fit even with the hatch closed. With the hatch open, no issues at all and you don't have to worry about bumping up against the hatch.

In terms of comfort, next time we'll just be adding an extra layer of foam/padding.

 

[NewsCoulomb]

In terms of comfort, next time we'll just be adding an extra layer of foam/padding.

I will as well. The seats are very, very hard. Though, the Volt's aren't much better, but I used a 6" memory foam mattress when I camped in my Volt.

 

[AC/DC]

My wife and I went camping with the Bolt after I tested it out in the driveway to make sure it fit with the Napier SUV Tent 84000. I hate sleeping on the ground so the plan was to sleep in the car and we'd put the dogs and luggage in the tent. Then, depending on the weather, we'd have heat/air conditioning and power to plug things in.

I found some random things around the house that fit in the foot well and were tall enough to line up with the seats. So with the seats down, there was plenty of room to lay flat - especially with the hatch open. This is what I ended up using: 1) a clothes hamper and 2) two of these 33 quart dog food containers

Other than that, the Napier 84000 tent fit perfectly with no issues. It's meant for SUVs but it fits. The windshield was covered by a Heatshield and the side windows were covered with blankets. The only issue I had was that I didn't know which fuse to pull for the hatch light and the manual wasn't particularly helpful (anyone know?). So I just ended up pulling the bulb...

Next time, I'll try it with my cargo box now that people have found some cheap cross bars. Plus I ended up with 50 miles leftover after driving 160 round trip and running the car and A/C for about 3-4 hours over the weekend.

Enjoy car glamping!

Smart thinking and really nice adaptive set-up. Good job!!

 

[zbrown]

Rather than pulling a fuse or bulb for the light when you have the hatch open, just use your finger to flip the latch closed. But remember to press the hatch release button before you try closing it.

 

[TexBolt]

Certainly MUCH better than a ICE vehicle if you need to use the car heater or air conditioner. Nobody but you would ever realize the car is "running" + no exhaust fumes.

Many camping spots/RV parks have a 110V outlet for the "tent" campers. If you stayed in those places you could charge the battery with the standard 8-12 amp EVSE.

 

[GJETSON]

Just stumbled on this. If the pandemic ever ends, this is what I will do to our Bolt.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoltEV/comments/e07z90

http://imgur.com/a/lnDvxg3

 

[p7wang]

I've been thinking of taking a car camping trip across the US, this would be very useful. Just to confirm, this guy actually took out the rear seats?

 

[MDBolt]

I've been thinking of taking a car camping trip across the US, this would be very useful. Just to confirm, this guy actually took out the rear seats?

If you follow the reddit link, the OP on that thread posted more pics, and it appears that the individual did, in fact, remove the rear seats entirely.

http://imgur.com/a/lnDvxg3

 

[GJETSON]

If you follow the reddit link, the OP on that thread posted more pics, and it appears that the individual did, in fact, remove the rear seats entirely.

Or click on the lower picture, which is a link.

 

[Nemy]

I did this in my Santa Fe and it's mainly useful to add more storage (where the seats would've been). Simple enough with some 2x4 braces and a piece of plywood. For the Bolt, it already folds flat but I'd be interested in weight and range savings.

 

[p7wang]

Well, looks like going off to state parks for some glamping is the way to go.

Rivian partners with Tennessee to deploy charging stations at all state parks

Rivian has announced a new partnership with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to deploy charging stations at...

electrek.co

 

[p7wang]

8:33 is a $20K mod to a Prius to make it into a camper!

There is also a hutch mounted 'hotel' earlier in the video.... hitch as in it's like a hitch cargo box, no wheels.

 

[GJETSON]

Saw a white Tesla heading towards the Blue Ridge today, pulling one of these.

Polydrops

Got your own space? Polydrops is a personal space on wheels designed for new frontiers beyond the city and off the grid. It isn't a teardrop trailer for camping. It's your own space that you can travel with.

www.polydrops.com

 

[Sean Nelson]

Saw a white Tesla heading towards the Blue Ridge today, pulling one of these.

With all the flat angles that thing looks like it's designed for cheap manufacture - but I suspect that hurts the aerodynamics of it. I wonder how something like a Boler trailer would compare in terms of efficiency.

Perhaps EV adoption will motivate some manufacturers to design for efficiency and then start comparing their trailers vs the competition in terms of range...