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Bolt car camping/glamping

30K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  skatebros 
#1 · (Edited)
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... :confused:

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!
 

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#5 ·
@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.
 
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#7 ·
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.
 
#9 ·
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... :confused:

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!!
 
#11 ·
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.
 
#16 ·
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.
 
#17 ·
#18 ·


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.
 
#20 ·
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...
Tire Wheel Automotive parking light Vehicle Car
 
#27 ·
Has anyone removed the front seat? I took my front seat out of my Prius years ago and one of the back seat backs and built a platform that created a very comfortable sleeping platform for camping and also I haul large loads of lumber etc that way. Wondering if I can do same with my new Bolt?
 
#28 ·
Solman636. I just removed my front passenger seat to get ready for 3 day camping trip in Joshua Tree this weekend. I have Napier Sportz Cove 61000 tent that I've used last year for car camping that worked nicely, but I wanted more room for a new cooler I just purchased: RTIC 52 QT hard cooler. I'll be using 5"x24"x72" foam mattress as before, which will now fit completely inside (it stuck out few inches when I didn't remove the front seat). RTIC cooler sits at the perfect height relative to the folded rear seats. I can't wait to sleep inside my Bolt this weekend 😀

Few things to consider when removing the seat:
1) T45 Torx bit to remove the 4 bolts - straight forward
2) Zip tie holding the harness to the floor needs to be cut or popped - I thought it would pull off intact, but the tie broke when I pulled up. Not a big deal.
3) Large DELPHI harness - tricky to remove, small red locking tab (not pictured below) needs to slide away from the locking latch. Red tab will slide off when the latch opens, be on the lookout for this small piece and keep it in a safe spot. I taped it to the connector on the car side (see 2 photos below, female connector on the seat side)
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Input device Gadget Wood Font Video game accessory
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Trickiest part is figuring out which way the grey latch rotates to disengage the male (car side) and female (seat side) connectors. I work in connector industry, and I've fiddled with many latching connectors over the years, so I was able to remove it after about a minute of playing with the latch. It's a 23 position rectangular connector, so there's enough contact engaging/disengaging force to manage - thus the latching mechanism design.

Since the seat removal, I've only driven it from my driveway to my garage. DIC shows "airbag fault" which was expected as the harness is "open". I'll see if there are other warning lights as I test drive the car later this week. I'll also post more photos if you're interested.
 
#29 ·
Here are more photos, starting with how it looks with the front seat removed.


Vehicle Motor vehicle Grey Automotive design Car
Tire Wheel Automotive tire Vehicle Hood
Car Hood Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle
Vehicle Motor vehicle Hood Car Automotive design
Car Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive design Car seat cover
Vehicle Car Hood Motor vehicle Automotive design



3rd photo shows RTIC cooler where the front seat should be. Photos 4 through 6 shows the setup with my 5" foam mattress on top of the cooler. I'm still bringing my Napier tent, but I'll sleep with the rear hatch closed - overnight temps will be in low 50s at Joshua Tree this weekend.
 
#30 ·
Update. Came back from a 3 day camping trip in Joshua Tree. Reinstalled the front passenger seat, which probably took 5 ~ 10 minutes. Seat harness connectors snapped together easily, including the red locking tab. Previous warning light for "Safety Restraint System" no longer lit, so no conecrns about going back to the dealer to "turn off/reset SRS warning light".
 
#31 ·
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... :confused: 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!
On my Volt I would manually flip the hatch lock and it would think it was shut. You just have to remember to unlock it before you close the hatch
 
#35 · (Edited)
I spent one night solo with the rear seats folded down, front seats all of the way forward, cooler on each side, extra pillows to level out. on a 2" camping mat. Random window shade pop ups. Hatch closed, had to sleep a little crooked 5'-10". If only the remote start would work while inside the car, would have liked to pre-heat once in the am. Maybe 40 deg F overnight. Slept great.
 
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