Cybertruck Camping Experience: 5 nights sleeping in the bed vault

[Cybergirl]

We spent five nights camping near Cuyahoga Nat'l Park, Ohio, in our Cybertruck last week, sleeping in the vault. Here are some takeaways:

1) Sleeping in the vault with the tonneau closed will raise the CO2 levels to unhealthy levels. Ventilation is a must to keep CO2 below 1000 ppm and to maintain comfortable sleeping conditions (bodies will elevate vault temperature and humidity).

2) Leaving the tonneau cover open a crack for ventilation will allow water intrusion at the gate during a heavy rainfall. Otherwise the vault stayed dry. Our canopy helps keep things dry.

3) You cannot control the tonneau cover or the vault lights without cell service. Even so, positioning the tonneau is hard using the phone app due to delayed response. I position the tonneau using the button controls on the truck, then crawl into the vault through the open gate.

4) Closing the gate from inside the vault with the tonneau closed is a challenge. I wrapped a nylon strap around the gate. I pulled on the strap to close the gate.

5) Tent Mode will level the truck on a sloped campsite, but will prevent closing the tonneau cover. To close the tonneau, put the truck in Jack Mode and remove Tent Mode.

6) Charging the truck at a campsite with 30A electrical service using the mobile connector requires a special TT-30 adapter which will charge at 115V/24A (2760 watts). While charging, none of the truck's power outlets are activated, forcing us to use extension cords to the electrical pedestal to power the fridge, electric blanket, etc., while charging.

7) I found that tire pressures are important on road trips. Under normal loads, the recommended tire pressure is 50 psi. With an extra 800 lb load, I inflated the tires to 55 psi which boosted my driving range not insignificantly. For example, driving 425 miles on relatively flat terrain, no significant wind effect, and temps between 72F and 85F, I got 410 Wh/mi efficiency driving at mostly 70 mph. That's equivalent to 300 miles on a full battery to empty. I started the drive at 69% SOC and ended at 9% with one 45 minute charging stop for 100.5 kWh costing $41.20. That's comes to $0.10/mi. Recharging at home was free from my rooftop solar system.

8) People are getting used to seeing a Cybertruck. The truck draws much less curiosity from people than it did back in February and March.

Sponsored

 

[GFleck]

Thanks for the post. As an avid CT campers I love seeing others process, gear, tips, etc.

One thing I do to help with water getting into the vault is I will back the truck under my 10x10 pop up at night if there's going to be rain. With a 10x10, you can just barely align it to where water won't run down the roof into the bed when it comes off the pop up. An 11x11 would be perfect to cover the whole vault and the roof peak so runoff goes down the front of the CT vs back and potentially the vault.

 

[RoboTaxi]

I prefer a ground tent so I can come and go as I please so I don’t have to pack all my shit up.

 

[Cybergirl]

Thanks for the post. As an avid CT campers I love seeing others process, gear, tips, etc.

One thing I do to help with water getting into the vault is I will back the truck under my 10x10 pop up at night if there's going to be rain. With a 10x10, you can just barely align it to where water won't run down the roof into the bed when it comes off the pop up. An 11x11 would be perfect to cover the whole vault and the roof peak so runoff goes down the front of the CT vs back and potentially the vault.

Yes. My pop up canopy is 10' x 10'. With the nylon sidewalls in place and rain threatening, I can back the truck under the canopy, as you say, until the apex of CT's roof is under the canopy. The gate is shielded from rain by the back nylon panel that's inserted under the canopy top and drapes over the rear of the truck. I have to unzip the corners half way up to provide room to open the gate and get into and out of the vault.

 

[Jiggahertz]

We have been doing overnight trips with the Cybertent. We love it. Probably not good if you are long term camping and want to drive the truck to other locations while camped. But for us it has been a lot of fun to just grab some basics and drive to a location, watch the sunset and come back the next morning. Getting a chance to explore a lot of places we haven't been in our state.

 

[Cybergirl]

I prefer a ground tent so I can come and go as I please so I don’t have to pack all my shit up.

Nice tent! It looks like a Coleman tent I once had.

In established campgrounds I don't bother packing stuff up when I leave the site for the day. I've never had a problem with theft, but I will put a cable lock on anything really valuable to discourage it from walking off. I've reached the point of wanting more conveniences when I camp than I used to enjoy, LOL.

I have a large ground tent as well, but I like sleeping off the ground with the physical security that the vault provides, especially when sleeping in the wild. I can also air condition the vault with a small A/C unit at little cost (battery discharge).

 

[RoboTaxi]

Nice tent! It looks like a Coleman tent I once had.

In established campgrounds I don't bother packing stuff up when I leave the site for the day. I've never had a problem with theft, but I will put a cable lock on anything really valuable to discourage it from walking off. I've reached the point of wanting more conveniences when I camp than I used to enjoy, LOL.

I have a large ground tent as well, but I like sleeping off the ground with the physical security that the vault provides, especially when sleeping in the wild. I can also air condition the vault with a small A/C unit at little cost (battery discharge).

The tent is a springbar skyliner(made in USA). It’s a canvas hot tent. I’m looking forward to winter camp with a wood stove in there!

 

[Cybergirl]

The tent is a springbar skyliner(made in USA). It’s a canvas hot tent. I’m looking forward to winter camp with a wood stove in there!

Very interesting! I looked it up and read some of the reviews. People love this tent. I can see the attraction for all weather, including winter camping. I shy away from canvas tents primarily because they take awhile to dry out. I have mildew stains from packing a canvas tent that I thought was dry. It's not a problem for desert camping, or if you stay in one place long enough for it to thoroughly dry. The price at $2000 is a deterrent, but quality never comes cheap. Update us on how it works out for you.

 

[Urander]

Love your setup! Here’s a sneak peek at our upcoming 270-degree awning with side walls!

 

[GFleck]

I prefer a ground tent so I can come and go as I please so I don’t have to pack all my shit up.

Not an alternative to a nice big cabin tent. But, our solution for coming and going is putting the @Mars Adventure Gear airmattress ( heavy duty vinyl) in the bed first and our tent on top of it. We found we can very easily slide the air mattress and tent out of the vault with all of our gear inside and set it on the ground, then close the vault and drive away. When we come back, we pick it up and slide it into the truck again ?

 

[nico007]

Just bought the Ecoflow Glacier fridge with a built in battery. I am testing it this weekend but it fits perfectly in front of the Tesla boxes, basically uses about the size of one box.
Downside is it’s too high to fit when the Cybertent is deployed but it seems to fit in a California campground bear-box which is really where we want the food to be anyway. (Will use the built in battery to keep things cool during the night while in the bear box)

 

[Jack27]

You couldn’t pay me to get in the back and shut the cover and tailgate and rely on my cell phone to get out the next morning

 

[Cybergirl]

You couldn’t pay me to get in the back and shut the cover and tailgate and rely on my cell phone to get out the next morning

I get that some people would not feel comfortable sleeping in a closed space. It's psychological, of course, since there is no real danger in doing so. Even if my cellphone battery died, I could open the gate by pulling on the manual latch release straps tucked behind the little cover on the gate. The chances of getting trapped in the vault are extremely small. But you raise a good point. Having a third way to get out - just in case - would be prudent.

 

[HaulingAss]

You couldn’t pay me to get in the back and shut the cover and tailgate and rely on my cell phone to get out the next morning

There is a mechanical release to open the tailgate inside the vault. Federal law requires this too. In other words, even if you closed yourself in the vault and your cell phone battery died, you are not trapped.

That said, I would never sleep in there without the tonneau opened at least 6 inches for fresh air.

 

[HaulingAss]

3) You cannot control the tonneau cover or the vault lights without cell service. Even so, positioning the tonneau is hard using the phone app due to delayed response. I position the tonneau using the button controls on the truck, then crawl into the vault through the open gate.

I've been using my Cybertruck a lot in mountain areas with zero cell service and the tonneau controls work just fine using Bluetooth without any cellular service. It might even have LESS delay than if using the cell network. That said, I've not tested the Bluetooth reception while inside the closed vault. I doubt there are any Bluetooth antennae in there.

Sponsored