Cybertruck Camping Experience: 5 nights sleeping in the bed vault

[Spacenoddle]

I tried the vault camping one night. If weather is mild and dry, it should be fine. But if kind of cold and raining, it would be very miserable, even more if need to go to the bathroom in the middle of night. The condensation and rain water made the whole experience unbearable.

Sponsored

 

[HaulingAss]

Not too much camping experience here, but from my perspective I feel like snack for bears sleeping on the ground and I feel protected sleeping in the vault.

You will enjoy camping a lot more once you get rid of your irrational fear of bears. Just don't sleep with your food in the tent and you'll be fine. Bears do not like humans.

 

[HaulingAss]

I prefer the Holiday Inn.
Growing up the poor families camped bc they couldn't afford a proper vacation

Where I grew up, people stayed in a Motel 6 because they didn't know how to camp, and didn't have proper camping gear anyway.

Hunting, fishing, camping: for some it's like a foreign language, and a scary one at that!

 

[Cybergirl]

I tried the vault camping one night. If weather is mild and dry, it should be fine. But if kind of cold and raining, it would be very miserable, even more if need to go to the bathroom in the middle of night. The condensation and rain water made the whole experience unbearable.

You're not wrong. Cold and rain makes any camping experience rather miserable unless you camp in fifth wheel trailer or motor home. But the misery can be mitigated.

I set up a 10' x 10' pop up canopy with 3 side walls under which I park the back end of the Cybertruck for shelter from the wind and rain. It's a snap to set up and take down, light weight, and takes up little space in the vault.

When the nights are cold, I use an electric blanket to keep toasty warm. With the canopy overhead, I can open the tonneau without fear of getting wet if bugs aren't a problem. Condensation is avoided with vault ventilation which you need in any case to keep CO2 levels down.

Visiting the loo at 3 am is not an inconvenience exclusive to sleeping in the Cybertruck. I bring a Ann Katy fold up portable toilet and a quantity of powder to turn pee solid and kill any odors. Works great! No need to venture out in the cold or rain in the middle of the night.

The advantages to sleeping in the vault are many:

1) I'm off the ground so bugs don't get into my bed.
2) Activating Tent Mode will level the vault on a sloped campsite.
3) I'm enclosed in a structure safe from man, beast, and natural forces.
4) I have 120Vac power outlets to operate an electric blanket, exhaust fan, or air conditioner.
5) The 55 cu ft vault space is easy to cool in the hottest weather (200 watts will do).
6) Adjustable soft interior lighting to read by.
7) On the road, and off, the vault is big enough to carry all my camping gear, out of sight, and not affecting driving range.

Of course, I could bring along a tent to set up and sleep in, but what advantages would that give me?

 

[Spacenoddle]

You're not wrong. Cold and rain makes any camping experience rather miserable unless you camp in fifth wheel trailer or motor home. But the misery can be mitigated.

I set up a 10' x 10' pop up canopy with 3 side walls under which I park the back end of the Cybertruck for shelter from the wind and rain. It's a snap to set up and take down, light weight, and takes up little space in the vault.

When the nights are cold, I use an electric blanket to keep toasty warm. With the canopy overhead, I can open the tonneau without fear of getting wet if bugs aren't a problem. Condensation is avoided with vault ventilation which you need in any case to keep CO2 levels down.

Visiting the loo at 3 am is not an inconvenience exclusive to sleeping in the Cybertruck. I bring a Ann Katy fold up portable toilet and a quantity of powder to turn pee solid and kill any odors. Works great! No need to venture out in the cold or rain in the middle of the night.

The advantages to sleeping in the vault are many:

1) I'm off the ground so bugs don't get into my bed.
2) Activating Tent Mode will level the vault on a sloped campsite.
3) I'm enclosed in a structure safe from man, beast, and natural forces.
4) I have 120Vac power outlets to operate an electric blanket, exhaust fan, or air conditioner.
5) The 55 cu ft vault space is easy to cool in the hottest weather (200 watts will do).
6) Adjustable soft interior lighting to read by.
7) On the road, and off, the vault is big enough to carry all my camping gear, out of sight, and not affecting driving range.

Of course, I could bring along a tent to set up and sleep in, but what advantages would that give me?

10×10 canopy makes huge difference.

 

[CyberTrk]

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

I like this combination, the tent on the ground allows to cook and to have a dinner without getting any mosquitos bites. And the tent on top of the Cybertruck allows to sleep above ground with a real mattress and without too much installation effort. This setup is very practical because you can easily go for a ride without having to unpack all your gears into the bed of the Cybertruck.

Note: Can you provide the manufacturer name and models of those two tents.

 

[carsonag01]

Has anyone considered purchasing something like and placing it cover the top of the bed to repel water, keep out the bugs, and allow for ample air flow?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1TB8B1W

 

[Cybergirl]

Has anyone considered purchasing something like and placing it cover the top of the bed to repel water, keep out the bugs, and allow for ample air flow?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1TB8B1W

Interesting product, but at $15/sf and not available in blanket sizes, it doesn't strike me as being a practical solution.

 

[flamaest]

I will have to test it again when I am out of cell range. I suppose it's possible it was communicating via wi-fi? I just know I can use my phone to open and close the tonneau cover and control the 120/240V outlets where there is no cell service. I get the same behavior in town (as I do in the mountains), with cell service, even if I turn wi-fi and mobile data off on my phone.

Is it possible to just turn off the cell antenna on your phone and try it again? Why wait until you are out of range?

 

[flamaest]

With Bluetooth on, but cell service and wifi off, I'm unable operate the tonneau cover, adjust the vault lights, or turn on the outlets using the app whether inside or outside the vault, but I can open the gate and lock the truck. I don't understand why our experiences differ.

Has anyone dropped the $1K to get the new breezer window installed? It's supposed to have HVAC piping as well.

I think I might have to get it, but that price is a thorn in my side.

 

[HaulingAss]

Is it possible to just turn off the cell antenna on your phone and try it again? Why wait until you are out of range?

I did try it with wi-fi and mobile data turned off and the tonneau and tailgate controls still worked. The reason I wanted to try it away from cell service is because I don't like to jump to conclusions (and I didn't want to spend an hour researching every possibility that could be causing my phone to work in an unexpected manner). Most problems are caused by the jumping to unwarranted conclusions. By making assumptions that are not valid.

In other words, the best way to test something reliably is in the exact same same environment that your test seeks to inform about. It's also possible that Android and Apple phones have different functionality, as is currently the case with auto frunk/trunk open only being available with the Apple app.

I'm fairly confident the tonneau will work without cellular or wi-fi but I don't want to state that as a fact until I've done an unambiguous test, especially with @Cybergirl claiming it doesn't work at all for her. Maybe she has accidently disconnected the Bluetooth antenna or module on her truck? I really can't explain the discrepency at this point in time.

 

[flamaest]

I would also turn off Wi-Fi in your testing because many cellular providers will allow you to route cellular traffic via Wi-Fi if it still turned on.

 

[Crissa]

Not too much camping experience here, but from my perspective I feel like snack for bears sleeping on the ground and I feel protected sleeping in the vault.

You're more likely to drown while camping than get attacked by a bear, statistically.

I'm fine with most people being disinterested in camping. Part of the allure is getting away from people.

For me, it's the natural setting. I could be camped with 70k other people or no other people and be just as happy.

But then again, I live in a cabin which is very camping-adjacent. I love that you're giving us this feedback!

-Crissa

 

[TWRAPS]

You're more likely to drown while camping than get attacked by a bear, statistically.

-Crissa

I got this covered!

 

[Cybergirl]

When on a long road trip, we often sleep at rest areas rather than get a hotel for a few hours sleep. Since you're not allowed to set up camp at an interstate rest area, we sleep in the cab of our Tesla with the windows covered for privacy. For the Cybertruck, we fully recline the front seats set all the way back at the lowest height. A Luno inflatable filler cube is placed on the floor in front of each seat to support our feet, and a small cushion where the seat and seat back come together at an angle for better comfort.

It's surprising how comfortable this arrangement is. Camp Mode keeps the cabin at just the right temperature so only a light blanket is needed. In cold weather we plug in the electric blanket to save charge. We can watch a movie before drifting off to sleep, and if threatened, it's possible to drive away without getting out of the vehicle. Getting in and out of the truck is easy when nature calls.

Blocking the enormous wind screen is done with this windshield foldable sun shade. The side window shades for our Model Y are a decent fit on the Cybertruck.

The only challenge is packing the vault efficiently so there's some room left in the cab to recline the seats. ?

Sponsored