Basecamp Installed 🏕️

[Almost Mars]

Morbid curiosity got the best of me and I decided to buy the $3K Basecamp rather than wrap the CT.

Local SC did the install yesterday which was comprised of screwing 6 brackets into the correct vault rail holes and then screwing in two T25 bolts to secure the packed tent - that’s it. Based on the how the manual reads, it’s likely that at some point Tesla will ship these direct to CT owners to DIY install because it’s that easy. Trickiest part is aligning those two T25 bolts because of the angle. Per the instruction book, if you use a flashlight it’s much easier.

Lots of rain here so I haven’t had a chance to fully deploy the tent yet, but I did practice removing the 90lb tent by unscrewing the two bolts and lifting at an angle. Totally doable solo. Putting it back in was a little trickier, but not bad.

I also tried the initial tent deployment step which requires popping out the CT’s Aeroflap (long metal piece right between the can and the bed) - a little tricky because you need to unscrew two T30 bolts, not drop them into the abyss below, and then forcefully pop out the Aeroflap. This will be much easier with a ratching small torx wrench vs the wrenches that come w the tent. It was pretty easy to reinstall the Aeroflap, but I am a little concerned about losing some of the water proof sealant between it and the cab. According to the manual, after removing the Aeroflap, you should be able activate Tent mode, but it’s still not showing for me. I’m asking support if there’s a specific SW upgrade that should have been done to enable it…

I am hesitant to provide an initial impression since I haven’t even set up the tent yet. That said, I will say that it takes up a pretty big chunk of bedspace which makes transporting multiple bikes in the bed a non-option. It’s nice to confirm that you can remove or install it pretty easily though. It looks a little bit trickier than I hoped based on the instructions alone - but let’s see how it shakes out. Can’t say if it’s worth the price tag yet either - especially if the suspension leveling tent mode is available to people who don’t buy the Basecamp. If a 3rd party released some easy to install + remove in-vault crossbars, there could be some interesting other 3rd party over-bed tent options at some point (assuming there’s ever enough CT volume to make it compelling to design and release such a thing).

Once the weather clears tomorrow I’ll try setting up the tent in completely. I’ll also post various pics or a video

Few more pics…

Thanks for sharing. It’s bigger than Tesla makes it look in their pictures.

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[Gigahorse]

Thanks for sharing. It’s bigger than Tesla makes it look in their pictures.

I thought the same thing, looks a lot smaller in the Tesla pictures, not sure if it is the same or just creative camera angles.

 

[TownBiz]

I can understand the tent negating the usefulness of the molle panels. But I wished the molle panels can be left installed while the tent is installed and deployed.

Perhaps that's a mod to make that happen but would need someone to own both and have this odd desire to make them compatible.

The pictures shows the molle panels thickness maybe the limiting factor. Or perhaps the location of the molle mounts onto the rails being in the same location the tent mounts need to be. Hard to understand all that from the pictures provided.

Yeeeeah it’s CRAZY tight between the tent and the side panels. Makes

Thanks for sharing. It’s bigger than Tesla makes it look in their pictures.

agreed. If you look at the manual I uploaded you can get a feel for how much bedspace it actually takes up. Definitely more than I thought from the Tesla marketing.

 

[cybertruth]

Morbid curiosity got the best of me and I decided to buy the $3K Basecamp rather than wrap the CT.

Local SC did the install yesterday which was comprised of screwing 6 brackets into the correct vault rail holes and then screwing in two T25 bolts to secure the packed tent - that’s it. Based on the how the manual reads, it’s likely that at some point Tesla will ship these direct to CT owners to DIY install because it’s that easy. Trickiest part is aligning those two T25 bolts because of the angle. Per the instruction book, if you use a flashlight it’s much easier.

Lots of rain here so I haven’t had a chance to fully deploy the tent yet, but I did practice removing the 90lb tent by unscrewing the two bolts and lifting at an angle. Totally doable solo. Putting it back in was a little trickier, but not bad.

I also tried the initial tent deployment step which requires popping out the CT’s Aeroflap (long metal piece right between the can and the bed) - a little tricky because you need to unscrew two T30 bolts, not drop them into the abyss below, and then forcefully pop out the Aeroflap. This will be much easier with a ratching small torx wrench vs the wrenches that come w the tent. It was pretty easy to reinstall the Aeroflap, but I am a little concerned about losing some of the water proof sealant between it and the cab. According to the manual, after removing the Aeroflap, you should be able activate Tent mode, but it’s still not showing for me. I’m asking support if there’s a specific SW upgrade that should have been done to enable it…

I am hesitant to provide an initial impression since I haven’t even set up the tent yet. That said, I will say that it takes up a pretty big chunk of bedspace which makes transporting multiple bikes in the bed a non-option. It’s nice to confirm that you can remove or install it pretty easily though. It looks a little bit trickier than I hoped based on the instructions alone - but let’s see how it shakes out. Can’t say if it’s worth the price tag yet either - especially if the suspension leveling tent mode is available to people who don’t buy the Basecamp. If a 3rd party released some easy to install + remove in-vault crossbars, there could be some interesting other 3rd party over-bed tent options at some point (assuming there’s ever enough CT volume to make it compelling to design and release such a thing).

Once the weather clears tomorrow I’ll try setting up the tent in completely. I’ll also post various pics or a video

Few more pics…

Thank you for your post. I am in a dilemma about whether to spend my money on PPF or Basecamp. My family and I love camping with our Cybertruck, and the Basecamp seems an excellent option. However, I am worried about the uninstallation process and the space it will occupy when not in use or needed.
I would love to see how it looks and feels when you try it out.
Thank you for your post, and please keep us posted.

 

[Fodderof4]

I was going to recommend 1upUsa, but you are there already.

I just live at the trails so no rack necessary although I have a 1UpUsa.

Mach 6 here in Pivot’s home town.


where’s my CyberBeast???

 

[TownBiz]

I was going to recommend 1upUsa, but you are there already.

I just live at the trails so no rack necessary although I have a 1UpUsa.

Mach 6 here in Pivot’s home town.


where’s my CyberBeast???

Lol I’m jealous - unfortunately it’s a 15 to 20 minute minimum drive for me to get any decent single track. Oh well the price I pay for living close to other conveniences in an urban area.

 

[TownBiz]

Thank you for your post. I am in a dilemma about whether to spend my money on PPF or Basecamp. My family and I love camping with our Cybertruck, and the Basecamp seems an excellent option. However, I am worried about the uninstallation process and the space it will occupy when not in use or needed.
I would love to see how it looks and feels when you try it out.
Thank you for your post, and please keep us posted.

Uninstalling the packed Basecamp and storing it is pretty easy if you’re able to lift 90 lbs or have a buddy to help. It’s also small enough and unobtrusive enough that keeping it installed in the truck at all times isn’t a big deal either. One thing I didn’t mention is that, of course it further obscures your rear, visibility if if you are hoping you can look out the rearview mirror. But the CT rearview mirror is pretty much useless in the first place, I don’t see that as much of a loss.


However, breaking down the tent and folding it has been kind of a pain in the butt the first two times I tried it because the cordura dabric has zero give to to it and there’s little space on the sides to work with.

 

[TRKTSLA]

Anyone seen the spring loaded tool-less aeroflap update? (Correction code S018990002) It was installed with my basecamp last week. While I'm happy to have that update, it's a little frustrating that the service center didn't tell me about that mod, so I'm blindly trying to follow an outdated user guide. The Torx bold that it says to remove, no longer exists. I've been wrestling with it for an hour and still can't figure out how to remove the flap. Since Easter weekend isn't a good time to get a response from the support line (held for 20 mins and gave up), I'm hoping someone here has seen this and figured out the removal process.

 

[TownBiz]

Anyone seen the spring loaded tool-less aeroflap update? (Correction code S018990002) It was installed with my basecamp last week. While I'm happy to have that update, it's a little frustrating that the service center didn't tell me about that mod, so I'm blindly trying to follow an outdated user guide. The Torx bold that it says to remove, no longer exists. I've been wrestling with it for an hour and still can't figure out how to remove the flap. Since Easter weekend isn't a good time to get a response from the support line (held for 20 mins and gave up), I'm hoping someone here has seen this and figured out the removal process.

Wow! That’s awesome that they updated it - although they should provide some instructions on how the heck to take it out…

 

[TRKTSLA]

Another cup of coffee and some deep breathing and I figured it out. The Angled tab in the photo, which I've been pushing and pulling for the past hour, is actually to be turned ~45deg with almost no force at all, the aero flap lifts straight up. You live and learn
If everything else works out, I'll do a 2nd run and capture some video. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through this exercise in frustration!

 

[TownBiz]

Another cup of coffee and some deep breathing and I figured it out. The Angled tab in the photo, which I've been pushing and pulling for the past hour, is actually to be turned ~45deg with almost no force at all, the aero flap lifts straight up. You live and learn
If everything else works out, I'll do a 2nd run and capture some video. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through this exercise in frustration!

Do you know if they completely replaced your original Aeroflap or did the modify the original?

 

[TRKTSLA]

They replaced the bracket on each end of the flap. You can see the detail in the service manual: https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybe...UID-BD1728A0-EF8D-4502-A0CA-D2B85A9AB298.html
With this mod, it’s a 5 second job to pop off the flap. Huge improvement!

 

[TownBiz]

Love this - if Tent Mode arrives and is exclusive to Basecamp owners, I would be more inclined to recommend folks buy the tent!!

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