CyberTent (formerly Basecamp Tent) Camping for 2 Days Using DIY HVAC Solution - Takeaways (and reaction to other video)

[bwilliam79]

I think i'll just run a little electric heater from the plugs lol

Definitely an easier solution for warmth when it's cold. Even an electric blanket would likely be plenty. Doesn't work so well to stay cool in the summer, though.

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[Gurule92]

Definitely an easier solution for warmth when it's cold. Even an electric blanket would likely be plenty. Doesn't work so well to stay cool in the summer, though.

A little fan might lol, I don't usually hang in the tent during the day though and CO nights are usually pretty cool

 

[bwilliam79]

A little fan might lol, I don't usually hang in the tent during the day though and CO nights are usually pretty cool

I love Colorado and can see camping at elevation would make the need for AC pretty limited. We're not so fortunate in Texas.

 

[Gurule92]

I love Colorado and can see camping at elevation would make the need for AC pretty limited. We're not so fortunate in Texas.

I believe it lol

 

[mhaze]

And now for the pictures.

I love the look of the windows, straight up retro Apollo Lunar Excursion Module.

 

[WenssCT88]

A couple of other bits I forgot to mention:

- We had the HVAC set to LO both nights we slept in the tent. Sentry mode was also enabled. We used about 10% of the battery the first night and 12% the second night. Our friends we were camping with had a 50 amp plug on their property, so it made things very easy for us to stay juiced up.

- Currently, you cannot use the outlets in the truck while a charger is plugged in (regardless of whether it's actively charging). According to a post from a Tesla engineer on X/Twitter, Tesla will be releasing a firmware update to allow for this in the future. What that meant is we had to charge during the day, but unplug at night so we could use the outlets to keep our phones charged in the tent.

Unfortunately with no 12V output and the AC outlets being configured in an "all-or-none" setup, CT is not well suited for charging or running small electronics for prolonged periods of time. ALL DC/AC inverters have idle power consumption. It is often a few percent of the maximum rated power output, meaning that the more powerful the inverter, the higher the idle current consumption. The inverters in the Cybertruck are massive and capable of over 10,000 watts continuous output. To my knowledge, nobody has formally tested the idle power consumption yet, but based on what I've been able to gather, I believe the idle current draw just to have the outlets powered on with NOTHING plugging in is around 200-400 watts.

This means you are probably using roughly 3-4kW or about 3% of the battery to keep the outlets turned on for a 12 hour period, even with nothing plugged in. If you have easy access to power, this is inconsequential.

However, if you are remote camping off-grid somewhere without power for a week, you probably will not be able to continuously keep your outlets on to run your portable powered cooler and other small electronics. If you did, you'd likely be dropping close to 10% per 24 hours even with minimal loads on the outlets, no sentry and no HVAC. It is horrifically inefficient as you are consuming a few hundred watts per hour off your CT battery just to supply a few watts to your phones or something on the order of 50-100 watts to your cooler. The wasted energy is enormous with small loads.

The best solution if off-grid is to bring an appropriately sized portable "solar generator" and keep that powered on to run and charge all your small devices continuously (especially crucial if running portable cooler). With much smaller inverters on the portable device, idle consumption will be an order of magnitude less. Most of these things will fast charge in an hour or two, so you keep them plugged into the truck outlets and power on the CT outlets 1-2x per day for an hour to keep the solar generator charged up. With this approach, you'd still be able to run and charge everything, but would probably only consume ~2-3% of your CT battery per 24 hours instead of 10% . Over the course of a week, it will be a substantial difference.

 

[bwilliam79]

It has been a couple of weeks since my last update on this post, but things haven't been idle. I received the first production prototype window insert from Campstream, and it looks WAY better than the corrugated plastic insert I used for my first field test.

I'm currently finishing up an updated print for their high flow adapter, but it'll be late tonight before it's done. I really liked the way the window insert turned out, though, and wanted to share a quick update for those who are following along. Once the high flow adapter print completes, I'll get some additional pictures uploaded.

Interestingly, it looks like the next software update for the Cybertruck may include the ability to shut off all vents except the driver's, which should provide fantastic airflow for the Campstream.

I also received this link from @TownBiz, which shows off what tent mode will be capable of once it's released as well as the improved aeroflap attachment mechanism.

 

[bwilliam79]

Finally had a break in the rain, so I was able to set everything up using the latest prototype parts from the folks at Campstream.

I've also been playing around with an adapter to be able to inflate the CyberTent using an electric air pump https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6596686. I tried it out today, but there was a small air leak in the adapter which I have corrected and am printing the new version. I probably won't get around to testing it again today, but will report back if it ends up being worthwhile.

 

[nico007]

Wouldn’t it be faster, more efficient, and easier to control to put a Dyson heater inside the tent?

 

[bwilliam79]

Wouldn’t it be faster, more efficient, and easier to control to put a Dyson heater inside the tent?

If all you’re trying to do is heat the tent, there are other options that cost less. On our last camping trip it was 85 degrees with 90% humidity, though. No heater would have helped make that more comfortable.

 

[nico007]

If all you’re trying to do is heat the tent, there are other options that cost less. On our last camping trip it was 85 degrees with 90% humidity, though. No heater would have helped make that more comfortable.

Of course, makes sense now!

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