Gear & Essentials

Packing for a road trip - especially where #TeslaCamping is involved - is an exercise in packing precision. The Model 3 has four areas where owners can stuff their stuff, but things get tricky when it comes to converting the vehicle from a car to a camper.

Cabin: the Model 3 has two seats in the front and seating for three - kinda - in the rear. I’ve fit five in my car before, but what a fiasco! I’d suggest that the vehicle is suitable for no more than four adults - or three adults and an energetic West Highland White Terrier puppy. Those who need seating for five would be well-advised to explore the Model Y. But I digress…
Trunk: the Model 3 has generous trunk space. You can fit a lot of stuff in there. Ben and I found during our ‘Dry Run Road Trip’ that we had to move items from the trunk to the front seat/floor, and back to the trunk, over and over and over again - every time we converted the car from ‘sleep mode’ to ‘drive mode’, in fact, since the trunk becomes one-half of the bed when you fold the seats down for sleeping. We quickly realized that, the less loose items that need to be moved, the faster the process is. To better organize things, I’ve added the storage containers you see above. They’re Husky brand, purchased from Home Depot. One of the smaller ones contains my electronic equipment: additional phone, gimbal, lenses, and - hopefully in the future - some decent camera equipment. The other one is where I store toiletries and other items I might need quickly. The largest one is where everything else goes: bags filled with camping essentials, clothing, cooking gear, my portable toilet - everything.
Sub-Trunk: the Model 3 has even more space underneath the trunk in an area called the ‘sub-trunk’. In my car, it’s where the TesMat camping mattress and a spare set of bedding go, as well as the carrying case for the charging cable and the first-aid kit. (When the TesMat is set up for use for sleeping, the case that it is stored in becomes a cooler or additional storage space to free up room in the cabin).
Frunk. Because the Model 3 doesn’t have a traditional internal-combustion engine, it is able to utilize the space under the hood for even more storage. This area, called the ‘front trunk’ or, affectionately, the ‘frunk’, is a great place to store items that might otherwise smell up the trunk or cabin.

Charging Adapters

Supercharging is expensive. And so is camping! Sure, one is cheaper than gasoline, and the other cheaper than hotels - usually - but it still adds up.

Sure, there are options that are even more frugal - like sleeping in Walmart parking lots (tried it, 0/10 do not recommend!) and plugging the car in for a slow trickle-charge at outlets wherever they may be found. But for a safer overnight experience, spending a few Benjies on a campground makes sense - and if you’re going to pay to stay, might as well plug in and get a little bit more out of that stay, right?

Charging is confusing to me. In fact, electricity is pretty confounding - and not just for me but, judging from the myriad of answers one gets asking a question about charging in the various Tesla community forums, for a lot of people. I did a lot of research before I selected the adapters pictured below, and only time (and my road trip in January 2022) will reveal whether I made the right choice. I’ll update here - in the meantime, here’s what I went with…

From EVSEAdapters.com, a TT-30 adapter. I’m told that this will allow me to use 30 amp power hookups at campgrounds. Many RVs use 30 amp power, so many campgrounds offer this type of hookup. [CLICK HERE FOR MORE] I’m told that I may have to adjust the power at the vehicle level - no idea what that even means. I need to learn more before I hit the road…
From Tesla, a Generation 2 NEMA Adapter, the 14-50 one. This will allow me to use 50 amp power hookups, which are harder to find but far faster when it comes to camping - up to 30 miles of range gained per hour. Many of the newer RVs use 50 amp power. I was hesitant to order from Tesla after the winter tire and wheels fiasco - would they even ship this out in time for my trip? I’m pleased (and surprised) to report that the process went smoothly. Way to go, Tesla! [CLICK HERE FOR MORE]

Again, I’ll post an update once I figure out if these two adapters work for the Model 3. Tesla doesn’t provide a lot of information on this, unfortunately, and an email I sent to their charging install team was answered with a disclaimer that Tesla doesn’t manufacture a TT-30 and they can’t comment on whether certain ones might be compatible with the car. For now, then, it’s the Tesla community I’ll rely on. Let’s hope this works!

Note: I’ve been warned to bring bungie cords and zip-ties with me on my road trip, as the electric infrastructure at some campgrounds is quite literally falling apart. I’ll report back on the conditions that I find, as well. Wish me luck!

TesMat Camping Mattress & Privacy Screen

For our ‘dry run’ road trip, we used an old camper van mattress. It was supremely comfortable, but did not offer a lot in the way of breathing room, and though it folded up enough to store in the trunk it left no additional trunk space. Fitting it into the sub-trunk? Not a chance. Now I use the TesMat, a camping mattress created for the Model 3. It fits in the sub-trunk, so it’s always with me. I also use the TesMat privacy screen, but my tint is dark enough so sometimes it’s not needed. I much prefer sleeping without it if possible. [CLICK FOR MORE]

Napier BackRoadz SUV Tent

For the ‘Dry Run’ road trip my friend Ben and I squeezed ourselves into the sleeping area offered by the Tesla, essentially the back seat and the trunk area. It worked for us, but I realized that I’d probably want to spend some time with people on the road I might not want to share such tight quarters with.

For the next trip, which I’ve nicknamed ‘Operation Snowbird’, I’ll be heading south with the Napier BackRoadz SUV Tent. This is a 10x10 tent that attaches to the back of the Tesla so that, when the trunk is open, I (or my guests) can climb through from the trunk to the car with total privacy.

I love sleeping in the car, so it’s very likely that this tent will be used sparingly, and probably more for storage than anything else.

Still, as many campgrounds still refuse to allow EV camping because they simply don’t understand that it doesn’t carry the same risks as car camping, having a tent available can be helpful. The BackRoadz tent can be used free-standing, as well, which could come in handy if I want to do some exploring in the car without having to take the tent down each time I leave the campsite. [CLICK FOR MORE]

Cliq Camp Chairs

Like everyone, I’ve got access to a ton of folding chairs in the garage. But they take up so much space!

The Cliq chair is billed as being “the most-funded portable chair in crowdfunding history.” It’s also billed as being the ‘water bottle-sized chair’ - and it really does fold into a small space. The chair is smaller and, in my opinion from sitting in it once, less comfortable than some of the big chairs I’m used to. But it will let me fit other things in the trunk, and it fits in my travel box, which makes it so much easier to move from the trunk to the front seat when I spend the night in the car. I’ll let you know if it gets more comfortable as I wear it in…

Yeti Rambler Tumbler

This one probably seems pretty silly to put on a ‘road trip’ and EV camping blog site, but once you realize the power of the Tesla Model 3 you realize that it’s not. I had a coffee tumbler that I’d been using for years. In fact, I liked it so much that I purchased five of them and rotated them around - one on the boat, one at the lake, one in the car, one at the office, one in the car… you get the idea.

Then I got the Tesla. With the Prius my old coffee tumbler was perfect. I’d only had the Tesla for a few days when I stomped on the accelerator - mine goes 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds. Before I realized it, my just-filled coffee tumbler had flown up into the air, flipped over, and landed on the floor. It all seemed like you might see in a cartoon - in slow motion. The cup holder is just too big for a normal-sized travel mug. Dunkin’ Donuts cups fly out, too, leading some embarrassing moments on several occasions.

Since that first time I’ve seen this come up several times in our Tesla owner Facebook groups. Each time, the consensus seems to be that there’s only one travel mug that fits without the addition of a special cupholder insert: the Yeti Rambler. Not cheap, but worth it to avoid any more slow-motion coffee mishaps. [CLICK FOR MORE]

Portable Toilet & Supplies

Most Tesla owners probably don’t have a need for a portable toilet on the road, so if you’re an EV roadtripper mapping out a road trip and you know you’ll be staying in locations with bathrooms - or hotels - you can skip over this part.

For me, as a stage IV neuroendocrine cancer patient, though, planning ahead for any urgent bathroom needs is essential. To that end I went with an Ipegar folding camping toilet, a unit that literally folds flat for easy storage but, when folded into potty mode, is capable of supporting 350+ lbs. I also purchased a set of Green Elephant Portable Toilet Bags. I plan to add a pop-up shower tent in the near future, once I can decide which one sucks the least - any suggestions?

Side note: I am told that the very presence of a portable toilet and toilet bags has been enough to chase away nosy onlookers who demand to know what car campers plan to do if nature calls… point to your collapsible toilet and tell them to fuck off. [CLICK FOR MORE]

Outfitting the tour.