bump interested to know

 

Are you in an RV slot to charge over night?

Be aware that you need to reserve a campground with a 50 amp hookup (NEMA 14-50). If you get a 30 amp site (NEMA TT-30 at 120 V) then you'll only be able to charge at 16 amps. It's been confirmed that the Ioniq 5 (sister car) has a 16 amp charge limit whenever it sees 120 V, so I'm sure the EV6 is the same. You'll only get 2.0 kW out of the TT-30 outlet instead of its max 2.8 kW (24 amps).

At a 50 amp site, you could pull 40 amps for a max charge rate of 9.6 kW.

 

I posted my first EV6 car camping experience here.

First road trip

hey folks, i'm about to go on my first road trip, about 600 mi or so. admittedly a bit anxious about being stranded without a drop of electron! of course, i've done rough calculations of miles, range and EA stations but still, some questions: is ABRP the best route planner? is there one that...

www.kiaevforums.com

I have a follow-up pending on that thread, having just completed a US cross country car camping trip.

 

Do you need to leave a window slightly vented if sleeping in the vehicle if you have the heat running?
I'll assume it pulls fresh air for the heating system?
What if you had multiple people sleeping in it?

 

I say no but Kia says the following (presumably for liability reasons). EV6 Owners Manual, page 5-107:

WARNING​

Sleeping with A/C on​

Do not sleep in a vehicle with the air conditioning or heating on, as this may cause serious harm or death due to a drop in the oxygen level and/or body temperature.​

​

As far as I'm concerned (and experience), if you have fresh air intake from the HVAC (vs. enabling the recirculated air setting), you will be fine. If you prefer a window or moonroof cracked open as weather permits, even better. I'd suggest cranking the fan speed up if multiple people are in the vehicle to turn over the air faster, but in my case I was alone.

 

So there is no caution of sleeping in the car if the AC or heat are not on? That doesn't seem to make sense either...

 

The main issue is recirculating the air all throughout the night. The A/C or heater usage isn't really a concern at all. If you search elsewhere online, you'll see that in Korea and other parts of the world they were/are concerned with "fan death". It's a disproven urban myth since most rooms (and cars) aren't airtight.

 

Not a lot of camping related threads on the forum so I will continue on this one. I have been building a bed platform and I'm waiting for mattress to arrive. Idea is to make weekend trips and sleep in the car. Also summer European road trip would be nice if the electricity prices go down since now its as expensive as with petrol car.

I used this video below as inspiration. I will have 2 meters of bed platform and storage space under the platform. I can fold everything into the trunk if I need to carry more people and need the rear seats. In other case the bed can stay in place at all times, there is small foldable section so the front seats can be moved into usable position. Will have to see how all this works Other option would have been to mod the rear seats so they will fold flat. I did see video on that so its possible, but I don't want to make any changes to the car itself and then you also lose the storage space under the bed.

As I have understood,
If the car is not charging:

• Turn on the utility mode
• Turn the display brightness to minimum 1
• Turn off the infotainment screen
• Lock the doors
• Turn off the headlights
• If you need to leave the car (with utility mode on), lock the doors through open window, close the window. Key fob won't unlock the car, use app or mechanical key to open the door again.

If the car is charging then same as above but:

• Turn the car on normally
• If charging completes during the night the AC will stop (not a problem, charge at 6A (1,38kW) or use utility mode if close to target state of charge)
• 230v outlet doesn't work during charging in my testing. I still have not tested if 12V socket gives power and is this coming from the main battery and not the small 12V battery? I'm planning also to run a compressor fridge from it so it would be nice to get power during charging.

Many things need to be tested. How to open boot from inside in utility mode since the key fob doesn't work. Do you need to crawl to driver controls to press the boot button? You have to anyway to lock the doors I guess. Can the rear doors be opened from the inside while the car is locked (safety)? Can the doors be opened or unlocked by touching the door handle while sleeping inside with the key and doors locked while car is charging (safety).

I have read few threads on the forum on AC. I imagine the heat pump should be more efficient to provide heat in colder weather than resistor heating, but the posts are mixed. Some say heat pump doesn't give heating to cabin? But it does heat the battery... Just leave the auto climate on and that's it? What I have understood the battery should drain around 10% for the night, we will see.

Any tips or suggestions?

 

Your summary looks about right. I wouldn't bother trying to keep Utility mode or climate on if I left the car for a short time.

It's been a year since I slept on the rear deck, so I can't recall specifics but I did confirm that the key fob does not work in Utility mode. I believe that I did reach for the console to lock/unlock the rear doors. FWIW, there is an emergency mechanical release for the rear liftgate, but I wouldn't use it for this.

Some say heat pump doesn't give heating to cabin? But it does heat the battery... Just leave the auto climate on and that's it?

It's the other way around. The heat pump definitely provides heat to the cabin, and can use waste heat from the battery and electronics to do so. During battery pre-conditioning before charging, a resistive (PTR) heater warms the HV battery, which is why it draws so much power. Of course, a warm cabin can elevate the temperature of the HV battery pack beneath the floor, too, but that's not the heat pump's primary purpose.

 

For short times car can just be off, the fridge will keep cool for hours, maybe like full day trip away might be too much? Not sure. If its full of cold drinks and food, it will hold for some time. But that might be a reason to leave car in utility mode so the fridge will stay cold. Other is AC, but I don't think I'm comfortable for leaving a dog in the car if for some reason the AC will turn off and its hot outside. For shorter periods its fine, but anything longer I would not do it. I haven't yet figured if small dog and mountain bike adventures can even be combined, have to think about it

Emergency liftgate release might be obstructed by raised bed platform, but like you said, anyways for emergencies only and easier would be just to open rear window (if there is power). Thats why I need to check if rear doors open from inside when locked.

If the car is parked during colder autumn weather, there probably is no waste heat. But will have to see how it warms up using just AC and higher temperature and heat button off. I did not know that battery pre-conditioning uses PTR. It used like more than 5kW (max performance mode on GT) on it so thats a lot and makes sense why it takes the power since its PTR. Power consumption screen will tell how much AC is taking during heating or if heat button is also on. Again, something to learn on first night in the car

 

120x200x12 mattress, down pillows and blanket.

 

I love the bed frame design you came up with and I'm brainstorming how to make it for our '22 EV6 Wind when we take a cross-country trip. Question: what did you use for a mattress (brand, dimensions, type etc.)? I'm considering an air mattress (REI's Camp Dreamer or SoundAsleep), but worry about available space/headroom. Plus, I don't want to wake up and find myself on the plywood. I also considered a pad, but I doubt I'd have enough support, any suggestions?

 

Slept last two nights in the car. Space was enough for two people and a small dog. Mattress was comfy. We used rear doors to get in and out since its a lot easier than reach for the trunk-button in the dash. Temperature outdoor was 13c (55f) for both nights. Eco climate setting was not used (didn't think about it until after both nights). Also autoclimate was not used (need to try this if it works better with turning the heat on only when needed). Fan speed was lowest.

First night only AC was on and set to 20c (68f), but it did not heat at all and the indoor temperature dropped close to outdoor (not measured, but estimated). Average electricity draw for the night was 576W so 8 hours would be 6,2% of battery (74kWh usable 0-100%).

Second night AC + Heat-button was on and set to 20c (68f) again. After ~3 hours the heat needed to be turned off since it was getting too hot inside. Heat-button did not disable even though I lowered the temperature to lowest possible 17c (~63f). At this point tried also autoclimate but disabled it too since did not want to waste the heat, so only AC was on again for the rest of the night. Residual heat in the car lasted for some hours. Average electricity draw for the night was 869W so 8 hours would be 9,4% of battery. For the first part of the night with heating constantly on, 8 hours would be ~12,5% of battery.

Utility mode is not very smart. Why the head-up display is on when you can't even drive the car? Disabled it manually. Later after both nights I figured with friend that I can make second driver profile that was named "Camping", there I can disable everything that is not needed (but not driver assistance functions, since they are same for all profiles), turn AC/Heating to eco-mode, change ambient lights to indicate more clearly I'm in different mode. Even the screen illumination and infotainment/ac switchable menu setting was saved for the profile. In camping I don't want to change from AC buttons to infotainment buttons after few seconds but in normal profile I do. Using profiles helps alot since you dont have to remember to change many settings back and forth when sleeping/driving. Also interesting to see if AC/Heat eco-mode saves electricity.

I made also dashboard for the Carscanner (android AI box in the car with BLE OBD dongle), example picture below. Min/Max/Avg is nice so then in the morning I can see what the values were during the night. Dashboard was made after these first two nights so that's why I didn't have temperature info. Even humidity value is provided through OBD.

 

I can make second driver profile that was named "Camping", there I can disable everything that is not needed (but not driver assistance functions, since they are same for all profiles), turn AC/Heating to eco-mode, change ambient lights to indicate more clearly I'm in different mode. Even the screen illumination and infotainment/ac switchable menu setting was saved for the profile. In camping I don't want to change from AC buttons to infotainment buttons after few seconds but in normal profile I do. Using profiles helps alot since you dont have to remember to change many settings back and forth when sleeping/driving. Also interesting to see if AC/Heat eco-mode saves electricity.

This is brilliant! I have to remember this. Great idea.

I made also dashboard for the Carscanner (android AI box in the car with BLE OBD dongle), example picture below. Min/Max/Avg is nice so then in the morning I can see what the values were during the night. Dashboard was made after these first two nights so that's why I didn't have temperature info. Even humidity value is provided through OBD.

View attachment 16676

Fantasitc use for the Android AI box.

 

Full setup this time with emtbs and fridge. Autoclimate worked fine, cabin was warm during the night, outside around 12c. Only 7% battery consumption during 9h 15min. Lifting the mattress up in the rear and we have an table for making food and coffee. Storage below was not even full. Very nice setup for making trips and sleeping in the car.

 

Total 5 nights in the car in September. New record with battery usage last night, only 3608Wh during 9,15 hours (eq 4,3% battery for 8h). Autoclimate set to 20c. The night was warmest of the five (14,2c), but I also tried the WeatherTech sun / privacy shades for the first time. I guess they help quite a lot with insulation.

"Key not in vehicle" warning came on several times in utility mode when door was opened, key was in the vehicle, but apparently you need to move the key for it to register. Warning can just be ignored, only that if you close the last door the car will beep for a moment and can be quite loud (outside) when there are no other noises.

 

V2L will stop working when battery is under 20%, but what about utility mode? Is there a limit? At 15% comes the low battery warning. New weekend trip planned again and would be nice to know

Edit: no limit it seems for utility mode working

 

In freezing temperatures the heating takes over 1kw per hour. Any attempts to use manual modes have resulted in even bigger electricity usage. Auto climate works the best since it will provide warm air for the sensors near the windshield I'm guessing and then the heating power can be lowered. When using only forward facing outlets manually the temperature inside was a lot higher since some sensor is cold and heating just keeps heating more.

So if auto climate is the way to go then temperature is the only thing that can be controlled. Tried with 18c, that resulted in bigger electricity usage than 20c. That's weird. Keep in mind that these were two separate nights, but similar conditions. Difference was ~150w. So I guess autoclimate 20c is the sweet spot. It heats and rests in cycles. 18c seemed to heat more constantly but with cooler air.

 

120x200x12 mattress, down pillows and blanket.

View attachment 16643
View attachment 16644

120x200x12 mattress, down pillows and blanket.

View attachment 16643
View attachment 16644

Hi, can you please share the dimensions of the principle wooden box in the trunk. Does you think it is possible to include a draw for kitchen equipement at the back? And can you confirm that you removed the separation plate between the trunk and the storage under the trunk. Finaly, how did you managed to support the plates above the seats?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Jules

 

Yes I removed the composite false floor thingy to get more space. Box sits in the hole that was left after removing that false floor. I used 18mm thick plywood that was doubled (glued together) on the sides and 4x near the seats. Probably way too much material and its quite heavy, but I have never done anything like this and carpenters I contacted were not interested. There are no screws, the box can be disassembled by just lifting the parts. I added some felt furniture pads between car plastics and the wood to make it even tighter fit (and to not scratch the car). Rear of the box was 4x 18mm thick since one plywood cover plate was using half as support and other plywood half. Cover and basically the box is also held in place relation to each other with long bolts that drop through drilled hole in the cover to the 2x sides and 4x plywood. They are there just by gravity and no tools required to install. These bolts or holes are not visible in the pictures since not done yet at that point. I used the idea from the video I posted in this thread.

Yes most definitely you could make a drawer. And actually could still access the space below the drawer but drawer would need to be pulled out and then open the hinged cover for the access. Just need to use more creativity depending on what you want. And if you have the skills or motivation/patience then go for it. I did not so I went with simple that works for me Also I though that the cover could open by sliding or hidden gas strut hinges (or some kind of hinges) could also be used so the whole cover would rise flat and could serve as an table while access to storage is open.

Dimensions for the box are 20cm high. 4x 18mm part near the seats 82,3cm long (there is cut out in the center since the floor is not flat at least on GT). 1x 18mm part near the rear is also 82,3cm long. Side 2x 18mm parts are 81cm long. I also made center support for the box since my plan was to enter the car through the rear hatch, but actually we have never yet used it and have used rear doors instead. So the support is pretty much useless and overkill again, probably 15mm cover would have no problem even without the center support and 80kg on one point. But at least its on a hinge so I can turn it away if I need to put bigger stuff there. Some knowledge of plywood strength would have been useful I have to see if the rear hatch will be used in the summer time when its actually warm. But beware this box like this weights many many kilos Maybe I could still make round cut outs to get rid of excess weight without making it any weaker, but I'm too lazy and don't have the tools.

The cover is 15mm thick plywood and again, maybe an overkill. Here are some dimensions in the picture. The 81cm part with the hinges goes couple of cm over the rear seat edge, so the 4 hinges support the last plywood part. This was my plan to see if it can be only supported in air only by the hinges and be careful not to put too much pressure there since its only our heads there. Then after install the last plywood part actually comes some 5-8cm over the middle console, so I just put foam support in between the console and plywood since there is a 3-4cm gap. That worked just fine and gives a lot of support, so now I only need to be careful with not putting too much weight on the corners, maybe it could take it but don't want to find out

Hinges are there because when you want to drive the car the seats need to be moved in the normal position and plywood needs to be folded so the seats can fit. Mattress needs to be lifted or rolled back to be able to turn the plywood. I was also thinking that maybe some sliding solution would be also an option, but this was easier for me since I'm not an expert in woodwork. That's why I wanted a professional for skill and ideas, but no one I contacted answered or were interested in this kind of project. Whole cover will fit in the trunk in case rear seats needs to be used, that's a second function of the hinges to get the part to fit in the trunk area.

 

Btw in December we slept two nights in the car and it was -9c and -14c (6,8°F) cold temperature. 13% and 16% battery usage for 8h so almost 1,5kw consumption for the colder night. Auto climate was set to 20c but in these outdoor temps some sensor was too cold so it was pushing too hot air (like over 40c vent temp) and its was 26,5c (I dont know where this indoor sensor is located, but clearly it does not use this one to control the heating) and felt like a sauna when I woke up in the middle of the night. Had to actually set the temperature to the lowest possible 17c setting, that gave nice 20-21c indoor temp.

Oh yes and in the autumn holiday we slept 6 nights in a row in the car and visited beautiful national parks. Now the setup is quite proven and very comfortable to sleep. Cheap travel, at least in Finland. In Europe generally the electricity prices for EV charging are so high it would basically be cheaper to travel with gasoline car. So maybe some year they drop to reasonable level and we can travel to Italy and Alps

 

I'd have a problem with the headroom.

I'm a large man, and I find it hard to get dressed with a low ceiling. Yes, you can camp with a tent attached, but this is easier for me. I added a panel spanning the rear seat footwell. That's an XL sleeping bag. Ingress at night, with wet feet (geriatric bladder) via passenger rear, then a simple tuck-n-roll to get into bed.

 

I'd have a problem with the headroom.

I'm a large man, and I find it hard to get dressed with a low ceiling. Yes, you can camp with a tent attached, but this is easier for me. I added a panel spanning the rear seat footwell. That's an XL sleeping bag. Ingress at night, with wet feet (geriatric bladder) via passenger rear, then a simple tuck-n-roll to get into bed.

View attachment 18271

I love the build out that Urban did here, but I like you am a bigger guy and would like to have the space more so over a full mattress. Just a point of clarity - do you need to remove / replace the false floor near the liftgate, or is the piece you added just to extend your “floor” to the back of the front seats? My only concern is causing damage to the rear seats or false floor by laying on them. Appreciate any thoughts.

 

Yes its a bit of a compromise, not a 5 star hotel For us there is about 50cm space from mattress to the ceiling at rear doors. With repetition we have learned to fold our selves in ok through the back doors, but its easier since wife is small and I'm somewhat "normal" size. Getting dressed inside needs to be done lying on the mattress of course. Now I remembered that the main reason we used back doors because there is space for shoes on the floor, from back hatch there is just wide bed and don't want to get sand or dirt on the bed. Yes we could put shoes in the bag and then put under the mattress in the corner (there is some space), but it takes again more time and when its cold all the heat will escape from the car during this

What I saw somewhere is that you could remove the rear seats and modify the mechanism so that they fold more flat and reinstall them. I don't remember where but someone did that to their EV6. That would give more headroom, but also would take some storage space away since the bed is not raised so much.

 

Wow, nice work Urban! I just registered to this forum to say thank you for sharing your solution!!
With regards to your last paragraph: I removed the seating area of the rear seats but the mechanism still prevents the seats from folding completely flat. Does anyone have a clue how to modify the mechanism? Any help is much appreciated!

 

If I would cook on the road I would seriously think about ~35cm wide ~75cm long slide out from under the bed. You could still use below slide out as storage and inside slide out box for kitchen stuff, induction cook top etc. Even sink with running water would not be impossible to hide inside slide out There are a lot of wasted space in the car that could be used for specially molded water tank for the space. That would be a little hardcore build but would be interesting to see

 

I took Urban's idea and ran with it to make a modified platform for our car - works great! I don't want to clutter up this thread, but I posting some pics and rough dimensions on another thread. You can also get more ideas from others by searching "car camping" in the Search Community bar above.

 

How do you keep the ac cold air on when parked or not moving? My ac stops blowing cold air after 15 minutes of I'm in park or in D but not moving.

Thanks!

 

How do you keep the ac cold air on when parked or not moving? My ac stops blowing cold air after 15 minutes of I'm in park or in D but not moving.

It sounds like you want to use Utility Mode. From the 2022 Kia EV6 Owner's Manual:

 

Now with kitchen

 

We are planning a car camping trip to the Grand Canyon this summer in our EV6 Wind. I called KOA Kampgrounds along the way and was told by one of them that that particular campground doesn’t allow for EV charging at the site due to older infrastructure (weird, since they have 50 amp outlets…) - something to be aware of and ask about as you plan a trip. I built the platform using user Urban’s design and it works great. Let us know if/when you do your trip.
Best

 

Curious why no one is using an air mattress? Are they not comfortable? Takes up less space when your not using it during the day.

How about a portable heater so you don't have to use your cars hvac

What about those battery box (dji, anker, delta flow etc) so you don't need to use cars battery. And can an electric cooler to keep food, drinks cold?

Definitely an induction plate to cook food. I plan to change to an inoiq 9. definitely want to go camping but sleep inside my car with my wife and 2 small dogs

 

Kitchen was a huge success. 11300km and 33 nights slept in car. Accomodation costs for the whole trip only 72 euros. Some wineries even had spot for the car, electricity, shower, toilet and wine tasting with 18 wines and one juice, all this for free, its crazy!

So many camping spots were absolutely epic with gorgeous views, sunsets, sunrises and even fell asleep watching starry sky from the open sunroof.

 

Gorgeous pics! What did you sleep on? A rolled up mattress or inflatable air bed? Is it possible to do all camping activities, cooking etc with electricity. No propane gas. Example using an induction cook top?