Airstream EV Camping in Yosemite

[hikinbengal]

We visited Yosemite National Park just before Halloween, and the autumn-fall colors were jaw-droppingly spectacular. We have a 2022 Ford f-150 Lightning and towed a 23ft Airstream Flying Cloud for the ~350-mile roundtrip. Successfully used Pro Power Onboard to power the Airstream for three days without charging inside the park.

Temps were in the high 60s, and lows were near-freezing, but still had plenty of battery to get to the nearest DCFC outside the park.

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[OtterJohn]

Great video. My wife and I have considered a travel trailer off and on for years...Airstream is at the top of our list. Nice to see some real-world towing stats on the Lightning!

 

[thedadlegend]

Nice video! Were there no rv hookups at the site?

 

[hikinbengal]

Nice video! Were there no rv hookups at the site?

Nope, only dry camping in Yosemite Valley.

 

[Charles DelToro]

Great video, thank you for sharing.

 

[wgatkinson]

Awesome video. I showed it to the wife, we want to do that same trip.

 

[Wsh68]

Really enjoyed your video. it’s Obvious from the video you do things right and not just the s‘mores. A few questions that’ll help me as my wife and I contemplate a much longer trip (Central Coast California to Seattle).
1. What was your average MPH on the freeways, highway 46, the twisty roads in to the park etc.
2. What was the average miles per kWh for the driving portions?
3. How do you handle leaving Pro Power on all day/night and when we went for the bike ride? Did you turn down the screen brightness, lock the doors, use the Calm feature etc?
4. how Far in between were your charging points?
we just towed our family 19’ Escape Trailer last weekend and your video is giving me some confidence in a longer trip. I’m retiring next spring and for once on a very very long time I won’t be stressed about time Usage.

 

[hikinbengal]

Really enjoyed your video. it’s Obvious from the video you do things right and not just the s‘mores. A few questions that’ll help me as my wife and I contemplate a much longer trip (Central Coast California to Seattle).
1. What was your average MPH on the freeways, highway 46, the twisty roads in to the park etc.

I try to stay 5-7mph above the speed limit on the Hwy,So I'm doing 62mph. Once I get HWY 120 I'm lucky if I can do the speed limit. I definitely took it a bit slower to try and conserve going up the mountain.


2. What was the average miles per kWh for the driving portions?

So many factors impacted the efficiency of the trip. I highlighted my trip efficiency and length on the various legs of the trip. Overall, I would say my range going up the mountain was 144 at (1.1 mi/kWh) and going down was >200 since I had efficiencies between 1.8-7.0 mil/kWh various points along 56 mile trip downhill.

3. How do you handle leaving Pro Power on all day/night and when we went for the bike ride? Did you turn down the screen brightness, lock the doors, use the Calm feature etc?

Just disable the vehicle shutdown timer and lock the door with my FOB. I like to leave the pro-power screen up to glance at the energy draw as I move away. Most of the park rangers came up to talk to me about my setup so I let them know I planned to leave my truck on the power the airstream.

4. how Far in between were your charging points?
we just towed our family 19’ Escape Trailer last weekend and your video is giving me some confidence in a longer trip. I’m retiring next spring and for once on a very very long time I won’t be stressed about time Usage.

I wanted to do the 138 mile stretch to my one and only stop, but I worried the elevation gain would drain my battery. I ended up stopping at 65 miles to charge for 15 mins at 55kW.

I charged to 100% at Yosemite Westgate Lodge and didn't charge again until 3 days later when I was on my way home. It's 38 miles from this charger to North Pines where I camped. I also made the drive to Glacier point without towing, but I was able to avg. 20 mi/kwh coming back down.

I've done an ~500mi trip down to Joshua Tree and ~400mi trip up to Redwood National Park with this setup, I think you'll enjoy your trip. I do quite a bit of planning to pick the right chargers and have backups for my routes. I might be able to make a video about that if you want more detail.

 

[Wsh68]

I've done an ~500mi trip down to Joshua Tree and ~400mi trip up to Redwood National Park with this setup, I think you'll enjoy your trip. I do quite a bit of planning to pick the right chargers and have backups for my routes. I might be able to make a video about that if you want more detail.

Great info and thank you!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

We visited Yosemite National Park just before Halloween, and the autumn-fall colors were jaw-droppingly spectacular. We have a 2022 Ford f-150 Lightning and towed a 23ft Airstream Flying Cloud for the ~350-mile roundtrip. Successfully used Pro Power Onboard to power the Airstream for three days without charging inside the park.

Temps were in the high 60s, and lows were near-freezing, but still had plenty of battery to get to the nearest DCFC outside the park.

Awesome video footage! It's so cool seeing how you utilize your Lightning for your trip.

 

[Maxx]

You can sell this to both Ford and airstream. Great video.

 

[WhipSticks]

Bravo. You did it the right way. You went, and experienced one of America's great places. When you left, you left not a trace. The air was just as clean, the environment just as quiet, and the site of your occupancy showed not a mark of your passage.

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