Electric Winter Camping Trips in Montana. Used Rivian Charging Station

[YellowstoneLightning]

I've been scheming a camping setup for winter that doesn't kill range but can keep me warm. I ended up getting a flated inflatable topper that I can store easily with somewhat limited space. To that, I've added a good truck bed mattress and a tiny 200 watt electric heater. There's a place I like to go backcountry snowboarding that is only about 100 miles from my house through Yellowstone National Park, and there is a brand new Rivian fast charger on the way that really just eliminated any concerns about range and using extra energy for heat.

For the first trip, I only stayed one night, running the little space heater in the bed all night long with the truck on with pro power onboard going. With the truck on and the space heater running all night, I only used 4% battery.

I can also report that I stayed nice and toasty all night. I should caveat that it was not as cold as normal, probably only getting into the 20s at night (usually in this location it drops below zero at night).

I just wanted to share this successful test with anyone considering winter camping in the bed of their lightning with an electric heater. So far, it seems like a really good option. I'll be heading back down there a few more times this winter and I'll report again if anything goes differently from the first test night.

 

[Maxx]

This is how we do camping in Maryland in winter:

 

[Maquis]

This is how we do camping in Maryland in winter:

The only thing missing is snifter of cognac.

 

[Maxx]

How did charging at Rivian worked? I didn’t know they were open to us. Did you need an account or a credit card works?

 

[YellowstoneLightning]

They opened up to the public recently. I'm not sure if they are all open to us--this one just came online and was open to everyone from the start. It's a good interface that doesn't require an app. Plug in then pay with a tap card/phone wallet. The charge speeds were just ok, but that might have been due to battery condition in the cold.

 

[MTcowpoke]

Thank you! Found it, recognized the bridge in the back ground. This will make running around Yellowstone much easier. The only other game that I know of on our side is the Sinclair.

 

[YellowstoneLightning]

Thank you! Found it, recognized the bridge in the back ground. This will make running around Yellowstone much easier. The only other game that I know of on our side is the Sinclair.

This one is significantly faster than the sinclair. Time will tell whether it's as reliable. Great to have some redundancy down there now.

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