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Rooftop tent with power?

Pitbull2o08

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I know Roof Nest was designing a rtt for EV’s, but think it’s mostly centered around aerodynamics.

Anyone see anybody run a cord into their tent for power? Would love to plug in heated blanket into lightning bed.
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DocAdams44

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I know Roof Nest was designing a rtt for EV’s, but think it’s mostly centered around aerodynamics.

Anyone see anybody run a cord into their tent for power? Would love to plug in heated blanket into lightning bed.
I haven’t had the opportunity yet but that’s my plan. Only thing that sucks is that without a true “generator” mode, truck has to be on the whole time
 

punkzappa

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I just got the Tuff Stuff Alpha and was planning on plugging in either my heated mattress pad or space heater. The tent isn’t mounted yet so haven’t had a chance to test it out.
 

RedLightning86

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My dealer moved my GoFast Camper over from my ‘21 F150 to the Lightning, no probs. Haven’t camped in it yet, but plan to when it’s warmer. I had about 50 nights camping in the ‘21 F150/GFC, before the Lightning came. I actually used a 12v heated blanket in that. I plugged It and my refrigerator and phone etc chargers into a Jackery, which was plugged into the truck bed plug. That way the truck, which I always had in generator mode, didn’t have to idle as often to charge the truck’s hybrid battery to charge the Jackery.

i do think that for serious overlanding, I’d have reservations about using a Lightning, as you’d be seriously stuck with no juice for the spark! But for the light overlanding I do, should be fine. And I noticed while camping this Fall, that a fair number of RV parks charged just a small fee to charge and go, like $16, when I camped across Canada while waiting for the Lightning.

Here it is outside my house on the Lightning (lower) and on the ‘21 F150 on my Canada trip, loaded (top). There is a 16 gallon water tank and potassium potty in the back, with running water. Glamping!

so far, unloaded, I have gotten 1.7-2.4 miles/kWh with the GoFast Camper on. The lower #’s are cold weather/high speed. Better is just moseying along in warmer weather..

Ford F-150 Lightning Rooftop tent with power? E218C6E8-B176-4BFC-A468-6861632051CA
Ford F-150 Lightning Rooftop tent with power? FB654402-7D1C-483A-85B3-678A4A1EFD56
 
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Pitbull2o08

Pitbull2o08

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I like that a lot especially since I’m coming from a 6.5ft bed I slept out of with a camper shell. A propane heater down there would heat up the tent I bet too if the opening is open while you sleep.

My dealer moved my GoFast Camper over from my ‘21 F150 to the Lightning, no probs. Haven’t camped in it yet, but plan to when it’s warmer. I had about 50 nights camping in the ‘21 F150/GFC, before the Lightning came. I actually used a 12v heated blanket in that. I plugged It and my refrigerator and phone etc chargers into a Jackery, which was plugged into the truck bed plug. That way the truck, which I always had in generator mode, didn’t have to idle as often to charge the truck’s hybrid battery to charge the Jackery.

i do think that for serious overlanding, I’d have reservations about using a Lightning, as you’d be seriously stuck with no juice for the spark! But for the light overlanding I do, should be fine. And I noticed while camping this Fall, that a fair number of RV parks charged just a small fee to charge and go, like $16, when I camped across Canada while waiting for the Lightning.

Here it is outside my house on the Lightning (lower) and on the ‘21 F150 on my Canada trip, loaded (top). There is a 16 gallon water tank and potassium potty in the back, with running water. Glamping!

so far, unloaded, I have gotten 1.7-2.4 miles/kWh with the GoFast Camper on. The lower #’s are cold weather/high speed. Better is just moseying along in warmer weather..

E218C6E8-B176-4BFC-A468-6861632051CA.jpeg
FB654402-7D1C-483A-85B3-678A4A1EFD56.jpeg
 

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Oneand0

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My dealer moved my GoFast Camper over from my ‘21 F150 to the Lightning, no probs. Haven’t camped in it yet, but plan to when it’s warmer. I had about 50 nights camping in the ‘21 F150/GFC, before the Lightning came. I actually used a 12v heated blanket in that. I plugged It and my refrigerator and phone etc chargers into a Jackery, which was plugged into the truck bed plug. That way the truck, which I always had in generator mode, didn’t have to idle as often to charge the truck’s hybrid battery to charge the Jackery.

i do think that for serious overlanding, I’d have reservations about using a Lightning, as you’d be seriously stuck with no juice for the spark! But for the light overlanding I do, should be fine. And I noticed while camping this Fall, that a fair number of RV parks charged just a small fee to charge and go, like $16, when I camped across Canada while waiting for the Lightning.

Here it is outside my house on the Lightning (lower) and on the ‘21 F150 on my Canada trip, loaded (top). There is a 16 gallon water tank and potassium potty in the back, with running water. Glamping!

so far, unloaded, I have gotten 1.7-2.4 miles/kWh with the GoFast Camper on. The lower #’s are cold weather/high speed. Better is just moseying along in warmer weather..

E218C6E8-B176-4BFC-A468-6861632051CA.jpeg
FB654402-7D1C-483A-85B3-678A4A1EFD56.jpeg
That’s a super nice setup! I’ve been thinking about it as a possibility and the Project M from Four Wheel Camper.
 

GoodSam

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Only thing that sucks is that without a true “generator” mode, truck has to be on the whole time
What do you see as the problem with leaving the truck on and locked so the Pro Power stays on? Is it only when hiking away from the truck while running a refrigerator? Or someone breaking a window and driving off while one is sleeping in the back (but could use FordPass App to disable, assuming cell service)? Or the time-out on the Pro Power (but that can be acknowledged so it can stay on)?
 

DocAdams44

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What do you see as the problem with leaving the truck on and locked so the Pro Power stays on? Is it only when hiking away from the truck while running a refrigerator? Or someone breaking a window and driving off while one is sleeping in the back (but could use FordPass App to disable, assuming cell service)? Or the time-out on the Pro Power (but that can be acknowledged so it can stay on)?
Just super annoying that you have to jump through hoops. Would be nice to just press something in the app and have power without all the extra steps
 

vsansal

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What do you see as the problem with leaving the truck on and locked so the Pro Power stays on? Is it only when hiking away from the truck while running a refrigerator? Or someone breaking a window and driving off while one is sleeping in the back (but could use FordPass App to disable, assuming cell service)? Or the time-out on the Pro Power (but that can be acknowledged so it can stay on)?
Even if it's on, you can't shift gears and drive without the key being present in the cab. Same thing with remote start. But i agree, you shouldn't need to leave the truck on for this. Doesn't make any sense. I hope they can just fix it with an update.
 

petemill

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Just super annoying that you have to jump through hoops. Would be nice to just press something in the app and have power without all the extra steps
well it's also the additional power drain. I measured power usage through an OBDLink scanner and the truck uses about 400Wconstantly whilst on. That's with climate control off and nothing plugged in to AC. So you're losing 9.6kwh per day leaving it on. Or about 20 miles give or take. For that reason alone I use a large Jackery-style battery and only turn ProPower on to charge that for a small time period per day, or when I need more power output for cooking.
 

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DocAdams44

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well it's also the additional power drain. I measured power usage through an OBDLink scanner and the truck uses about 400Wconstantly whilst on. That's with climate control off and nothing plugged in to AC. So you're losing 9.6kwh per day leaving it on. Or about 20 miles give or take. For that reason alone I use a large Jackery-style battery and only turn ProPower on to charge that for a small time period per day, or when I need more power output for cooking.
That’s the best option, but after spending so much on the truck, I don’t want to spend even more on an external battery. Plus, that defeats some of the elegance and convenience of the pro power in the bed, if you can’t just plug right into it and have to use some external power source
 

petemill

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That’s the best option, but after spending so much on the truck, I don’t want to spend even more on an external battery. Plus, that defeats some of the elegance and convenience of the pro power in the bed, if you can’t just plug right into it and have to use some external power source
Well I decided that I can't lose over 7% range per day of phantom power whilst travelling. If I'm away for 1 day then it's no big deal but 4 days and that's 28% of the Lightning's battery wasted on nothing. I spent less than $500 on the battery and it's still the same end result - using ProPower to power a fridge, etc. for the whole trip, but just done more efficiently...
 

RedLightning86

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I like that a lot especially since I’m coming from a 6.5ft bed I slept out of with a camper shell. A propane heater down there would heat up the tent I bet too if the opening is open while you sleep.
I'm not gutsy enough to leave my Buddy Heater running while I sleep. But it is bolted to a Molle panel, and works great for warming up the camper. I do have one of those heat-powered fans on top of it to move the hot air better. That works....kinda'ish, but doesn't take any power so I'm ok with it.
 
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Pitbull2o08

Pitbull2o08

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I'm not gutsy enough to leave my Buddy Heater running while I sleep. But it is bolted to a Molle panel, and works great for warming up the camper. I do have one of those heat-powered fans on top of it to move the hot air better. That works....kinda'ish, but doesn't take any power so I'm ok with it.

Meh, is thetop canvas completely sealed with no air able to flow through? If it is, I'd be more cautious as well. Otherwise, I'd be willing to plug in500w electric heater into the propwer onboard.

I also got a 600w power station for christmas that accepts solar charge i'm going to use more with the 12v fridge and be able to top off with 200w solar panels I already had (making an MPPT suitcase set up) to not rely on trucks propower too much.
 

RedLightning86

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well it's also the additional power drain. I measured power usage through an OBDLink scanner and the truck uses about 400Wconstantly whilst on. That's with climate control off and nothing plugged in to AC. So you're losing 9.6kwh per day leaving it on. Or about 20 miles give or take. For that reason alone I use a large Jackery-style battery and only turn ProPower on to charge that for a small time period per day, or when I need more power output for cooking.
I've been debating using a Jackery or not on my next camping trip. 9.6kw a day is worth carrying the Jackery!
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