Slide-in Truck camper (lightweight) with F150 Lightning

[Dave242]

LOL. It does have the color scheme of a prison cell (not that I have spent any time in one....to speak of)! With a 5'5" bed why not just fold the rear seats up and lie across there? The idea of the Scout Yoho is to have a climate controlled place to "work from home" anywhere (that there is a cell phone signal) and go completely off grid glamping when wanted....without having the need for a campsite for electric hook up, or a noisy generator.

There should be seemingly no additional mileage hit for an EV versus ICE...aerodynamics should remain the same - if anything, EV should come out ahead with regenerative charging.

The research I have done on truck campers is to expect a ~30% mileage hit (worst case). So at the 15-85% range on 230 miles (SR), that is 160 miles...so with the 30% hit it is indeed a measly 110-120 miles (155 miles with extended range battery). So, you gotta fill up every 2 hours on the long treks (3 with ER). Not everyone's cup of tea. On the bright side, you can charge for free overnight at level 2 charging stations that are all over the place.

That Scout looks smaller than a prison cell. I can't understand why the base is so narrow, either.

Back in the 80s we had little snug top fiberglass shells. Now they look pretty trick and are made from canvas: https://www.bestop.com/products/supertop-for-truck-2-ford-2015-2021-f-150-black-diamond/

Slide a mattress and kitchen setup and it'll probably be at least as comfortable as the overbuilt slide-ins and may even be better. Not to mention, it's going to have a lot better range than a slide-in...that Scout could drop the F150's range to 50 miles. :O

I had a 15' Casita until 2020 when someone offered me a stupid amount of money for it when the parks opened back up. For anyone in CA, if you use a travel trailer under 16' you can register it as a permanent trailer that only costs $10 registration every 5 years.

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[ExCivilian]

There should be seemingly no additional mileage hit for an EV versus ICE...aerodynamics should remain the same - if anything, EV should come out ahead with regenerative charging.

The research I have done on truck campers is to expect a ~30% mileage hit (worst case).

To be clear, my range comment wasn't comparing EVs to ICEs--it was comparing the shoebox sitting on a brick compared to an egg/tear-shaped trailer like the Casita I used to own.

Without knowing how those numbers were calculated it's difficult to predict what that Scout would do to the mileage. That Lance doesn't look particularly aero but even it appears to be substantially more aero than the Scout. Although I was exaggerating for effect, those numbers aren't too far off from what I wrote (55-60 miles each way compared to my predicted 50).

I'd much rather get a portable "building" and setup camp that way rather than pack it all on the back of my truck (as opposed to in it). That's what I did anyway after I sold the travel trailer

 

[GregBC]

If I was camping by myself, I think I’d try this little project with a canopy topper. Obviously you can’t stand up in it and no toilet but I don’t think many of the campers that fit in 5.5ft beds have toilets anyway (last I looked, before getting discouraged at the lack of availability, I saw one or two and they were on the heavier/bigger side)



I think a big advantage is this is about as light as you can get and the canopy topper SHOULD provide an aero benefit (which I believe will have a greater effect on range than just weight, but real-world results will show the truth).

 

[Oneand0]

LOL. It does have the color scheme of a prison cell (not that I have spent any time in one....to speak of)! With a 5'5" bed why not just fold the rear seats up and lie across there? The idea of the Scout Yoho is to have a climate controlled place to "work from home" anywhere (that there is a cell phone signal) and go completely off grid glamping when wanted....without having the need for a campsite for electric hook up, or a noisy generator.

There should be seemingly no additional mileage hit for an EV versus ICE...aerodynamics should remain the same - if anything, EV should come out ahead with regenerative charging.

The research I have done on truck campers is to expect a ~30% mileage hit (worst case). So at the 15-85% range on 230 miles (SR), that is 160 miles...so with the 30% hit it is indeed a measly 110-120 miles (155 miles with extended range battery). So, you gotta fill up every 2 hours on the long treks (3 with ER). Not everyone's cup of tea. On the bright side, you can charge for free overnight at level 2 charging stations that are all over the place.

I’m actually thinking about drinking the same cup of tea. Last year I had to evacuate my elderly parents who are in great shape from the Caldor fire and bring them from Pollock Pines to my place in Lake Tahoe. Well, then we all had to evacuate from my place to my sisters. Being displaced for the first time in my life was an eye opener. Both my father and I decided to get either a small trailer or light camper for our Lightnings (we both made wave 3), so we can use it for visiting places and as a back up, in case we ever get displaced again. I left my home knowing if it wasn’t for family, I would be sleeping in my car. I also left not sure if it would be there when I returned. At least with a trailer or camper, you have a place that you can put your head down at night and close a door.

 

[Sklith]

Changing to non-EV tires will probably affect your range by a lot

This is not true. I switched from Tesla's Michelin MXM4s to some regular Pilot Sport 4S and noticed no difference in consumption. You'll only see high efficiency tires on cars like the Bolt, i3, or Leaf. Typically, higher end EVs go for tires that prioritize performance and comfort over range.

It's very unlikely that Ford will be fitting low rolling resistance tires on their Lightnings since that will reduce performance.

 

[Ken]

I think the base is narrow on that camper because it has to fit inside the wheel wells. That's why there's extra space in the back, they can't customize it to any particular truck because they are all slightly different- except in the space between the wheel wells.

 

[SteveP150]

I've been thinking about this relative to my PB. Similar issues with load capacity. If you can live with a pop-up(both lighter and more aero), I think the 4WD Project M is a better option.
https://fourwheelcampers.com/model/project-m/#specifications

It's much lighter, and you could build it out to reflect an electric-only setup that would take advantage of the PB/Lightning batteries and eliminate the unnecessary propane cooking/heating weight and complexity.

 

[ExCivilian]

I think the base is narrow on that camper because it has to fit inside the wheel wells. That's why there's extra space in the back, they can't customize it to any particular truck because they are all slightly different- except in the space between the wheel wells.

You're right! I haven't had a truck in so long that I completely forgot about that. It's been like 40 years since I've seen/used one of those bed campers. I can't remember if we had to set them down inside the bed while carefully avoiding the wheel wells or if they were just narrow like this.

Camper shells won't improve range. There have been a few studies on this and a bare bed is the most aero. A tonneau cover reduces mpg, removing the tailgate altogether reduces mpg, and the only thing that improved mpg was a netted tailgate.

If you're thinking about this for emergency shelter I would suggest hotel/airbnb accommodations. When I checked on the lightest camper shell last night it was $12K. I also looked at what's purported to be the most aerodynamic travel trailer...but it's $260K so that's out. I already maxed my wife's patience with the Lariat ER so I'm going to be tenting it for a while.

 

[GregBC]

I've been thinking about this relative to my PB. Similar issues with load capacity. If you can live with a pop-up(both lighter and more aero), I think the 4WD Project M is a better option.
https://fourwheelcampers.com/model/project-m/#specifications

It's much lighter, and you could build it out to reflect an electric-only setup that would take advantage of the PB/Lightning batteries and eliminate the unnecessary propane cooking/heating weight and complexity.

Wow, that's awesome, thanks for sharing! I like how the website gives weights for EVERY option, super useful!

I like what I see in the Scout too, albeit the extra height for sure would affect mileage more.

 

[ShirBlackspots]

When I was a kid the slide in's were a big thing and usually pretty cheap.
Now they are priced out of sight.

$35,000 last I saw a few years ago.

 

[Galactus55]

I think Pulling a trailer would be better, more room inside:
An electric trailer could solve the largest problem when towing with an electric vehicle: You might only go half the distance on a charge while towing.
See this article https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1133124_towing-with-an-ev-are-electric-trailers-the-future

The nice thing about this tech. is it will also work on ICE vehicles as well.

 

[roddiaz1]

I believe installing this type of camper will invalidate your Ford warranty. I was warned not to install one when I took delivery of my 2022 Lightning.

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