Is It REALLY Possible To Go Camping In An Electric Car? We Camp In Our Kia Soul EV

[@LeftCoastEV]

Have you ever camped in your EV? If you did write your experience down in the comments. If you have any tips and tricks for better EV camping, feel free to let us know.

[@colinmah2383]

How old is Austin! Very cute:-)

[@LeftCoastEV]

Thanks! Austin is 11 years old.

[@Reddylion]

Nice ev campaign.

[@wxxr9095]

Get a TT-30 to House plug adapter, it’s the difference between 15 amp v 30 amp

[@LeftCoastEV]

Great idea! Thanks for the tip.

[@decc2]

I placed the order for my premium Soul EV 2022 Dec 2021 and of course due to the current situation I am still waiting on the car to be delivered , supposedly I’ll be getting the car between July-August of this year, I want to ask you: let’s said you parked your car with 80% charge and do not use it the car for 3-4 days, is supposed to have the same 80% battery level when you turn it on again? maybe it's a silly question but I have that doubt, thanks from Montreal.

[@LeftCoastEV]

Not a silly question at all. According to my personal experience you won't lose much, perhaps around 1 to 2% during the 3 or 4 days you mentioned. When you turn off the Kia you turn it off, there are no background processes running and the car does not keep the battery warm. Just to put it into perspective: if you have a Tesla with sentry mode turned on, you will lose, on average, about 7% per day. So if you leave your Kia at the airport and go for a trip, you will have plenty of juice left when you come back. Be mindful that when you do come back after a few days and start driving, the percentage will drop a bit. The car will need to heat or cool the cabin and also condition the battery a bit. Hope this helps.

[@christianchu6079]

Great informative fun video nice work guys keep it up! Sorry just a question with camping mode. Could I use this for my dog while he waits for me in the car and I go shopping? Can I turn on the camping mode and set the AC and my dog will be safe and cool in the summer? Almost like Teslas have dog mode. Thanks again can't wait for your next adventure!

[@LeftCoastEV]

Yes. It’s exactly like dog mode in a Tesla. You turn it on, leave the AC on and lock the doors. The only thing that’s missing is a notice on the infotainment screen for others to see that you have camping mode on. So you would have to put a piece of paper on the dash and let people know AC is on and your dog is safe. You don’t want someone calling the police thinking your dog is stuck in a hot vehicle. Glad you liked the video. Thanks for the support.

[@jonaslennstrom2752]

I wonder what model year of the Soul-EV and what version and country. I live in Sweden Soul-EV 2021 basic and small battery 39kWh. I can't find the function, salesperson at Kia never heard of it either.

[@LeftCoastEV]

This is the 2021 Kia Soul EV Limited with the bigger 64kWh battery. I live in Canada. It’s interesting that different regions of battery sizes don’t have the same features.

[@YvanBéchard]

Is everything lit, all night ?

[@LeftCoastEV]

You mean inside the car? You can turn off the main screen and there is an option to dim the dashboard lights as well. We also use a blanket to cover up the dashboard so it’s dark enough to sleep.

[@loriallen67]

I love my Soul. I wish they sold the EV in the US.

[@ogdumplings8196]

they do

[@loriallen67]

@@ogdumplings8196 not anymore they don’t. Stopped in 2020 or 2021.

[@iangardner2311]

What and where did you get your window coverings?

[@LeftCoastEV]

Got them from Canadian Tire. Cheapest set available. They're good enough, but I will try and find a set that fits a bit better, especially around the side windows. Here is a link: www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/autotrends-sunshade-kit-0370771p.html

[@vanlifefpv6340]

What would you suggest for charging going from Fort St John to Watson Lake? On Plugshare there is not much charging available for that stretch of road.

[@LeftCoastEV]

It's interesting you should ask this since I am researching the very same route. I plan to do a trip up to Yukon and the most northern fast charger in Canada. The hardest stretch would be from Fort St. John to Fort Nelson. Both the start and end points have chargers. However, the road between the two towns is 381km long and even on a full charge the most that I can get showing on the GOM of my Kia is 460km of available range. Obviously, the GOM needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but I think the stretch would be doable in my Kia if I kept the climate off, put it into ECO+ mode and kept the speed at 50km/h or below. The only other option would be to drive to Sikanni River Campground & RV Park, get a site and trickle charge overnight (or a fast charge if you can find an RV plug converter). I would also say that buying a NEMA plug based EV charger would be beneficial. I'm sure there would be an opportunity to use it on such a trip. The rest of the route should be doable, however, it would take a very long time to complete, from start to finish, but also one hell of an adventure.

[@vanlifefpv6340]

@@LeftCoastEV Do you know of any good resources showing what kind of 30A and 50A plugs might be available at various campgrounds and RV parks along that stretch?

[@LeftCoastEV]

Not yet. I’ll be looking into it next week and if I find any info I’ll post a comment.

[@asad5067]

can you leave the car on with fans running at night to prevent humidity / moisture? or does the battery run out

[@LeftCoastEV]

Of course you can! Utility mode (what Kia calls camp mode) keeps your fans and air con or heat running for the entire time it is on. It uses the main battery and usage is around 1% per hour meaning if you had a full battery you can keep using utility mode for 100 hours (which translates into over 4 days) constantly. Little fear of running out of charge!

[@asad5067]

@@LeftCoastEV theres all these people living in vans and they have their diesel heaters, and they have to install a fan on the roof for ventilation and i was thinking wouldnt an electric car just do the same and i think your response has proved that. i bought my car late 2019 right before prices doubled. just by chance. its not an ev, its a scion ia and it had second best mpg for all gas cars of its time after the 3 cylinder abysmal mitsubishi mirage. i used to camp in my toyota matrix. my mom bought it. the front seat apparently folded flat; little did i know. i went on a road trip through california and vegas in that thing. it was some of the happiest days in my life. your car has alot of HP.

[@LeftCoastEV]

There are a lot of people camping in EVs. I would say the most popular would be the Tesla Model Y due to its size as well as interior dimensions. It also has a "camp mode" that keeps the climate going. Plus with a Tesla you are never too far away from a Supercharger where you can fill up your battery very quickly. You can search for some videos on KZbin about Tesla camping...there are also people who live in their Tesla's full time. And, yes, the Kia Soul EV is quite powerful for what it is...but that is the nature of electric vehicles.

[@TaylorVanBeek]

Another awesome video guys! Camping out of a vehicle is by far the best way to camp! Me and my pup travel out of my truck all the time! You'll have to check out my channel! Keep up with the awesome content!

[@LeftCoastEV]

Thanks for your support!