The Ultimate Guide to EV Camping

Thinking about heading off to the great outdoors with your EV? Here’s what you need to know.

The most important part of your camping trip is choosing the perfect campsite. Of course. everyone has a different idea of what that means. Some people like wild and rugged places, the bare minimum of facilities and a good spot for a campfire. Others are less keen on trekking around in the middle of the night in search of the loos. They’d rather have manicured pitches, close to lots of places to visit and things to do.

However you roll, the most important thing to know is what the charging situation is going to be. Campsites that offer electric power to tent pitches may not allow EV charging from those power sockets or charge a fee. The most remote pitches might even be unable to offer EV charging at all, especially if they’re totally off-grid. It’s always better to check in advance. If you need to find the nearest charging point to a campsite, downloading the bp pulse app is the way to go.

EV Camping Benefits

Charging your tech

Your EV can store enough power to keep your phones, torches, Bluetooth speakers and other gizmos topped up. You can even run a 12v fridge or cool box.

Your own socket

Some EVs feature their own AC socket so you can plug in anything from home that needs a plug, a more powerful laptop perhaps or even a microwave!

Rock up late – leave early

You won’t make yourself unpopular waking everyone up by firing up an engine in the small hours when you’re on site with an EV.

Take Shelter

If unexpected bad weather hits (which let’s face it, is a strong possibility in the UK) EV’s can be keep you warm and dry while the bad weather passes. Some EV’s even have a ‘Camp mode’ which will regulate temperature and airflow all night long.

Fresh and comfortable

It can get hot on campsite with nothing to shelter you but a flimsy tent. Jumping into a pre-conditioned EV with the kids to the nearest attraction can be just the thing.

Handy extra space

Many EVs have extra space in the form of a ‘Frunk’ It’s a great place to store emergency items that you need to keep dry and to hand, like first-aid kits or a back-up torch.

Raring to get going on your EV camp trip already? Here’s a few things to remember to make it go smoothly.

Plan your charging, if you want to take advantage of all your EV benefits it’s best to get to the site with plenty of charge, even if there is on-site charging. If you’re going on any day trips think about where you’ll charge up and how to arrive back on site with plenty of charge too. Again, the bp pulse app [link] always has you covered for planning your charging.

Have an emergency kit to hand. If things do go wrong, having first aid, hi-vis, some emergency rations, a blanket and a physical map will make you look like a well prepared Eagle Scout rather than a babe in the woods.

Don’t forget your eco-mode. Driving in eco-mode could give you the range you need to get to that far flung destination, or back out of a wrong turn without having to stress about whether you’ve got the charge to make it.

That’s it, enjoy your adventure, and good luck. Not that you need it, now that you’re an EV camping guru.