I went EV camping in a Rivian R1S, and here’s what I learned

(Image credit: Myriam Joire)

EVs have many advantages over internal combustion and hybrid cars, including lower maintenance and energy costs, higher reliability and safety, better comfort and performance, and zero emissions. But some EVs have another ace up their sleeve: camp mode. This feature keeps the climate, infotainment system, lights, and various outlets (USB, 12V, 120V) powered for hours on end. Welcome to EV camping.

With camp mode, you don’t have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning and you won’t keep your neighbors awake at your campsite. Currently, only Tesla and Rivian provide a proper camp mode, though Hyundai and Kia’s EVs offer something similar, called “utility mode”. I’m a reformed Tesla owner, but somehow I never used camp mode despite spending six years with two Model 3s back-to-back. And that’s a shame.

So, ahead of CES 2025, I reached out to Rivian to borrow an R1S electric SUV to drive from San Francisco to Las Vegas and back. My birthday always takes place while I’m covering the show, so my spouse and I usually spend a few days in Palm Springs after CES to unwind and celebrate. And since beautiful Joshua Tree National Park is nearby, we figured it would be a fantastic opportunity to try EV camping for the first time.

Act One: Viva Las Vegas

The R1S Rivian provided was a second-generation Dual Max model (dual-motor, max battery) with the Performance Upgrade and Sound + Vision Package. It offers an EPA range of 410 miles, 665hp, accelerates from 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds, and costs just over $100k. Our drive from San Francisco to Las Vegas was uneventful, and made more relaxing thanks to Rivian’s Highway Assist level 2+ ADAS (advanced driver assistance system).

Since Rivian’s vehicles support Tesla Superchargers, we charged primarily at Superchargers, plus Rivian’s own DC fast charging network – the Rivian Adventure Network. And with a range of 410 miles, we managed to cover a lot of ground between charges. The R1S sat parked for most of CES, until our drive to Palm Springs, which was also straightforward and gave us the opportunity to enjoy some Dolby Atmos content on Apple Music.

Act Two: Welcome to the desert

We spent a few days relaxing in Palm Springs and using the R1S to drive around town, where it felt just as competent as it did on the freeway. Rivian has re-tuned the air suspension in its second-generation R1S and R1T vehicles, and ride quality is much improved. In addition, the software in these SDVs (software defined vehicles) has received significant updates since I first drove the quad-motor R1T back in 2022.

User experience really matters in tech-heavy modern cars – especially EVs – and regular OTA (over-the-air) software updates are critical. Rivian is following Tesla’s lead in delivering monthly software updates that fix bugs and add new features big and small, like Enhanced Highway Assist (hands-free level 2+ ADAS) and side mirror auto-tilt on reverse most recently. This is something legacy car manufacturers are still struggling with.

Act Three: Outpost of the future

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Our first stop in Joshua Tree was at the Rivian Charging Outpost, an EV charging site with a lounge that’s part of the Rivian Adventure Network. This is Rivian’s own DC fast charging network, which currently consists of 91+ sites that typically feature six or more 350kW 900V CCS1 chargers. Rivian recently started opening its network to other EVs, beginning with Joshua Tree, and is planning to add NACS connectors in the future.

Joshua Tree’s Charging Outpost currently features twelve DC fast chargers, a bathroom (open 24h, access code in the Rivian app), a lounge with free coffee, free WiFi, and snacks for sale, a store showcasing (and selling) Rivian accessories, a hammock, and a desert garden. During our visit, contractors were installing solar canopies over one of the rows of chargers. The staff was friendly, and we had fun exploring the space while charging.

We also learned that soon, you’ll be able to take R1S and R1T vehicles for demo drives on- and off-road, through what the company calls Rivian Experiences.

Act Four: Setting up camp

After checking in and locating our campsite at Black Rock Canyon Campground, we set up camp. I positioned the R1s parallel to the concrete picnic table to shelter us from the prevailing winds, and entered camp mode. Camp mode on the R1S consists of a whole separate UI on the center screen with lovely cell-shaded visuals showing the R1S next to an animated campfire surrounded by tents and camping chairs.

There are several options available in camp mode. Camp Courtesy turns off all exterior lights, sounds, and proximity locking, and runs the climate at a quieter level. Flood lights can be individually activated on the left and right side mirrors to light up your campsite. You can turn the displays off, turn the outlets on or off, and even set a timer to keep the outlets running for a predetermined amount of time.

Stay On keeps the climate, infotainment system, interior lights, and outlets turned on, and is ideal for sleeping in your vehicle. Conversely, Stay Off turns everything off to save energy for when you’re camping outside. And finally, there’s Rivian’s signature camping mode feature: Level SUV. This uses the air suspension to auto-level the R1S. It takes a couple minutes, but it allows you to enjoy cooking and sleeping on a level surface.

Act Five: Cooking up a storm

My spouse is an accomplished cook, so they set up Rivian’s Travel Kitchen. This $1,400 folding accessory is designed to fit perfectly on top of the R1T and R1S tailgate. It packs two induction burners (up to 1,500W), a storage drawer, a cutting board, and an LED light string, and plugs into one of the 120V outlets in the back of the R1S and R1T. The LED light string plugs into a USB Type-C socket in the back of the Travel Kitchen. Clever!

When folded, this accessory – which weighs a hefty 41lbs – is the size of a small suitcase but is less than 6 inches thick. This means you can store it inside the R1S and R1T’s frunk (front trunk), behind the R1S’ second row of seats, or in the R1T’s gear tunnel. It unfolds like a clamshell flip-phone, with the induction cooktop and controls on the left, and a food-prep area and storage drawer on the right.

The storage drawer contains the cutting board, power cord, LED light string, plus a pair of telescoping aluminum legs that attach to the Travel Kitchen and hold up the LED light string. Rivian also provided a set of induction cookware. Induction cooking is extremely efficient, and the Travel Kitchen was up to the task. And if you’re curious, dinner consisted of Impossible burgers and a delicious salad. Yum!

Heavy weight aside, my spouse’s only complaint with Rivian’s Travel Kitchen is that the LED light string setup feels a little flimsy and that the induction cooktop might benefit from a folding backsplash or windscreen – even if it isn’t absolutely necessary, since there’s no flame. It’s also worth noting that the Travel Kitchen will work on any flat surface, and with any 120V outlet, so this accessory isn’t just for Rivian owners.

Then again, you can buy a 1,500W single burner induction cooktop for less than $100 these days, and that’s a lot lighter and more compact. Still, kudos to Rivian for designing something that integrates seamlessly with its vehicles. Choice is good.

Act Six: Getting cozy

With the sun setting early in January, and temperatures dropping rapidly, we decided to put away the Travel Kitchen and make our bed. Rivian provided a couple of HEST Foamy portable mattresses alongside HEST pillows and bedding. The HEST Foamy for Rivian R1S features curved cutouts that fit seamlessly around the wheel wells, and include a pair of convenient fabric phone storage pockets.

With the second and third rows of seats folded down, you can fit a single 6.5-foot-long HEST Foamy on either the left or the right side of the R1S. Two of these portable mattresses can be linked together to create a 4-foot 2-inch wide double bed, which is what we did. Despite being only 4 inches thick, we found the HEST Foamy to be very comfortable. In all, our bed only took a couple minutes to set up.

As you can see in the pictures, there’s about a one-inch drop in the back of the R1S where the third row of folded seats ends and the trunk begins – about two-thirds down the length of the HEST Foamy. We slept with our heads right behind the front seats and couldn’t feel this slight drop in height under the portable mattresses. The HEST pillows weren’t as comfortable, and I regretted not bringing my own pillow instead.

With Stay On enabled in camp mode, we were able to charge all our devices overnight using the many outlets in the R1S. There are two 120V outlets (one under the rear display and one on the right side of the trunk), one 12V socket in the trunk, two 60W USB Type-C ports in the center console, and six 15W USB Type-C ports (two in the back of the front seats, two under the rear screen, and one in each rear wheel well storage bin).

Speaking of those rear wheel well storage bins, they make for convenient bed-side storage, and include a cup holder each, alongside the aforementioned 15W USB Type-C port.

Act Seven: Netflix and chill

The R1S infotainment system includes native apps for Spotify, Tidal, TuneIn, Audible, Apple Music (with Dolby Atmos), and YouTube. It also supports Google Cast for streaming HD video and high-quality audio from Cast-enabled apps on your iOS or Android devices. While we have accounts with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Max, we were only able to stream content from Prime Video, and only from iPhones, which was disappointing.

We didn’t experience any issues with the native Apple Music and YouTube apps, but didn’t try the other services. Since Netflix doesn’t support Google Cast and the 15.6-inch center display isn’t well suited for watching content from behind the front seats, it was time for plan B. I brought a Yaber T2 Plus portable battery-powered 1080p smart projector with me on this trip, and it proved to be the solution to our streaming woes.

We draped our white comforter over the front seats into a makeshift screen, connected the Yaber T2 Plus to the R1S’ WiFi hotspot, and paired the projector to the R1S’ infotainment system via Bluetooth for audio, and just like that, we were able to enjoy Netflix on a big screen with big sound while eating some of my chocolate birthday cake. Genius!

Act Eight: Time for a nightcap

Eventually, it was time to get some rest. I set the climate to 68F, which is generally our preferred temperature when sleeping, switched the lights off, and turned the displays off. By midnight, the outside temperature was hovering around 34F, and with Stay On enabled in camp mode, we figured this would keep us warm and comfortable all night. Turns out we were wrong: 68F ended up being too warm – and too noisy.

See, once we’d settled down and all was quiet, the R1S’ heat pump turned out to be far noisier than we expected – at least inside the vehicle. Initially, I didn’t think this was going to be a problem. We’re both used to sleeping with earplugs and this night was no different. But, while the bed was quite comfortable, I kept waking up. Eventually, I realized it was simply too warm, even without our comforter, so I decided to lower the temperature to 64F.

Not only did this cool the interior down to a more comfortable temperature, but it also drastically reduced the annoying hum/buzz emitted by the heat pump. Success! I slept much better after this. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any shades to cover the windows, and the sun rose early, so it ended up being a short night. Meanwhile, my spouse, who is definitely more of an insomniac than me, slept pretty well.

Act Nine: A few niggles

I learned a few other things about the R1S that night. First, there’s no way to adjust the temperature on the rear screen, which is annoying since it’s extremely difficult to reach the center display from behind the front seats. As a workaround, I ended up using the Rivian app on my phone to change the temperature. Second, there’s no way to turn the displays on and off from the rear screen, which is a hassle.

You have to use camp mode on the center display to turn the displays off, and you have to tap on the center screen to turn them back on. Rivian should consider fixing these two niggles, or better yet, design a camp mode UI for the rear display, which would become active when selecting camp mode on the center screen. This, together with broader Google Cast support in popular apps would make a big difference when EV camping with the R1S.

Rivian’s iconic flashlight, which comes with the R1S and R1T – and stores in the driver-side door – came in quite handy when going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Also, while the auto-leveling feature is awesome, it also means that one side of the vehicle might end up being way higher off the ground than the other, making ingress and egress more difficult. So, if you buy or lease an R1S or R1T consider getting running boards.

Finally, let’s talk about energy use. We arrived at our campsite around 3PM with the battery at 77%, and left around 9AM with the battery at 56%. So with the climate and outlets enabled for 18 hours, the interior lights turned on from 6PM to 12AM, the infotainment system powered on from 3PM to 12PM, and after cooking for 30 minutes with the Travel Kitchen, we used up 21% of the 141.5kWh battery, or 29.7kWh. That’s not very efficient.

Based on various forum posts, it appears that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y are more efficient in camp mode. Then again, those are smaller EVs with less interior space to heat or cool, and without 120V outlets. It would be interesting to compare the efficiency of the R1S and R1T to EVs of similar size with 120V outlets, like the Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, or Chevy Silverado EV (once those last two get a camp mode).

Act Ten: Final thoughts

After leaving our campsite, we spent a few hours exploring the gorgeous sights of Joshua Tree National Park – one of our favorite places – before hitting the road again. On our way back to San Francisco, we decided to take a detour and explore the empty unpaved roads of California City. I put the R1S in All-Terrain mode and spent a few minutes sliding around in the sand at sunset -- the perfect ending to our day.

EV camping is fun, and the R1S is definitely the right tool for the job. Rivian’s electric SUV is highly capable both on- and off-road, comfortable and spacious, and – thanks to features like Tesla Supercharger access and hands-free level 2+ ADAS – ready for road trips. As such, it lives up to its electric adventure vehicle credentials. Plus, it’s one of the few EVs delivering on the promise of SDVs by getting monthly OTA software updates.

All this adds up to making the R1S one of the best EVs on the market today – that is, as long as you’re looking for a large, 3-row SUV and you can afford spending at least $75,900.

That being said, there’s still room for improvement. Camp mode on the R1S is far from perfect. It’s not very efficient, and it could benefit from some UI tweaks. Similarly, Google Cast has a lot of potential, but too few apps currently support the feature to make it worthwhile.

Myriam Joire (tnkgrl) was born wearing combat boots and holding a keyboard. Moments later she picked up a soldering iron. On weekends, she rally-raced with her father. She's been stomping, typing, hacking, and driving ever since. After spending years being a code-monkey in the video game industry, she joined Engadget as Senior Mobile Editor and later Pebble as Chief Evangelist. Today she hosts the weekly Mobile Tech Podcast, makes videos on YouTube, writes about tech and cars for TechRadar and other major publications, and advises startups on product/media strategy. She's based in San Francisco.