First Camping Trip in the R1T and our iKamper RTT (and first time using RAN)

[manitou202]

My wife and I just got back from a 5 day camping trip in Colorado. We stayed two nights outside of Fruita, one night at Blue Mesa Reservoir, and one night at the Royal Gorge. Overall it was a fantastic trip. The R1T is by far the best camping vehicle we have ever owned (previous vehicles include FJ Cruiser, Dodge Ram, Q7, Allroad). This was also the first time we used a Roof Top Tent. We have the iKamper X-Cover 2.0 Mini.

Total mileage was about 750 miles. We charged 4 times over the 5 days. EA charger in Edwards, EA charger in Grand Junction, RAN in Montrose, and RAN in Salida. Total cost was less than $50 (RAN chargers were free obviously) and we only spent about 18-25 minutes charging at each stop. No issues with charging.

While camping we left the R1T in normal mode during the day, and turned on the sleep mode at night to save energy. We also used a Blackstone 17" electric griddle and several other electric appliances (toaster, kettle). We saw about 1-2% of battery drain each day which was less than expected considering our usage.

The Blackstone griddle is highly recommended. It served extremely well as a do everything cook top. We cook burgers, filet, bacon, eggs, asparagus, mushrooms, fried polenta, and more. It was also very easy to clean up, and required no additional cookware.

This was also the first time using the Dometic water pump and jugs. This was a really nice way of having water easily accessible for washing items or filling water bottles. We simply stored a couple of jugs in the gear tunnel and placed the pump on the door for easy access.

The focus of our trip was mountain biking which we were able to get in rides every day. We can't wait to get back out with the R1T and already have camping plans for this coming weekend.

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[Iwannarivian]

What was your driving efficiency? We MTB and use a tailgate pad, but have previously used a tow hitch bike rack that seemed to really hurt miles/kwh. I’ve been pondering the best solution to carrying bikes and a RTT. Thinking a bed rack that is tall enough to get bikes in bed over tailgate with RTT on top the rack, but this would obviously place it in the airstream.

 

[md2023]

Very cool. How was the tent? And what is your bike rack set up?

 

[manitou202]

Our efficiency was about 1.8-2.2 miles / kWh. When driving 75mph it's closer to 1.8 mi/kWh, but on country roads cruising around 65mph it climbs to about 2.2 miles/kWh.

Definitely take a hit with a couple of bikes sticking above the roof line. Without the bikes, I've seen almost no hit to efficiency with just the RTT.

@md2023 We have the iKamper X-cover 2.0 Mini with 1-up Bike Racks. The tent was great. Very easy to setup and take down. Very comfortable and it's made of thick canvas (not cheap nylon) which is much more durable and allows you to completely blackout the tent if you are trying to sleep in. Takes a couple of minutes for setup. It also works really well with the truck self leveling.

Having the bike racks attached makes it a bit more difficult. You obviously need to remove the bikes first. You also need check the clearance between the rack and the side of the truck bed. I didn't the first time and the rack contacted my truck and put a small dent on the side. I like having the bikes over the tent instead of the roof (harder to reach) or on a trailer hitch. We enjoyed using the tailgate as a table for cooking, so a hitch rack would have been in the way. However you are limited to two bikes with this setup. The crossbars on the iKamper are not very big.

 

[Riviot]

Definitely take a hit with a couple of bikes sticking above the roof line. Without the bikes, I've seen almost no hit to efficiency with just the RTT.

Facts. Bikes over bed, we got 1.8-2 mi/kWh. Same iKamper Mini 2.0, no efficiency hit.

We've thought about this same setup, interesting to learn range impact is the same. Any noise at highway speeds?

We'll be trying RTT with Thule T2 Classic next weekend!

 

[zefram47]

The focus of our trip was mountain biking which we were able to get in rides every day. We can't wait to get back out with the R1T and already have camping plans for this coming weekend.

What trails? Were there a ton of obstacles/rocks or was it pretty much this flowy dirt/gravel the whole time? Wife and I got gravel bikes recently and are always looking for new places to explore. We have MTBs as well, but that looks perfect for gravel biking. We've only done the Tour of the Moon road ride out there before.

Any complaints about the XCover Mini? I have a beefy CVT tent at the moment that won't work well over the bed because it has an awning of sorts over the entryway that's designed to be on a roof, so I'm looking at options. I wanted to go with the Skycamp Mini, but was curious about it over the XCover Mini. One of my gripes of tents I've used so far has been insufficient coverage over the windows so when it rains you can't get enough ventilation without getting wet. Other than the rear window it looks like the XCover won't have that problem.

 

[BigSkies]

You must be my camping twin! I'm looking at a nearly identical setup for when my R1T arrives. I already have that red camp-kitchen thingy. It looks like you had a wonderful trip.

Do you think the iKamper mini could be mounted/unmounted by one person? Or does it need two people?

 

[manitou202]

Facts. Bikes over bed, we got 1.8-2 mi/kWh. Same iKamper Mini 2.0, no efficiency hit.

We've thought about this same setup, interesting to learn range impact is the same. Any noise at highway speeds?

We'll be trying RTT with Thule T2 Classic next weekend!

No noise on the highway. You wouldn't even know the RTT or bikes were there.

 

[manitou202]

You must be my camping twin! I'm looking at a nearly identical setup for when my R1T arrives. I already have that red camp-kitchen thingy. It looks like you had a wonderful trip.

Do you think the iKamper mini could be mounted/unmounted by one person? Or does it need two people?

You definitely need two people to mount the tent. It weights 120lbs but its size is what makes it difficult. We are going to buy another set of Rivian cross bars and simply leave the RTT attached and remove it as an assembly. One person might be able to do it if you purchased a hoist and stored it above your truck in the garage.

 

[Riviot]

You definitely need two people to mount the tent. It weights 120lbs but its size is what makes it difficult. We are going to buy another set of Rivian cross bars and simply leave the RTT attached and remove it as an assembly. One person might be able to do it if you purchased a hoist and stored it above your truck in the garage.

Buy another set. Install a hoist. I install/remove solo now

 

[manitou202]

What trails? Were there a ton of obstacles/rocks or was it pretty much this flowy dirt/gravel the whole time? Wife and I got gravel bikes recently and are always looking for new places to explore. We have MTBs as well, but that looks perfect for gravel biking. We've only done the Tour of the Moon road ride out there before.

Any complaints about the XCover Mini? I have a beefy CVT tent at the moment that won't work well over the bed because it has an awning of sorts over the entryway that's designed to be on a roof, so I'm looking at options. I wanted to go with the Skycamp Mini, but was curious about it over the XCover Mini. One of my gripes of tents I've used so far has been insufficient coverage over the windows so when it rains you can't get enough ventilation without getting wet. Other than the rear window it looks like the XCover won't have that problem.

We rode one day in Rabbit Valley down to the Western Rim trail, and one day outside of Fruita on Mary's and Horsethief trails. There are flowy sections, but a lot of sand and technical sections as well. Rabbit valley also has a lot of dirt roads that could easily be ridden. The trails outside of Fruita have a big mix of technical trails, and some easier stuff that could be ridden on gravel bikes. However the best stuff in Fruita was accessible by mountain bike.

No complaints about the X-Cover mini. Luckily it didn't rain, but it appears to have excellent coverage by the built in rain fly. It has canvas/mesh windows on all four sides and then two skylights on the top with clear plastic covers. So lots of light and ventilation options. We just order the iKamper Annex which we will try out this coming weekend with our kids. That zips to the rainfly at the tent entrance. So that should help provide even more protection and ventilation options.

 

[swhme]

Very nice! Just ordered the Blackstone. Camping our way from Santa Fe to Park City and back in July, looking forward to getting out there!

 

[tylerdurden03]

Our efficiency was about 1.8-2.2 miles / kWh. When driving 75mph it's closer to 1.8 mi/kWh, but on country roads cruising around 65mph it climbs to about 2.2 miles/kWh.

Definitely take a hit with a couple of bikes sticking above the roof line. Without the bikes, I've seen almost no hit to efficiency with just the RTT.

@md2023 We have the iKamper X-cover 2.0 Mini with 1-up Bike Racks. The tent was great. Very easy to setup and take down. Very comfortable and it's made of thick canvas (not cheap nylon) which is much more durable and allows you to completely blackout the tent if you are trying to sleep in. Takes a couple of minutes for setup. It also works really well with the truck self leveling.

Having the bike racks attached makes it a bit more difficult. You obviously need to remove the bikes first. You also need check the clearance between the rack and the side of the truck bed. I didn't the first time and the rack contacted my truck and put a small dent on the side. I like having the bikes over the tent instead of the roof (harder to reach) or on a trailer hitch. We enjoyed using the tailgate as a table for cooking, so a hitch rack would have been in the way. However you are limited to two bikes with this setup. The crossbars on the iKamper are not very big.

Now I am going to have to go down the rabbit hole of the X-Cover RTT. I was all set to go with the iKamper mini 3.0 but now seeing your set up with bikes on top has me thinking (especially since i have 1up racks on my soon to be traded in Jeep). Is it tricky actually loading and unloading bikes due to height?

 

[DuoRivians]

That entire trip and setup look amazing!

 

[seanocono]

Great write up. Thank you for sharing. The X Cover 2.0 fits the bed better than I thought. This is a compelling option.

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