Outdoors

Fast, light micro-camping kit turns Rivian or Tesla SUV into an e-RV

Fast, light micro-camping kit turns Rivian or Tesla SUV into an e-RV
The front of the R1S kit's drawer folds down for easier access to a cooktop
The front of the R1S kit's drawer folds down for easier access to a cooktop
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The Lite kit's sleeping platform frame, prior to being covered
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The Lite kit's sleeping platform frame, prior to being covered
The Lite kit, all tucked away
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The Lite kit, all tucked away
The Camper Kit Lite is only compatible with the five-passenger version of the Model Y
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The Camper Kit Lite is only compatible with the five-passenger version of the Model Y
Although it's 40% lower than its predecessor, the Camper Kit Lite still holds a lot gear – plus it incorporates an optional sleeping platform
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Although it's 40% lower than its predecessor, the Camper Kit Lite still holds a lot gear – plus it incorporates an optional sleeping platform
Pulling the drawer out provides access to the vehicle's sub-trunk, where a lot more gear (including the pieces of the sleeping platform) can be stored
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Pulling the drawer out provides access to the vehicle's sub-trunk, where a lot more gear (including the pieces of the sleeping platform) can be stored
The Camper Kit for R1S, fully deployed
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The Camper Kit for R1S, fully deployed
The front of the R1S kit's drawer folds down for easier access to a cooktop
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The front of the R1S kit's drawer folds down for easier access to a cooktop
View gallery - 7 images

If you're an avid camper who drives a Tesla Model Y or a Rivian R1S, chances are you'll love Fruble's new Camper Kits for those EVs. Both kits feature pullout drawers for meal preparation and gear storage, along with optional in-vehicle sleeping platforms.

Called the Camper Kit Lite and Camper Kit for R1S, the two setups were designed by Canadian outdoor enthusiast/entrepreneur Jimmy Cheung. He is now marketing them via his Vancouver-based company, Fruble Fabrications.

It was just last year that we told you about Cheung's original product, the Model-Y-specific Complete Tesla Camper Kit. That version is still available, although it's now joined by the sleeker, simpler new Camper Lite.

At the heart of the Lite is a single vehicle-wide pullout drawer, made of lacquered 12-mm Birchwood plywood. This main component of the system is 40% lower than its two-drawer equivalent in the Complete kit. That said, Jimmy states that it's still tall enough to accommodate an induction cooktop.

Pulling the drawer out provides access to the vehicle's sub-trunk, where a lot more gear (including the pieces of the sleeping platform) can be stored
Pulling the drawer out provides access to the vehicle's sub-trunk, where a lot more gear (including the pieces of the sleeping platform) can be stored

A fair amount of gear can be stored in the drawer along with the cooktop, although once that drawer is pulled out, users can access much more storage space in the vehicle's rear sub-trunk. The sub-trunk is also home to the the optional sleeping platform, which simply consists of four sheets of Birchwood.

The Lite kit's sleeping platform frame, prior to being covered
The Lite kit's sleeping platform frame, prior to being covered

Once removed from the trunk, these sheets slot together to form a sort of hashtag-shaped frame which is placed on the back of the folded-down back seat. The Tesla's sub-trunk covers are then laid on top of that frame to sit level with the drawer cover, thus forming the whole sleeping platform. And because the Model Y's seats don't fold completely flat, the plywood sheets have a tapered design to compensate.

The Camper Kit for R1S also features a single (taller) drawer, although two meal-prep platforms can be folded up and out to either side from that drawer when it's extended. For additional access to a centrally located cooktop, users can fold down the front of the drawer.

The Camper Kit for R1S, fully deployed
The Camper Kit for R1S, fully deployed

The R1S kit also incorporates an optional sleeping platform similar to that of the Lite kit, along with an optional wood-frame storage section that goes between the platform frame and the drawer.

Both the Camper Kit Lite and the Camper Kit for R1S are currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. Pledges start at CAD$998 (about US$730) for the Lite and CAD$1,198 (US$876) for the R1S – both of those amounts are $500 off the planned retail price. If everything works out, shipping should commence in July.

The kits are demonstrated in the following video.

The Everyday Storage and Camping Systems for Tesla & Rivian

Source: Kickstarter

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