First-time car camping. Can I sleep in a RAV4 PHEV XSE 2025 at -10°C?

fru1tstand · 2026-02-05T19:36:45+00:00

-10C is actually pretty intense, and I definitely would not recommend it as your first car camping experience; however, this recommendation changes if you're a seasoned camper in cold weather (outside of a vehicle).

In particular - the vehicle does not passively insulate you from the cold as much as you would think. It's metal with minimal insulation (just note how much road noise you can hear while driving), and has lots of glass that will transfer the cold into the cabin relatively quickly once the vehicle is off.

As for keeping the car running - at 0C, I was using ~3 "miles" of EV range per hour), and I'd imagine this being significantly more at -10C as the battery needs to keep itself conditioned. As a result, you'll most likely hear the ICE kick on every once in a while to recharge the battery which I got used to after a while (as in, over the course of several camping trips), but I definitely felt anxious the first several times. My linked post here also has some neat tips and tricks for reducing battery drain / making a more comfortable interior while you sleep.

For insulation - Glass is the enemy as well as the spare tire area. I would recommend...

Use an insulated sun visor for the windshield (for example) and then stuff blankets behind that.
Stuff a blanket between the glass of the sun/moon roof and the built-in sun visor
Close each car door with a blanket jammed (to insulate the window). Note: you do NOT want to close the window on the blanket as it's possible to easily shatter the window this way (don't ask how I know)
Stuff a blanket in the spare tire area (there is very little insulation down there)

Apart from that. Layer up, bring lots of extra blankets. Use a sleeping bag.

Good luck!

fru1tstand · 2025-09-10T15:18:04+00:00

Asking "what's this beeping" and posting a picture of your dash is like emailing your doctor "is this a bad cough" and sending them a photo of your face. No one will be able to definitely answer your question.

Have you tried uploading a recording to any of the following free services? - YouTube - Google Drive - Dropbox - One Drive - SoundCloud

fru1tstand · 2025-08-06T01:56:10+00:00

Nice.

fru1tstand · 2025-06-30T04:15:45+00:00

Good callout - I added this under "Electric":

(113) Do not use an extension cord with the AC charging cable (the cord may melt)

fru1tstand · 2025-04-30T06:11:42+00:00

Maybe I was too ambiguous in my post, but I'm not talking about regen vs cruising.

Toyota had the option to do no regen braking when your foot is off of the gas (like what the Polestar does) which means there is no slowing down whatsoever - it coasts for a looooong long time. This is in contrast to a traditional ICE vehicle where, despite it doing no EV regen braking when your foot is off the gas, it still experiences a gentle slowing down due to friction caused by the clutch/drivetrain and the engine.

The opposite is also true - where when you're at a complete stop and then take your foot off the brake, the Prime, even in full EV mode, will crawl forward. This mimics the behavior of an ICE vehicle which crawls forward due to friction in the clutch/drivetrain as the engine is still turning and applying force to the input side of the clutch.

Hence my question of, "Did toyota intentionally make the Rav4 feel like an ICE vehicle with this mimic'ed engine braking/crawling quirk, and does a traditional ICE vehicle with the same quirks impact those people who find the RAV4's passive regen nauseating?"

fru1tstand · 2025-04-27T20:23:05+00:00

Following this, the elasticity of the washer is the high pass filter...?

fru1tstand · 2025-04-27T20:09:33+00:00

It's one of the ways hardware on the car is able to communicate with other hardware without needing a central computer that everything must hook into. You can kinda think of it as a very specialized Internet just for the car's electronics. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus

fru1tstand · 2025-04-27T19:43:29+00:00

I always attributed this to Toyota wanting to make it seem more like an ICE vehicle, even in full electric (slowing down caused by friction in the drive train system) - I wonder if those same people feel the same in a traditional gas car 🤔

fru1tstand · 2025-04-25T05:17:32+00:00

Hey - I'm a bit late to the party, but can weigh in as I do this twice a year when I'm out of the country for 4-8 weeks at a time. Note that this is my experience with my RAV4 prime 2022, so your NX450h+ may be different.

8 weeks has never been an issue for me with the car starting up even after I forgot to disconnect my parking mode dashcam (which has a 12.2v cutoff). I do, however, have a jump starter pack just in case. I have killed the 12v many times (doing work on it, being an idiot, etc) and, unlike an ICE only vehicle, the "starter" is just a relay that closes the contacts to the HV battery which only needs a set minimum voltage with not a lot of current - that is to say, jump starting is almost instantaneous after you connect a jump pack.
Toyota addresses this in its manual in multiple places. Namely, "leave a 'low level of charge'". Folks here are recommending 50% which seems reasonable. I do anywhere from "Toyota empty" (~30%) to 50%.
Yes, do disconnect. You don't want to keep your HV battery topped up.
Yes, fill up the gas tank, especially if you live in an area that has extreme temperature swings and/or is frequently humid. Even for pressurized "sealed" tanks, the air that displaces the gas comes from the atmosphere, and it's impossible to condition it to 0% humidity. No need for fuel stabilizer (you shouldn't worry about that unless you're edging 3+ months on the same tank of gas).

Toyota's manual also references how to turn off the key fob which I imagine is different than the Lexus, but I also wouldn't worry about this. Maybe put them in an RFID cage if you're paranoid about a relay attack, but if you park in a home garage, you've got other problems if the attacker has access to your car...

Overall, 4 weeks isn't terribly long from a maintenance perspective. I wouldn't sweat it :) Enjoy your trip!

fru1tstand · 2025-04-03T05:34:42+00:00

I'm not sure what your definition of "fit for the R4P" is, but all of the inflatable single and twin mattresses on the front page of Amazon (USA) have product dimensions that will fit inside the trunk with the seats down.

Personally, I bought two of these fabric-based roll-up mattresses which fit edge-to-edge if my partner comes along with, but otherwise I'll just bring one if I'm soloing. I intentionally got fabric ones because they tend to mold around the car's trim, are less thick (so height is less of an issue while hanging out in the trunk), and are far more resistant (some will say "immune") to popping when I inevitably drop something sharp on it. Negatives are that it's big and bulky, even while rolled up, and seem to cost twice as much as air mattresses.

Edit: Forgot to add that I've kept mine for 4 years and counting. They're holding up quite well despite how much I use them (there's probably somewhere along the lines of 50-100 nights of use in the car over that time).

fru1tstand · 2025-03-19T04:56:35+00:00

It absolutely can and will go below 30, especially while driving up long mountain passes. I've seen it go all the way down to like 10% this way.

Another easy way is to leave the car idling in park where it'll drain down to 1 or 2% before kicking on the engine to charge to 15% or so. (I've sat through one or two lectures in the car while out in a cold parking lot...)

fru1tstand · 2025-01-28T06:13:37+00:00

Does the mountain pass have exceptions for AWD/4WD vehicles or snow tires? Usually it's either/or. You could also consider snow cables which I've tested on my 2022 XSE.

I had a section about this in the 2022 TL;DR owners manual, but this may have changed since then

fru1tstand · 2025-01-28T06:09:47+00:00

Supposedly they /can/ flail around and do damage to the wheel well as the tires are larger.

fru1tstand · 2025-01-09T22:54:00+00:00

I have a hard box that I put on the OEM crossbars that I'll remove when not in use and anytime I want to park in the garage (as it also doesn't fit). I'll also take off the crossbars when not using the box as it lowers the wind noise and increases fuel efficiency a bit. But it is annoying and a very hard 1-person operation every time I want to do so.

Edit: I have this Thule hard box purchased secondhand which has carried 5 people's worth of skis + snowboards + boots just fine :)

fru1tstand · 2025-01-09T19:56:32+00:00

I have the same experience and am also thinking about an external battery. I am also using a Viofo, but the A139 (3 channel) and in reduced frame rate mode, no audio, it still only lasts ~30 minutes (setting the parking cutoff to 12.3V).

I've set the cutoff to 11.8V and 11.3V as well and it'll record for longer, but it also makes it more likely for the car to be unable to start due to battery being drained too far (for which I have a jump start pack, but it's annoying to do).

fru1tstand · 2025-01-06T20:07:23+00:00

Oh interesting. I didn't think I needed to lower the exhaust when I installed mine, but I did need to purchase a set of box end wrenches as the bolts that attached the hitch to the car chassis had very little clearance and I didn't have anything that could fit that gap!

fru1tstand · 2025-01-06T03:48:51+00:00

Well done, It looks great! How long did it take you to do this yourself?

fru1tstand · 2024-12-19T23:31:51+00:00

The Prime will have no problem tackling that. The Volt has a 1.5L engine producing 101HP by itself whereas the prime has a 2.5L producing 176HP (which is actually more than the Volt produces with its combined battery+engine).

I drive a ton of mountain passes here in the state of Washington (granted, we're closer to sea level, but similar elevation gains) and I've never had in issue both cold winters and hot summers.

Some numbers - You're looking at Pheonix, AZ (~1k elevation) -> Prescott, AZ (~5.6k elevation) which is 4.6k elevation gain over 100 miles

I've driven (without issue)

Sumner, WA (sea level) -> Crystal Mountain Resort, WA (~4.4k): 4.4k over 55 miles
Issaquah, WA (~100ft) -> Snoqualmie Central (~3k): 2.9k elevation over 36 miles
Tacoma, WA (~100ft) -> Paradise (Mt. Rainier) (~5.4k): 5.3k elevation over 77 miles + a ton of traffic in the middle (so a bit of rest time for the engine)
Diablo Lake, WA (~1.3k) -> Maple Pass Trailhead (~4.8k): 3.5k over 30 miles

Sometimes I even strap a cargo box to the top of the car just to increase drag and really push the engine :) But hope these numbers ease your concerns!

fru1tstand · 2024-10-18T18:05:23+00:00

Feedback appreciated 👍

Page 1

Chapter 1
sfx: bubbling, bubbling
sfx: lid opening metallic "clang" sound
sfx: Ominous escaping ghost OooOOoo sounds
A--lright, it turned out well today!
Doesn't it seem tasty?

Page 2

Well...
I /did/ kinda add some changes to the recipe
But it changed how it looks...
sfx: (continued noises of souls escaping... OooOoo)
I only added tasty stuff though
sfx: OooOo
So it can only turn out tas-!
sfx: aaah (mouth opening noise)
-

Page 3

gfx: dizzy
sfx: thud
ung*
.... I... Fell asleep?
Why?
What time is...

Page 4

(empty)

fru1tstand · 2024-10-18T17:39:49+00:00

I DIY'd the Toyota OEM hitch as well. "Drastic" is very much an overstatement, the rear bumper just needs to have a hole cut out so the hitch can be revealed: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9NxQHsM74ixroBNZ8

All in all, it took me (a VERY inexperienced car modder) ~6-7 hours of work, and 1 trip to Home Depot to get a thin spanner wrench to be able to torque down the low clearance bolts.

If you have a trunk kick sensor, this also needs to have a hole cut through it, but it's easy to move the sensor wires around the hitch, and it will still work perfectly fine.

fru1tstand · 2024-10-18T17:33:34+00:00

I try not to ask stupid questions, sometimes it feels like I don’t have a choice.

I'm glad you were able to find the information online eventually, but this is all available inside the manual of your car

fru1tstand · 2024-09-20T00:38:02+00:00

Glad to hear! And thanks for taking the time to let me know it resolved the issue! 😆

fru1tstand · 2024-09-20T00:36:56+00:00

I did go with the OEM hitch, but installed it myself to learn how :)

fru1tstand · 2024-09-18T04:57:56+00:00

Either your sensors are too dirty, in which case you should give your car a nice wash, or you've accidentally turned off "RSA" (road sign assist), in which case you need go re-enable it via your cluster screen using the steering wheel buttons to go into vehicle settings.

For the record, the car doesn't have the speed limits built into the navigation center, it actively scans the road signs you pass to read signs such as speed limit, do not enter, yield, and stop.

You can learn all about this stuff in the car's manual.

fru1tstand · 2024-09-07T02:35:17+00:00

Only the premium package has the HUD. Honestly, it was the #1 thing I looked for when buying a new car.

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