Finally got in the Lectron NACs adapter and did a mini ~3 hour road trip to the city and Tesla Supercharger. These thoughts are in no particular order and from the perspective of building out my camper. Before I left, I ratchet strapped the rear door down along with the bulkhead door. Two notorious noisemakers in cargo trucks.
1. The wind noise is pretty bad. Most appears to be coming from the upper A-pillars where the glass meets the roof. I'm coming from a 2023 F150 Raptor which is crazy quiet even at 80 MPH. Obviously I don't expect a large cargo van with non-laminated glass panels to come anywhere close. Even so it was a bit much. I plan to do some serious sound matt in the cabin. See if I can get it behind the A/B pillar trim, inside the doors, above the headliner, on the firewall, wheel wells, bulkhead wall/doors etc.
2. In Colorado we have a lot of dirt roads/rocks. Those exposed aluminum wheel wells in the rear have to go! Crazy loud hearing pebbles/rocks hit those all the time. I'll be doing some sort of wheel well liners, be it rubber or felt etc. On the inside for the camper build; I'll be insulating the interior so that will really cut down the noise. Also a noisemaker was the unsupported cargo area side/wall panels. That's an easy fix when I insulate with foam board.
3. The suspension needs work. Obviously on an unladen truck with the 11K lb max gross weight package (IMO required for a camper build), the springs are going to be pretty stiff. Hopefully the camper interior build item weight, along with awnings/solar/roof air conditioner etc weigh down the suspension enough to make it a little more supple. Other options I will explore are higher end shocks and slightly larger tires with a lower weight rating to get softer sidewalls (yes range will decrease). Being able to feel every crack in the road gets a bit old after a while. Yes the truck was designed for going 20 MPH in the city!
4. I love the sitting height and the massive views! It's a bit odd having the jump seat passenger so low, but more on that later. Great vehicle for those of us with bad backs/knees.
5. The drivers seat is initially comfortable, but I find the lack of lumbar support starts to wear on me. I'll have to buy a strap-on lumbar support. Having no seat cooling too is a noticeable loss from my Raptor. Although I am now debating replacing the seat with something that can swivel and heated/air cooled.
6. The passenger jump seat.. this seems like one of the first thing people try to modify/replace. I'll have to probe the floor and check out structural mounting options, if any.
7. Possibility of removing the bulkhead walls/door. This would lead to a more traditional camper setup, in which you could rotate both cab seats and they become part of the "living space. Of course by doing this, you loose the "cool" factor of a remote controlled bulkhead door, the insulating benefit of separating the cab from the cabin, and lose the security feature if someone breaks into the cab. But you would also lose hundreds of pounds of weight. This would be a big step and I'm not sure the positives would outweigh the negatives. And of course for any serious camper build, this has to be decided very early in the build.
8. The lane departure feature is kinda crap. Feels like a generation 1 system. By the time it warns/does anything, you are already on the line and then it jerks you abruptly back. More modern lane departure is a little more smooth and seamless.
9. Not being able to manually select to pre-condition the battery for fast DC charging because you are moving is totally idiotic. It will automatically occur if you put a CCS DC fast charger in the nav system, but not a Tesla Supercharger.
10. The adaptive cruise control works pretty nice, no complaints.
11. The 360 cameras on this truck are amazing. For a large vehicle, I feel comfortable even in tight spots. Also love how it automatically shows you the side of the vehicle via camera on the display when you initiate a turn signal. Also love how you can keep any of the camera views you want no matter the speed. Always hated how most auto manufacturers would take it away after X time/speed.
12. Did some light testing of the AWD system in some loose dirt/dust. It had no issues getting out from a stop so it's looking good on that front.
13. The Tesla Supercharging wasn't as difficult to park as I've seen discussed. The cable would reach up to about 1.5' from the rear bumper step to the charger housing. So not as tight as I was hearing, but be aware that one pedal driving/braking does NOT work in reverse, so be ready with the brake pedal.
14. The windshield wipers have the spray nozzles on the actual wiper arms, which is sweet.
15. The cabin stayed surprisingly cool in the direct sun on a 65F day. Now the cab is a different story, with those massive glass panels and the greenhouse effect. Ceramic Window tint on all glass already scheduled!
16. The climate vent fans are pretty loud over 50%. Yes I know nit-picking, that it's a cargo van but still was notable!
17. The mirrors are huge.. I'm sure they impact the range quite a bit and add to the wind noise. I may look into some alternatives since the 360 camera system is so good.
18. Even though the power output is heavily limited, the truck still moves out versus ICE competitors! The competition for my camper build was a Sprinter 3500 van chassis. Man that thing with only 200 HP with that tiny 4-cylinder diesel is incredibly anemic. The Brightdrop EASILY feels twice, maybe three times as fast. You can pass from say 65 MPH to 80MPH almost effortlessly. There is going to be no issues in the mountains of Colorado, especially with free energy on the way down!
19. Did anyone's truck come with a front bumper screw in tow-eye as per the owners manual?
20. The truck doesn't seem to have much "phantom power drain" overnight parked outside in the cold. This is very welcome as a lot of EV's struggle with that.
21. Being able to drive with the doors open and stowed is so cool!
22. Tesla Supercharging experience with it 65F out at 8K feet altitude (could affect battery circuit cooling). Using a Lectron NACs to CCS adapter. Below 60% state of charge, charge speed was as advertised 120 kW.
From 60% to 83%, 101 kW.
84% - 91 kW.
85% - 84 kW.
86% - 76 kW.
87% - 66 kW.
89% - 62 kW.
90% - 58 kW.
Didn't bother to charge past 90%. Ironically, after I pulled away from the Supercharger, the state of charge popped up to 94%. I guess the battery management system calibrating.
The top end wasn't as slow as I was expecting. I just wish the bottom end (where you spend 99% of your time) was fast. For personal use Brightdrops, I'd love if GM bumped up below 60% charging to 150 kW and 60-83% to 120 kW. That would shave off 10-15 minutes off most road trip stops.
I'm also fine with the slow top end charging, as I'm already into 3+ hour drive territory, and usually like to take a break by then anyway. It's just nice having that extra top-up option to 100% in charging deserts or wanting to stay off the beaten path.
I had zero issue Supercharging and everything got plugged in and working in literally like 20 seconds.
23. You can set the vehicle interior climate temperature in the MyChevy app which is nice. It's limited to one hour, which would be awesome if they bumped that into a low battery limit shutoff instead of time.
Overall despite some rough edges I need to smooth out, really loving the truck!
Driver had a hard time reaching the pedals:
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1. The wind noise is pretty bad. Most appears to be coming from the upper A-pillars where the glass meets the roof. I'm coming from a 2023 F150 Raptor which is crazy quiet even at 80 MPH. Obviously I don't expect a large cargo van with non-laminated glass panels to come anywhere close. Even so it was a bit much. I plan to do some serious sound matt in the cabin. See if I can get it behind the A/B pillar trim, inside the doors, above the headliner, on the firewall, wheel wells, bulkhead wall/doors etc.
2. In Colorado we have a lot of dirt roads/rocks. Those exposed aluminum wheel wells in the rear have to go! Crazy loud hearing pebbles/rocks hit those all the time. I'll be doing some sort of wheel well liners, be it rubber or felt etc. On the inside for the camper build; I'll be insulating the interior so that will really cut down the noise. Also a noisemaker was the unsupported cargo area side/wall panels. That's an easy fix when I insulate with foam board.
3. The suspension needs work. Obviously on an unladen truck with the 11K lb max gross weight package (IMO required for a camper build), the springs are going to be pretty stiff. Hopefully the camper interior build item weight, along with awnings/solar/roof air conditioner etc weigh down the suspension enough to make it a little more supple. Other options I will explore are higher end shocks and slightly larger tires with a lower weight rating to get softer sidewalls (yes range will decrease). Being able to feel every crack in the road gets a bit old after a while. Yes the truck was designed for going 20 MPH in the city!
4. I love the sitting height and the massive views! It's a bit odd having the jump seat passenger so low, but more on that later. Great vehicle for those of us with bad backs/knees.
5. The drivers seat is initially comfortable, but I find the lack of lumbar support starts to wear on me. I'll have to buy a strap-on lumbar support. Having no seat cooling too is a noticeable loss from my Raptor. Although I am now debating replacing the seat with something that can swivel and heated/air cooled.
6. The passenger jump seat.. this seems like one of the first thing people try to modify/replace. I'll have to probe the floor and check out structural mounting options, if any.
7. Possibility of removing the bulkhead walls/door. This would lead to a more traditional camper setup, in which you could rotate both cab seats and they become part of the "living space. Of course by doing this, you loose the "cool" factor of a remote controlled bulkhead door, the insulating benefit of separating the cab from the cabin, and lose the security feature if someone breaks into the cab. But you would also lose hundreds of pounds of weight. This would be a big step and I'm not sure the positives would outweigh the negatives. And of course for any serious camper build, this has to be decided very early in the build.
8. The lane departure feature is kinda crap. Feels like a generation 1 system. By the time it warns/does anything, you are already on the line and then it jerks you abruptly back. More modern lane departure is a little more smooth and seamless.
9. Not being able to manually select to pre-condition the battery for fast DC charging because you are moving is totally idiotic. It will automatically occur if you put a CCS DC fast charger in the nav system, but not a Tesla Supercharger.
10. The adaptive cruise control works pretty nice, no complaints.
11. The 360 cameras on this truck are amazing. For a large vehicle, I feel comfortable even in tight spots. Also love how it automatically shows you the side of the vehicle via camera on the display when you initiate a turn signal. Also love how you can keep any of the camera views you want no matter the speed. Always hated how most auto manufacturers would take it away after X time/speed.
12. Did some light testing of the AWD system in some loose dirt/dust. It had no issues getting out from a stop so it's looking good on that front.
13. The Tesla Supercharging wasn't as difficult to park as I've seen discussed. The cable would reach up to about 1.5' from the rear bumper step to the charger housing. So not as tight as I was hearing, but be aware that one pedal driving/braking does NOT work in reverse, so be ready with the brake pedal.
14. The windshield wipers have the spray nozzles on the actual wiper arms, which is sweet.
15. The cabin stayed surprisingly cool in the direct sun on a 65F day. Now the cab is a different story, with those massive glass panels and the greenhouse effect. Ceramic Window tint on all glass already scheduled!
16. The climate vent fans are pretty loud over 50%. Yes I know nit-picking, that it's a cargo van but still was notable!
17. The mirrors are huge.. I'm sure they impact the range quite a bit and add to the wind noise. I may look into some alternatives since the 360 camera system is so good.
18. Even though the power output is heavily limited, the truck still moves out versus ICE competitors! The competition for my camper build was a Sprinter 3500 van chassis. Man that thing with only 200 HP with that tiny 4-cylinder diesel is incredibly anemic. The Brightdrop EASILY feels twice, maybe three times as fast. You can pass from say 65 MPH to 80MPH almost effortlessly. There is going to be no issues in the mountains of Colorado, especially with free energy on the way down!
19. Did anyone's truck come with a front bumper screw in tow-eye as per the owners manual?
20. The truck doesn't seem to have much "phantom power drain" overnight parked outside in the cold. This is very welcome as a lot of EV's struggle with that.
21. Being able to drive with the doors open and stowed is so cool!
22. Tesla Supercharging experience with it 65F out at 8K feet altitude (could affect battery circuit cooling). Using a Lectron NACs to CCS adapter. Below 60% state of charge, charge speed was as advertised 120 kW.
From 60% to 83%, 101 kW.
84% - 91 kW.
85% - 84 kW.
86% - 76 kW.
87% - 66 kW.
89% - 62 kW.
90% - 58 kW.
Didn't bother to charge past 90%. Ironically, after I pulled away from the Supercharger, the state of charge popped up to 94%. I guess the battery management system calibrating.
The top end wasn't as slow as I was expecting. I just wish the bottom end (where you spend 99% of your time) was fast. For personal use Brightdrops, I'd love if GM bumped up below 60% charging to 150 kW and 60-83% to 120 kW. That would shave off 10-15 minutes off most road trip stops.
I'm also fine with the slow top end charging, as I'm already into 3+ hour drive territory, and usually like to take a break by then anyway. It's just nice having that extra top-up option to 100% in charging deserts or wanting to stay off the beaten path.
I had zero issue Supercharging and everything got plugged in and working in literally like 20 seconds.
23. You can set the vehicle interior climate temperature in the MyChevy app which is nice. It's limited to one hour, which would be awesome if they bumped that into a low battery limit shutoff instead of time.
Overall despite some rough edges I need to smooth out, really loving the truck!
Driver had a hard time reaching the pedals:
