There are plenty of superchargers around, but they are usually placed along the major routes. In case you want to wander off to check out a local attraction, do some trekking or stargazing you might be stretching it. Off-beat places and less traveled roads do not always have the infrastructure to quickly top off your electric vehicle. RV parks or camp grounds can be a good solution. Some Tesla owners use them regularly during their trips and they slowly became a part of an adventure. Sleeping in the car? Why not, since Model S offers an ample of space to stretch once the back seats are folded down. The only problem is to maintain the climate in the car (it will automatically turn off after 30 minutes). The camper mode came handy in an absence of the official support from Tesla. Until now that is!

A recent firmware update, among other things, has introduced the long-awaited feature that will allow to keep the climate control on for extended periods of time:

This can be used not only for turning your vehicle into a hotel, but can come handy when your girls are on a shopping spree (if you’re like me, you’d much rather stay in the car and catch up on some reading) or you need to step away for a while and want to ensure your pet won’t suffer when you’re gone. Here’s the detailed description of the feature:

Granted, in a big scheme of things it is just a small improvement. I am sure this will make a lot of Tesla owners happy campers (ha!) though, myself included. Looking forward to the first opportunity to try it out. Now, where’s the camping gear…