Car camping offers the perfect blend of comfort and adventure. Having a car lets you pack everything you need into your vehicle, making this type of camping particularly attractive for beginners or families. But while it’s a flexible way to explore nature without leaving behind too many modern-day comforts, there are still some ways things can go wrong.
Angelica (@earthy.ang) found this out the hard way on her latest car camping trip. A true outdoor enthusiast, Angelica shares highlights from her camping adventures on TikTok. These include both the peaceful moments and the unexpected challenges of life on the road.
Recently, she went car camping with a friend in her Subaru, but a small mistake led to her draining her car battery. Angelica didn’t let that ruin her trip, though—she maintained a good attitude and shared the experience on TikTok instead. As she said in the comments, “What’s a camping trip without a lesson.”
Subaru’s trunk and battery issue
In the video of her TikTok post, Angelica is in the process of setting up her campsite. She lays a tablecloth over a collapsible table, while her sleeping bag and pillows are neatly laid out in the open trunk of her car. The text overlay reveals what happens next.
“She doesn’t know it yet, but in a couple hours her car battery will die due to leaving the trunk open,” she writes about her Subaru.
In the caption, Angelica points out that this seems like a poor design choice for a car that is marketed as an adventure vehicle.
“You would think that because this is a car that’s designed to be an adventure car this would of been better designed by Subaru,” she says.
Viewers weigh in
Angelica’s video garnered 687,000 views, with many viewers agreeing with her that the car’s design flaw was a major issue.
“That such a strange oversight for a brand/model that is so heavily marketed towards outdoor activities. I feel like that’s something that could’ve been easily caught in actual utility testing,” one person said.
@earthy.ang You would think that because this is a car that’s designed to be an adventure car this would of been better designed by Subaru 🤷🏽♀️ but thankfully now I found a hack thanks to this lesson learned haha #fyp #camp #carcamping #subaru #outback #hack ♬ DIM – Yves
Several people also thanked the TikToker for her post. They admitted that they wouldn’t have known about the issue until they ran into it themselves.
“Oh wow thank you SOOO much for sharing this! I’m a [car] person and had no idea. Love camping and totally would have left this open while setting up and stuff,” one grateful person commented.
“As someone with a Subaru, thank you for sharing! I never would’ve known,” another remarked.
What’s the solution?
When a fellow Subaru owner mentioned an upcoming camping trip and expressed concerns about encountering the same issue, Angelica offered a solution that was also mentioned by several other viewers.
“With a carabiner…push it into the latch and it will trick the car into thinking the trunk [is] closed,” she wrote in the comment section of her video.
Other commenters also offered alternative workarounds and solutions for this issue. One person suggested Angelica get a HALO jump starter. This convenient device can not only jump-start a car. It also can inflate tires, charge USB- and AC-powered devices, and has a floodlight for emergency situations.
Another suggested the Hatch Catch. The simple 3-D printed device tricks the vehicle into thinking the rear door is closed. This ensures that there is no power drain even when the rear door is open.
According to a Subaru Forrester forum, the company tried to correct the battery drain issue by creating a new rear door control module. The new module supposedly stops using battery power after 20 minutes. This feature comes standard on all models made after 2021.
However, the problem may still persist. According to one Subaru owner on the forum, a company spokesperson specified that the power “never completely shuts off but goes into a lower power use mode after roughly 20 minutes.” In this case, it might be safer using a carabiner or another device like the Hatch Catch.
The Daily Dot reached out to Angelia and Subaru via email for further information.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
