An electrifying road trip

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offshore171

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With no overseas travel this year, and the family car due for replacement, we recently pulled the trigger on a new Tesla.

Our family trips are normally in the October school holidays, and this year had to be local in NSW.

What we came up with was a country NSW "electric" road trip, and it exceeded expectations.

The itinerary was:
  • Sydney to Bathurst. Stop for 2 nights in Bathurst.
  • Bathurst to Orange. Stop for lunch.
  • Orange to Dubbo, 2 nights, one overnight camping onsite at the Western Plains Zoo.
  • Dubbo to Bathurst. Stop for lunch.
  • Bathurst to Sydney.
This is a trip report and also to share some details about the travel logistics of an EV road trip for those not familiar.
 
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We headed west out of Sydney, and approached the Blue Mountains. The first decision was whether to take the Great Western Highway or the Bells Line of Road over the ranges.

Car GPS says there's congestion around Richmond, so its the GWH. Being in no particular rush, we take a few side detours, in some of the townships along the way.

Coming down the western side of the ranges and the sight is incredible. The landscape is the greenest I've ever seen it, after the recent rains.

There are some spectacular yellow canola fields in full bloom. Off to a good start.

We arrive into Bathurst, and stop off at the Information Centre, which also happens to be the location of the Tesla superchargers.

These are the high speed chargers that will get you from 20% to 80% charge in about 20 minutes.

As we are on a road trip, we go the full hog to 100% and visit the excellent Harvest Cafe, next to the visitors centre for lunch.

Charging at a rate of 805km/h
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So how does the car drive on these roads?

These roads are mountainous in parts, and you occasionally need to overtake long vehicles like B-Doubles.

This is where it gets interesting. There's virtually nothing else on the road with the instantaneous acceleration of these cars. You put your foot down and you are instantly accelerating at about 1G.

The best thing I can liken it to, is when Han and Chewie light up the hyperdrive.

star-wars-giphy.gif

Overtaking becomes effortless. And noiseless.
 
Interesting, I remember seeing a Tesla drag race a Lamborghini and the Tesla was only a smidge slower.

So how does the car drive on these roads?


These roads are mountainous in parts, and you occasionally need to overtake long vehicles like B-Doubles.

This is where it gets interesting. There's virtually nothing else on the road with the instantaneous acceleration of these cars. You put your foot down and you are instantly accelerating at about 1G.

The best thing I can liken it to, is when Han and Chewie light up the hyperdrive.

View attachment 229873

Overtaking becomes effortless. And noiseless.
 
Interesting, I remember seeing a Tesla drag race a Lamborghini and the Tesla was only a smidge slower.

Yes there's quite a few of those videos on youtube

It's pretty amazing that a 5 seat, 4 door family sedan can go like a $700K Lamborghini!

Skip to 2min37

Even the ABC got in on the action recently

 
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Now, a completely different topic - the levels of customer service from the hospitality providers on the trip.

A lot has been said in recent years about the service side of the Australian domestic hospitality and tourism experience.

"Unhelpful", "indifferent", "unfriendly", even "surly". I've personally noticed some of this in the past to a degree, with Qld experiences being the worst offender for some reason.

On this trip, every person we encountered at every single cafe, pub and motel, was 10/10 for friendliness, helpfulness and general courtesy. They were just fantastic in every aspect. Motel in Dubbo let us check in early without an issue despite being completely full.

Despite being a fairly modest trip, from a "hospitality" point of view, I'd rank this trip with the best I've experienced anywhere in the world.
 
Being country NSW, we thought pubs would be the way to go for evening meals. Boy have these changed in recent times. It used to be a choice of either Pie'n'peas or a Schnitzel. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

But now they are really embracing the gastropub thing, and setting up diverse, family friendly dining rooms and beer gardens.

First night in Bathurst, we visited the Oxford Hotel, and its attached restaurant, B Town BBQ. The menu is predominantly Tex Mex style offerings.


It was busy, with a happy vibe. Go for a table on the outdoor balcony.
 
"Unhelpful", "indifferent", "unfriendly", even "surly". I've personally noticed some of this in the past to a degree, with Qld experiences being the worst offender for some reason.

Ah, the Qld coastal regions. Especially to the north. I expect they’ll be much worse when they have to deal with black or yellow number plates in the future.

Congratulations on the new Tesla.
 
Interesting in this TR, especially after reading this article only a few days ago How well do electric cars really work in the bush?

Yeah that's an interesting angle using a Hyundai EV. A long roadtrip is definitely a lot easier in a Tesla, due to its long range, but more importantly, the big network of Superchargers, and each location having 4-10+ stalls.

Other brands of EV are currently reliant on the NRMA chargers etc, which don't yet have the capacity.

Here's the setup at Bathurst. One NRMA stall, and 6 Tesla Superchargers:

elec - 9.jpeg

487458.jpg

Of course for normal day to day driving, all brands of EV have a huge benefit in the sense that you effectively have a "refueling station" in your garage at home, and if you wish you can start every day with a "full tank".
 
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Next item on the agenda while in Bathurst was a lap around the Mount Panorama race circuit.

Outside of race times, it's a public road, albeit a very smooth one, with ripple strips and crash barriers.

It's a nice drive, and the views from the top are great, especially with the unusually green landscapes right now.

Then it's off to Dubbo. We stop at a fantastic bakery in Orange for lunch:


(Pic from google)
seating.jpg

After lunch we drive to Dubbo on a B-road. We took Burrendong Way instead of the Mitchell Hwy.

A great drive through more lovely landscapes. Still amazed at how green it is right now.

La Nina does the trick
 
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We left Bathurst at about 95% charge and arrive in Dubbo with around 230km still available in the battery. Very happy with that, considering the car is fully loaded with 4 passengers and luggage.

The charging stations are at the Western Plains Cultural Centre. The car gets plugged in for a top up and we grab a coffee. Cafe here is another cracker.

Next stop, overnight camping at Western Plains Zoo.

I didn't take a photo of the Dubbo chargers so here's one from google:
dubsc.jpg
 
Tesla still has the network (both in superchargers and destination chargers). The main east coast routes are well covered in quick chargers but it's harder inland but improving rapidly.

In country areas caravan parks with 15A (3kW) outlets can be useful as well as place with three phase 32A plugs like showgrounds.
www.plugshare.com is the site for finding many of these outlets.

Also 3 months into my Model 3 SR+ ownership (the base model with closer to a 300-350km range that is RWD only), but yet to go further than Bathurst and Wollongong from Sydney.

It's probably useful to teach some terminology for anyone interested in electric cars.
Battery size is measured in kWh (like your electric bill). Charge rate is generally measured in kW.

In terms of battery size (some selected models)
Nissan Leaf 40kWh (older models 24/30/
Tesla Model 3 SR+ 55kWh
Hyundai Kona 64kWh
Tesla Model 3 LR/P 75kWh
Tesla Model X/S 70-100kWh (typically shown on badge)
Porsche Taycan 80-94kWh.
(At say 15-25c/kWh for home electricity or 40-45c for rapid chargers it also gives you a sense of the cost of a full tank. Even better if you can charge off home solar or an overnight tariff)

Then your charge rates (note that for consumer sockets you can only operate continuous loads at 80%).

Your typical 10A wall outlet is 2kW (240V * 10A* 80%). So would take 28-38hrs to fully charge a Tesla Model 3.
For single phase homes you can get a dedicated 32A circuit (7kW) or for three phase 32A (up to 22kW).

7/22kW is the typical speed of your destination chargers in shopping centres and hotels. Some of these come with a cable with a Type 1 or Type 2 plug (Type 2 is now the Aus standard) and others are BYO cable (and generally Type 2 plugs). Older Tesla DCs can charge other models if in legacy mode. Newer Tesla DC models cannot.

Then you have the limitations of the onboard charger (which essentially converts or rectifies the AC electricity into DC). This is 7kW in say the Leaf/Kona, 11kW in the Model 3/Taycan, 16kW in the current Model S/X.

Next you have the rapid DC chargers that supply direct DC current so bypass the onboard charger.
These essentially come in two models
Rapid (50kW) - most common in the NRMA / Qld electric highway rollouts
Ultra-rapid (120-350kW) - Tesla Superchargers (currently 120/150), Chargefox Ultra, Evie etc.
These are not cheap units and often require new powerlines/transformers so typically have a premium price of 40-50c/kWh.

Also in order to manage heat and battery degredation DC charging operates to a curve (controlled by your car). Typically between 5-40/50% battery you will get max power, but then it will start tailing down quite rapidly.

So on a long journey to minimise charging time you actually want to arrive at a charging station with 5-10% (and possibly only leave with 50-70%).

Confusing? Maybe.
But you get used to it pretty quickly (and at least in a Tesla the in car navigation and battery management is great). If you're ever getting worried about range best thing is to slow down. Difference between say 115kph and 105kph is massive (like in a petrol car it's all down to drag).

If you're interest in an electric car but worried about long journeys I'd also recommend having a play around with
www.abetterrouteplanner.com which shows optimal routes for long journeys (for Tesla cars also turn on CCS chargers under detailed options)

But as offshore71 says the main benefit of day to day driving is always starting with a full tank.
Of course for normal day to day driving, all brands of EV have a huge benefit in the sense that you effectively have a "refueling station" in your garage at home, and if you wish you can start every day with a "full tank".
 
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On to Western Plains Zoo.

The Welcoming Committee:
elec - 3.jpeg

The deal here: If you are staying onsite at the zoo (3 different styles of accomodation from tents to Cabins) you get entry to the zoo on the day of arrival and the day of departure included. You can leave and re-enter.

We are staying at the Billabong Camp, which consists of semi permanent tents, around a billabong. Dinner and Breakfast is included.

We enter the zoo and view various animals and exhibits around the first half of the main loop, and then make our way to the camp for check in around 3:30pm.
elec - 7.jpeg
The zoo closes at 4pm, and then you have the place to yourselves. The guides take you out on a short tour before dinner to see the lions, and then a longer spotlight tour after dark.

Dinner is included and is a communal BBQ.

Drinks are available. No BYO allowed.
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Local beer
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Ours is not the longest range model Tesla, not the shortest, but somewhere in between.

It is though rather quick :)

One other thing to add is that the Tesla Autopilot (either base model or with the $10k 'FSD' add-on) makes long drives incredibly easy and less stressful. Just keep your hands loosely on the wheel and the car takes every bend and modulates distance to cars in front. With FSD it also automatically changes lane to overtake.
 
I had wondered what to do with all the money I won in the lottery and now I have my answer. I’d definitely by a Tesla, and a home battery too. But, I could run it off my existing solar panels.
 
Then your charge rates (note that for consumer sockets you can only operate continuous loads at 80%).

So your typical 10A wall outlet is 2kW (240V * 10A* 80%). So would take 28-38hrs to fully charge a Tesla Model 3.

I’m enjoying this report!

I’m curious about the 80% maximum draw though. Does the car decide to draw 80%? I see no reason why you couldn’t draw a full 10A from a modern domestic power point continuously to charge the car... there are many 10A/2.4kW heaters which will do so for example.

I admit it’s not an ideal way to charge a car but at least it’s an option.
 
Informative posts about the chargers and all that. Seems rather disappointing at the fragmentation between Tesla and the NRMA charging stations. I can't see electric cars becoming really main stream until there is just one type of charging system.

Having just done a road trip in a petrol car through outback WA, there is a long way to go. After a certain point the only fuel you can get it diesel or 91 RON petrol. No 95 or 98. Electric charging....good luck (although there is plenty of sun).

I think the other thing that would drive me a bit nuts is needing to spend an hour or so waiting while the car is topped up.
 
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