Where do you want to go?

[FutureBoy]

Just found another trek I'd like to try sometime. It's Australia's Longest Shortcut.

Turns out though that the trek is getting paved with hardtop over the next couple of years though. So I guess that it won't quite be the same kind of challenge then. On the other hand, it will probably be a few years at least after the hardtop that there might be enough EV chargers along the way to make it all the way across. Might have to slow trek till then with a trailer full of solar panels to charge on days that you are not driving.

As much open and beautiful space as can be found in Australia, I'd love to get my CT down there at some point and just get out on a drive about.

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[flowerlandfilms]

Just found another trek I'd like to try sometime. It's Australia's Longest Shortcut.

Turns out though that the trek is getting paved with hardtop over the next couple of years though. So I guess that it won't quite be the same kind of challenge then. On the other hand, it will probably be a few years at least after the hardtop that there might be enough EV chargers along the way to make it all the way across. Might have to slow trek till then with a trailer full of solar panels to charge on days that you are not driving.

As much open and beautiful space as can be found in Australia, I'd love to get my CT down there at some point and just get out on a drive about.

Avoid Pennant Hills Road and you'll be fine.

 

[charliemagpie]

Who will be the first doing The Gibb River Road.

Make sure you have a spare !!

 

[JBee]

Just found another trek I'd like to try sometime. It's Australia's Longest Shortcut.

Turns out though that the trek is getting paved with hardtop over the next couple of years though. So I guess that it won't quite be the same kind of challenge then. On the other hand, it will probably be a few years at least after the hardtop that there might be enough EV chargers along the way to make it all the way across. Might have to slow trek till then with a trailer full of solar panels to charge on days that you are not driving.

As much open and beautiful space as can be found in Australia, I'd love to get my CT down there at some point and just get out on a drive about.

For everything west of Alice expect no charging for the next decade or so. What you don't have with you you simply don't have, and just never try it in the summer.

 

[charliemagpie]

Yea, the national highway network (upto 150k apart) will be complete in 2 years, but no real announcements for Alice/Centre.

It seems there's a business case for building charging stations, so it will be a matter of who wants to get in first. Progress will accelerate.

I reckon everywhere we see a servo, is a potential charging station as soon as they can.

 

[JBee]

Yea, the national highway network (upto 150k apart) will be complete in 2 years, but no real announcements for Alice/Centre.

It seems there's a business case for building charging stations, so it will be a matter of who wants to get in first. Progress will accelerate.

I reckon everywhere we see a servo, is a potential charging station as soon as they can.

Yeah well servos are 3-400km in between as well, so not really often enough for a EV, let alone one that is going off-road a bit. Only option is to take a range extender with, either a small geny and fuel or solar. But it's not that easy to make solar work without an additional battery.

Even where we are servos are 80-100km in between, and we're not even outback at all and in the middle of the wheatbelt. WA is pretty sparse and the biggest issue is that although there might be a fuel station, it's unlikely to have a meaningful network connection to power anything more than a L2 22kW charger.

The National Hwy has the same lack of network availability over this side, especially across the Nullarbor and going north of Geraldton back up to Darwin, then back around to Carins. So be prepared for some long charging times.

 

[charliemagpie]

Caravan parks, can even now suffice to get us almost everywhere. Exmouth, Monkey Mia.. Just about can do it, I think. Gibb River road, I think a generator is needed.

The long tail of hard o get places in AU and around the world :
Providing the road is drivable for FSD, Tesla callout Mobile chargers driven directly to your location. I don’t think this is a far-fetched idea or far away.

 

[JBee]

Problem with Monkey Mia and Exmouth is that you need to wait a while, they are both on microgrids with limited capacity, especially in the summer when everyone has the A/C on. Most RV parks have a 240V 15A plug as standard, so 3.6kW, which means charging a CT QM will take 2.3 days (55hours) and 1.6 days (38hours) for a CT DM. Range whilst towing will be worse. Definitely can't be in a hurry on that trip.

 

[charliemagpie]

Dammit, I am stuck in Paradise.

 

[JBee]

So long you go after summer and after cyclone season you should be ok. Just leave you budgie smugglers on at all times and you should be fine, mate.

 

[Newton]

This reminds me that they REALLY need to add solar charging hookup standard, I dont think any other EV has it right now.

 

[Friday]

Dammit, I am stuck in Paradise.

How's the Serenity?

When I was in Australia a few years back (Tasmania, Victoria, and ACT), I brought back the DVD from the Flying Doctors called Back of Beyond. Holy Moley, what a track and what a tough breed of people to live and work on it. Gotta admit, I've been wondering how a CT could do along a track like that, with solar charging. Gotta be possible in the near future, I'd reckon.

 

[Ogre]

This reminds me that they REALLY need to add solar charging hookup standard, I dont think any other EV has it right now.

Solar is right up there on my list. At first I was pretty meh on the idea, but after thinking about it a bit I realized exactly how awesome it would be to spend 2 weeks camping and be able to come home with a full charge.

 

[Newton]

yea that rivian camping video made it clear that it would be quite easy to use up your charge just cooking or running lights, ac and stuff, if your out for more than a day or 2

 

[Crissa]

I knew solar was 'the thing' for camping when we went to a primitive camp rave and out camp remained brightly lit, all night, and then I used the 12W panel to charge someone's car battery the last day so they could go home.

It did all the things, and it was just a 12W panel and 50W of LED lights and an RV battery and a dumb pulse width modulation charger.

The same size panel bought new now is 50-75W in full sunlight. An LFP battery is lighter and 3x the amphours. Everything is better now - the panels, the batteries, the charge controller, even the inverters.

-Crissa

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