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ICE vehicles also benefit from charging points
I’ve come across a few ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles that could benefit from charging points. Bear with me here. This ambulance, parked outside a nursing home, was running the engine, with no-one in it, I presume to keep the air con running, on what was a pretty hot day. Perhaps they were keeping the vehicle cool for a patient they were collecting. Fair enough. But, of course this leaks fumes (and noise) into the car park and reception, which isn’t great for health. I noticed that it has a power socket at the rear of the vehicle. I’m wondering if they could plug that into an electrical supply, if there was one at the parking spot (but wasn’t one handy here). This rental van I’m guessing has refrigeration, parked outside a butchers in Emerald. They made use of the external power socket, creatively plugging in from the shop. No noise or fumes. I wonder if it would be handy to have more accessible power points for these ICE vehicles? Or better yet, have electric vans that can…
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Creekside car camping in the Snowy Mountains
Car camping in my Tesla, beside a creek, off the beaten track in the Snowy Mountains. It took me a while to find the site. Earlier, in my search, I pulled off onto two tracks that ended up in someone’s property. At least it gave some local kids an excuse to run outside to see what the UFO sound was I did a three point just outside their gate. I waved and grinned. A cup of tea and a snack from my Teraglide drawer, sitting in my camp chair, watching the bush life. Until the bush life started eating me (just a few bugs), signaling time for bed. I again wished I had remembered to pack a collapsible stool, to help climb into the back of the car. Followed by the commando crawl to get on top of the Snuuzu mattress and Teraglide platform. This is the highest sleeping option, which gives lots of storage space and a very comfortable bed. The only down side is requiring more effort getting in and out. Once I’m in, it’s great with plenty of room to move. Please forgive the “Tesla Tripping – after…
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I wish my Model Y had V2L
I wish my Tesla Model Y had a power point, where I could plug in my induction stove to make breakfast 😞. What I need is “V2L”, which stands for “vehicle to load”. Unfortunately, my Tesla Model Y RWD does not have it. This omission almost made us switch to BYD, Kia, Xpeng or one of the many other EV car brands that provide V2L. Tesla’s CyberTruck, new Model YL, and Model Y Performance all reportedly now provide V2L. The Cybertruck has built in power points. The other two require an adapter plugged into the charge port. I can only hope that in the near future Tesla offers some retrofit option for my car. In the mean time, I just have to find a power point, in order to cook. If I had booked a powered site at this location, that would work fine. This morning, I just used the camp kitchen. My car’s massive (by camping standards) 60kWh battery provided air conditioning all night, and has run my camp fridge non stop, via the 16V outlet. It powers other mod cons, such as the lights, wireless…
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Sleeping in the Tesla — does it fit?
Sleeping in the Tesla, on a Snuuzu mattress, on a Teraglide platform. The obvious question: can I fit? Short answer: plenty of room to sleep, rollover, look at the sky, out the window, or my phone. I never banged into the glass or support arch. But, getting in is a bit tight. I had to shuffle through, like a recruit in a commando course. I also forgot to pack a collapsible stool, to step onto, high enough at the back to crawl in. The Snuuzu mattress is super comfortable. It has a few layers of foam, supported by an inflatable layer. With the back seats down, the Tesla floor slopes down towards the back, with a kink where the seats hinge. This makes sleeping uncomfortable, and slides the occupants slowly down to the boot. One way to rectify this is to add a slightly elevated floor, that is truly horizontal. That’s where the Teraglide platform comes in. Teraglide also has a basic model, without the drawer, that isn’t as high as ours. And there are car mattresses that aren’t as thick as…
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Arriving early at Ayers Rock Campground
We arrived a day ahead of schedule at Ayers Rock Campground. We had booked a powered site, starting from tomorrow, but none were available tonight. The staff offered us the unpowered overflow campground area. Our original plan was to charge the car at our powered site, while also running the air conditioning and accessories. Without a powered site tonight, we had to charge up the car a bit first, so we could just run it off the giant battery. We used the auto inflate button on our Snuuzu mattress, added pillows and doona. We moved the baggage to the front seats, so the bed wasn’t obstructed. While car camping in Coober Pedy a few days ago, we discovered that even with our portable wheel ramps the car’s bed floor still leans backwards too much. So, we backed the car up a small hill as well. We used our fold up spade to fill in a couple of holes from previous campers. We set the Tesla to “camp mode”, so we could sleep in the back of the car at 20°, while it was 3° outside, overnight.…
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Driving an ICE car again, after years of EVs
Imagine driving an ICE (internal combustion engine) car for the first time, coming from EVs. April 5: We drove in a couple of ICE cars around town (Airlie Beach and Cannonvale) for a few days. It reminded me of a couple of years ago, hopping back in our Mazda CX-5, after owning an EV. Here are my observations: 1. You can’t charge it up while parked at home, or at a shopping center. You have to go to a special “fuel station” to recharge the car. You can’t just leave the car to recharge – you have to stay with it, holding the recharge nozzle. 2. It smells. And the fumes are carcinogenic. The fumes come from the nozzle, but also out of the back of the car while driving. 3. When the car has enough charge (fuel), you put the nozzle back in the pump. But then you have to walk into the service station to pay at the counter. It’s not automatic at the pump, or it’s too complicated for most people to bother that way. 4. There’s a possibility of fire. The fuel is highly flammable. And the car…
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The final stretch of a 4000 km road trip
The final stretch of this 4000km road trip, to get home. We stayed last night in Gobbagombalin (near Wagga Wagga) with our grandson (oh, and his parents 😉). Just a couple of bakery stops, in Holbrook and Yea. The first cafe in Holbrook was closed, so we looked through the window like lost puppies. While parked, we kept the car in Camp Mode, with the air con on, to keep our camp fridge going and our food cool. No exhaust or additional heat.
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Dog Mode, for Clare the visitor
Dog Mode engaged. We’re minding our sister Helen’s dog, Clare, for a few days. Our cat, Archie initially hissed a few times at the interloper, but seems to have now accepted (or at least tolerated) her. We took this fine old doggie out for a drive to Loch. We limited the G forces of acceleration and cornering so as not to plaster her on the back seat. We had a delicious lunch with friends at the Loch & Key cafe, while Clare slept in the car, in air conditioned Dog Mode comfort. We checked on her a few times using the in-cabin Sentry Mode camera. Then out for a long walk around the town of Loch.
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Ice-cream mode, in 36 °C heat
The challenge: In the middle of the hottest three day stretch in Victoria in decades, bring home double ice cream cones without them melting all over the car. Solution: Set the Tesla to “ice cream mode”. Well, it’s really just the “keep” setting in the air conditioner. It keeps the car cool, without running an engine, while I exited to buy ice cream cones at Bam Bam Italian. Mission successful! 🍦😋
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Final leg: Holbrook to Melbourne
The final leg of our return trip from Airlie Beach in Queensland, to the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. We left our accommodation at The Jolly Swagman Motor Inn Holbrook, then a brief stop at Chiltern Rest Stop. At lunch time we grabbed a couple of salad sandwiches from Mawsons Bakery Cafe, in Euroa, and ate them in Seven Creeks Park while the car charged and kept Archie in “cat mode” (shh, don’t tell him the proper name for it) air conditioned comfort. Then on to Croydon Vet Clinic and Lou Lou's Cattery and Small Animal Boarding Pty Ltd, and finally our last temporary accommodation at our generous sister Helen’s house in Knoxfield. In the pantry, we found our last bag of Brookfarm Granohlaah for breakfast the next morning!
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Picking up Archie from Cat Utopia
November 19 - 20: Today we finally picked up our cat, Archie, from Cat Utopia Resort & Spa in Doyalson. He’s been there all the time that we’ve been road tripping and searching for a new home. He was very chilled in the Tesla, snoozing for most of the trip. When we stopped for a brief lunch at Campbelltown Catholic Club and dinner at Oliver's Real Food Gundagai, Archie stayed in the car set to “dog mode”, which keeps him in air conditioned comfort. When we arrived at Jolly Swagman Motor Inn Holbrook, Archie checked the perimeter a few times in our room, peering out the window. Tomorrow, we complete our migration to Melbourne, taking Archie to Croydon Vet Clinic, and a brief stay at Lou Lou's Cattery in Bayswater North, while we get our house ready in Emerald Victoria.
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Mackay to Rockhampton, the long quiet stretch
We’re driving from Mackay to Rockhampton today. It’s one of the longest stretches of “not much here”, with signs along the Bruce Highway like “Still a long way to go, kids” and trivia questions/answers. We stopped for lunch at one of the few options along the way: Flaggy Rock Cafe. It’s a great little place with good food. The cars jostle to find parking in the shade. We moved the car out to the RV section to park under a tree, and kept the air con running to keep our food cool. A bit further down the road, we stopped briefly for the toilet at the Marlborough Service Station, with a reminder that we’re not paying $2/L for petrol 😮.
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Visiting 'Tarquin' the burnt-orange Tesla
We popped in to see Kylie, Aaron, their family, pets and newly wrapped “Tarquin” the Tesla, in its burnt orange glory. We first met them (back when Tarquin was white) nearly a year ago when we were road tripping towards Cairns (and the Daintree). Since then, Kylie has been following along on our blog, making suggestions along the way. They kindly invited us for some afternoon tea today ☺️. The finished edges of Tarquin’s wrap are impressively neat. Our Tesla is basically the same, except ours is wrapped in bugs and thousands of kilometres of road dust. Francis was ready to adopt a few of the pets. We considered charging in the garage, but the pricing (made especially for us) was too high 😉. We stayed overnight in a motel in Mackay, which turned out to be right under the flight path, next to the airport. It was amusing, rather than annoying, until perhaps the 6am wake up call of what seemed to be a truck on our roof.
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A scorching day at Eumundi markets
What shall we do on this stinking hot day? I know, let’s walk around in the sun, buy hot food and drink hot coffee! Well, we did! Highly recommend Eumundi markets. We visited on a Wednesday and it was absolutely packed, visitors hoping for a bargain, a “completely organic” ointment that cures all or some gadget they didn’t know they needed in their life. Delicious arancini balls and the obligatory Dutch poffitjes (kind of mini pancakes) were devoured, Fran bought us two candle holders made from Australian banksia seed pods. Many visitors meant many cars. We parked in the $9 grass car park right next door, with everyone else, in the baking 36° heat. We had perishable food in the car, so we put up the windscreen shade and turned on the air con for a few hours while we wandered the markets and had morning tea. No hot engine or fumes. The best part was pre-cooling the Tesla and revelling in it at the end of our wanderings.
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From Wellington Point to Mudjimba
October 23-25: At the top end of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Lunch (veg nachos and corn fritters) at High Tide Bar Grill & Cafe. A walk on the beach, as we watched a few jumbos descending to Sunshine Coast Airport. We booked a room, last minute (as always), down the road at Ramada Marcoola Beach Resort. Nice place, with pool, bistro, bar, gym, beach. The staff are nice, but we did get a cold sales call asking if we are interested in time share. We took a swim (more of a float, really) in the pool. After the hot day, the pool was warmer than the air above, so we didn’t want to get out. Dinner at the bistro (veg curry and Thai salad). A morning walk up the road to get coffee from Cuba St. Coffee Roasters. They have two branded old cars. The rust has actually fallen in piles under the cars. Cool look, though. We briefly sat on the chair outside the cafe, until we realised that the BMW parked there was pumping fumes at us, in order to keep the air con going for the owner. How did we…
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Lunch at Pac Fair with Vincent and Rika
We popped into “Pac Fair”, as the locals call it, in the Gold Coast, Queensland. Huge place. Even had its own moat and bridge in the middle 😉. Vincent and Rika (a couple who have been following our Tesla travels) generously invited us to dinner at Hatsuhana Japanese Restaurant - SeaWorld Resort, and later to the local Tesla meetup, back at Pac Fair. The meet up consisted of several other Gold Coast Tesla lovers parking in the shopping centre carpark, like a bunch of newly licenced P platers, swapping Tesla knowledge and our experience on road trips. The most entertaining was Vincent who is a walking encyclopaedia of Tesla knowledge. Thank you to all who joined us. Fun time! Next morning, we checked out of our hotel, and drove north to Blue Bungalow, near Brisbane. Fran exchanged some clothes while Tom put the car in “husband mode” (which was just air con and YouTube 😉), to watch Chris Vanderstock explain the details of the Supreme Court decision throwing out the Victorian EV road tax.
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A burger and a boardwalk in Urunga
Time for a late lunch, in Urunga, just south of Coffs Harbour. We split a burger between us, just before the town shops finished closing. Then a beautiful walk along the 1km (each way) boardwalk. Hot in the sun today, and no shade for the car in the car park near the beach. I just used the Tesla app to turn on air con in the car, to keep our food fresh, and prepped for us to drive on. Tonight we’ll stay at a B&B in Emerald Beach.
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A few days back on the Central Coast, with family
October 8 - 13: We stayed a few days in our old home of the NSW Central Coast, and exited through the Hunter Valley. We grabbed some meals with all of our local family: We checked out Patonga Beach Hotel for the first time (surprisingly). We thought it very busy, for a Wednesday, but the waitress said it was “dead” compared to normal. Stunning place. It used to be a corner shop when I lived there as a kid. In Terrigal, we ate at 4 hands pizza. Another day, we grabbed some pasta from a cute little express Italian place “Il Toscano” and ate on Terrigal Beach as the sun went down and the local life savers practiced their wedgies while rowing. Erina Fair for the Snap Car Wash and lunch at Sage Cafe. We popped in to visit Fletcher, who is one of the biggest fans of our Tesla. In a few minutes he had used the console to change the colour of the car, the air con fans, and composed a funky beat. I got a chance to show him the newly added summon feature (he “drove“ the car using my iPhone app)…
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New tyres for our Tesla Model 3
Booking through the app was seamless, as always. I asked previously, via the app, if I could have a loan car while they serviced ours, but they were all allocated. When I arrived, however, I asked again, and said I’d sit in the waiting room until they found one. A few minutes later, a Model Y became available. This was the first time I was able to pair my phone with the loan car, which makes using it much easier. The process created a new profile, linked to my Tesla account, which later also appeared in our Tesla Model 3, so I will use that profile from now on, to share my preferred settings between cars. The air con in the Model 3 has a “recycle air” button. But the the Model Y also has the “biohazard defence” button. I think it helps when sitting behind diesel spewing utes taking off at the lights 😉. While waiting, I set up office in the Model Y in nearby Jells Park. The tyres cost $427 each (Michelin Pilot Sport 4). The car has driven nearly 39,000km. At my request, they fitted the…
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Indiana Jones at the Lunar Drive-In
Date night at the Lunar Drive-In in Dandenong, Melbourne, to see the new Indiana Jones movie 🎥 . Great fun! Bit of a queue to get food (it comes in all the yellows: burger 🍔, chips 🍟, jam filled donuts etc), but well managed by the friendly door staff. Quite a chilly night 🥶. Most people in puffer jackets or thick pyjamas and dressing gowns. Several brought their furry friends 🐶, and were happy to have a pat. This is reportedly the largest outdoor cinema in Australia. Sadly, it is closing in a week from now due to high land taxes 😢. We typed the FM radio frequency into the Tesla screen and enjoyed the movie playing through a great sound system. I added another profile to the Tesla for “Drive-in cinema”, with the seats in the reclining position, climate set to “camp mode”, the air con at a comfortable 21°C. Very thankful to have an EV, so we can keep the air con on, without having to run an engine. Everyone else, in appropriately named ICE cars, had their puffer jackets and beanies on,…
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Car camping at Point Leo Reserve, on the south coast of Victoria
I checked with the ranger/reception about plugging in an EV at the powered site, and mentioned that I was car camping. I chose a powered site ($10 extra), which is only slightly more than it would have cost me to top up the charge at home. I set the Tesla to “camp mode” which keeps the accessories on. Air con (with no engine running) kept me comfy all night. I used a folded over yoga mat for a bit of extra padding under the hips under the Tessories Australia foam mattress. But I should have levelled out the car a bit more to alleviate the gradual sliding down into the boot during the night. Thermos of tea, fireplace on the Tesla screen, glass roof to watch the sunrise in the morning, and a USB powered mozzie zapper from KILOS GEAR, just in case.
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A Tesla 'cinema mode' date night
Netflix? ✅ Surround sound? ✅ Air con heating (with no engine running)? ✅ Popcorn and chocolate? ✅ Stars through the roof above? ✅ Reclining seats? ✅
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Tesla 'Office' mode in a Melbourne park
We set the Tesla to “Office” mode. Technically, it’s just a profile like for any driver, but with the seat set right back and up. Peaceful in the park, and sheltered from the Melbourne drizzle. Cup of tea on hand, via the thermos. Air con without an engine. No interruptions, very productive. The #Tesla includes four powered USB-C ports (such as for laptops), two wireless charging pads (for phones), large screen, web browser, Zoom and camera, synced calendar and contacts and its own internet connection.
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40 minutes of YouTube while a train blocks the road
We headed off the main road to Rydal, between Bathurst and Lithgow. The Indian Pacific Train was stuck over the rail crossing, for some reason. We waited for 40 minutes and watched YouTube on the Tesla screen in air conditioned comfort, without needing to run an engine ☺️. We stayed the night in Rydal at Springmead Stud farm, B&B,. Lovely place. Thanks to our hosts Greg & Marjory for the hospitality and home made goodies for breakfast. Thanks to Sammy for the pats 🐈⬛. Greg said that they have had many EV drivers stay. If asked, they charge $10 for an overnight charge, using just the standard 10A supply. I think it's BYO extension cord. We didn't need to charge.
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A last rainforest walk in Eungella
One last rainforest walk before we left Eungella National Park. Beautiful tall trees and elusive wildlife. When the sun is high, there’s very little shade for a parked car. So, cars get very hot. Fortunately the Tesla has automatic cabin climate control that turns on the air conditioning when needed, and we can cool it right down from the phone app when we’re on the way back to the car. Other cars, like a ute next to us, left their engine running while they went for a walk, so they could keep the air conditioning on.
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A bollard manoeuvre, and meeting Patty
Manoeuvred my way around the bollards with a three point turn again, at the RACQ Chargefox charger. Chatted briefly with Scott (before me in a blue Tesla Model 3 with bikes on a rack) and Patty afterwards. Patty is today moving with his dogs up from The Sunshine Coast to Port Douglas. His wife is driving another Tesla. They are planning to “hippy-fy” their new place with EV chargers for guests.
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An Audi e-tron meet, with Linda and Louis
We waited for another Tesla Model 3, which was at 99% for ages when we got there, not checked in, in PlugShare. Then had a chat with Linda and Louis who arrived a while later, in their Audi e-tron. They had travelled from Wollongong, passing through Port Douglas. We agreed that we need more than one RACQ Chargefox fast charger in these locations. The layout of this charger is great: easy to park; can charge from either side; near shopping and toilets.
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Mossman Gorge in the Daintree
Visitors have to park at the center, then catch a shuttle bus to the gorge, then walk a nice 640m boardwalk to the popular river spot. The centre includes a cafe, toilets, gift shop and ticket counter. It’s pretty but seems to be a large overhead for a fairly standard river view, with room at the gorge for a limited number of visitors. There is a longer 2km walk, but we didn’t try it. They advise not to swim, but half the people do. We found out later that a couple of tourists were swept away by the river, prompting a search.
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Made it to Cape Tribulation
We made it to the northernmost point of our road trip: Cape Tribulation. Lush vegetation, lots of wildlife if you look closely. The ocean is eerie – it’s hard to tell where it ends and the sky begins. It’s so very humid in summer. Great little cafe/kiosk where we were staying. But we also cooked our meals in the camp kitchen. There’s no grid power here, north of the Daintree River, so the Safari Lodge and Campground (our accommodation) and other places all run on diesel generators. The generator supplies the electricity for the powered sites, cabins, lights, kiosk, washing machines, everything. A few places have solar panels. There are plans for a micro-grid to get rid of the diesel generators. I'm surprised that they don't have more solar here, but it is coming
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Crossing the Daintree River ferry
We crossed the Daintree River on the ferry. Notice on the other side of the river the toddler that seems to be driving a car from the sunroof.
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Charging in Cairns, plus an AQUA Lagoon coffee
Charged up for the trip to Daintree. Managed to beat Kylie and Aaron this time, who resorted to the slow 11kW charger next to us, until we finished. Enjoyed a delicious coffee and an ice block with fruit in it at AQUA Cairns Lagoon cafe. Tried to block a photo of me in portrait 🤪.
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Queueing at the Cardwell charger
We charged up at Cardwell (south of Cairns). We initially queued behind Aaron and Kylie in their Tesla Model 3 (Mackay to Cairns). While waiting, we drove up the road to buy lunch from a cafe, under “The Big Crab”. When we returned, we queued behind Vijay and his family in their MG (Port Douglas to Brisbane). We ate our lunch the pretty park next to the charger, whilst avoiding swimming and being eaten ourselves by crocodiles.
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A first night on the Tessories mattress
Fran's bed design parody followed by a fairly boring video of how the Tessories Australia mattress packs away. We had a terrible night's sleep, mainly due to needing better padding for our hips. But the air con worked a treat and we had ample head room.
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First night car-camping, at Discovery Parks
Michelle at reception was very friendly and helpful, though a little puzzled when I mentioned that I wanted to plug in an electric car. We opted for a powered site with an ensuite (private toilet, shower and sink). We set up the MOGICS Carsule tent, moved the 50L Kings fridge and all our gear from the car into the tent and setup the Tessories bed in the Tesla. We had a swim in the pool, showered in the ensuite and walked up the road to dinner at Club Dubbo. We turned on “camp mode” in the Tesla which kept us in air conditioned comfort all night, using power from the battery, with no engine running. The bottom of the bed was slightly angled, putting too much weight in our hips, and kept us awake half the night.
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We might be a little bit crazy
We moved out of our home, sold what we could, moved the rest into storage, and set off road tripping in our Tesla Model 3. It’s the cheapest, smallest Tesla, with RWD (rear wheel drive), LFP battery and about 430km range. It runs on electricity. No petrol, oil, smell, noise etc. We’ve only had it three months. We have a bed that fits the back of the Tesla from Tessories Australia, a Carsule tent from MOGICS, a huge 50L camp fridge, camp chairs and other gear from KILOS GEAR. When we can’t find accommodation, the Tesla will be our home for the night. We were living on the NSW Central Coast, in Saratoga. All of our kids have grown and moved out. We need to downsize and reset. But, for the moment, we are without a home, other than the Tesla. We had only booked accommodation for our first two nights, in Port Stephens. We’re just winging it from there. The rough plan is to then head west through Mudgee and Dubbo, then up through Tamworth and Armidale, then up through Queensland to Airlie…
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Setting off on our east-coast EV adventure
We packed the essentials into our electric car (Tesla Model 3) and set out to explore the east coast of Australia, out to Dubbo, up through Queensland to Cape Tribulation, down from Mackay to Bega and along the south Victorian coast, Great Ocean Road, The Grampians and much more. Last lunch before we go, courtesy of Shelly's Cafe. Somehow we managed to fit all of that (including 50L fridge, bed, chairs, tent, food, clothes, computers) into the smallest car that Tesla make.