Sad news at Cann River: Squire's Cafe is gone

Bombala + Central Coast 2024

Stopped for cuppa, cake and a break at Cann River. Sad to see that Squire’s Cafe burnt down in the past few weeks. Cann River Bakery was very busy.

When we returned to the car, a retired couple were looking at the Chargefox charger (next to the Tesla Supercharger we were using). They were wondering how the whole EV thing worked. I explained that we just plug into the Tesla Supercharger and walk away. Or with the other brands, we plug in, then tap a card or a button in an app, and walk away. They asked a lot of questions. They’re thinking about getting an EV for running around town. I explained that they can just plug the car into any power point at home, and charge from their home solar panels.

Onward west through Gippsland. Stopped in Bairnsdale for a quick lunch and rest stop. Then finally to home in Emerald, Victoria.

Charging

This is probably the closest call we’ve had in all our travels. When we left Bombala, the Tesla predicted arriving in Cann River with 7%. At one point along the drive, the Tesla navigation predicted we’d arrive in Cann River with 1% remaining battery charge. We actually arrived with 2%, so no worries, right? 😉

As you can see in the photo, the Tesla’s charge app showed some insights such as:

• 15.0 km/h wind from the south cost 2.0% this trip.
• Low tyre pressure cost 0.3% this trip.
• Elevation cost 2.2% more than predicted.

But it didn’t tell us that:

• Tom should have charged up in Narooma before heading west into no fuel land. (Actually, it did suggest that before we headed west).
• What were you thinking, taking a detour to a lookout when you knew it would be tight?

We have been told that there’s another 5% ish below zero battery charge, but we don’t really want to test it. If we had been approaching zero, we would have just found a power point somewhere.

We have only run out of juice three times. All were in petrol vehicles, not in an EV.

Anyway, no dramas. We just plugged into the Supercharger in Cann River, and walked away. By the time we’d finished doing human things, the car had charged up more than we needed.

18 comments

  1. You guys!!!
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  2. That's cutting it closer than I ever want to go. Although there is the reserve. I remember on the Tesla Model 3 Australia group (as it was before the Y was in sight) about three years back there were plenty of posts from drivers about how many km they had driven when the battery said 0%. When planning I always leave a substantial buffer for highway detours or stoppages due to accidents etc.
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    1. Richard Webb Good plan. Yes, I would rather have a buffer, just in case, especially out on this stretch of road, where there aren’t many emergency options. Still, there are more options here than for petrol.
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      1. True - any farmhouse has a plug...
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  3. What was the tyre pressure? Presumably affected by the cold.
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    1. Danny Duong 37psi when we started from Bombala in 4°C, but slowly increased as we drove along. Yes, affected by the cold. I’d best add a few psi for the winter months.
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      1. Tesla Tripping tyre pressures have also dropped noticeably here in Canberra with the advent of autumn. And today I got the first warning this year of reduced regenerative braking, presumably due to a cold battery. Stand by for all the questions about reduced range in the Tesla FB groups!
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  4. 69,000 Km on the clock have you had any issues at all
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    1. John Myers No issues. Had some minor rattling in the plastic wheel covers, which Tesla replaced for free. Had a stone chip windscreen replacement under insurance. Replaced worn tyres. That’s it.

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      1. Tesla Tripping that’s great I only have 13500km in 11 months, we just purchased a SUV tent and will be trying it out in a few weeks.
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  5. Cutting it fine! Were you nervous?
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    1. Margaret McDonald We don’t typically go below 5%. I was surprised that the normally accurate Tesla’s prediction was so far off this time (7% predicted compared to 2% actual). As it crept lower as we drove along, we got a little nervous, but thankfully the prediction didn’t drop below zero, or we would have pulled over to any old power point.
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  6. I don't know how you handle that sort of range anxiety. I would be totally freaked out !
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    1. Peter Kelly If we did it again, with the predicted 7% next day arrival in Cann River, I would have topped up in Narooma, as suggested by the Tesla navigation (or not diverted to the lookout). I didn’t expect the arrival percentage to drop so much. The day before, we arrived at Batemans Bay with nearly the predicted 7%. But the rain, elevation, cold etc impacted this Bombala to Cann River leg of the trip.

      If it looked like our arrival percentage was going to be negative, we would have just done an emergency charge out the back of the hotel, or up the road at the caravan park.
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    2. Peter Kelly only had an ev for 2 weeks so right now I am going on reaching my destination with a minimum 50km reserve. I couldn't get down to 2% I just couldn't
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      1. Craig Parsons Mate , I've had one for over two years and I have only ever been in the 20% range twice .... 😂
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      2. Peter Kelly ill start getting nervous at 20
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  7. We just took delivery of the Subaru Solterra, it was hiring a Tesla that sold me on an EV I just didn't like the Tesla although it impressed me. The charging infrastructure here in Tasmania is average but its also a small island so the range on the Solterra isn't an issue
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