Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously said in 2019 that electric vehicles would “end the weekend”.
“[An EV] won’t tow your trailer,” Mr Morrison told reporters.
“It’s not going to tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family.”
But one Perth family is on a mission to prove ScoMo and all of the other EV doubters wrong.
Tim and Renee McLennan, together with their children Ellie and Xavi, set off in April on what they hope will be the country’s first all-electric “big lap” camping trip, towing their custom-modified caravan on the 15,000-kilometre circumnavigation of the country using their Kia EV9.
“Scott was wrong!” the McLennans say on their website, where they are documenting their journey.
“An EV will tow our trailer and take our family to fantastic camping spots all around the country.”
Mr McLennan, a Health Department worker taking long-service leave, told the ABC in January the eco-conscious family had already electrified their home and now wanted to try an electrified trip around the country as well, which they estimate will take about nine months.
“[We] wanted to prove that it is possible and start the ball rolling,” he said.
The trip, inspired by a similar experience with his family as a 10-year-old, was timed to coincide with the completion of the WA EV Network later this year.
The state’s $23 million network of 98 EV charging stations across 49 locations spans from the Nullarbor border with South Australia, through southwest WA, up the coast and into the Northern Territory near Kununurra.
The network, operated by WA state-owned electricity corporations Synergy and Horizon, offers high-speed charging options roughly 200 kilometres apart the whole way.
“EV range anxiety is something drivers unfamiliar or new to EVs often worry about,” Mr McLennan wrote in a blog post last year.
“When towing a trailer or caravan behind a vehicle range (both for an EV or petrol/diesel) drops, but how much of an effect depends on many things, including cruising speeds, driving styles, added weight and aerodynamic changes. With these considerations in mind, and some research on the significant factors, we figured our electric lap of Oz could well be possible right now, with a little bit of planning and some vehicle preparation/modifications to help guarantee our success.”
But he added that with ever-improving EV technologies and options, and significant rollout of charging stations, “in the not too distant future, many things will make it easy enough that most things we need to plan for, won’t even be a consideration”.
The towing problem means EVs can lose as much as 50 per cent or more of their range with a heavy load.
“Until we have an EV able to tow comfortably for 500 to 600 kilometres without the battery dying, it isn’t the time to be taxing people who are buying utes or SUVs for towing or long-distance travel,” Paul Maric, founder of CarExpert.com.au, said earlier this year.
“The electric vehicles they want everyone to drive aren’t capable of towing and long-distance travel people are doing in diesels.”
The Kia EV9 Earth — the mid-level all-wheel-drive variant which costs $110,000 — has an unladen range of 500 kilometres, so Mr McLennan set a goal of achieving around 270 kilometres per charge, the current approximate maximum distance between stations.
Noting that extra drag, not just weight, was a significant factor, he made a number of aerodynamic improvements to their $57,000 New Age Wayfinder 12F Adventurer, which has also been fitted with extra rooftop solar panels.
The McLennans set off on the first leg of their journey in early April, making the trip up the coast from Perth to Carnarvon.
Mr McLennan said the WA EV Network fast chargers had proven “more convenient and effortless than expected” and charging speeds were “usually quicker than the activities we wanted to do in each charging location” such as walking through the town or having lunch.
This meant he would often have to rush back to the car to avoid idle fees — usually $1 per minute the fully charged car is left plugged in.
In a blog post last month he detailed a few minor hiccups syncing the Fox Charge app with the car in order to pay at one station, which was only resolved by calling customer support.
But the first major issue that caused them significant delays occurred at the remote Overlander Roadhouse, about 200 kilometres south of Carnarvon, where the off-grid charger wasn’t putting out enough power. The slower charger was supposed to have a max output of 50kW, which would normally mean a two-and-a-half hour charge time from near empty, but was only ramping up to about 18kW.
“Relenting to the fact we would need to settle for a while, we bought some dinner at the roadhouse and played some games with the kids,” Mr McLennan wrote.
All up, the Perth-Canarvon leg, covering about 1350 kilometres, cost the McLennans $188 for public charging at the EV Highway locations, which are priced at 60 cents per kWh.
“With fuel usually well over $2 per litre this is less than half the expected [internal combustion engine] towing fuel cost, despite the drop in EV range/efficiency when towing,” Mr McLennan wrote.
After crossing into the NT, the family recently shared some more stats about their journey.
Fifty-eight days in, their total distance travelled was 8140 kilometres from Perth to the NT border, generally at around 90 kilometres an hour, with range per charge between 260-300 kilometres depending on speed, road surface, wind and elevation.
Average overall trip energy consumption, including shorter day trips without the camper, was 3.1 kilometres per kWh or 32.2kWh per 100 kilometres.
The lowest efficiency section was Cheela Plains to Tom Price, where driving uphill and into headwind lowered that to 2.1 kilometres per kWh, while the best efficiency was 3.4 kilometres per kWh between Auski Roadhouse and Port Hedland.
Including the cost of powered campsites used for smaller top-ups, the total amount spent at chargers was $466.
The McLennans have been contacted for comment.
frank.chung@news.com.au