Departure

We have 91% autonomy. While planning the trip to the Lac Etchemin campground, the car suggested we stop at the Sainte-Eulalie supercharger in Madrid.

Route

Once on the road, we try to follow a truck in order to increase our autonomy through the suction effect. To do this, you have to position yourself two car distances away. We notice that our consumption decreases to approximately 180W per KM versus 280W without the suction technique. The technique really seems to work!

We arrive in Madrid where our autonomy is currently at 59%. We recharge our vehicle for about 10 minutes via the superchargers.

Arrival at the campsite

To get there, we had to stop twice to load up. We are at 45% autonomy and an average consumption of around 294W per KM. We finally reach our newly renovated campsite. We settle down and prepare to spend the night.

We are forced to charge the car at 8 amps because the circuit breaker keeps tripping. Rather surprising for new installations! It will therefore take 24 hours to fully charge the car. However, as we are spending the weekend here, there is no stress to be had.

Miller Zoo Tour

Following the overnight charge, we are at 75%. Consumption is doing very well. The zoo is located about forty kilometers from the campsite. Let’s go to see the animals!

Early return

Since it is raining today, we decide to move up our return. The light rain allows us to store our gear without it getting soaked. We leave for Lévis with an autonomy of 86%.

Weekend review

It was a very nice weekend! The campsite is very beautiful and well maintained. For the charge, we needed two recharges to go, about fifteen minutes maximum each, totaling approximately 50% charge. It would have been possible to do the trip on a single charge, according to what the car suggested to us. However, since we had planned to go to the Miller Zoo located about forty kilometers from the campsite. We therefore preferred to be careful, also not knowing how the charging would take place at the campsite. To be honest, we did well, since at the campsite, as mentioned, we had to recharge at 8 amps because the circuit breaker kept tripping. Following this incident, the person responsible for maintenance came to change the plug, which solved the problem and allowed us to charge more quickly afterwards. The service is therefore excellent at the campsite! For the return, we made the same stops for charging. The road and consumption were very similar.

To conclude, we announce that we are going very soon to Lac Taureau where we anticipate a good challenge since there are very few charging stations. Check our blog regularly to learn all about this crisp adventure!

L’article Should you charge your Tesla several times from Ste-Julie en Beauce? est apparu en premier sur RV for EV.

Renovations in the kitchen

We now have a bench that covers the table. This allows us to have a space to sleep and in theory, this is where our 2 girls will spend the night!

We also changed the refrigerator as seen in episode 3, for a real refrigerator, more spacious, converted for 12V. It has a little strap to prevent the door from rolling open.

The old laminate countertop was replaced by a wooden one. The sink, faucet and latch handles were also changed to improve the look.

We replaced the curtains with linens from IKEA to modernize the look.

We usually cook with an induction cooker outside, since we don’t have a hood inside. We preferred not to build it into the countertop and thus keep a larger surface.

Renovations to the toilet

It’s small, but it does the job! We have the shower phone, equipped with 2 hooks, which was installed with the drain.

Electrical renovations

First of all, we installed a fairly complete control. We can turn the water pump on and off with the push of a button. It is a small blue light that allows us to quickly see if it is on. Then there is a button to turn off all the electricity in the trailer except for the refrigerator. If we are in panic mode, this button will allow us to maximize the remaining autonomy by cutting off everything that works on the 12V and the 5V. There is also a cigarette lighter type plug that allows us to plug in, for example, a cooler, a sweeper, etc. Finally, there are 2 USB plugs of 2.5 amps each that allow us to recharge our phones quickly.

Then, let’s go to the multimeter or voltmeter which allows us to see the amperage consumed or gained, in voltage, in watts or in amperes. As soon as there is sunlight, we see that it goes into recharge mode, meaning that the panels are doing their job well. This is very interesting since it allows us to adapt our consumption according to the different indicators. There are also 2 other USB ports. It is also possible for us to turn on the “inverter” module of Renogy brand to supply the 110V power outlets. It allows to have 2000W of electricity on the 110V. We also have a lithium battery of 170 amps hidden in the front which allows a good autonomy for our needs. If we want to go a little further, in a 100% autonomous mode for a week of camping, we will have to monitor the consumption and evaluate if a second battery is needed. The module also allows, when we are plugged in, to recharge the battery in conjunction with the solar panels. Moreover, it is possible to adjust the charging amperage.

Future work

Whether to cool or heat, the solution remains to be found. For air conditioning, we have not found anything small enough and we do not want to install anything on the roof. During our research, we saw someone who would have an air cooler running on 12V, to be continued! As for the heat, for now we use a Dyson type fan, allowing us to make hot and cold air, in a silent way.

That’s it for the guided tour! Check our site regularly to follow our next renovations via our articles!

L’article Visit our renovated Bonair Oxygen trailer est apparu en premier sur RV for EV.

Replacement of the radio

We begin by disconnecting the radio, connected just above the sink, we are going to be able to recover this space. We replace the radio for the MB Quart GMR3 model which will allow us to save space according to its smaller size and the new more optimal place where we decided to position it.

Change of the ceiling lights

We take the opportunity to change the ceiling lights for LED lights. In addition to having a better clarity, the LED lights consume a little less and have a longer life span.

Installation of the solar panels

First, prepare the panels by installing the aluminum mounting brackets. Then we have to plan their position on the roof. We also bought a wire cover in which we can hide them and give them a cleaner look. When it came time to install the second panel, we wondered if we should leave the front space empty for transportation. After some costing, we decided to install it in the front anyway. The installation is not easy, but we take our time to make sure we do it right. Next step is to connect the controller and then the electricity. We install the control plate where the old radio was. To pass the wires from the roof, we use the moldings since it is impossible to pass the wires in the walls, since they are filled.

Summary of the electrical installations

2 solar panels of 200W of Renogy brand: $206
Controller: $49
2000W inverter: $599
170 amp battery to allow for a total consumption of at least 2000W: $1149

This will easily power the 36W refrigerator, water pump, LED lighting. Currently, not to mention the 110V elements we have a great autonomy. We will also be able to run the induction cooker, the fan and a small pellet barbecue. The only elements for which we will need more autonomy will be the water heater and the heating, since they are elements that run for a very long time, so on the inverter, it is not enough with 170 amps of battery. So to do that, we would have to add a battery and have more solar panels.

Anyway, since what we prefer is to be plugged in from campsite to campsite and we don’t really do wilderness camping, our current autonomy is more than enough. We will therefore evaluate in the long term our needs to add new panels and another battery.

Verdict of the consumption

After a few days of using the solar panels and the refrigerator, the battery never goes below 94%. Jean-François comes back from work and it is maintained at 100%. Even if it is not yet very hot outside, with these data, we are convinced that we are autonomous for at least a week by powering the radio, the refrigerator, the water pump and the lights.

L’article Use solar panels to power your trailer est apparu en premier sur RV for EV.

Will the autonomy of a Tesla Y be greatly reduced by towing a trailer? Marie-Pier must be reassured before our first “real” trip.

Before the departure

There was no question of having an electric brake system installed on our beautiful new Tesla Y. 

After some research, Eric found a bluetooth electric brake system, CURT Echo 51180. We bought this device at Daniel Radio TV in St-Hyacinthe.

It’s a small family store that sells and installs many electronic components for cars and trucks: lights, sound system, car starter, CB, etc. A place that Eric knows well since he worked there for 10 years.

The installation of the brake system is really very simple. You simply insert the device in the connector of the Tesla at the level of the drawbar which is made for this purpose. You have to “scan” the QR code in order to “park” the device and the cell phone.

It is possible to adjust the “power” or “sensitivity” of braking according to our needs. You can also activate the electric brakes by holding your finger on a huge button on the application. It works very well!

And here we go!

We had already made some tests of autonomy only with the Tesla, before leaving with the caravan, in order to know how much Watt/KM we consume. On the highway, we were maintaining an average of 280 Watt/KM to 308 Watt/KM.

See the detailed statistics with my share via Teslafi

Still on the highway, but now with the trailer, we leave Ste-Julie, in direction of Boucherville, on highway 20. We surprisingly still maintain an average of 280 Watt/KM at the beginning. 

Is it because the trailer is empty and there are no children or luggage in the car? Maybe…

Moreover, it’s as if we were not pulling anything behind us. The ergonomics of the trailer makes the wind slide very well on each side and does not impose any resistance on the Tesla.

There may be some variations in consumption of course with the small hills and holes in the road, but all in all, we are very happy with the first results.

We had done some research on facebook forums, and we had seen that many Tesla drivers pulling Prolite trailers had an average consumption of 350-400 Watt/Km. But that’s probably due to the fact that the Prolites are taller and a bit wider than the Oxygen trailer. 

On our side, maybe we will consume less, but we will lose a little bit on the comfort level. The trailer is much smaller and compact than the Prolites or Helio trailers.

Results

We made a small trip on highway, country road and city, with our Oxygen trailer from Bonaire and our Tesla Y without luggage nor child and we finished with an average of 280 Watt/Km.

It’s a very satisfying first test and reassures Marie-Pier 🙂

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L’article Autonomy of a Tesla Y with a trailer est apparu en premier sur RV for EV.