Tips and Hacks
It's Time to Start Your Adventures
Here is a few tips and hacks that you should know before you embark on your first camping trips.
Charge before parking
If you are relying on fast charging (over 50kW), you should always charge up your car before parking it for the day. To charge with optimal speed, the battery needs sufficient operating temperature. If you let the battert cool of over the night before charging, it will be almost like plugging in a home charger.
Plan your route
Plan your route. It’s always handy to have an idea about where the chargers are located, which is the fastest and if you can charge with your caravan attached. You should also take elevation and headwind into account as this can dramatically increase consumption. The charging app: “A Better Route Planner” has vehicle profiles where you simulate the extra consumption of the caravan. It will then suggest routes and chargers to reach your destination
Mind your speed
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast! As wind resistance increases exponentially with speed, it’s more efficient to stick to the speed limits. You should also avoid sudden acceleration and breaking by maintaining a steady speed. Using cruise control can help with this.
Regen braking
Allow the car to regenerate energy while braking. If you reduce speed slowly, the car will use its motors to regenerate some of the energy back to the battery. If you brake too sudden, the normal brakes take over and you lose the energy to friction and heat. This is extra important if you are travelling in the mountains.
Distribute the weight evenly
Distribute the weight evenly when you are packing the car and the caravan to avoid sway and safety issues. A rule of thumb is keeping the weight over the wheels and low. I have also noticed that increasing the tongue weight on the hitch improves stability up to a certain point. My recommendation is to stay within the limits of your car, but near the upper limit.
Bring cables and adapters
Bring charging cables and adapters. Some caravan sites will let you slow charge while staying there. Make sure you have the right adapters and extension cables, so you are ready to use all opportunities to plug in.