Family to set off on 9-month trek towing a caravan in an electric EV9

Despite the naysayers, the ‘big lap’ is almost old news.

Between a 10-day sprint in a Tesla Model Y late last year, a woman taking a solo lap in a Mercedes-Benz EQC in 2022 to a Tesla Model 3 towing a caravan finishing a lap in the last month, there’s plenty of evidence that the trip around Australia is not only doable, but an incredible experience for the folk who undertake it.

WA’s Tim and Renée McLennan have managed to find a way to still do something new, with a planned nine-month journey in a newly released Kia EV9, an electric “people mover”, towing a large pop-up caravan, and bringing their two kids Ellie and Xavi along for the ride.

“We wanted to do the lap of Australia with the family – which is what I did when I was a kid – to give that same experience to our kids,” Tim told TheDriven.

“Can we do it electric without compromising too much? And we figured that with a little bit of planning, we can.”

The family will begin their nine-month trek on March 22, but they’ve been planning this trip – and ensuring their set up will be up for the task – for about 12 months.

The first choice was the car. While most electric big laps have been undertaken in Tesla EVs, and some BYDs and other EVs, the couple decided to go with the E9 due to its towing capacity, and off-road abilities.

The McLennan’s have recently been testing the range of the EV9’s 100kWh battery, finding that it’s able to still get over 300 kilometres on one charge when towing the two tonne camper.

“This was important as we have calculated that the EV and camper combination need to achieve a range of 270 km to comfortably bridge the gap between charging stations along our planned route,” Tim and Renée told The Driven over email.

“It is one of only a few EVs currently available in Australia with AWD geared towards more off-road capability. This was attractive as it opens up access to destinations and allows us to contemplate exploring places that many other vehicles may be unable to access.”

Tim’s background as a glider pilot has helped the couple create a set up that is as aerodynamic as possible.

The EV9’s square back is not normally an asset to aerodynamics, but the couple explained that this allows less airflow build up behind the car and in front of the caravan.

“The Tesla Model Y which was one of our initial contenders for the tow vehicle, has a very sweeping tail at the end of it,” said Tim.

“That feature which is really good for general driving, actually is counter for towing because when you put something behind it you lose that that slipstream advantage.”

The other big modification is solar. The roof area has 2.1kW of solar panels, with another 400W on the roof of the EV, and 10kWh of lithium iron phosphate batteries.

The battery can be used to charge the car in a pinch, as well as power the caravan.

“It’s not enough to be completely self-powered, but every little bit helps – like throwing in five to 10 bucks of fuel overnight,” said Tim.

With not long left to go, the family are excited about spending so much quality time with their family, and potentially test how far off the beaten track they can go.

“We have nine months before we need to return to Perth and intend to take all of this time to make our way around the country exploring it at a relaxed pace,” they wrote over email.

“We are also excited to be able to play a small part in promoting more sustainable transport and disprove many of the myths that continue to circulate about EVs which act as barriers to the transition.”

You can follow their nine-month journey on the family’s Electrekking Facebook page.