Northern Washington to Big Sur CA and Back - 3100mi Trip Report in 2023 SR XLT w/Camper

[Mort]

A couple of months ago we took our 23 SR XLT with our 1973, 1900 pound Alaskan Cabover camper on a 3100 mile trip from Port Townsend Washington to Big Sur California, and back, stayed on the coastal beaches the entire way down. 101 and HY 1 have maximum speeds of 55 along the route. We dry camped 2-3 nights away from RV parks followed by one night in parks with 30-50 amp service Or hit a quick charger. The 50 amp CG refilled the rig and provide all hotel electrical needs over night, the 30 amp services provided all hotel loads and tended to add between 30-50 miles depending on our stay duration. We took I 5 north utilizing QC much more based on speeds and distances covered.
After 3125 miles our driving Average was 1.6 MPKW
this included
3% to truck cab climate use
85% route
7% Accessories including, lighting, phone charging, induction cooking, water heating, electric barbecuing, heat pump and refrigeration.
5% Exterior temperatures, 65 deg ave on coast, 100 avg on the I-5 corridor.
we stayed in hotels 7 times over 30 days, and 7 days at CG with electrical service.

The QC invoice total was $616.48
at current gas prices and a loaded F150 with camper consumption of 12.5 MPG
it would have cost $1092.50 not including any Propaine or gas for a generator, that would be required to have the same standard of living as my family of 3 experienced.

This was a fantastic use case for this vehicle. All QC was spent doing provisioning, eating and sightseeing.

Approximately half of quick charging was done on NACS using my Lectron and the other half was EA.

 

[Phineas Magliozzi]

Looks like great trip. You went through Elk (Greenwood) CA! Shhhhh, don't tell anyone else about it. There's not much you can't do in a '23 SR today. Imagine what it's going to be like 5 years from now

 

[Mach Turtle]

Thanks for the report, and we're impressed by your trip. Did you turn around at the slide that blocks Highway 1 in Big Sur?

Also, any luck with the free level 2 chargers at so many state parks between Eureka and the Bay Area? Or are they still there and usable?

When I was younger, my family camped in an Alaskan very similar to that. Certainly never had a truck like that, though! (Ours was on an old International Harvester.) I think we even had the same sort of aero doughnut atop the cab.

I shall now forget about the paper that came with our new XLT SR that says slide-in campers are "NOT RECOMMENDED." Someone clearly knows better and has the proof.

Way cool...

 

[Ford Motor Company]

A couple of weeks ago we took our 23 SR XLT with our 1973, 1900 pound Alaskan Cabover camper on a 3100 mile trip from Port Townsend Washington to Big Sur California, and back, stayed on the coastal beaches the entire way down. 101 and HY 1 have maximum speeds of 55 along the route. We dry camped 2-3 nights away from RV parks followed by one night in parks with 30-50 amp service Or hit a quick charger. The 50 amp CG refilled the rig and provide all hotel electrical needs over night, the 30 amp services provided all hotel loads and tended to add between 30-50 miles depending on our stay duration. We took I 5 north utilizing QC much more based on speeds and distances covered.
After 3125 miles our driving Average was 1.6 MPKW
this included
3% to truck cab climate use
85% route
7% Accessories including, lighting, phone charging, induction cooking, water heating, electric barbecuing, heat pump and refrigeration.
5% Exterior temperatures, 65 deg ave on coast, 100 avg on the I-5 corridor.
we stayed in hotels 7 times over 30 days, and 7 days at CG with electrical service.

The QC invoice total was $616.48
at current gas prices and a loaded F150 with camper consumption of 12.5 MPG
it would have cost $1092.50 not including any Propaine or gas for a generator, that would be required to have the same standard of living as my family of 3 experienced.

This was a fantastic use case for this vehicle. All QC was spent doing provisioning, eating and sightseeing.

Approximately half of quick charging was done on NACS using my Lectron and the other half was EA.

Great photos, we hope you had an amazing adventure!

 

[Mort]

Thanks for the report, and we're impressed by your trip. Did you turn around at the slide that blocks Highway 1 in Big Sur?

Also, any luck with the free level 2 chargers at so many state parks between Eureka and the Bay Area? Or are they still there and usable?

When I was younger, my family camped in an Alaskan very similar to that. Certainly never had a truck like that, though! (Ours was on an old International Harvester.) I think we even had the same sort of aero doughnut atop the cab.

I shall now forget about the paper that came with our new XLT SR that says slide-in campers are "NOT RECOMMENDED." Someone clearly knows better and has the proof.

Way cool...

We drove right up to the road closed barricades, turned around and drove to Nepenthe and had a beautiful birthday dinner for my wife!
because of the crazy covid era booking system we were only able to stay in two state parks. I did not notice any level two EVSE‘s we only used NMEA 14-50 and 14-30 outlets.

I thought my daughter drew that picture and put it in my glove box as a joke

were approaching 6000 miles with the cabover, however we had to go with a heavier sidewall tire. Airbags are not available yet for less than $3500.00

 

[bmwhitetx]

Great report!
What is that cabinet looking thing to the left of the picnic table? You weren’t hauling that were you?

 

[Grumpy2]

Nice looking old Alaskan camper, so popular in the PNW in its day that many looked beat-up 20 years ago. Great to see you having fun with it. Do you use a forklift to install and remove?

 

[Mort]

Great report!
What is that cabinet looking thing to the left of the picnic table? You weren’t hauling that were you?

That is a bear proof food and garbage locker. They are located in the state campgrounds around lake Shasta.

 

[Mort]

Nice looking old Alaskan camper, so popular in the PNW in its day that many looked beat-up 20 years ago. Great to see you having fun with it. Do you use a forklift to install and remove?

yes, I do use a fork truck to move the camper around. I built up the unit with 1 inch of insulation and a fork pocket that acts as storage when on the truck.

They are still building Alaskans today.

 

[Zprime29]

I recall taking a similar trip from Phoenix, AZ up 101/Hwy 1 to the Redwood National Forest one summer. We didn't have a camper and had to stay at hotels, but it was an amazing trip and a very fond memory from when I was a kid. Your trips are making me jealous! Now I need to do some planning, my kiddos would love to do something similar.

 

[bmw325_num99]

This trip looks incredible and thank you for sharing. I am planning a trip like this and update my plans weekly or so. Would you be willing to share all or some of the sites you stopped at to camp (whether a campground or just the spot you parked) along the way?

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