lazjen
Active member
- First Name
- Chris
- Joined
- May 8, 2024
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 34
- Reaction score
- 109
- Location
- Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
- Vehicles
- F150 Lightning XLT ER 2023
- Thread starter
- #1
We live on the Sunshine Coast in Qld, Australia near the town of Nambour and decided to do a drive north to Monto (and Cania Gorge). I plugged the route into ABRP and discovered that the direct route that goes from Gympie to Monto was going to be tight - 10% range left and it wanted me to go 90 km/hr. The alternate route added 45 minutes to the trip but was via Gin Gin and had a very comfortable remaining range percentage. So, we planned to go via Gin Gin. I also decided to check out the charging options north of Gympie while we travelled - stopping to "test" them out even if we didn't really need to charge.
These locations were Gunalda, Maryborough, Childers and Gin Gin. All 4 were with Chargefox / Yurika (Qld Gov backed program). Have a look on PlugShare for their details. Prepare to be "shocked" at how bad our charging infrastructure is outside major metro areas (i.e. most of Australia). Each charger had 1 CCS2 cable (and another 2 that you had to supply your own cable for), plus a ChaDemo cable. Most people don't carry their own cable (I don't), so if someone is already using the charger, you're out of luck (we had this at Childers, but since it was one of test spots and not required, we moved on). The extra kicker to this: max 50kW chargers, so it takes ages to charge.
Charging at Gunalda was at a pleasant spot and it timed nicely with having short break.
Maryborough was a bit more interesting in location, right on the street next to the 4 way corner with traffic lights and a decent flow of traffic. It made parking a bit more interesting. Overall though going into Maryborough for charging will be something I will generally avoid in the future as it was a significant diversion from the highway.
We had to charge at Gin Gin (and on the way back at Gympie) so we timed that with lunch. Unfortunately we left late from home so it was a late lunch. Charging back to 80% at this point took 65 mins. At this point we realised that trying to make Monto today wasn't going to work, so we went back home with a small detour to Mt Walsh National Park.
I have since discovered that the Qld Gov is working on more chargers by end of 2025 - at Goomeri and Gayndah, which will make the trip easier, although the slow charging is still a hassle.
Even though we didn't make our target this time, I do enjoy driving Thunderbolt for these long distances. It's comfortable and much less fatiguing than driving an ICE vehicle.
Journey stats:
582km in 10 hours.
Start: 100% Finish: 11%
Gunalda: 4.29kWh @0.30 = $ 1.29 (6 mins)
Maryborough: 4.41kWh @0.55 = $ 2.42 (6 mins)
Gin Gin: 49.03kWh @0.55 = $26.97 (1hr 5 mins) (to 80%)
Gympie: 25.10kWh @0.55 = $13.80 (36 mins) (to 35%)
Total: 82.83kWh $44.48 (113 mins charging)
$ are AUD.
Pics are around Mount Walsh.
These locations were Gunalda, Maryborough, Childers and Gin Gin. All 4 were with Chargefox / Yurika (Qld Gov backed program). Have a look on PlugShare for their details. Prepare to be "shocked" at how bad our charging infrastructure is outside major metro areas (i.e. most of Australia). Each charger had 1 CCS2 cable (and another 2 that you had to supply your own cable for), plus a ChaDemo cable. Most people don't carry their own cable (I don't), so if someone is already using the charger, you're out of luck (we had this at Childers, but since it was one of test spots and not required, we moved on). The extra kicker to this: max 50kW chargers, so it takes ages to charge.
Charging at Gunalda was at a pleasant spot and it timed nicely with having short break.
Maryborough was a bit more interesting in location, right on the street next to the 4 way corner with traffic lights and a decent flow of traffic. It made parking a bit more interesting. Overall though going into Maryborough for charging will be something I will generally avoid in the future as it was a significant diversion from the highway.
We had to charge at Gin Gin (and on the way back at Gympie) so we timed that with lunch. Unfortunately we left late from home so it was a late lunch. Charging back to 80% at this point took 65 mins. At this point we realised that trying to make Monto today wasn't going to work, so we went back home with a small detour to Mt Walsh National Park.
I have since discovered that the Qld Gov is working on more chargers by end of 2025 - at Goomeri and Gayndah, which will make the trip easier, although the slow charging is still a hassle.
Even though we didn't make our target this time, I do enjoy driving Thunderbolt for these long distances. It's comfortable and much less fatiguing than driving an ICE vehicle.
Journey stats:
582km in 10 hours.
Start: 100% Finish: 11%
Gunalda: 4.29kWh @0.30 = $ 1.29 (6 mins)
Maryborough: 4.41kWh @0.55 = $ 2.42 (6 mins)
Gin Gin: 49.03kWh @0.55 = $26.97 (1hr 5 mins) (to 80%)
Gympie: 25.10kWh @0.55 = $13.80 (36 mins) (to 35%)
Total: 82.83kWh $44.48 (113 mins charging)
$ are AUD.
Pics are around Mount Walsh.
). But, yeah, it's still pretty unique feeling. 
