Introducing the All-Electric Pūkeko, my new EV van (EVan?)
In what seems the most fortuitous timing possible, I have added a non-self-powered addition to the clan. Meet my new adventure wagon!
Meet my new adventure wagon. In what seems to be the most fortuitous timing possible, I’ve gone electric and bought an E-van. I’m calling it the All-Electric Pūkeko, since it runs on pure volts, will have an induction hob in it someday and is blue, like the bird. It’s my first campervan.
It’s an LDV eDeliver 3, which means it’s a SAIC (上汽) and part of a very long list of Chinese-made EVs now available down the pub and in your local corner shop. I bought it at the end of last year, during some sort of dealer sell-off. When I got it, it had 20km on the clock. Not 20,000, 20.
Its range (this is the first question you had when you heard it was electric, right?) is about 243km, but if I drive it ultra-smartly on the slow roads, I reckon I could get 300 from it. The battery is a smidge over 50kWh, so it’s probably currently got about 50kWh of useable energy storage. Honestly, it’s a bit like having an iPhone for a car - Nanna voice: “remember to plug it in!”.
On the faster roads, even if you shun the temptation to speed up on the climbs and do other fun stuff with the instant torque, the range really is about 240km. This is fine for shorter trips, but demands a bit more plugging in at fast chargers when out exploring Aotearoa.
How I stumbled upon the adventure wagon for me
For a number of years now, I have watched in partial envy as backpacker friends have come through NZ, bought a van and gone on to explore the country, while living in their wagon. Some call it #vanlife, while others call it travel or living. I think one even once referred to it as “just bloody awful”, although I believe this was at the end of a long van tenancy and they were eager to get back to living in a house.
My envy was only partial, because I also carried some resistance. This came from two points on the compass: from the northwest, was a reluctance to place more of my eggs in the ‘dependence on oil’ basket; and from the east came my vibe of youthful adamance.
I’d been driving a Toyota Aqua since mid-2022 and had kinda got used to buzzing about the country, getting a guaranteed 700km for every 33 litres I put in. When I turned slightly-nomadic, after the last Covid lockdown lifted1, I had been car-free since 2014. I was totally used to living life in the fit lane, skipping financial losses by zipping around Auckland by bike. Buying a car - even a hyper-efficient hybrid one - made me super nervous. I didn’t want to pour any more money into the pockets of them2 than I had to, but I realised it was a necessity if I was to break out of the city life. The hybrid Aqua was the best solution I could afford. Over the years since, I believed that going full #vanlife would for sure see my fuel expenses jump and that was something I couldn’t face.
The second reason for my dismissiveness was age. Back in ‘22, I was in my early forties - which to my mind means I thought I was about 31 - and in far too good nick to be sleeping in anything beyond a tent. I like tenting and the #TentLife: sleeping on the ground brings a sense of connection, at least through several layers of various plastics, to our world. However, last year, I started to see myself at a much more realistic age: 33. Maybe 34.
Add to that the frankly insane rains Aotearoa seems to suffer more and more of, and I softened to the idea of something solid to sleep in. Plus, it would be a wicked support vehicle on some missions.
Perhaps a micro camper trailer is the answer?
No, it’s not. I spent a good chunk of hours on Trade Me, researching micro campers without realising it. They’re cosy, ornate, practical, customisable and vary wildly, from factory-built to Kiwi-Dads-in-their-garage-built. The idea of being able to leave a base behind on a campground, while going out in the vehicle for the day appealed. But what vehicle? My Toyota Aqua sure as muck wasn’t going to be doing any towing and I wasn’t about to buy a micro camper and a new vehicle.
I shifted focus and began to look at hybrid vans, but the fuel consumption sums didn’t sit right with me. It would be like driving the Aqua, with the ability to sleep in it, but for around a 50% jump in fuel costs. Eugh! Giving the overlords more of my hard-earned cash, just for the pleasure of stretching out for a proper sleep in my own vehicle3 did not wash.
Ready to abandon the idea entirely, Zoe and I were travelling south to hike near Te Aroha last August, when we stopped at Z Bombay. There outside the shop, plugged into the fast charger, sat an eDeliver 3 van. I'd stumbled across electric vans before somewhere in my hunt, but had written the idea off as “they don't have enough range for me”. However, this briefest glimpse conjured up a thought: if this person can make it work, maybe I can? Public fast charging has probably come a long way since I last used it4 .
The price was at the very upper end of my budget, but it ticked the main boxes of increasing utility size and reducing emissions. I went to view one in Auckland and was met with the most bizarre interactions from the dealer. Either lazy, disengaged or just having a bad day, he offered next-to-no interest in making a sale. So, I called the Hamilton dealership and bought one from them.
What are the van plans?
We are going places! It’s both my main transportation and base camp for my work. Since acquiring it, it’s been on road trips around Northland, I collected a bed from Tauranga and I’ve driven it from Auckland to Glenorchy and back.
It’s got a two metre long area in the rear, so it’s comfortable for ol’ lanky here to sleep in5. It’s not exactly high, though, so ol’ lanky can’t stand up. It’s also lacking windows, which means it’s lacking ventilation and there’s little natural light to wake up to, so those idyllic scenes outside can’t be seen once the sliding door gets shut. I’ll probably do something about that in time.
Cooking has been happening on the outside of the van, thanks to my old, but trusty, Trangia. With the correct ventilation, I hope to add an induction hob inside, in keeping with the electric theme. My Dad and I have also fashioned a plywood cabinet that is going to be bolted to the left hand wall as soon as I get a bit of time to construct and attach it.
The guy I bought the bed from sold it with two correctly-sized mattresses. He also threw in an incorrectly-sized, but superior, Dunlop, which I cut and glued to the correct sizes. Over several days, Mum then made two beaut covers for these - one in orange and one in purple. They look incredible and really bring the grey interior some fun. I’ll get you some photos in a future post, I’m sitting on them as I type this6.
Oh, and the grey interior is going to get a lift through a bunch of map-themed displays. Somehow. This is still a work in progress.
For now, this magnet map I picked up in Glenorchy will have to do…
That’s where we’re at. I’ll update you more on how the van plan is panning out very soon.
Definitely not the cause of my turning, just the catalyst
You know them: our fuel overlords, our addiction masters
I did try sleeping in the Aqua once and someone of my altitude can neither stretch out nor get a proper sleep in one, hence this whole article
Yes, we’re still in the thought here - I’ll report the actual answer to you another time
Even if the bed is currently only 1630mm long and I haven’t build the extension bench just yet
That’s my baby quilt in that last pic, which we use as a throw and a blanket