Sponsors Wanted!!!
Greetings,
My name is Chris. In June 2020 I was diagnosed with stage IV neuroendocrine cancer. This diagnosis, and the surgery and treatment that followed, have changed the way that I view my life. The gift of a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year changed the way I hope to live it.
I am currently in the planning stages of a coast-to-coast road trip I’m calling the Stage IV Tour. You can read more information on my website, www.StageIVTesla.com. As the treatment of my disease requires I make appearances at the cancer center at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY at minimum once every 28 days, my ‘road trip’ will likely occur in a series of ‘legs’: one to the southeast and back, one across the west and southwestern states, one up the left coast, and one that will bring me home and, if time and finances will allow, through as many of the midwestern states as possible. (I am also planning mini-trips for the northern Atlantic States, the Finger Lakes region of New York, as well as a Great Lakes trip that would, hopefully, bring me into Canada).
The purpose of this trip, for me, is to see as many ‘bucket list’ items as I can. From national monuments to national wonders… from parks to landmarks… from oceanfront campsites to sleeping off-grid under the stars at night… I hope to see, and do, as much as time allows.
On a personal note, of course, I hope to visit with friends, relatives, and members of various communities I’m a part of. Neuroendocrine cancer is a ‘slow-moving cancer’, and those diagnosed with it can, and sometimes do, survive for years. Some of what comes along with the diagnosis, however - carcinoid syndrome, for example - can make road tripping extraordinarily difficult. The unpredictable nature of the disease, and its associated illnesses - carcinoid heart syndrome, etc. - can bring things to a close sooner rather than later. As my primary tumor was determined to be inoperable and the cancer had already metastasized to my liver and lymph nodes by the time of my surgery, where it spreads to next is anyone’s guess; my plan is not to wait, but to embark on a road trip before such an endeavor becomes an uncomfortable race from rest stop to rest stop.
In March of 2021 my brother, Jeff, gave me a Tesla Model 3 for my birthday. He believed that the ’05 Toyota Prius I’d been driving for the 13 years prior wasn’t reliable enough for the regular trips I was making to the cancer center an hour away, much less second-opinion trips to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Jeff is a Tesla fan, and he’s also an avid road tripper - he’s bicycled across America, backpacked across Europe, and currently plots out road trips across the northeast in his 1977 VW camper van. I think that he believed that, with a more reliable vehicle, new road trip opportunities might follow for me, as well. I took one in 2021 - a friend and I dubbed it the ‘Dry Run Road Trip’, and it came to a screeching halt in Erie, PA. Still, the #vanlife bug - albeit without the van - had bitten me. Future trips will be better-planned and, hopefully, better-executed. That is the stage that I am in now: planning for the next one.
I found out very early on that road tripping in a Tesla would pose some unique challenges. For one, many campgrounds have rules against ‘car camping’, citing pollution, noise pollution, and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. These regulations don’t take into account electric vehicles (EVs), which don’t have internal combustion engines (ICE) - with no noise, no pollution, and (best of all, I think) no carbon monoxide, there’s no risk to anyone - EVs are literally a carbon-free camping cocoon, a climate-controlled sleeping pod on wheels.
The rules, unfortunately, haven’t caught up to the technology. That’s why one of my goals with the #StageIVTour is to help change the perception of what EV camping really is, one campground at a time.
Another challenge is that, as these vehicles do not use gasoline, refueling isn’t as simple as pulling in to the nearest gas station. Some areas of the country are very EV-friendly - but others are still catching up. Tesla road trippers have options that include superchargers, destination chargers, chargers operated by other companies and open to all electric vehicles, and - in some areas - chargers operated by municipalities, some of which are free. A second goal of this trip: help provide Tesla owners, and other EV owners, with a lay of the land, an overview of what I found for charging options along my routes.
I plan to share details, photos, and videos from my trip across social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, among others. I’ll update my website and blog as frequently as possible, as well. My hope is that, when it’s all over, I’ll have published a virtual guide to EV road tripping that might serve as a ‘road map’, so to speak, for those who come along after me with the same goal.
The potential for EV road tripping is poised to grow exponentially as EV sales grow, and EV camping will likely increase year-over-year as well. As of this writing there are few resources for this segment of the broader road trip/camp community - I am hoping to be one of those who change that going forward.
I am seeking donations of equipment that will help me broadcast my journey via social media. From photography and videography equipment to drones, video editing programs, solar power charging, and more. As such, I am in the process of writing to companies who might be in a position to sponsor the trip by providing products that will help me in my efforts.
I realize that the nomadic wanderings of a cancer patient don’t have the adrenaline-worthiness of an elite athlete, or the glamour of a social media influencer. I believe, however, that the final product of my project could influence the next generation of road tripper and coast-to-coast camper. I hope you will agree, and might consider helping to equip the journey. Trust me when I say that every little bit helps - even ‘demo’ models, refurbished products, or older tech could be useful as I do my best to document and share my trip to the internet.
I am tentatively planning the first leg of the Stage IV Tour, from my home in New York to south Florida and back, for January/February 2022. If you believe that you may be in a position to help in any way, please contact me as soon as possible.
67 Castle Street
PO Box 4
Geneva, NY 14456
833-Tesla-IV
mail@stageivtesla.com
I am very much looking forward to this trip - and, hopefully, series of shorter trips afterwards - and will do my best to make the most of it regardless of equipment. Still, if you are in a position to help, please contact me.
Either way, I hope you’ll visit StageIVTour.com in the near future and watch the future of American road trips play out in real time.
Thank you for your time.
Kind regards,
Chris Henderson
& Stage IV Tour
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