In theory. There's one route I take that is better than anything suggested by car nav, EVTripPlanner, or ABRP in every way: distance, time, and energy use. And it's a more pleasant drive, too. It never hurts to check.
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1,200 Mile Road Trip to Houston, TX - Am I Crazy?
- Thread starter TezTex
- Start date
tezlafor5
Member
Absolutely true if your only goal is to get there without running out of juice. Not the case, in my experience, if you are attempting to optimize for sufficient charge AND time.
You should be fine unless the weather is insanely bad, I've done that route and then some twice, once in an SR+. The Van Horn to El Paso leg is probably the longest stretch between superchargers (~130 miles) so don't skimp in Van Horn or El Paso, depending on which way you're headed. When I did it in the SR+ the car at the time couldn't charge faster than 100 kW and it still wasn't bad.
Did LA to Nola and back in February last year in a our Mid-Range M3 after having the car for only 6 weeks - especially now with the faster charging rates it should be easy-peasy and also fairly quick, even with the SR+. Range shouldn't be an issue at all. As others mentioned: at one point somewhere in Western Texas I almost thought we wouldn't make it cause the headwinds were insane. Did make it with like 3% left after slowing down considerably. The car will tell you and it's also pretty conservative. Learn to read the energy consumption graph and get a feeling for it and how it changes when going slower/faster etc. Plan some extra. I always charged 50% extra (I like to drive fast), so for a 120 mile stretch f.e. I would charge to at least 180 miles so you have peace of mind and you can actually go fast if you want to (my main reason) but also prepared to slow down if the car tells you too of course.
Add: We didn'tuse a third-party trip planner, just the Tesla nav / planner.
Add 2: As other people mentioned: overinflate the tires (we did at least 44-46 cold), put the aero caps on (if you're on 18s and took them off). And to emphasize: speeding is a big factor for range, but it's also fun if done right
Add: We didn'tuse a third-party trip planner, just the Tesla nav / planner.
Add 2: As other people mentioned: overinflate the tires (we did at least 44-46 cold), put the aero caps on (if you're on 18s and took them off). And to emphasize: speeding is a big factor for range, but it's also fun if done right
mbdionio
Member
you should be fine. We did Austin to Grand Canyon last thanksgiving using I-10 via Phoenix to Flagstaff.
JBHemlock
Member
I'm a big fan of plugshare, too. I have yet to do a long road trip like this, but just in playing around with trip planning I've noticed it's pretty easy to find L2 charging near restaurants, so you could get a few bonus kwh while you're stopping for food.
I drive an SR+, too, and have plotted out the El Paso - Van Horn trip. It looks very doable.
I drive an SR+, too, and have plotted out the El Paso - Van Horn trip. It looks very doable.
Most of the trip planners show you how much charge you will need to get to the next supercharger stop on the route. That can mean that the recommendation is to only charge to 65%, then go to the next stop. Of course, charging to 80% will get you there with much range to spare. Look at the planner’s recommended charge percent. Then project if you need a bit more to avoid range anxiety.
Really appreciate all the feedback. I recently found www.windy.com and will monitor that leading up to our trip. I will post back our experience.
Nope, it will be an awesome experience. Did a 4,000 mile road trip from Texas all the way up to the northeast, all around and back. Can’t wait to do another one!
use to live in ATX and PHX and did the "commute" for a while in my ICE cars. I always did an overnight in Deming or El Paso to break up the journey. Depending on what part of PHX and HOU you can add 2 hours to the trip
This post got me thinking if I have to do it in my SR. I live in the NW valley but thankfully my destination would be in Katy. I would pick a Tesla dest. charger hotel . Another reason not to speed in West TX is the speed traps. + you're in the heart of oil country
This post got me thinking if I have to do it in my SR. I live in the NW valley but thankfully my destination would be in Katy. I would pick a Tesla dest. charger hotel . Another reason not to speed in West TX is the speed traps. + you're in the heart of oil country
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mbdionio
Member
iwannam3
Active Member
Is it possible to roll up to a non-Tesla charger and charge without an account or RFID card for that specific brand of charger? I haven't seen any that have a credit card reader, I assume you have to download an app for each brand to access charging? I also see crazy prices $0.59/kwh.
Yes.
For Chargepoint, you can call the number on the equipment and get started immediately. RFID cards are free. Many ChargePoint stations are free to use. I have never paid anything to ChargePoint. In fact, they gave me a $25 promotion credit I've never used.
Glamisduner
Active Member
I just drove from San Diego to Sedona and back. No problems.
I used this, but made sure to exceed the minimum charge times:
A Better Routeplanner
I used this, but made sure to exceed the minimum charge times:
A Better Routeplanner
It only makes a big impact if you turn it off. If you go from a set point of 74 down to 70, and outside is below freezing, you won't notice it too much. When I'm in a crunch, and it's winter, I keep the heat completely off and the seat warmers on. When my glass shows the first sign of fogging, I turn the HVAC back on, with the set point around 68. Since it runs the A/C in auto mode, it quickly dehumidifies the cabin and the fog goes away. Then I shut it off. Rinse and repeat.
If you don't see a huge difference in your Wh/mi numbers doing this, I don't know what to tell you. On an 80mi round trip commute in the winter, running the heat at 74 the entire time vs only running heat to dehumidify improves my total trip Wh/mi by 100 (~350Wh/mi vs ~250Wh/mi).
boiler81
Member
Did a 10K+ road trip in my LR 3D last winter.
Don't waste time with Tesla's planner, use ABRP. Make sure you adjust variables in ABRP for "outside temperature" "wind", "road conditions", and most importantly "reference speed". In many areas of the country, if you drive the posted limit, you'll get run over. I drive based on local customs, which typically put me 5 to 10 over on freeways. This significantly effects range, so if you don't program an increased "reference speed", ABRP thinks your driving the posted limit, and you'll run short and have to slow down to make your next charger.
Try to find hotels with destination chargers. If they don't have a charger, at least talk to the hotel desk and see if there's a outside 110VAC outlet you can plug in. Several hotels I stayed at were able to provide a convenient outdoor receptacle, or even loan a power cord for longer reach. Some hotels have receptacles in their parking lot light poles, Other have them by the hotel service/maintenance entrances. In colder areas of the country, they provide them for ICE customer's block heaters.
Remember, in a crunch, all RV parks have 110V & 220V outlets, and if you have the adapter plug, you can use the 220V.
Just plan it out and go for it.
Don't waste time with Tesla's planner, use ABRP. Make sure you adjust variables in ABRP for "outside temperature" "wind", "road conditions", and most importantly "reference speed". In many areas of the country, if you drive the posted limit, you'll get run over. I drive based on local customs, which typically put me 5 to 10 over on freeways. This significantly effects range, so if you don't program an increased "reference speed", ABRP thinks your driving the posted limit, and you'll run short and have to slow down to make your next charger.
Try to find hotels with destination chargers. If they don't have a charger, at least talk to the hotel desk and see if there's a outside 110VAC outlet you can plug in. Several hotels I stayed at were able to provide a convenient outdoor receptacle, or even loan a power cord for longer reach. Some hotels have receptacles in their parking lot light poles, Other have them by the hotel service/maintenance entrances. In colder areas of the country, they provide them for ICE customer's block heaters.
Remember, in a crunch, all RV parks have 110V & 220V outlets, and if you have the adapter plug, you can use the 220V.
Just plan it out and go for it.
Using just the heated defrost button (for the front windshield) results in the system cranking the heat to "HI" which imo is a waste of energy. I've also noticed that using the cooled defrost button is slower to defog the side and rear windows because so much of the flow is diverted to the front windshield. Typically if you're driving with no HVAC in the winter, you're going to have all your glass fog up at the same time. The best way to defog them all the fastest is to just turn on the HVAC and let it dry out the entire cabin's air. This usually takes less than 15 seconds to accomplish (as long as your HVAC mode is set to auto so that the A/C is running on low), but I'll let it run for a minute to dry out the air even more. That buys a lot more time before your next fog-up.
it’s only 131 miles — shouldn't be a problem!
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Tesla does post that at some high use SCs, because the last 20% will take longer to charge due to tapering down and in many cases it’s faster to charge to 80% or less and stop at the next charger. This does get cars in and out of charging stalls quicker and for the majority will still give them sufficient charge to make it to the next SC and save them charging time. However Tesla does tell drivers that if you are traveling long distance and need the extra charge (maybe going off route where SC aren’t yet available) to just reset your charge level if the car has automatically reset your charge target to 80%.
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