2022 M3 LR...First 1500 mile road trip (3k round trip)...suggestions?

[Konicom04]

I've noticed that when I have tried to override the charging stops with my own ideas or with ABRP, the battery doesn't always precondition and charging takes much longer. At this point Tesla's built in navigation is good enough that's it's usually not worth trying to outsmart it.

Thats a good point.
If the SC stop isn't planned in the in-car NAV - the car won't know when to precondition consequently extending the charge time.
As @XPsionic mentioned - best to use ABRP for planning / comparison, but actually use the car nav to route the trip

 

[Flybyglass]

I drove from Southern Calif. to New England. No problem. Follow the nav for recommended stops. Charging is based on minimum travel time so charges may be 82% at one stop 67% the next etc. You can always add more charge. Chargers usually have services around them and the display will show what's near each larger when selecting it. They also show how many chargers are available at any given time. The system now reroutes you to less crowded chargers is needed. Nav will tell you to slow to XX to make charging stop if going too fast for charger level.
Want add remaining charge - drop 2 MPH below limit and see ending charger climb. Drive above limit and see it dropping. Latest software account for change in elevation, temperature, passenger load and head wind tail winds.

 

[rpiotro]

You'll be fine. I might suggest in case it hasn't been said yet that you pay for a one month subscription to FSD. I did it with my son's model Y for a road trip. Very useful on the interstates.

He has made two trips from Milwaukee to NOLA and back. Did it both times.

 

[blackT3$!@]

We want to arrive at Destin Fla with at least 50% on the charge

I live 40 miles north of Destin, FL. If you are staying in Destin the nearest supercharger is in Crestview, FL (30+ miles) or Panama City, FL (30+ miles). There are destination chargers around, but competition is fierce and they are slow or broken. There isn't a supercharger in Pensacola (45+ mi from Destin), there is a SC but the level 2 chargers are frequently used by cars in for service and the SC is in the middle of nowhere walkable. Bring your mobile charger if you have one. Charge to 100% when you get off I-10 in Crestview, FL (Panera Bread and Starbucks are in the same parking lot) and you may be able to forgo charging or get by with your mobile charger while you drive around Destin.

 

[Konicom04]

You'll be fine. I might suggest in case it hasn't been said yet that you pay for a one month subscription to FSD. I did it with my son's model Y for a road trip. Very useful on the interstates.

He has made two trips from Milwaukee to NOLA and back. Did it both times.

I have enhanced pilot paid for, and did pay for one month FSD on one of my trips.
Waste of money.
It worked the same as my EAP, never changed lanes fully automatically, Probably the branch of software i was on. But - why allow me to purchase if tesla knows it doesn't work ?

Maybe someone more knowledgeable can chime in.

 

[zoomer0056]

why allow me to purchase if tesla knows it doesn't work

Those who buy are guinea pigs and donors for the cause. It's crowd sourcing and crowd funding. It's good thing. A bit of an analogy stretch: some are cautious to participate, not knowing if they'll get a placebo or not.

 

[Konicom04]

Those who buy are guinea pigs and donors for the cause. It's crowd sourcing and crowd funding. It's good thing. A bit of an analogy stretch: some are cautious to participate, not knowing if they'll get a placebo or not.

You see - I would absolutely LOVE to be the tech guinea pig.
Im not allowed - wrong software branch

 

[ColoradoMike]

Thanks for all the insightful comments! This will be a fun trip with our M3LR! We have a supercharger about a mile from the house so I will charge it up this weekend as we have NEVER used a supercharger at all just to be sure everything is AOK before we go!

 

[epicshooter]

I've done something similar, not to Florida, but 4000 miles there and back. My friend just did CO to FL a couple months ago in his Y LR. It's totally doable. I brought a CCS adapter to handle places where Tesla isn't as good, or where Electrify America was cheaper just to control costs.

I also tend to drive about 125% of the speed limit - about 10 over. I won't go into my big trip list, but here are some specifics to my Tesla road trips:

1. Tire compressor and patch kit - obvious why
2. Mobile charger with my adapters - Never needed it, but could come handy in case something happens
3. CCS Adapter - I charge 75% at SC and 25% at CCS chargers.
4. Water bottles and towels - the model 3 tends to get bug crap on it's windshields more than any of my other cars. Often down south I have to stop and wipe them off or scrub them off. Also, it's helpful if you're at a 150kW SC and the handle gets hot - the cold water and a towel or cloth wrapped around the handle can help the speed.

Otherwise…just a standard road trip. I'd also make sure you have:

1. Plugshare installed - login, use it once or twice around you to get filtering right
2. Chargepoint, Electrify America, EVGo apps installed. Just better to have them just in case. In TX there were some spots where only EA was available, and one where EVGo was. You don't want to be trying to login/set them up when you're trying to charge.
3. ABRP as a backup. I prefer Tesla nav, but ABRP is great as a backup.
4. Waze.

Make sure you check the app/email after your first supercharge. When I first got mine my credit card was in the app and on the web and they still could not complete the transaction. I had to remove and re-add my card and (same one) and then it worked. If I had not noticed it would have let me charge the first time but not the second.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Make sure you check the app/email after your first supercharge. When I first got mine my credit card was in the app and on the web and they still could not complete the transaction. I had to remove and re-add my card and (same one) and then it worked. If I had not noticed it would have let me charge the first time but not the second.

EXCELLENT ADVICE!

 

[KenC]

Hi Folks!

Our family (wife/two 50lb dogs) are going to attempt a 1500 mile road trip from Colorado to Southwest Florida in a few weeks. TONS of our friends have said this is not possible in our 2022 M3LR. I think it is possible! Since we purchased our car it is about time for us to see if we can do it!

I want to prove them wrong! We are going to do this in a 24 hr period with me driving and then my wife driving. (we have done this exact trip a couple of times in our SUV and truck, so it is not new to us).

This will be about a 24 hr trip (one way) and I am OK with that. Tesla Online said we have to make about 9 stops. The ABRT program says about the same thing.

Multiple "short stops" around anywhere from 9 minutes to 30 minutes. This should only add about 2 hours to the trip based on a previous "run" to our family in Florida.

For us, a 90 min to 120 min (3hrs max) drive between stops is about what the puppies/myself/my wife can handle. So the long drive is broken up into multiple "realistic" stops would happen if we were not trying to "Cannonball" the entire trip.

I would appreciate any thoughts on this and how to plan! I have a few "goals" on this trip.

1. Friends say you cannot do it and it will add 3 hours to the trip.
- I disagree....it will add some time but not that much.
2. Friends say you cannot charge only on Tesla chargers.
- I disagree...depending on service outages I think it will work fine.
3. One friend stated that it will add WAY more time to a trip.
-This I have to agree with but between two dogs and my wife, I believe stopping many times keeps us both awake and alert!

I tend to drive FASTER than the speed limit and I understand that the SOC will be reduced.....I tend to drive a bit faster than the speed limit....XX +5 to 10mph over. My wife drives at the speed limit.

Anything we should consider? Things we should bring?

I will bring a compressor and a patch kit as we do not have a spare.

Thanks for all your inputs, especially from folks that have done this for the first time!

PS. We have never charged at a supercharger whatsoever! I will plug in at our local one to ensure it works this week.

Based upon your stop requirements, your trip is pretty ideal for a Tesla LR. Driving as fast as you feel comfortable with, and charging at SOCs as low as you feel comfortable with, will give you the fastest trip times. I punched in a Denver to Destin trip, @108% of speed limit, which is kind of the average between you and your wife, and it show 21h16m of driving, with 2h53m of charging at 13 stops, all at Superchargers. That makes your average stop time 13m, and the longest 24m. Shortest segments 70m and longest 156m. Pretty much matches your requirements. I can't imagine driving an ICE with your requirements on speed and stop frequency would be any faster.

 

[RickCRNA]

Stop talking to friends who don’t know what they’re talking about re: your EV trip. Have done several cross country trips in our Teslas and it’s always been super easy, fun and satisfying.

 

[Konicom04]

Stop talking to friends who don’t know what they’re talking about re: your EV trip. Have done several cross country trips in our Teslas and it’s always been super easy, fun and satisfying.

HA! - exactly how wife and I feels.
If we were retired, we'd be road tripping at least till the free supercharging miles run out ,

 

[ColoradoMike]

Based upon your stop requirements, your trip is pretty ideal for a Tesla LR. Driving as fast as you feel comfortable with, and charging at SOCs as low as you feel comfortable with, will give you the fastest trip times. I punched in a Denver to Destin trip, @108% of speed limit, which is kind of the average between you and your wife, and it show 21h16m of driving, with 2h53m of charging at 13 stops, all at Superchargers. That makes your average stop time 13m, and the longest 24m. Shortest segments 70m and longest 156m. Pretty much matches your requirements. I can't imagine driving an ICE with your requirements on speed and stop frequency would be any faster.

Since we have never done a long trip...aka we always charge at home....does the Tesla put in different chargers if your battery use is higher? So if we drive really fast or encounter a super headwind is the navigation system in the Tesla taking this into account? Sorry for such a basic question but I simply am not sure.

Thanks!

 

[Konicom04]

Since we have never done a long trip...aka we always charge at home....does the Tesla put in different chargers if your battery use is higher? So if we drive really fast or encounter a super headwind is the navigation system in the Tesla taking this into account? Sorry for such a basic question but I simply am not sure.

Thanks!

Yes the in-car nav will adapt, even to conditions unrelated to your driving, like superchargers out of service due to weather, or high usage ( all banks occupied)
I had a situation once where i was at 15 % SOC, battery preheating for supercharging, and suddenly a message pops up that the destination is out of service.
NAV rerouted to a different one slightly out of my way, but close enough to make it.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Yes the in-car nav will adapt, even to conditions unrelated to your driving, like superchargers out of service due to weather, or high usage ( all banks occupied)
I had a situation once where i was at 15 % SOC, battery preheating for supercharging, and suddenly a message pops up that the destination is out of service.
NAV rerouted to a different one slightly out of my way, but close enough to make it.

Thanks so much! That makes me feel better! I was a bit nervous about doing this road trip but now I am really excited to do it! It is nice to know that our Tesla will re-route us if needed due to outages and other conditions!

 

[RichAZ/CapeCod]

ColoradoMike please don't over think your road-trip. Wifey and I do an AZ~Cape Cod~AZ twice a year in our Model Y LR AWD (once in a Chevy Bolt... Don't ask). Piece of cake.

Enjoy the trip and get back to us with your tale of "cheating death" road-tripping in an EV!!

Rich

 

[ColoradoMike]

ColoradoMike please don't over think your road-trip. Wifey and I do an AZ~Cape Cod~AZ twice a year in our Model Y LR AWD (once in a Chevy Bolt... Don't ask). Piece of cake.

Enjoy the trip and get back to us with your tale of "cheating death" road-tripping in an EV!!

Rich

Thanks Rich! As a Mainer/Masshol** we are on board! We simply have not tried a long trip in the Tesla! Thanks for the support! Any other suggestions on what we should do or consider? I appreciate the suggestions...."we don't know what we do not know"!

 

[RichAZ/CapeCod]

Thanks Rich! As a Mainer/Masshol** we are on board! We simply have not tried a long trip in the Tesla! Thanks for the support! Any other suggestions on what we should do or consider? I appreciate the suggestions...."we don't know what we do not know"!

"Any other suggestions on what we should do or consider?" Yeah, buy my book (self-serving wise-crack). In addition, wife and I keep our daily mileage to around 500 per day. Makes life easier and the trip much more pleasant. Your trip to Florida might be much more enjoyable if you break it down into a two day ride.

You mentioned you'd test out a Supercharger before going. Good idea. You "should" be connected to a bank account (or CC, not sure) with your Tesla app. Best make sure before going.

Rich

 

[ColoradoMike]

"Any other suggestions on what we should do or consider?" Yeah, buy my book (self-serving wise-crack). In addition, wife and I keep our daily mileage to around 500 per day. Makes life easier and the trip much more pleasant. Your trip to Florida might be much more enjoyable if you break it down into a two day ride.

You mentioned you'd test out a Supercharger before going. Good idea. You "should" be connected to a bank account (or CC, not sure) with your Tesla app. Best make sure before going.

Rich

Thanks Rich! I just purchase your "book"....HAHAHA!

I drive our M3LR on the weekends. It is my wife's daily driver and she puts on 100 miles each day .....not even CLOSE to your 500 miles per day! RESPECT!
Unfortunately, we cannot break it down into a two day drive. We need to "get there" and "get back". So this maximizes our time with our family. We debated doing flights but that was kind of "cost prohibitive" for us. The added benefit is actually taking the Tesla on a long road trip! As I mentioned in the original post...our friends say it is not feasible. I am going to prove the fact that our Tesla CAN and WILL make the journey back and forth.