LOL, this is so easy with a Tesla. It's not even a challenge.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.
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2022 M3 LR...First 1500 mile road trip (3k round trip)...suggestions?
- Thread starter ColoradoMike
- Start date
mspohr
Well-Known Member
We drove from California (Lake Tahoe) to Miami (and back... 6300 miles) at Thanksgiving. We only used the Tesla car nav system which worked remarkably well. It found charging stops and rerouted us if they were busy or if our battery state changed from that which was projected.
About the "Extra time waiting to charge":
This is not much of an issue. We found that the charging stops were a convenient time to get food and take a "bio-break" so we actually spent very little time actually sitting in the car waiting for it to charge. Most of our charging stops were about 30 minutes.
By all means, go for it. You'll have a great time.
About the "Extra time waiting to charge":
This is not much of an issue. We found that the charging stops were a convenient time to get food and take a "bio-break" so we actually spent very little time actually sitting in the car waiting for it to charge. Most of our charging stops were about 30 minutes.
By all means, go for it. You'll have a great time.
rpiotro
Active Member
Too bad that they don't offer EAP on a subscription basis for $100 per month. It includes the best features of the FSD. At least for interstate cruising.
I found the lane change feature to work great myself. Were you referring to the change lanes to pass? Otherwise you need to initiate it by hold down the stalk for a few seconds.
Yes - the change lane feature works good in EAP. It does take a little practice to master it, and my opinion is that only tech brain nerds like me will ever find it safe and functional. Wife won't ever use it. I also think EAP generally improved after the last update.
I believe - and correct me if I'm wrong - FSD will do lane change and passing slower traffic completely without drivers input.
Lastly, I thought the subscription for EAP is $99.00 if one has standard AP? It better be that - just ordered an MYP with standard and do want to be able to purchase EAP for road trips
Hmmm... good question. In the initial planning phase, I doubt the Tesla planner factors in your driving style, like speed, which is the most important variable. It does now factor in weather, including wind, which is also a big difference maker. But, as someone else mentioned, the car will notify you if you aren't going to make your next stop as planned and re-route to one you can make.
I use ABRP for planning, and input the stops into the car's nav. To me, that's the best of both systems. ABRP's estimate are very dynamic as you drive, not to mention you can input your speed when estimating. I found ABRP to be more accurate, especially if you do their subscription. When I did it, it was free for 2weeks, and $5 a month, afterward. It also gets the live supercharger data so it knows which ones are down, etc. just like the Tesla nav.
I did the Maine to Denver and back trip, 18months ago, 4400 miles roundtrip. 3 days there, 3 days back. Drove myself, so between 600 and 800 miles a day. It was the easiest roadtrip ever. I've done lots of roadtrips in ICE vehicles, and the Tesla is the easiest even with charging, as long as you are used to stopping every couple hours. Like I said, your requirements are pretty optimal for roadtripping a Tesla.
It's even easier nowadays with more V3 superchargers. Don't overthink it. You'll see after your first stop or two. It's braindead easy.
I think the one time NAV notified me that superchargers are out as i was close to and preheating - I actually had to manually refresh ( i.e. - cancel route, and reactivate) for it to recalculate.
I am not sure tho - it might've been my panic - and maybe it would've done it by itself if i waited a bit longer. Im not a very patient person
I am not sure tho - it might've been my panic - and maybe it would've done it by itself if i waited a bit longer. Im not a very patient person
mspohr
Well-Known Member
The Tesla nav system continuously monitors battery use and your destination mileage. It supposedly takes weather (wind) into account. It will monitor your speed and energy use.
It uses this information to update Supercharger stops to ensure you don't run out.
On my recent long trip from California to Florida I used the Tesla nav system exclusively and continuously. Several times it adjusted SC stops to account for energy usage. As an example, in one case a strong headwind in Arizona resulted in it moving SC charging stops closer together. It also monitors SC stations use and several times changed SC destinations when the original station was busy. It also notified me when a station was busy and there might be a wait (I never had to wait).
Highly recommend that you use the Tesla nav system. It's excellent.
DocHolliday
Member
This has been #1 on my wish list too! Or a $2-3K purchase price for EAP.
So do we put on the "aero wheels" or jut run without them? Honest question! So do the make a difference???
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Yes, they make a difference. Just a few percent. YMMV
RichAZ/CapeCod
Member
Yeah, there is a difference. Would you notice? Not sure. Not gonna quote a figure ('cause it'd be wrong) but the percent loss in range would be in the low single digit range.
For the record, next Tuesday we'll be taking the MY from AZ to Cape Cod with the "aeros" on. Last Fall did a 400~500 mile back and forth ride from south of Tucson to Kingman AZ in our M3 SR. No aero wheel covers used. We lived.
Rich
I think reports were 1-3% better on the highway with the aero covers on. Not a huge deal in a LR.
I do this distance ALL THE TIME, WITH puppy and/or baby and therefore require stops regardless of vehicle
1. compared to gas? more or less..doesnt make a difference. over 24hr on-road time you'd probably want to stop twice for sit-down eating (while car is not fueling)
2. lolololol. ive had to wait for a charger in about 1 out of 30 occasions. its simply not an issue.
3. the time difference is not meaningful on a long trip. see #1
tip 1: don't plan on arriving at a stop with projected ~10% until you are very well "calibrated" to your cars actual consumption. theres a good chance that estimate is optimistic, and then you'll have to slow down drastically to preserve margin of safety
tip 2: it'll take a while for you to become calibrated to the consumption. sometimes i see the car computer estimate 1 thing (and/or abrp estimate another thing), but i have a better sense of it. (in single digit SOC% i give myself 3-4km per percentage point)
GBearFan
Member
Hey ColoradoMike, my wife and I are brand new to Tesla after driving only Toyota/Lexus vehicles since the early 1990s. We are in our 60s and have had a Model Y LR for just 4 months now and have logged over 7,000 miles. We don't know anything about A Better Route Planner or Waves. However, we've taken our car on 2 long road trips from southwest Illinois (metro St. Louis). One trip to southern Mississippi and a second trip to the Washington DC metro area. On each trip, we just navigated to our destinations and stopped only at Tesla superchargers. TIP ONE: let your car navigate to the superchargers as it will precondition the battery for the fastest possible charging sessions (it will do this automatically if you are navigating your destination). TIP TWO: Please lower your expectations for travel time. Expect to stop for charging every two and a half hours or so for 20-35 minutes as many of the superchargers are still the older version 2 stations that max out at 150 kw. This was the most disappointing part of our trips for me because I was used to driving 4-hour stretches before stopping. so, your friend who said it will add WAY more time to a trip is correct. But so what, just plan accordingly. TIP THREE: At any point along the way, you can tap the charging icon on the screen to see all of the supercharger stations within range of your car. I found this to be quite helpful, as it allows you to select faster version 3 stations when available. You should be able to make your trip easily exclusively on Tesla superchargers. Also check for hotels with Tesla destination chargers. Free go-go juice is always good. I've found the Tesla community on this site to be very helpful. Members have posted good advice for you. Please forgive me for being so long winded but road tripping in a Tesla (even at our age) is extremely easy and even enjoyable when you get use to the stops. HAVE A GREAT TRIP!!! BTW-We plan to drive to Colorado Springs in early September, so maybe you could give us some tips.
Trip changed but going mid-week first or second week of June. So ABRP shows a bunch of charge stops for only a few a few minutes. Perhaps it is because we have extra weight and speed is 90 mph amd SOC at destination in Fort Walton Beach FL….I was trying to just limit charges on ABRP to %60. Any suggestions?
In ABRP settings ( upper left corner of the app) you can set charging stop modes - from "few but long" through "short but many"
I'd start there and see where is yours set
Well our plans changed again and we just returned from our 10 day trip to NW Florida from Colorado and back. Our trip was 1500 miles each way and driving at our destination on the Emerald Coast around Destin/Fort Walton Beach/Pensacola and it was a fun vacation!
I have to say that this was one of the BEST road trips we have taken in a very long time! Our 2022 M3LR performed great! Some observations:
1. We used a combination of ABRP and the Tesla navigation. Tesla wanted to do longer stops with more distance between stops whereas ABRP had numerous stops with smaller time for charging. ON the way out we tried ABRP and it was pretty good but we skipped a couple of 6 min "bump up" stops because we spent a longer time at the previous charger. On the way home we did another combination of ABRP and the Tesla Navigation. Between the two we had the best of both worlds!
2. We drove both the out and back legs in one trip. AKA straight-through driving. I have done this trip a couple of times previously in our Macan and to be honest, between the two trips we both preferred the Tesla by far!
3. Zero charge anxiety (something we thought would be an issue but it simply wasn't). There were options along the route to charge early or later depending on how we felt. We NEVER had to wait on a charger but there were a couple of times where we were the last folks in a slot and that only happened twice. The nice thing is that even if we did have to wait, chargers freed up within minutes.
4. Many times we did not get the "preconditioning message" and it had me worried. What I "assume" is that since we were driving in hot weather across Texas/Louisiana/Mississippi/Florida, the battery was already warm enough to not need preconditioning. Is that correct?
5. We had our M3LR packed up with two 45 lb dogs and they both did great! I initially was going to keep the rear seats up but after seeing a few videos online, it was better that we left the rear seats folded down. We used a rear seat cover Rear Seat Cover and were super happy with it! Since the seats were down we simply laid the rear portion back into the trunk area and this worked fine. I highly recommend this rear seat cover if you are looking for one!
6. My friend said that the trip would take MUCH longer than in an ICE car. This is debatable depending on how you travel. Our previous trips in the Macan were just about the same time. We found that the car was waiting on us rather than us waiting on the car. With two of us and two dogs it takes a bit to stretch, use the restrooms, let dogs get water and snacks/food etc so it was actually more comfortable just leaving the car at the charger while taking care of those things. In an ICE vehicle you have to get your fuel and then re-park so leaving the M3LR in one spot was convenient.
7. We found that sometimes the Tesla Nav would take us to 150KW chargers where there were 250KW chargers that were pretty close. We elected to try some of the 250KW chargers that ABRP recommended and to be honest we preferred that. Not because they are simply faster but rather the newer 250KW chargers "seemed" to have better amenities at them.
8. We did not go for efficiency at any time! We were doing it "cannonball" style for speeds....hahaha! The biggest difference when driving fast between our ICE vehicles and the Tesla was the quietness in the car. Simply a joy to drive.
9. Autopilot issues! The trip was not perfect when using autopilot and to be honest I stopped using it for a couple of reasons. One, the max speed was 85 mph to use it (enough said LOL). The other issue was that in Texas with hot temps we had phantom braking so much so that we simply could not trust it. My thoughts on this may have to do with the mirages that were constant in the mid-day heat. At night though, we had ZERO issues with autopilot when we elected to use it.
10. Finally, It was so fun to "travel" and meet folks out on the road! Everyone was super friendly and when I had questions everyone was happy to assist. At our first charging spot the car would not charge. Two folks suggested we move to another charger and that fixed the issue. What was odd is that someone pulled into the charger we tried and had zero issues. It was also fun to meet up with folks further down the line at other chargers! We met some really awesome folks that we are going to keep in touch with!
Well that's about it! All in all I would NEVER EVER hesitate to take the Tesla on a road trip cross country! It was a pleasure and was just simply fun! We do have the Premium Connectivity and found that having the Google Maps up and the streaming services to be a really nice thing to have. In some areas where we had no phone connections the Tesla always had it! Pretty cool!
Thanks for all of the advice folks have provided in this thread! It really helped us tremendously!
I have to say that this was one of the BEST road trips we have taken in a very long time! Our 2022 M3LR performed great! Some observations:
1. We used a combination of ABRP and the Tesla navigation. Tesla wanted to do longer stops with more distance between stops whereas ABRP had numerous stops with smaller time for charging. ON the way out we tried ABRP and it was pretty good but we skipped a couple of 6 min "bump up" stops because we spent a longer time at the previous charger. On the way home we did another combination of ABRP and the Tesla Navigation. Between the two we had the best of both worlds!
2. We drove both the out and back legs in one trip. AKA straight-through driving. I have done this trip a couple of times previously in our Macan and to be honest, between the two trips we both preferred the Tesla by far!
3. Zero charge anxiety (something we thought would be an issue but it simply wasn't). There were options along the route to charge early or later depending on how we felt. We NEVER had to wait on a charger but there were a couple of times where we were the last folks in a slot and that only happened twice. The nice thing is that even if we did have to wait, chargers freed up within minutes.
4. Many times we did not get the "preconditioning message" and it had me worried. What I "assume" is that since we were driving in hot weather across Texas/Louisiana/Mississippi/Florida, the battery was already warm enough to not need preconditioning. Is that correct?
5. We had our M3LR packed up with two 45 lb dogs and they both did great! I initially was going to keep the rear seats up but after seeing a few videos online, it was better that we left the rear seats folded down. We used a rear seat cover Rear Seat Cover and were super happy with it! Since the seats were down we simply laid the rear portion back into the trunk area and this worked fine. I highly recommend this rear seat cover if you are looking for one!
6. My friend said that the trip would take MUCH longer than in an ICE car. This is debatable depending on how you travel. Our previous trips in the Macan were just about the same time. We found that the car was waiting on us rather than us waiting on the car. With two of us and two dogs it takes a bit to stretch, use the restrooms, let dogs get water and snacks/food etc so it was actually more comfortable just leaving the car at the charger while taking care of those things. In an ICE vehicle you have to get your fuel and then re-park so leaving the M3LR in one spot was convenient.
7. We found that sometimes the Tesla Nav would take us to 150KW chargers where there were 250KW chargers that were pretty close. We elected to try some of the 250KW chargers that ABRP recommended and to be honest we preferred that. Not because they are simply faster but rather the newer 250KW chargers "seemed" to have better amenities at them.
8. We did not go for efficiency at any time! We were doing it "cannonball" style for speeds....hahaha! The biggest difference when driving fast between our ICE vehicles and the Tesla was the quietness in the car. Simply a joy to drive.
9. Autopilot issues! The trip was not perfect when using autopilot and to be honest I stopped using it for a couple of reasons. One, the max speed was 85 mph to use it (enough said LOL). The other issue was that in Texas with hot temps we had phantom braking so much so that we simply could not trust it. My thoughts on this may have to do with the mirages that were constant in the mid-day heat. At night though, we had ZERO issues with autopilot when we elected to use it.
10. Finally, It was so fun to "travel" and meet folks out on the road! Everyone was super friendly and when I had questions everyone was happy to assist. At our first charging spot the car would not charge. Two folks suggested we move to another charger and that fixed the issue. What was odd is that someone pulled into the charger we tried and had zero issues. It was also fun to meet up with folks further down the line at other chargers! We met some really awesome folks that we are going to keep in touch with!
Well that's about it! All in all I would NEVER EVER hesitate to take the Tesla on a road trip cross country! It was a pleasure and was just simply fun! We do have the Premium Connectivity and found that having the Google Maps up and the streaming services to be a really nice thing to have. In some areas where we had no phone connections the Tesla always had it! Pretty cool!
Thanks for all of the advice folks have provided in this thread! It really helped us tremendously!
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Glad this worked out so well for you. I think you have confirmed that most of your anxieties about range, etc. were not of concern.
Yes, the battery will not "preheat" if it is already at optimum temperature.
Yes, phantom braking is still a thing. I, too, have given up on it until the software is fixed.
We've taken multiple long distance trips in our Teslas and found them much more comfortable and relaxing than our ICE cars. (smooth, quiet, fast, etc.)
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.
Time for new friends...after you send them a link to Tesla Super Charger locations! But there is no doubt it will take longer.
37 hours according to this....for example Denver to Naples. Google maps shows 29 or 30 hours with ICE.
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