5000 mile jaunt around western USA

[roblab]

I just wanted to share a great trip we finished yesterday: 18 days, 30 superchargers plus a few outlets, hitting Phoenix to Denver to Rapid City (Mt. Rushmore), back through WY, MT, ID, OR, NV and home to Napa Valley. Free forever!

I would not want to bore anyone, but we had a couple interesting things happen. We met a guy at a SC, from Idaho heading to my town of Angwin, while we were traveling from Angwin to Idaho. Turns out he's building a house down the street from me. Small world. Met another guy in Winnemucca that was one of the original Model S owners, whom I haven't seen in maybe 3 years. He lives in Napa. He's got a new Model X, so we compared all the improvements.

I gave a ride to a near paralyzed Vietnam Vet who loves Teslas. It was a little effort to get him into the car, but he'll remember it for a while. Met him at Pendleton, OR, supercharger.

Was driving behind a pickup / trailer combo, trailer full of sand, wind blowing like 60 across the hiway, him doing 60, me pulling up on him contemplating passing, when his heavy construction wheelbarrow caught the wind and blew up out of the trailer and straight back at Milli's side of the car. Quick dodging saved us, as it bounced off the road behind us.

Of course we saw relatives and friends and kids and grandkids and husbands we hadn't met. Went by Grand Canyon, which Milli had never seen. Lots of great country. Probably used Autopilot between one and two thousand miles. What a boon!

And the obligatory picture. Grand Canyon a little after sun up. Makes the car look good, don't you think?

 

[Half Dollar Bill]

Oh, you're making me REALLY jealous and itching to get back on the road again.
That's a very nice picture.

"and husbands we hadn't met" - How many husbands does Milli have?

 

[roblab]

Oh, you're making me REALLY jealous and itching to get back on the road again.
That's a very nice picture.

"and husbands we hadn't met" - How many husbands does Milli have?

What matters is that I'm the best. All the rest don't count. And the other new husbands were married to nieces.

 

[Half Dollar Bill]

I just wanted to share a great trip we finished yesterday: 18 days, 30 superchargers

Want me to update your supercharger count? Last entry was 32. You can get the list of ones you've used from the nav.

 

[DrManhattan]

You must be sick of superchargers. That's a lot of time to spend filling up.

 

[roblab]

Want me to update your supercharger count? Last entry was 32. You can get the list of ones you've used from the nav.

Second Tesla, not counting totals, just this trip.

 

[roblab]

You must be sick of superchargers. That's a lot of time to spend filling up.

Not really. We have breakfast at the first charge stop. 2 hours later, coffee, bathroom break. Couple hours later it's Lupper (lunch/supper). We hardly ever "wait" for a charge. By the time we walk to the Starbucks or Carl's, get a drink, hit the restroom, etc., we're ready to go. We drive at 5 over the limit, or so. 75 to 80. Most charges are 15 -20 minutes. Gas cars take about the same, as I get on the interstate and there are the same people I traveled with all morning.

The trick is to arrive nearer empty (10%), the car charges quickly to 150+ miles, and you head to the next SC. The longest drive is the first one, from the overnight slow charge at the motel (L2 or 14-50 outlet). Yes, it requires planning, but that's part of any trip. I have had two motels put in outlets for me alone.

 

[DrManhattan]

I would love to do a trip like this but that's a lot of miles on the car!

 

[ChadS]

My wife and I did a 28-day, 11,000-mile trip in 2014. Like roblab, we thought it was awesome - the best car trip we have ever taken. Years ago when our kids were young we got to planning a stop at least every 2 hours anyway, so charging didn't slow us down. We very rarely waited on the car; we usually were longer at a meal, tea/restroom stop or walk/sightseeing than the car was charging. Tesla has done much right with the Superchargers.

Yeah, it was about a typical year's worth of miles on one trip, but traveling in a Model S is awesome - plenty of space, fewer vibrations, noises and smells than most ICE cars, and we didn't have to pay for fuel!

 

[roblab]

I would love to do a trip like this but that's a lot of miles on the car!

Really??

First, electrics don't "wear" like a gas car. Miles don't seem to matter. 100,000 miles on a 750-moving-part gas engine/tranny are considered "wear". 100,000 miles on a one-moving-part motor and the one speed transmission of a Tesla is, "meh".

Second, my first Tesla had about 84,000 miles on it when I sold it at 3 years old. Driving is fun again, so we do more of it, as most here have found out. My new car is 6 months old, and I have near 20,000 miles on it.

 

[Skryll]

Really??

First, electrics don't "wear" like a gas car. Miles don't seem to matter. 100,000 miles on a 750-moving-part gas engine/tranny are considered "wear". 100,000 miles on a one-moving-part motor and the one speed transmission of a Tesla is, "meh".

Second, my first Tesla had about 84,000 miles on it when I sold it at 3 years old. Driving is fun again, so we do more of it, as most here have found out. My new car is 6 months old, and I have near 20,000 miles on it.

I feel the same way, the whole point of getting an electric car is to go the distance without regrets. That is also why I am finance/buying it and not leasing because I don't want to be feeling handcuffed in regards to the miles consumed.

 

[DrManhattan]

Really??

First, electrics don't "wear" like a gas car. Miles don't seem to matter. 100,000 miles on a 750-moving-part gas engine/tranny are considered "wear". 100,000 miles on a one-moving-part motor and the one speed transmission of a Tesla is, "meh".

Second, my first Tesla had about 84,000 miles on it when I sold it at 3 years old. Driving is fun again, so we do more of it, as most here have found out. My new car is 6 months old, and I have near 20,000 miles on it.

I get what you're saying, but it all adds up. Parts/joints wear, battery degradation, resale value etc. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it - I would love to but I'm not at a point where I should be trading out a Model S every 3 years. I think i have put around 20,000 miles on my RAV4 EV in almost 3 years - so at that rate, I have plenty of miles to do a few 5000 mile trips!

 

[John Stuckey]

Dayton - ABQ round trip in April. The car was ready to go before we were ready all but two spots each way. Our ICE trips on this route take us 2 1/2 days. Tesla took us 2 1/2 days and we went 150 miles more because I44 SCs were not available. And we don't maximize our charging by letting the SOC get down to 10-15%. We had a least 30% SOC left at all points; most places 40-50%. It was our first long trip and we wanted to be worry free. We had a great time and would not change a thing. I read a lot about maximizing charging. It is an interesting exercise but there may be more important factors to consider than minimum charge times. And the discussions may discourage some people from attempting longer trips or EVs in general.

 

[ThortsMD]

Glad you had a good trip, too I just completed a 6400 "square" route of the West from Seattle to Worthington, MN to Lake Charles, LA to Needles CA to home. Got to add 24 new superchargers to my total (88), and slept in the car 3 nights (very comfortable with a 3.5 inch memory foam mattress). Sailed between all the storms in Tornado Alley. Gas savings paid for my hotels. Great way to travel and see the U.S.A in my Chevro...er.....Tesla.