Another Newbie Question - Advice on driving SF to LA

[Upscaleman]

Picking up a P90DL in San Rafael on Monday and driving back to LA.

I have never made this drive and I know virtually nothing about the San Fran area.

My first Tesla and first long drive in it.

Any advice on how many charging stops I'll need to make, where the best supercharger stations are, etc....

Much appreciated!

 

[Tam]

...charging stops...

Your navigation system will suggest where to charge.

You could choose either 20-bay Harris Ranch great restaurant or brand new 40-bay Kettlement depending which one is available (your navigation gives out real time availability).

 

[Upscaleman]

Appreciate the reply....that is some sweet navigation! Am I looking at a one charge trip or a two charge, generally speaking?

 

[UberEV1]

Congrats! Shoot for Kettleman City (nice charging stop), but use Harris Ranch if range doesn't cut it. From there, you should be able to get into LA without too much concern (my typical route from San Jose to San Diego is stop 1 @ Kettleman and stop 2 @ Redondo Beach).

 

[EV-lutioin]

Be aware of headwinds, they can cut range significantly. Charge to a 25% cushion if windy, more if it is blowing like it was today

 

[thecloud]

Appreciate the reply....that is some sweet navigation! Am I looking at a one charge trip or a two charge, generally speaking?

Generally speaking, I would plan for a two-stop trip, keeping in mind that you don't need to fully charge at each stop (and it's slower if you do, because the speed of charging ramps down over time as your battery "fills up.")

Make sure you are charged as close to 100% as possible when starting out from San Rafael. You will be taking 580 east over the Altamont Pass on your way to I-5. That uphill stretch will eat up more range than the actual miles on a map, especially if there is wind. I expect you may not have enough to get all the way to Kettleman City on the first leg, so you might want to stop at one of the superchargers on the way there (Gustine or Harris Ranch) for just long enough to get the minimal amount you need to make to Kettleman.

The other thing to keep in mind is the Tejon Pass (aka the Grapevine) awaits you before getting back to L.A. You will want to have a buffer that's around 10-15% greater than what the nav system tells you, so when you charge up at Harris or Kettleman, be sure to enter your destination and see what it estimates. If it thinks that you'll make it home with ~15% or less remaining, definitely stop at Buttonwillow or Tejon Ranch to get a bit more charge before going up the Grapevine.

 

[roblab]

AND... remember that if your remaining battery miles get to be smaller than your remaining trip, well, just slow down a bit. It really, really ups your range. Speed kills... range.

Also, Grapevine may be up, but LA is back down, and you get a lot of regen back, or at least the trip down doesn't cost you a lot of charge. Also, you don't say where in LA, but I bet one stop in Harris is all you'll need. If you're on Nav, it will tell you to the mile what you can do.

 

[Upscaleman]

Great info. Thank you

 

[BinaryField]

I didn't see it mentioned, but are you aware of the tool called "A Better Routeplanner"? You can type in your departure and arrival locations and input your car / driving parameters, and it will give you an itinerary.

Here's a sample of your route: San Rafael to Los Angeles.

 

[Tam]

...one charge trip or a two charge...

Make sure you set your battery gauge in "rated" EPA miles, NOT "ideal" laboratory condition miles (flat road, no wind, no A/C or heater, 55 MPH maximum.)

I only need 1 charge in between SFO and LAX.

For first Tesla drive, some might be an extreme leadfoot with 90 MPH or more which would deplete your battery gauge real quick. In that case, just slow down to reach a nearest Supercharger.

I make a habit to monitor the navigation's remaining miles and compare it with the dashboard battery gauge rated miles.

I wouldn't worry about losing too much energy going uphill in Tejon Pass because you'll gain most of it back when you go down hill.

I would avoid going through San Francisco if you are in a hurry and want to bypass potential heavy traffic but if you would like to take time to visit it then it's perfect with your Tesla.

 

[CLLACAB]

You can also take the 101. Much more pleasant ride and less trucks. A bit longer, but it is the route that I prefer. I drove back from Fremont when I picked up my car. Charged in Atascadero. Good Mexican restaurant right across the street. You could then stop for a quick charge in Oxnard.

 

[SMAlset]

Don't think you want to take 101 anywhere near Santa Barbara/Ventura right now with the Thomas Fire. Parts of Santa Barbara are under mandatory evac with other parts voluntary. You'll want to be on I5 South at some point.

Suppose you could look into 101S and cutting over at 46 near Paso Robles to I5. There are superchargers in Gilroy and Salinas on 101 as you head south which are north of 46. Atascadero would be south of 46 and out of the way if going to I5 via 46.

 

[CLLACAB]

Good point. From Atascadero you could take the 58 across to the 5. There are superchargers nearby when you hit the 5.

 

[bmah]

Going from San Rafael, you'd probably go on I-580 East over the San Rafael bridge. When you get to the East Bay, I-580 East and I-80 West are the same freeway. If you're going on Monday morning you might encounter some congestion from people going to San Francisco (possibly mitigated by winter vacations). But after that you should be pretty clear to get out of the Bay Area on I-580 heading towards I-5 South. Hopefully they give you a full charge at San Rafael, you generally want to avoid the Bay Area Superchargers if possible because they're very busy.

The SF to LA drive on I-5 is nice because there are a lot more Superchargers than you really need. Also some of them (Harris Ranch and Kettleman City) are huge.

Note that you can oftentimes pick up a surprising amount of energy by plugging in at a Supercharger, going to use the restroom, buying a drink (remember to stay hydrated!), and coming back to your car. Your charging stops might be shorter than you think, and remember (as posted upthread) you don't need to fill the battery all the way up. Just pick up what you need to get to your next charging stop, plus a little extra margin. A common technique while Supercharging is to input your next charging stop as a Nav destination and watch the energy screen to see how much reserve it estimates upon arrival. 15%-20% is fairly conservative.

When I did this drive in the spring, I stopped at Harris Ranch and Tejon Ranch (and then Buena Park on the way to San Diego). If I were to do it now, I'd probably try to work in a stop at the just-opened Kettleman City to see the 40 stalls and the coffee bar.

Have a safe trip, and enjoy the new car!

Bruce.

 

[SMAlset]

Caltrans is advising central coast travelers going to southern calif to use either 46 or 166 to get to I5.

FWIW The ride down 101 from Gilroy to Paso Robles is a nice easy drive, pretty uneventful mostly thru agriculural fields, oil/gas fields and vineyards. We haven't encountered a lot of traffic when traveling it during the week. That said at this point in time I think 580 to I5 makes the most sense. Save the more scenic route for a future roadtrip.

Have a great trip home and enjoy your new car. Personally I'd love to stop in the new Kettleman for a charge.

 

[Xminus6]

Generally speaking, I would plan for a two-stop trip, keeping in mind that you don't need to fully charge at each stop (and it's slower if you do, because the speed of charging ramps down over time as your battery "fills up.")

Make sure you are charged as close to 100% as possible when starting out from San Rafael. You will be taking 580 east over the Altamont Pass on your way to I-5. That uphill stretch will eat up more range than the actual miles on a map, especially if there is wind. I expect you may not have enough to get all the way to Kettleman City on the first leg, so you might want to stop at one of the superchargers on the way there (Gustine or Harris Ranch) for just long enough to get the minimal amount you need to make to Kettleman.

The other thing to keep in mind is the Tejon Pass (aka the Grapevine) awaits you before getting back to L.A. You will want to have a buffer that's around 10-15% greater than what the nav system tells you, so when you charge up at Harris or Kettleman, be sure to enter your destination and see what it estimates. If it thinks that you'll make it home with ~15% or less remaining, definitely stop at Buttonwillow or Tejon Ranch to get a bit more charge before going up the Grapevine.

There is a SC right before the Grapevine when traveling South though. We did it recently and could have done it on one charge stop at Harris if it weren't for the horrendous crash and backup that day (the Grapevine was on fire). We ended up backtracking to charge and make up our minds as to what to do. Traffic started moving so we just drove through. It's a pretty easy drive from a charge perspective especially now that Kettleman is online.

 

[thecloud]

@Upscaleman , hope you are enjoying the P90DL. How did the trip go and where did you stop to charge on the way?

 

[Upscaleman]

Long story but I have to go back on Jan 3rd to pick it up.