Anyone drive Hwy1 from CA to WA?

[northWETwa]

Have had our P85 for a while now and have done several short trips from Bremerton, WA to Portland, OR without issues. Drive down, goof around, charge up in Woodburn, drive home. Easy-peasy.

We're now getting ready to take off on our first Real Road Trip, from Bremerton, WA to Santa Barbara, CA and back. Looking to zip down I-5 to get there. Our charging plan for going down looks to be straight forward and easy. Plenty of info on this site to help us get over any range anxiety we might have had - thanks all! Coming back, we're hoping to travel up Hwy 1 with our tent, taking a couple extra days and enjoying the ride. We've driven this route several times over the years in prior vehicles, but travel in our MS is a new day Tried mapping with EVTripPlanner, but it keeps routing us up I5 to the Superchargers there. I'm having problems dragging the route over to the 1 and off of the 5. Tesla Supercharger map shows that there are a few chargers on Hwy1, though. Any tips from those of you who have been there/done that??

As a side note.....we have free Supercharging on our vehicle and were hoping to minimize our "fuel" costs on this trip. We will be bringing a heavy-duty orange garage extension cord in case we need it (charge at campsite?).

 

[MarcusMaximus]

If you're really taking the 1 the whole way, at least right now, you'd need to make it all the way from Seaside, near Monterey to Eureka on a single charge(it sounds like you're not using destination charging, so superchargers only). There are planned superchargers for Daly City, Mill Valley and Mendocino that'll make that trip doable, but they aren't there yet.

Also, for charging at a camp site, if you're charging on a normal wall plug, I'd note you won't get much. Over a whole night, you'll likely end up with an extra ~34-36 miles of range

 

[northWETwa]

Any recommended non-Superchargers along that route??

Yeah, aware that we will only get 3'ish miles charge per hour on a regular cord (we charged exclusively via this method for the first three months of owning our car), but it's a good backup to have in the trunk in a pinch.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

None from me. I know this route just because I'm planning a trip to Crescent City for some point next year, but I've never actually made the drive, myself. From looking at destination chargers, though, it looks like you'd have to stay in hotels along the way.

 

[jbcarioca]

I am off on a similar trip next week. I have made quite a few long Tesla trips so I used the same techniques in planning this one. I'm taking I-5, basically, San Francisco to Vancouver, then 101/1 South. Since none of my EV planning solutions allow me to ignore logic and go scenic (why does somebody not make a 'scenic' option?)...

Anyway, on this route the only problem is Eureka South, and most of that route I have done recently. A nice break is Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, south of Medocino on Rt 128 close to Hendy Woods. They have CHAdeMO and Tesla chargers. Otherwise using PlugShare you'll find quite a few CHAdeMO and Tesla connectors in hotels and restaurants along the way. Maybe it takes a little while to plan but it is a glorious trip.

This will my third Tesla trip on parts of this route, my first all the way to Vancouver and back.
My suggestion is to have a CHAdeMO adapter. I end out using mine often when I stray from 'Supercharger country' and CHAdeMO is generally available along the way.
By this time next year we'll have Superchargers all over crowded with Model 3. Including mine.

 

[CarlitoDoc]

Currently taking a family road trip and using 101 from Newport, OR to San Francisco. Some observations: 1. Driving an ICE, but since I will own a Tesla in the future, I have been keeping an eye for charging stations on our frequent stops. Have not seen that many to be honest, the Mall in Eureka has a supercharger, looked empty yesterday. 2. Traffic: Frequent stops due to construction, slow moving at times (may not be bad for range?). 3. Gradient: Lots of up/down hill driving (maybe some regen ??) Tesla experts may be able to give their input on this subject. Overall, beautiful road, we've taken tons of pics, we took our time (so far 2 days)!! I can't wait to make this trip on my Model 3 LR.

 

[jbcarioca]

... Overall, beautiful road, we've taken tons of pics, we took our time!! I can't wait to make this trip on my Model 3 LR.

I was reminded by your post. Because of all those beautiful stops, I ended out finding unexpected charging opportunities at several stops. All of the on PlugShare IIRC. As a result, on my last trip San Francisco-Eureka, I was never below 30% SOC. I even ended out skipping some charging opportunities, something I rarely do. With charging I follow the ancient "First Rule of British Diplomacy- Never pass an opportunity to..." except restating to 'charge' rather than 'personal discharge'.

 

[ecarfan]

Coming back, we're hoping to travel up Hwy 1 with our tent, taking a couple extra days and enjoying the ride

A warning: in California, Hwy 1 is closed at Salmon Creek Falls north to Garda. It will be closed for years due to a massive slide.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

Gradient: Lots of up/down hill driving (maybe some regen ??) Tesla experts may be able to give their input on this subject.

Regen efficiency is ~33% as I remember, so if you climb a hill and then regen to keep the same speed on the way down, you should gain back about 1/3 of the extra energy it took to go up(resulting in a net loss of 0.67mh from the hill). Can't cheat the second law of thermodynamics.

 

[cpa]

The elevation gains and losses along US101 are not that significant. The road is from near sea level from Brookings to Crescent City, and again at Eureka. Between Crescent City and Eureka there are a few stretches where you climb and descend--none more that about 700 feet or so (this is just a guess.)

South of Eureka there will be a little more elevation gain as you reach Willits (1,400 feet). But the gain is gradual, and then you descend as you reach Ukiah and points south.

Hugging Highway 1 from Leggett you will descend to the coastal region and the road is pretty much at sea level the entire distance.

I would not concern myself about experiencing significant reduction in range on these stretches of highway. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

 

[jbcarioca]

The elevation gains and losses along US101 are not that significant. The road is from near sea level from Brookings to Crescent City, and again at Eureka. Between Crescent City and Eureka there are a few stretches where you climb and descend--none more that about 700 feet or so (this is just a guess.)

South of Eureka there will be a little more elevation gain as you reach Willits (1,400 feet). But the gain is gradual, and then you descend as you reach Ukiah and points south.

Hugging Highway 1 from Leggett you will descend to the coastal region and the road is pretty much at sea level the entire distance.

I would not concern myself about experiencing significant reduction in range on these stretches of highway. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Absolutely, and the speeds are low too, so the range penalty is quite minimal. Sometimes you might even get up to 55 mph, but not too often, partly because the scenery is too good to go speeding by. For that there's I-5.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

Funny timing: I'm at my computer to plot out a trip from Santa Barbara to Portland (after crossing over to SB from Colorado). Gave up on the coast since I don't have time for less than supercharging speeds (except for overnights). Was hoping to do some Hwy 1, but gave up and will do 101 instead. Have a great trip!

 

[northWETwa]

Ugh....I feel so spoiled! All we ever do is charge up in our garage 99% of the time!

Planning....planning....planning......

HUGE thanks to ecarfan for the heads up re: Hwy 1 road closure at Big Sur! Just checked out bigsurcalifornia.org. Looks like potential to be a big traffic mess in that little area. Thinking we'll reroute our plans and go 101 past San Fran and then cut out to the 1. Maybe after Petaluma?? Petaluma to Eureka looks to be 268 miles via Hwy 1. Stopping at Greenwood Ridge Vineyards and possibly overnighting at Hendy Woods sound like great options along the way! Looking forward to going with the flow and enjoying the scenery......!

By this time next year we'll have Superchargers all over crowded with Model 3. Including mine.

Us too!

ThisIsTrue - Wave as you go by! Ha! Yeah.....we're heading "home" to visit family down in SB

 

[cpa]

Ugh....I feel so spoiled! All we ever do is charge up in our garage 99% of the time!

Planning....planning....planning......

HUGE thanks to ecarfan for the heads up re: Hwy 1 road closure at Big Sur! Just checked out bigsurcalifornia.org. Looks like potential to be a big traffic mess in that little area. Thinking we'll reroute our plans and go 101 past San Fran and then cut out to the 1. Maybe after Petaluma?? Petaluma to Eureka looks to be 268 miles via Hwy 1. Stopping at Greenwood Ridge Vineyards and possibly overnighting at Hendy Woods sound like great options along the way! Looking forward to going with the flow and enjoying the scenery......!

Us too!

ThisIsTrue - Wave as you go by! Ha! Yeah.....we're heading "home" to visit family down in SB

CA SR1 leaves US101 just past the Golden Gate Bridge at the Marin Headlands. It is a slow, serpentine route to reach the coast. But then you will get some fabulous scenery interspersed with charming seaside towns. You could also take the Russian River Highway through Guerneville to get to SR1 at Jenner or take SR128 at Cloverdale to reach SR1 near Albion.

You do have choices. And you will be driving the Golden Gate the free direction, so no toll! Lucky you.

 

[PLUS EV]

Regen efficiency is ~33% as I remember, so if you climb a hill and then regen to keep the same speed on the way down, you should gain back about 1/3 of the extra energy it took to go up(resulting in a net loss of 0.67mh from the hill). Can't cheat the second law of thermodynamics.

I've read that it's more like 2/3 and that has been my experience as well. For practical purposes, all I do is check the elevation of the start and end of my trip if I am worried about having enough range. You can definitely get caught by surprise if you aren't aware that your destination is thousands of feet higher than your starting point.

 

[Yarder]

I've got a great free program on my MS, TeslaWinds. In real time it shows the grade, both uphill and downhill. Helpful in knowing what's going on to view your power consumption. And it displays the wind direction and speed. It then displays the ground speed and the wind speed. Your vehicle might be pushing energy for 65 mph while only moving at 60 mph. Just another tool to help with range anxiety.

I found the program here on this board. Do a search on this board for comments to install and use then go get it. Tesla Winds and Elevation

 

[Bwettt]

Resurrecting an old thread..

Has anyone recently done this Roadtrip or something similar in recent time? Im looking into going down on 101 from Aberdeen or Olympia, WA to Santa Cruz, CA and it looks like there are enough superchargers but ABRP and other maps always bring me onto I-5. I will take the 5 going back but going down but would like to do 101or stay on the coast all the way down.

Any thoughts?

 

[cpa]

I drove from Astoria to Marin County on 101 in the fall 2016. The Brookings SC was still under construction, so I had to charge at the golf course at 40A for about 30 minutes to ensure I had enough charge to reach Crescent City. Other than that, the spacing along 101 allowed for an effortless drive.

If you want to hug the coastline in California, SR1 veers southwest off 101 at Leggett. (This is quite north of the Laytonville Supercharger.) There are ample destination chargers in Mendocino and in other small communities along SR1. I would surmise that a 90%+ charge at Eureka would get you easily to the Mendocino County coast where you might consider spending the night and charging, or maybe arranging in advance a one-hour session and pay the proprietor for the juice. On the other hand, you might have enough charge to avoid charging at that spot. You'll just have to monitor your state of charge as you head south on SR1.

There are a number of routes to return to 101 from the Mendocino and Sonoma County coasts. Superchargers are abundant along 101 from the planned Windsor location south to the Golden Gate.

After you pay your $8.00+ toll to cross the Golden Gate, there are ample Superchargers along the coast. SR1 has one in Scotts Valley, two in Monterey, and Big Sur. Then back onto 101 at San Luis before departing again at Pismo Beach. San Luis Obispo has one at the Madonna Inn. By the time SR1 meets 101 again just north of Gaviota, you will be on 101 through Sta. Barbara, Ventura, and Oxnard before taking SR1 again through Malibu towards Sta. Monica.

With the exception of the drive south of Eureka, I would assume that a 250-mile range would be more than adequate for your driving needs as the Superchargers are conveniently spaced.

It puzzles me why your routing steered you onto Interstate 5. Get a paper map and plot it manually (but then I am old school, and do not trust some hifalutin' computer gyration that may or may not understand what I want to do!)

 

[PLUS EV]

Resurrecting an old thread..

Has anyone recently done this Roadtrip or something similar in recent time? Im looking into going down on 101 from Aberdeen or Olympia, WA to Santa Cruz, CA and it looks like there are enough superchargers but ABRP and other maps always bring me onto I-5. I will take the 5 going back but going down but would like to do 101or stay on the coast all the way down.

Any thoughts?

They pull you over to I-5 because it is faster, not because of lack of superchargers on 101. US101 is an easy drive using only superchargers from Aberdeen all the way down to LA. I just wouldn't skip any of them between Aberdeen and Laytonville, or at least if you do, be sure you have planned accordingly. Also, you may wish to get off 101 and hug the coast along CA-1 in the Fort Bragg area. This is a nice, scenic drive, but it does not have superchargers, so if you do something like that, be sure you will either have a place to charge along that route or that you have enough charge to make it to Santa Rosa or wherever you are jogging back inland to 101.

 

[PLUS EV]

I drove from Astoria to Marin County on 101 in the fall 2016. The Brookings SC was still under construction, so I had to charge at the golf course at 40A for about 30 minutes to ensure I had enough charge to reach Crescent City.

You mean Bandon, not Brookings. I did the same trip in September 2016 when I first got my S90D and I was able to make it from Lincoln City to Crescent City, but I had to charge to full and drive very carefully to make the 256 mile leg. I'm glad it wasn't winter or else I would have had trouble making it. I was a clueless new Tesla owner at the time and didn't know any better