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Be honest: is SCing on a long trip annoying?

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Given that I liked to go to the place with the cheapest gas as often as I could, refilling was often a 30 minute addition to my day. I estimate that I would spend about 25 hours per year getting gasoline. Given that I plug my car in when I get home in the evening and unplug when I leave for work and the whole process takes about as long as it does to put my coffee in the cupholder, my daily charging needs don't have any impact on my schedule. So as long as I don't add a total of 25 hours to my long distance road trips to Supercharge, I'm still coming out ahead overall.

An added bonus is that you're no longer using up a dollar's worth of gas while driving around trying to find the fueling spot where you can save seventy-five cents per fill-up. :D
 
I just got back from my trip from NJ to Orlando with the kids. As much as I love my MS and Tesla, I have to say it's a bit of a pain/hassle. We had to stop at 9 chargers before reaching Orlando (vs. prob 3 times in an ICE). The staops ranged from 15 mins to 40 minsutes. We stretched our legs, grabbed coffee and played ball and spent quality time together, so they were fine. But for a 5 hour stretch, the stopping added 2 hours. And once we got to the destination, I had to do some planning to find a charger to charge the car up for local driving. I'd either goto to the Orlando Supercharger, which is on a toll road or was able to find a ChaDeMo charger. But to avoid having the family sit in the car, I'd either go out at night or early before they wake up to charge up for the days planned travel. I think I will limit my road trips to 1-2 chargers.
 
Let's just agree to disagree.

Well...okay if you want...but I'm not sure exactly what the disagreement is...?

The main takeaway from this thread is that there are many opinions on the subject question, all across the board. What you quoted [from me] was a bit of internet analysis on which way those opinions trend, but in no way am I suggesting any particular opinion is wrong or invalid or less valuable than the next.
 
I just got back from my trip from NJ to Orlando with the kids. As much as I love my MS and Tesla, I have to say it's a bit of a pain/hassle. We had to stop at 9 chargers before reaching Orlando (vs. prob 3 times in an ICE). The staops ranged from 15 mins to 40 minsutes. We stretched our legs, grabbed coffee and played ball and spent quality time together, so they were fine. But for a 5 hour stretch, the stopping added 2 hours. And once we got to the destination, I had to do some planning to find a charger to charge the car up for local driving. I'd either goto to the Orlando Supercharger, which is on a toll road or was able to find a ChaDeMo charger. But to avoid having the family sit in the car, I'd either go out at night or early before they wake up to charge up for the days planned travel. I think I will limit my road trips to 1-2 chargers.

Which battery do you have?
 
I have the 70D.
there's your problem. less range and slower charging. you saved money on the front end by trading for less capabilities. an 85 or a 90 will go further and charge faster.
I've made the FLA/NJ trip many times beginning before many of the current SpCs were in place. back then I had to do a couple of range charges to make the trip with 5 or so charging stops, now I only charge to make it to the next charger which usually takes around 15 minutes or so.
 
there's your problem. less range and slower charging. you saved money on the front end by trading for less capabilities. an 85 or a 90 will go further and charge faster.
I've made the FLA/NJ trip many times beginning before many of the current SpCs were in place. back then I had to do a couple of range charges to make the trip with 5 or so charging stops, now I only charge to make it to the next charger which usually takes around 15 minutes or so.

That's what we did, charge enough to make it to the next charger with around 15% buffer. This took anywhere from 15-40 minutes. Yes, I'd agree, with an 85 or 90, we could've skipped some chargers.
 
That's what we did, charge enough to make it to the next charger with around 15% buffer. This took anywhere from 15-40 minutes. Yes, I'd agree, with an 85 or 90, we could've skipped some chargers.

The Bigger battery is not necessarily to skip Supercharger stops, but it does allow for quicker charging stops.
The larger battery charges more rated miles 80% of the battery's capacity) quicker.
Waiting on that last 20% (for a longer route) takes almost as much time as the first 80% as the charge rate tapers off.

With some of the new Navigation tools, the car will help you safely maximize getting to your next destination.
If you are charging overnight at a hotel, then get a nice 90% (or more) charge.
You don't need a Supercharger for that, a HPWC or 14/50 NEMA outlet will do just fine.

Arriving at a Supercharger with 15% (30 miles) is about what I try to do, but I could easily arrive with 20 miles or less, and still be good to go.
The lower your ROC when you arrive, the quicker the charge is at the beginning.
 
Since receiving our Model S in early 2013, we've spent less time "fueling" the car than an ICE.
This is a succinct way to put it.

Lyon's post got me thinking about hunting for gas price / brand (for my last ride it was brand and octane), versus tracking down the Superchargers. I hunted for Shell stations all the time. I only hunt / go out of my way for SCs or L2 chargers on vacation or rare long distance trips. Overall this is a total win for the Tesla.

And I just thought of something else... refuelling anxiety. Cars run of gas all the time ! Perhaps EVs are better at getting people around in this respect too.

Elon, gather the data :D
 
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What's annoying was having to go to the gas station every week. Supercharging on a long trip (usually while having a meal) is relaxing.

Definitely don't miss forgetting to put gas in the car Sunday night for Monday's commute.

Stopping at a supercharger isn't bad at all. Really helps to break up long trips which is great if you have kids. I've also found people to be pretty friendly at the supercharger locations. I met a nice couple at one that let me check out their signature series Model X.
 
an 85 or a 90 will go further and charge faster

EV Trip Planner

Options = 19" rims and 1.15 x speed limit

70D
Distance 1,051.9 miles
Driving Time 14:07
Charging Time 6:35
Total Trip Time 20:41
Total Energy Used 379.1 kWh

Classic 85 RWD
Distance 1,048.8 miles
Driving Time 13:54
Charging Time 6:08
Total Trip Time 20:02
Total Energy Used 420.9 kWh

90D
Distance 1,048.8 miles
Driving Time 13:54
Charging Time 5:30
Total Trip Time 19:24
Total Energy Used 408.0 kWh

So, a 90D would save 1 hour of charging time over 20 total trip hours...it's still a long trip, I don't see a big benefit in time savings given the 14 hour driving time

Our classic 85 is limited to 90kW charging, but this has not been any limitation for our road trips, it might add a few minutes over a few hours of travel time, insignificant.

Cheers
 
EV Trip Planner

Options = 19" rims and 1.15 x speed limit

70D
Distance 1,051.9 miles
Driving Time 14:07
Charging Time 6:35
Total Trip Time 20:41
Total Energy Used 379.1 kWh

Classic 85 RWD
Distance 1,048.8 miles
Driving Time 13:54
Charging Time 6:08
Total Trip Time 20:02
Total Energy Used 420.9 kWh

90D
Distance 1,048.8 miles
Driving Time 13:54
Charging Time 5:30
Total Trip Time 19:24
Total Energy Used 408.0 kWh

So, a 90D would save 1 hour of charging time over 20 total trip hours...it's still a long trip, I don't see a big benefit in time savings given the 14 hour driving time

Our classic 85 is limited to 90kW charging, but this has not been any limitation for our road trips, it might add a few minutes over a few hours of travel time, insignificant.

Cheers

Nice, so if I had bought a 90D, it would've only saved me an hour! LOL!
 
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Nice, so if I had bought a 90D, it would've only saved me an hour! LOL!

Exactly! That's a lot of scratch for 1 hour saved on a rare road trip...

As for us, we bought the biggest battery available at the time because of the cold Ontario winter and the limited DC fast charging and supercharging options on the trips we take in the winter. Fortunately for Model S60 owners, Ontario is deploying hundreds of DC fast chargers around the province in 2017, so a smaller battery won't be a problem then.
 
Exactly! That's a lot of scratch for 1 hour saved on a rare road trip...
You don't do it for the time savings. it would take a 150 kW battery (and appropriate SC) to make a significant time savings, and even then that would be doubtful because pit stops are required regardless of charging speed. Most of the time I've found the charge has finished (enough to get to the next SC) by the time I get back to the car--this wouldn't be true in winter when you need to have a larger margin and energy use is higher.

The main reasons you pay the extra bucks are:
1. Your routes are off SC routes or ends off SC routes. (Lots of those unless you live in California).
2. Larger battery has smaller cycles so there is less degradation for a given amount of miles.
3. No home charging.
 
You don't do it for the time savings. it would take a 150 kW battery (and appropriate SC) to make a significant time savings, and even then that would be doubtful because pit stops are required regardless of charging speed. Most of the time I've found the charge has finished (enough to get to the next SC) by the time I get back to the car--this wouldn't be true in winter when you need to have a larger margin and energy use is higher.

The main reasons you pay the extra bucks are:
1. Your routes are off SC routes or ends off SC routes. (Lots of those unless you live in California).
2. Larger battery has smaller cycles so there is less degradation for a given amount of miles.
3. No home charging.

I'd add one more to the list, please correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking:

  • It's cold most of the year where you live
 
So I love how Tesla has more or less eliminated range anxiety with their rapid buildout of SCs nationwide in the US. But I've been mapping out some long trips on evtripplanner.com. Because SCs are currently spaced so that you really can't afford to skip one (even if you have the 90D), it seems like the longest you can drive (on average) in a leg is about 2 or 2.5 hours. Then you have to stop for 30-60 minutes.

For those who've done significant long distance trips, doesn't this get tiring/annoying? Compare it to an ICE car where you could literally go 4-5 hours without stopping (and maybe more) if you wanted to.
No.
 
EV Trip Planner

Options = 19" rims and 1.15 x speed limit

70D
Distance 1,051.9 miles
Driving Time 14:07
Charging Time 6:35
Total Trip Time 20:41
Total Energy Used 379.1 kWh

Classic 85 RWD
Distance 1,048.8 miles
Driving Time 13:54
Charging Time 6:08
Total Trip Time 20:02
Total Energy Used 420.9 kWh

90D
Distance 1,048.8 miles
Driving Time 13:54
Charging Time 5:30
Total Trip Time 19:24
Total Energy Used 408.0 kWh

Does that 6 hours include the initial 100% charge to commence the trip, or is that all en route charging?