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Cross Country Road Trip!! Tips?

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I am sure there are lots of threads and opinions and threads, but the true basics are good planning. Do not try on your first road trip to hit a charger with on 3-5% in the battery, could get you stranded. A Better Route Planner is a great app and website that will help you plan and add some real world variables, speed, wind, weather, weight, age of battery. That being said, my biggest single pointer is look for faster V3 chargers along the way if possible. If you are taking your time, or are in an older car less of an issue. Lastly, try and find some hotels with destination charging. Usually no charge to use them and you top off over night.

Good Luck!!
 
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Did an AZ, Cape Cod, AZ trip our MY (onec in a Bolt. Don't ask...). You'll find the trip lots less of a hassle then you imagine! Wife and I liked to stop every 150 miles or so (just for our comfort), and we kept our daily miles down to no more than 550 (don't really like driving in the dark and we're in no hurry).

Keep your charge between 20% on the low end and around 70% when "filling her up." You will be surprised how quickly charging goes. I do like to pick our motels in advance and look for ones with EV "chargers," with either a Tesla or J1772 plug.

Any more questions let 'em rip!

Rich

Spouse handled complex fueling issues.

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We have done several cross country round trips. I like to have a charging plan B whenever possible. Chargers are way more plentiful now but sometimes chargers are out of commission for one reason or another.

Be aware of headwinds; they can severely reduce range if they are very strong.
 
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Congratulations on your car!

This has been discussed many times, please use the search function.
Here's a thread to get you started.
 
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Agree with comments from others. A few things I'll add.

Finding hotels with J1722 general or destination chargers will save you about a stop a day. You may want to get an account set up with some of the major EV charging systems in advance. I had been to places where needed to have an account and use the app on my phone to activate the charging session. Chargepoint, EVConnect are just two I needed at a couple stops. Some will send you an RFID keytag your can use if you dislike using phone apps. I also have Plugshare account and will use it to check and make sure people have not had problems with a specific hotel site before I finalize my hotel choices.

If you are staying at a hotel near/adjacent to a supercharger it's best to charge upon arrival. This is especially true in colder months. Car charges way faster when battery already up to temp than after sitting outside all night a 30F.

For long trips I still plan them in advance using ABetterRoutePlanner or EVTripplanner. I personally still find EVTripplanner easier to use, but that's likely as much as my familiarity as was using it from before ABRP existed. EVTripplanner isn't being maintained, so does not have newer car models, not tracking V3 vs V2 speeds, but for someone with a mid-2016 MS90D it still gives me decent estimates. I'm starting to use ABRP more, but I still find the UI on it cumbersome and clunky for what I want.

Some will say no need to plan, just plug the destination into the NAV and drive. My planning more to figure where I'll do overnight stops. I also check out what services are by various superchargers, especially to plan meals. Not all superchargers necessary have as nice of food/restroom options as others. I and one other in my family eat a strict plant based diet so finding decent food options takes a little more effort at times.

Enjoy your trip.
 
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I recently drove my Model Y from Charlotte, NC, to Los Angeles and back. Went down to I-10 and came back I-40.

You've already gotten a lot of the same advice I would offer from others, so I'll just add a couple of observations.

I try to plan to get to a supercharger with between 10% and 20% state-of-charge. The battery charges a lot faster when it's low. Then, I usually only charge to 60%–70% and move on. There are some stretches of road--between Oklahoma City and Fort Smith, AR, for example--where you need close to a full battery, but not often. In fact, I really think that stopping twice for two "half charges" makes for a faster overall trip than charging fully once and skipping a charger. (But then, I'm older and I like to stop more frequently nowadays.)

That said, in California and also east of the Mississippi, superchargers are getting so thick on the ground that you could charge 2/3 of the way, and still skip chargers.

Hotels with chargers are awesome, but always plan to stay near a supercharger, just in case you can't charge at the hotel for some reason. (Hardware not working, all spots already taken, etc.) If you get to the hotel and can't charge, you will charge more quickly if you go on to the supercharger at night, while the battery is still warm, instead of waiting until the morning.

Finally, if you are reasonable sure of where you're going to be at the end of a day, it's best to book a hotel with a charger early, at least in the morning. I waited until the afternoon sometimes, and at least twice on my trip, the hotels with chargers were already booked.

Good luck, you're going to love road-tripping in a Tesla.
 
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I drove from CA to NC 3 days after i bought my Tesla. Superchargers were not as common as they are now and never once did i have range anxiety or run out of juice. It took 96 hours to drive but that was because my friend and i took a couple detours to see friends and family along the way. Also the nav in the car is more accurate than it was then as well when it comes to estimating how much power you'll have when you arrive at a supercharger.

Otherwise its no different than a normal trip across the country which I've done several times over the years in either a U-Haul or a regular ICE car, it takes me an average of 56 hours to complete from cost to cost solo.

Make sure you have good tires and the pressure is good, and do a thorough PMCS (Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services) of your car and you'll be good to go.

If you're one of those people that like to waste money and time in a hotel instead of driving straight through or taking naps in your car then it gets more difficult because you have to make planned stops which slows the trip considerably. Because you are then stopping for usually an afternoon/evening through the next late morning when you could've kept driving all that time.
But some hotels have tesla chargers or J1772 chargers for patrons so you can use them to charge overnight instead of stopping for an hour at a SC while you nap.
 
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