Cross Country trip - things to consider?

[halfricanguy]

Hello all - at the end of March, I'm going cross country from Charlotte, NC to Las Vegas for a few days, and then continuing on to Los Angeles, before heading back straight to Charlotte a few days later.

I have road tripped in this car before (NC to DC several times, and to Florida twice) so I'm familiar with driving/battery dynamics and supercharging, etc. but it's always been along popular routes (I-85/95) and this will be the first time traveling more than 500 miles at a time in this car, and the first time going out west on a cross country trip ever.

So I guess my question is...what should I watch out for as I make it out west and back? I have looked at routes and supercharging stops. On past trips I have typically navigated from Supercharger to Supercharger, often charging/planning to arrive at the next one with less than 50 miles. I know there will be less charging opportunities, cities, maybe even cell phone reception as I make it out there, so I am thinking I'll want more of a charge buffer in case I run into unexpected problems.

(I saw that a supercharger in Utah got sabotaged and frankly I am terrified I'll find myself in a situation with only having a few miles of battery left and being stuck at an unusable Supercharger - would Tesla Roadside Assistance be able to help on demand?).

So any suggestions or tips to help with preparedness or planning? Are people in rural America generally accepting of Teslas? (maybe that's too broad of a question lol). I'll have my cell phone, AAA membership, my J1772 adapter, and will probably bring my 120V adapter just in case. I will buy a tire repair kit and get a whole new set of tires put on beforehand.

 

[Graffi]

Trust your Auto-Pilot and set speed for Speed Limit. Do not rush the trip, but ENJOY the drive. If you plan to drive through the night better bring a plastic bottle for those situations where the businesses with restroom services are closed (happened many times with me as I love driving through the night). Also keep an emergency kit in the car with Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Baby Wipes, Energy Bars, a jug of water, and other things you like to eat in case everything is closed.

See the thread, SUPERCHARGERS VISITED, and get in on the competition. With your FL trips you should have quite a few Superchargers visited already.

Again, PLEASE, please, Enjoy the drive.

 

[silentcorp]

Stop earlier than the car tells you to for super charging, specifically if it shows you arriving with 5-10% of your battery don't trust that. If you are crossing through Colorado check the weather forecast before heading into the mountains. If you don't have winter tires and a snow storm hits you can be in a very bad spot or even fined for getting stuck. You can always head south from Denver and go the southern route through AZ if needed, don't risk it! As Graffi mentioned, enjoy the trip. There is something very unique road tripping in a Model 3, I pulled off at like 90% of the "scenic views" on my way to LA and it was amazing.

 

[Graffi]

Also, Give us your planned route and those of us with experience in the "Questionable" sections can give you more specific suggestions.

 

[halfricanguy]

Trust your Auto-Pilot and set speed for Speed Limit. Do not rush the trip, but ENJOY the drive. If you plan to drive through the night better bring a plastic bottle for those situations where the businesses with restroom services are closed (happened many times with me as I love driving through the night). Also keep an emergency kit in the car with Paper Towels, Toilet Paper, Baby Wipes, Energy Bars, a jug of water, and other things you like to eat in case everything is closed.

See the thread, SUPERCHARGERS VISITED, and get in on the competition. With your FL trips you should have quite a few Superchargers visited already.

Again, PLEASE, please, Enjoy the drive.

Great advice I appreciate that - I didn't think about most of that other than the food and the water! I will also check that thread out, thank you.

Stop earlier than the car tells you to for super charging, specifically if it shows you arriving with 5-10% of your battery don't trust that. If you are crossing through Colorado check the weather forecast before heading into the mountains. If you don't have winter tires and a snow storm hits you can be in a very bad spot or even fined for getting stuck. You can always head south from Denver and go the southern route through AZ if needed, don't risk it! As Graffi mentioned, enjoy the trip. There is something very unique road tripping in a Model 3, I pulled off at like 90% of the "scenic views" on my way to LA and it was amazing.

Okay good deal, I imagine it will be smart to check the % remaining on arrival often, especially if conditions chang, along with a good grasp of what superchargers lie along the path. Thank you as well for the point about the weather, I think my path stays fairly southern, but even then definitely will not hurt to check. And pulling off to enjoy the scenery sounds so refreshing indeed!

Thanks again to you both I will enjoy as much as I can! I will post my path in a bit. All of this advice makes me wish I could explore all of the midwest and west all at once...but one trip at a time...

 

[dmurphy]

Great advice I appreciate that - I didn't think about most of that other than the food and the water! I will also check that thread out, thank you.

Make sure you throw a blanket and pillow in there too - anything could happen and it's better to have a way to keep warm in case of failure. Also would consider a tool kit, flashlight, duct tape for emergency repairs (let's say a cowling or something tears off and is flapping), and an external battery pack for your phone. Again, just in case. Better to be prepared.

Enjoy the drive!

 

[Trailblazer]

I did Charlotte, NC to San Francisco and back two summers ago in my Model S. It was a fantastic experience. I did spend some time planning my overnight stops and managed to find several places with destination chargers - that saved me a charging stop on the road each time. I took I-40 on the way out (dipping down to Dallas to avoid the lack of superchargers between Little Rock and Oklahoma City) and I-80 and I-70 on the way back. I tried to keep about a 15% charge buffer and had no real issues. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

[Krugerrand]

I did Cali to Ok, 3500 round trip. Easy peasy in the LR3. It’s very accurate at gauging range left, never got me to a Supercharger under high teens (18/19%). Sometimes I stopped at a charger sooner if I wanted to, a couple times I stopped at a charger further down the road. It tells you how long to stay at the charger, if I decided to stop sooner, I charged less and if I wanted to go further before stopping, I charged a bit more.

Non-issue. Super fun trip and wasn’t tired at any time.

 

[halfricanguy]

Thanks again for the advice everyone! I-40 is apparently the easiest option to and (sometimes) from according to Google Maps. I used the Tesla Trip Planner and EV Trip Planner and they gave me the same path that I think I will stick to for now (well, once I remembered to change the EV model on EV Trip Planner...crazy how much a route can change based on what's considered "efficient" for your model) Maybe those links will pull up the route that came up.

I essentially had the same stops with a few differences, somewhat due to the trip planners both being more conservative than for what I planned for, and depending on where I plan to stop along the way.

Out west: I-85 -> I-20 through Dallas -> I-35 to Ardmore, OK -> US-287 -> I-40 through to Las Vegas. Then I-15 to LA.

Back east: I-10 through El Paso -> I-20 through Dallas, then back to I-85.

The only issue I had is that between Denton/Dallas, TX and Childress, TX (210 miles/3h 10m) instead of driving straight between the two on US-287, both planners want me to go north and stop in Ardmore, OK - this adds 50 miles/1 hour to the overall trip (?!). I found a thread here that says people with a Model S 90D had issues going the direct route, but I cannot see why a LR Model 3 can't do it. I'll have to look more into the elevation changes and what not.

Seems fairly straightforward otherwise!

 

[silentcorp]

That looks like an incredible drive, super jealous my man! Have fun!

 

[halfricanguy]

I did Charlotte, NC to San Francisco and back two summers ago in my Model S. It was a fantastic experience. I did spend some time planning my overnight stops and managed to find several places with destination chargers - that saved me a charging stop on the road each time. I took I-40 on the way out (dipping down to Dallas to avoid the lack of superchargers between Little Rock and Oklahoma City) and I-80 and I-70 on the way back. I tried to keep about a 15% charge buffer and had no real issues. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

That's awesome! It's actually got me thinking about taking a more northern route, at least one the way there. It doesn't look like much time is added via Nashville/Kansas City/Denver. Will need to look more closely

That looks like an incredible drive, super jealous my man! Have fun!

Thank you, I appreciate it!! I'll report back if I have any problems.

 

[halfricanguy]

I-40 -> I-70 W is also an interesting option that doesn't seem too add much time and will add to the variability since the route back would be down the south.

 

[Trailblazer]

Thanks again for the advice everyone! I-40 is apparently the easiest option to and (sometimes) from according to Google Maps. I used the Tesla Trip Planner and EV Trip Planner and they gave me the same path that I think I will stick to for now (well, once I remembered to change the EV model on EV Trip Planner...crazy how much a route can change based on what's considered "efficient" for your model) Maybe those links will pull up the route that came up.

I essentially had the same stops with a few differences, somewhat due to the trip planners both being more conservative than for what I planned for, and depending on where I plan to stop along the way.

View attachment 374071

Out west: I-85 -> I-20 through Dallas -> I-35 to Ardmore, OK -> US-287 -> I-40 through to Las Vegas. Then I-15 to LA.

Back east: I-10 through El Paso -> I-20 through Dallas, then back to I-85.

The only issue I had is that between Denton/Dallas, TX and Childress, TX (210 miles/3h 10m) instead of driving straight between the two on US-287, both planners want me to go north and stop in Ardmore, OK - this adds 50 miles/1 hour to the overall trip (?!). I found a thread here that says people with a Model S 90D had issues going the direct route, but I cannot see why a LR Model 3 can't do it. I'll have to look more into the elevation changes and what not.

Seems fairly straightforward otherwise!

Yes, when I went that route, I stayed at a Best Western (with destination charger) in Burkburnett, TX, which is between Denton and Childress. I think you'd really enjoy taking different routes out there versus back - mileage is basically the same.

 

[wws]

I-44 and I-40 from Chicago to California is basically "Route 66". Lots of tourist stuff to do along the way. Much more interesting than I-70 through Kansas. Get a copy of Jerry McClanahan's "EZ66 For Travelers" Guide.

 

[ForeverFree]

Do keep in mind that late March is still very much snowstorm season in the Rockies and Sierras.

All good, so long as you check weather and make due range allowance for any snow, cold, headwinds and uphills you may encounter.

 

[corduroy]

I recently did a 3,000 mile road trip and it was great. A couple tips I found:

1. Don't waste time charging too much at superchargers if not needed. While plugged into the supercharger, enter in the next supercharger or your destination. Then watch the trip planner estimate of your next arrival charge. It will be negative at first but rise as you charge. Once it hits the charge level you are comfortable arriving at your next destination (for me it was about 15%) you are good to go.

2. If you are traveling light enough and can fit all your gear in the lower trunk and frunk - you can fold down the rear seats, throw a twin memory foam mattress topper down and have a nice place to lay down and stretch out during breaks. Using this technique my wife and I were able to rotate driving and laying down an drive 24 hours straight one time.

 

[halfricanguy]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice, I indeed completed the trip, the car performed incredibly, I had fun, and had no major incidents. The scenery was incredibly beautiful, the entire trip, from the flatlands, to the deserts, to the coast, and back. The only casualty was my windshield, that got chipped from a rock or something somewhere around Arizona/New Mexico.

Most of my nightly stays were at hotels with either destination chargers or Superchargers so I could start the mornings off at or near 100%. It took me 3 days to drive from Charlotte, NC to Las Vegas, NV, and 4 days to drive back from Los Angeles. I estimate that charging added roughly an average of 2 hours of travel daily to my trip, which was also mitigated by planning stops based on restroom needs and meals, which I feel made it take barely any longer than if I were to do the same trip in a gas car. Add that Autopilot saved me from exhaustion, and charging costs are often 1/3 to 1/2 of the cost of gasoline, I can truly say that Teslas are the ultimate machines for cross-country travel

I did not experience any issues with Supercharging. I had an issue with one stall that was luckily an isolated incident, and I was able to switch stalls and it started charging just fine. Had no problems with ICEing, though most of the Superchargers in the mid-west are in the middle of nowhere. However, I can see during peak times of travel how there is huge potential for this, given that they are often in convenient parking spots at hotels. I encountered 2-4 other Teslas per day traveling out in what I consider the middle of nowhere, from all over the East and West coast, so that was pretty cool!

Overview
NC->LV->CA->NC
- 3 days to Las Vegas, 4 days back from Los Angeles
- Total trip (not incl. local travel): 5,152 miles
- Total charging costs: $292.24
- Average time added to trip from charging: 2 hours per day

Notes/things I learned

• Those headwinds are strong and can really ruin your efficiency! But I tried to charge up to a buffer of ~15% on arrival and altered my driving style in between charges and I didn't have much range anxiety.
• Regenerative breaking is truly remarkable. I traveled 15 miles in the Colorado mountains and I gained 7 miles on my odometer when going down hill.
• Supercharging locations at hotels are convenient - you can charge up to around 90+% at night and then finish off in the morning before you leave. BUT, in Sweetwater, TX I was so exhausted that I fell asleep with it charging, and my charge limit was set to 100%. It was okay because the chargers were empty the whole time, but, thanks to the battery balancing or whatever, it charged for almost 2 and a half hours, and there they charge by the minute. I'm lucky it didn't charge for any longer because I can easily see it doing so. So, don't fall asleep plugged in at a Supercharger with your limit set to 100%!
• When you are exhausted, Autopilot is great, but it also becomes disorienting when it isn't on. A few times I thought it was on when in fact it wasn't, and I swerved over a lane (thank god no one around me).
• Don't book hotels until the day of, when you know you'll actually make it...
• Border patrol routed all traffic from I-10 and I got stopped and asked if I was a US Citizen...interesting and intimidating experience...and I'm not sure many illegal immigrants are out here driving Teslas
• Between the melting snow and mud in Colorado, and flying things that splatter yellow all over your car in California/Arizona, I needed a few impromptu car washes!

For a trip break down of supercharging costs, feel free to keep reading. I don't have any tracking apps like TeslaFi but hopefully it will be useful to some.

Supercharger stops
Disclaimer: You can probably do this trip with less stops than I did if you drive or charge more efficiently...I, for one, have never seen 75-80 MPH speed limits before, so lets just say I discovered that TACC has a max speed of 90 MPH I also did this trip without aero wheel covers.

Note: Charging stops in grey, I don't include in the ' charge time total' (b/c they're at the hotel and it's essentially charging while I'm not traveling for the day). I do include the charging costs from this in the total.

Breakdown
3/22 - I-40 W
4:30 PM EDT - Leave Home
6:41 PM - Asheville, NC - $8.77, 41 minutes
10:45 PM CDT - Cookeville, TN - Destination Charging (Free)
~~ Distance/On Paper Travel Time: 338 miles - 5h 25m
~~ Charge costs: $8.77
~~ Charge time: 41m
~~ Actual travel time: 7h 15m (incl. charge time, other stops along the way)

3/23 - I-40 W, I-24 W, I-70 W
7:45 AM - Cookeville, TN ->
10:27 AM - Kuttawa, KY - $7.48, 33 minutes
12:54 PM - Mt. Vernon, IL - $4.79, 17 kWh
2:40 PM - St. Charles, MO - No charge(?), 53 kWh
4:46 PM - Columbia, MO - $2.40, 13 minutes
6:40 PM - Independence, MO - $2.49, 10 minutes
8:04 PM - Topeka, KS - $10.45, 51 minutes
10:16 PM - Salina, KS - $6.90, 40 minutes
~~ Distance: 810 miles - 12h 13m
~~ Charge costs: $34.51
~~ Charge time: ~2h 10m
~~ Actual travel time: 14h 30m

3/24 - I-70 W
8:41 AM - Salina, KS - $4.88, 38 minutes
10:34 AM - Hays, KS - $2.58, 20 minutes
**Got food poisoning and could not drive any further than Hays, so this day became a wash**
~~ Distance: 94 miles - 1h 25m
~~ Charge costs: $7.46
~~ Charge time: ~20m
~~ Actual travel time: 1h 53m

3/25 - I-70 W, I-15 S
7:10 AM - Hays, KS ->
8:56 AM - Colby, KS - $7.01, 30 minutes
10:27 AM MDT - Limon, CO - $14.31, 56 kWh
1:16 PM - Silverthorne, CO - $10.77, 40 kWh
4:25 PM - Grand Junction, CO - $9.80, 38 kWh
6:03 PM - Green River, UT - $8.33, 31 kWh
8:12 PM - Richfield, UT - $13.80, 52 kWh
10:58 PM - St. George, UT - $12.98, 49 kWh
12:45 AM PDT - Las Vegas, NV - Destination Charging (Free)
~~ Distance: 1,095 miles - 16h 26m
~~ Charge costs: $77
~~ Charge time: ~2.5h
~~ Actual travel time: 19h 35m

3/38 - I-15 S
Las Vegas ->
4:47 PM - Barstow, CA - $16.52, 59 kWh
-> Venice Beach
~~ Distance: 285 miles
~~ Charge time: ~30m

3/29
Los Angeles, CA/Francisco St - $13.95, 45 kWh
~~ Charge time: ~30m

3/30 - I-10 E (Towards home!)
9:45 AM - Venice Beach, CA ->
12:14 PM - Indio, CA - $13.44, 48 kWh
2:42 PM MST - Quartzsite, AZ - $3.00, 11 minutes
4:23 PM - Buckeye, AZ - $9.75, 47 minutes
7:25 PM - Tucson, AZ - $2.33, 9 minutes
8:45 PM - Wilcox, AZ - $7.02, 30 minutes
~~ Distance: 586 miles, 9h 6m
~~ Charge costs: $35.54
~~ Charge time: ~2h
~~ Actual travel time: 11h

3/31 - I-10 E, I-20 E
8:57 AM - Wilcox, AZ - $7.41, 57 minutes
12:53 PM MDT - Deming, NM - $5.17, 20 minutes
2:33 PM - El Paso, TX - $7.81, 41 minutes
6:03 PM CDT - Van Horn, TX - $5.20, 22 minutes
7:38 PM - Pecos, TX - $5.20, 23 minutes
9:27 PM - Midland, TX - $3.27, 14 minutes
11:51 PM - Sweetwater, TX - $20.13, 140 minutes**
~~ Distance: 650 miles, 9h 40m
~~ Charge costs: $54.19
~~ Charge time: ~2h
~~ Actual travel time: 13h

4/1 - I-20 E
9:00 AM - Sweetwater, TX ->
11:59 AM - Arlington, TX - $4.96, 21 minutes
2:12 PM - Lindale, TX - $3.51, 15 minutes
6:13 PM - Monroe, LA - $10.84, 69 minutes
10:36 PM - Meridian, MS - $3.28, 14 minutes
~~ Distance: 720 miles, 10h 34m
~~ Charge costs: $22.59
~~ Charge time: 2h
~~ Actual travel time: 13h

4/2 - I-20 E, I-85 N
9:01 AM - Meridian, MS - $3.63, 31 minutes
12:37 PM - Birmingham, AL - $8.73, 41 minutes
5:18 PM EDT - Buford, GA - $7.67, 35 minutes
7:47 PM - Greenville, SC - $1.68, 7 minutes
10:00 PM - Home!
~~ Distance: 574 miles, 8h 30m
~~ Charge costs: $21.71
~~ Charge time: ~2h
~~ Actual travel time: 13h

Some pics at Red Rock Canyon outside Las Vegas

 

[Runebane]

That looks like an incredible trip! Wife and I are going to be going to Denver in June from Central CA, which will be about 1/6th of your trip. I'm a little jealous. We'll have to plan a much larger road trip another time. Going to visit my folks, so can't really push to go further this year

 

[halfricanguy]

That looks like an incredible trip! Wife and I are going to be going to Denver in June from Central CA, which will be about 1/6th of your trip. I'm a little jealous. We'll have to plan a much larger road trip another time. Going to visit my folks, so can't really push to go further this year

Thanks, it was!! Haha I hope you enjoy your trip as well! Believe me, once you get a taste of roadtripping in this car, you’ll crave wanting more!!

 

[RayK]

A little too late advice....

Bring something to mitigate the occurrence of a flat or punctured tire. This means:

• Air compressor, rated at a maximum of 12A I believe and capable of delivering upwards of 100psi
• Tire pressure gauge
• If you intend to extract whatever went into the tire:
  • Pliers; standard or locking
  • Tire plug kit; t-handle tool, ropes/plugs and rubber cement
  • Heavy duty gloves
• Small tarp; wherever you stop Murphy's Law says its going to be dirty there

Note that with (all?) the factory tires, there is a sound deadening foam layer inside the tire. Pumping in slime / fix-a-flat will probably not work.