Cross Country trip - things to consider?

[SammichLover]

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!

All websites will under estimate what your LR Model 3 can do in Western US in terms of routing. Your car will not tell you to go through Ardmore there (outside setting up specific situations in specific stretches of the trip).

My #1 tip is "drinking coffee is a trap". Red Bull et al is probably a trap, too, unless it is only a few hours before you plan to sleep anyway and you are okay sleeping with a little caffeine and assorted Red Bull Magic in your system.

Tip #2; Watered down Gatorade with 1:1 water, sipped very sparingly, is your friend. Keeps you hydrated, thus your brain functioning, w/o the need to pull over to "empty your reservoir". Remember that when it is warm, even if your are cooling yourself with A/C, you'll be losing a fair amount of water.

 

[Vigilantboy]

Hello all;

I am planning to drive my Dual Motor M3 from Chicago to Toronto in July. The distance is about 600 miles but crosses a border. In addition to the very helpful safety tips that are already provided on this forum, is there anything else I need to consider? In particular, given that I am crossing US-Canada border, is there any feature of my car that may alter or not available in Canada? Frankly, this is the first time I am going to drive the car for more than 50 miles in one trip.

I also intend to stay in Toronto for a month and driving the car there. The Airbnb place I am staying at has no EV charging outlet. I assume there are many supercharging stations in there, right?

Thank you!

 

[halfricanguy]

Hello all;

I am planning to drive my Dual Motor M3 from Chicago to Toronto in July. The distance is about 600 miles but crosses a border. In addition to the very helpful safety tips that are already provided on this forum, is there anything else I need to consider? In particular, given that I am crossing US-Canada border, is there any feature of my car that may alter or not available in Canada? Frankly, this is the first time I am going to drive the car for more than 50 miles in one trip.

I also intend to stay in Toronto for a month and driving the car there. The Airbnb place I am staying at has no EV charging outlet. I assume there are many supercharging stations in there, right?

Thank you!

I can’t comment on the cross-border travel or feature availability (I wouldn’t think there would be any differences) but I checked out the Supercharger map and it looks like there are at least 10 Supercharger stations in the downtown Toronto area alone, with plenty between there and Chicago. You should be fine! I would get a good charge in before getting to the border in case you get delayed in the crossing for whatever reason.

I have this page saved on my phone so I can quickly scope out Superchargers without needing to be in my car:
Find Us | Tesla

If you were traveling any further north than Toronto, you might run into some problems, but otherwise you should be fine!

As for the lack of an EV charger, you could potentially see if there’s an outdoor standard 120V plug you can utilize while at the AirBNB. You’d only get ~5 miles added per hour, but would be helpful to get back some mileage overnight. Otherwise, keeping it parked unplugged and stopping by a Supercharger as needed would totally be fine as well.

 

[Vigilantboy]

I can’t comment on the cross-border travel or feature availability (I wouldn’t think there would be any differences) but I checked out the Supercharger map and it looks like there are at least 10 Supercharger stations in the downtown Toronto area alone, with plenty between there and Chicago. You should be fine! I would get a good charge in before getting to the border in case you get delayed in the crossing for whatever reason.

I have this page saved on my phone so I can quickly scope out Superchargers without needing to be in my car:
Find Us | Tesla

If you were traveling any further north than Toronto, you might run into some problems, but otherwise you should be fine!

As for the lack of an EV charger, you could potentially see if there’s an outdoor standard 120V plug you can utilize while at the AirBNB. You’d only get ~5 miles added per hour, but would be helpful to get back some mileage overnight. Otherwise, keeping it parked unplugged and stopping by a Supercharger as needed would totally be fine as well.

Thank you for the tips and the link! We are not going to go northern than Toronto (may be a couple of trips to Niagara Falls), so it seems things are in order regarding superchargers. I am traveling now. Once I am back I need to plan the stops at Superchargers for the trip.

I checked with our Airbnb host, unfortunately no 120 V plug outside! I will be dependent on Superchargers.

Best