DC to Cali Trip

[Herroweric]

Status update. Currently in Santa Fe, NM! It has been an amazing trip so far and the car has been performing well.

In terms of range impact, the box does reduce efficiency. I'll have to check the exact numbers but I've noticed a decrease of about 30 miles - 40 miles of range overall. Speed-wise I have been keeping the car at the speed limit throughout the trip (70 mph on average) mostly drafting behind semi-trucks. We had a bit of range anxiety between Little Rock and Oklahoma City, but we kept our speeds around 65mph and made it with some buffer to spare.

Superchargers and destination chargers hit (Will get cost organized later)

1. Lexington, VA
2. Wythesville, VA
3. Bristol, TN
4. Knoxville,TN
5. Nashville, TN
6. The Peabody Hotel destination charger
7. Brinkley, AR
8. Little Rock, AR
9. Van Buren, AR
10. Best Western in Norman, OK (free J1722 chargers on site)
11. Shamrock, TX
12. Amarillo, TX
13. Tucumcari, NM
14. Santa Fe, NM

Autopilot has been a lifesaver with the straight highways going down I-40. After a good 8 hours of driving per day, you are definitely not as fatigued as you would be with a car that doesn't have autopilot.

Some details on the trip: This is a one way trip since we are moving to SoCal. The plan after Santa Fe is to drive down to Phoenix and from there head straight to Irvine.

My wife and I will be staying in Santa Fe for a few days, so if there are any locals here we are happy to do a socially distance meetup!

 

[Herroweric]

If you didn't already own the roof box, I'd suggest a rear hitch box. They're quite a bit more efficient being tucked down below the slipstream.

StowAway Cargo Carriers - Versatility in Action.

How many times have you wished you had more space for your road trip? Packing up for a road trip requires careful planning - how much to take and where to put it.

www.stowaway2.com

Yeah I think for our next big trip, I will get a hitch and a rear hitch box. I am curious to know if it would block the rear camera though.

 

[Herroweric]

A cross-country trip at 55 MPH? That sounds miserable. I'd rather spend a little extra time charging.

Hah, yeah we just spent a bit extra time charging . Better peace of mind and more time to walk the dogs.

 

[Herroweric]

Nice. I've been along that route lately. It used to be the "Black hole route" where is was almost impossible to get from Memphis to Oklahoma City with super chargers alone. Fortunately, parts of that hole have been plugged lately. Easier to do with just supercharging now.

It was actually okay between Memphis to Little Rock. The black hole is between Little Rock and OKC. But we made it with some buffer to spare.

 

[Earl]

The black hole is between Little Rock and OKC.

Didn't Van Buren and Ozark, AR help?
They weren't there on my last trip but I would have thought they would take the challenge out of the Little Rock to OKC leg.
Be prepared for Gallup, NM to be a challenge. There are 4 original stations where the power is often limited but there are reportedly 4 new V3 stations which will be much nicer.

 

[Johnny Vector]

1. Lexington, VA
2. Wythesville, VA
3. Bristol, TN
4. Knoxville,TN
5. Nashville, TN
6. The Peabody Hotel destination charger
7. Brinkley, AR
8. Little Rock, AR
9. Van Buren, AR
10. Best Western in Norman, OK (free J1722 chargers on site)
11. Shamrock, TX
12. Amarillo, TX
13. Tucumcari, NM
14. Santa Fe, NM

And I've been from DC to Tucumcari,
From Lexington to Santa Fe.
I've charged with every kinda plug, regular or strange
Driven at 50 so I'd have enough range.

(Apologies to Lowell George)

 

[vtplm]

My big question is what are your doing with those nice winter wheels? You know...since winter doesn't really exist in irvine.

 

[Herroweric]

My big question is what are your doing with those nice winter wheels? You know...since winter doesn't really exist in irvine.

I get better range with the BBS since they are narrower. Shipped the other wheels to Cali. I'll throw those on when I get the car detailed after arriving.

 

[DanDi58]

Great report, thanks! How close do you have to be to a semi to get a benefit from drafting? Hopefully not like a NASCAR car…!

 

[Darmie]

Looks like an Awesome trip so far. We are planning our 2nd road trip form Texas to New England leaving this week. I know it to late for this recommendation however on any consecutive road trips, I would advise to use Teslafi. Below is a few screen shots of the data that it can store for you but I really love the feature of calculating road trips. This is where you put in the date ranges and it provides you at a glance miles driven, time, rated miles and supercharger power added. Also note the cool maps that it plots the location for you. It's not for everyone,

This is per day.

Did someone day road trip?

but if you are a numbers person, this is a valuable tool. No resetting trip functions in the vehicle, it's all there.