Denver to Granbury, TX

[IronCoffee_Max]

Taking a trip for a wedding in mid April. Going to camp-mode to camp overnight at a state park. Shower/change at my friend's house. ABRP wants me to go through Ft Worth to get there so I have enough % to camp. There is a L2 charger right outside of town that I can try to charge up - and a CSS charger about 100m east, and a EVGO about 50m north (130 N Oakridge Dr, Weatherford 76087)

What I'd LIKE to do is go use a mix of SC and CCS to get straight into Granbury and skip Ft Worth, and just do a slow L2 charge over the course of the wedding, and then come back.

However, I know TX sometimes it's just better to take the longer visual route because the interstates or highways are just faster or easier to work with. I've driven to Houston/Austin many many times in my Tesla, but just not to Granbury ever. M3 L3 - both CCS and SC capable. Would love people's thoughts or experiences.

 

[Mr. Nuke]

and a CSS charger about 100m east, and a EVGO about 50m north (130 N Oakridge Dr, Weatherford 76087)

What I'd LIKE to do is go use a mix of SC and CCS to get straight into Granbury and skip Ft Worth, and just do a slow L2 charge over the course of the wedding, and then come back.

I'm assuming you mean the CCS charger 100 miles to the West instead of East i.e. the Eastland Texas Electrify America site that I show is about 65 miles West of Grandbury... That is probably where you'd want to charge to avoid Forth Worth.

Because using my 2022 model 3 LR and my default settings (speed at 107%,) I show using the EA charger in Eastland is only about 5 minutes more than driving through and charging in Fort Worth if I tell it I want to arrive in Granbury with 50%. If you haven't already done it, tell you ABRP you are willing to use CCS charger by going to settings-->chargers & networks--> type of chargers. Start to play around using your desired arrival level of charge for Granbury. I think you'll find that is a viable route for avoiding Fort Worth completely.

 

[ewoodrick]

You need to always ask yourself why a routing program routes you the way that it does. And it helps to understand how it route.
In this case it may just be speed. It assumes that the speed is faster on the Interstates than surface roads, that's not necessarily the case in Texas though. But you do have to think about having to slow down for little towns.
Little changes to the parameters can also make big differences. change the arrival charge and you may see it reroute.
Also look at what it's doing. At Quanan, it doesn't seem to attempt to charge to 90% or even 80%
Try forcing the route. Add Jacksboro to the route and see what happens.

Don't forget where you are going. You are going through the middle of nowhere Texas, which is populated by sagebrush, cows, and Windmills.
Oh yeah, windmills. Dependent on the wind, your actual range may vary dramatically. A head wind will kill you.

In other words, use ABRP as guidance and experiment with it. But when you get on the road, the Tesla Nav is your friend. Let it make some recommendations. Look at the Energy screens to see what is really happening. See how it routes you.
The Nav add is conservative (you need to learn that on your on) and will try to make sure that you get to where you need be.

Also don't forget that you probably don't want to roll in on empty. So you may want to make sure that you put in a little more charge on your last stop.
You mention overnighting at a campground. Do you have the NEMA 14-50 adapter and the Tesla Mobile connector? Make sure that you have a spot reserved with 50+A capacity (this is the normal connection for larger campers with 2 A/C units) Campgrounds can fill up quickly these days, so don't wait for the last moment.

But most importantly, you seemed to have proven to yourself that the route is doable. That's important.

Oh and don't forget that you probably need to return. The charging location will often be different going the opposite direction.

 

[IronCoffee_Max]

Yeah, I've been playing with ABRP a lot, along with CCS and others. And I super appreciate the comments above because they are great - in general I'm aware of them as I've done about 15,000 miles of road tripping - and ultimately that's why I'm asking because I find that the routing apps (also I should mention I have a few years of working at a mapping company so I know how the raw map data and routing engines work from a technical level) don't "know" how real-world driving is on those backroads of Texas.

I am hoping to get more real-world experience for those in those areas to see if it's worth trying to avoid Ft Worth

 

[ewoodrick]

Yeah, I've been playing with ABRP a lot, along with CCS and others. And I super appreciate the comments above because they are great - in general I'm aware of them as I've done about 15,000 miles of road tripping - and ultimately that's why I'm asking because I find that the routing apps (also I should mention I have a few years of working at a mapping company so I know how the raw map data and routing engines work from a technical level) don't "know" how real-world driving is on those backroads of Texas.

I am hoping to get more real-world experience for those in those areas to see if it's worth trying to avoid Ft Worth

The one that I hate it the affinity that most routing programs have to bring you to the Interstate and take you near your destination. Especially when a much more direct route is available.

And then there's also the fact that it seems that very few routing programs check the reverse route for optimization on the forward route. If the forward route is so optimized, then why does the reverse route go differently? (Commonly because it routes to Interstate differently)

In this case, just wait until you get somewhere near and recalculate things, that's a pretty boring drive anyway.

 

[get-atty]

I think that routing through Fort Worth is a pretty good idea. You don't want to roll into a small town on "Empty". Also FYI there is a Supercharger in Alvarado, TX about 25 miles south of Fort Worth and also Cisco TX (Interstate 20)

 

[IronCoffee_Max]

I think that routing through Fort Worth is a pretty good idea. You don't want to roll into a small town on "Empty". Also FYI there is a Supercharger in Alvarado, TX about 25 miles south of Fort Worth and also Cisco TX (Interstate 20)

There is an EVGo charger in Weatherford on the way into Granbury at 50Kw and also a free 6kW ChargePoint (though I'd happily pay) right outside of Granbury. Also, if I decide to go through Lubbock instead, there is a 350kW EA charger just west of Granbury.

In other words, I feel like I could get to Granbury with <10% charge and be OK since I can charge at the ChargePoint. There also is a destination hotel that I WOULD have charged at…but they are remodeling in April (sigh).

 

[IronCoffee_Max]

Right now - this is the route I'm taking - I've also decided to make a stop in Cedar Park.

 

[ewoodrick]

It's a Tesla with a pretty great nav system. No need to make a declaration of the route, just drive and let the car figure it out.

Enjoy the drive, don't worry about it!

 

[IronCoffee_Max]

It's a Tesla with a pretty great nav system. No need to make a declaration of the route, just drive and let the car figure it out.

Enjoy the drive, don't worry about it!

I get that - as I said I've done 15,000 miles in road trips so pretty comfortable with it. But also believe that real experience always trumps any kind of nav of any kind, especially since I've written, deployed, and led teams that dealt with major navigation products in the market you would know today. PLUS I tend to use a mix of Tesla SC and Electrify America chargers plus destination chargers so the Tesla Nav isn't comprehensive for me.

Therefore I like to get additional feedback from people who may have actually been to those locations. I should add I've already read all the plugshare reviews as well so have a decent feeling for how it's going to go.

Thanks!