Driving across the USA in a Tesla Model S 100D

[robynum]

We drove our Tesla Model S 100D across the country from San Francisco California to Syracuse New York via Wallenpaupak Pennsylvania and this is my log.

I used the PlugShare app to map the route with Superchargers about 150-190 miles apart. Although my car has a battery range of about 330 miles which equates to about 270 actual miles I’ll need a bio break about everything two hours at my age.


Day 1 Wednesday


The objective of day one was to get out of San Francisco and past Sacramento and the city traffic. We have friends that live in Applegate, CA which is about 30 minutes east of Sacramento which was about 150 total miles.


We stopped at the Rocklin Supercharger which is at the Rocklin-Sacramento Tesla Sales and service and has 18 charging stations. We were there mostly for a bio break, but we picked about a 120 battery miles in about 20 minutes. There was a nice lounge with coffee and bottled water and of course a nice restroom. It was 109 degrees!

 

[robynum]

Day 2 Thursday


Left Applegate, CA at 8:32 AM PST and arrived in Evanston, WY at 11:13 PM MST. We made 4 Supercharger stops: Truckee, CA, Winnemucca, NV, Elmo NV, Tooele, UT. The final destination, Evanston has a Supercharger right next to the Hampton Inn were we are spent the night.


Today we discovered that there are lots of variables while traveling long distance in a Tesla with the largest impact being the speed of the Supercharger.


The Truckee, CA Supercharger was really slow which only put out 31kW at a rate of 40 MPH...I get 58 mph with my charging station at home.


Winnemucca, NV Supercharger was rather fast with an output of over 100kw and about 286 mph


Elko, NV was pretty fast with an output of 115kW and 274 mph


Made a quick stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway



The next stop was Tooele, UT Supercharger... we arrived with 27 Battery miles. I had to drive 70 mph the last 100 miles to complete the trip. The only place to eat was Denny’s and it was not too good!

 

[robynum]

Day 3 Friday


Evanston, Wyoming to Lincoln, Nebraska 818 miles with three Supercharger stops. We stopped in Rawlins, Wyoming; Sidney, NE; and Gothenburg, NE


What we discovered today is that we could make better time it we had less charging stops and stretch the car’s range to its limit. On average each stop was costing us an hour on average which meant every stop we reduced would save us an hour. My car, Tesla Model S 100D has a battery range of 328 miles which really means you can comfortably cover 240 actual miles at real highway speeds (especially the 75 - 80 speed limits on the open interstates).


Gothenburg was by far the best stop. There were trash cans, a squeegee to clean your windows and a nice restaurant called the Nebraska Bar and Grill. It was not fancy but the food was great. We had the prime rib special with a salad bar and their in house cream corn...after all it was Nebraska.


I always wondered how Tesla could afford a national Supercharger network and today I realized how. Tesla provides the equipment but the sponsor covers the cost of the electricity to bring in Tesla owners to boost their business with high end clientele.

 

[robynum]

Day 4 Saturday


Lincoln Nebraska to Angola Indiana 676 miles with three Supercharger stops before arriving in Angola Indiana. From Lincoln we went to West Des Moines Iowa to Davenport Iowa to Country Club Hills Illinois (south of Chicago).


The Supercharger stations in Lincoln, West Des Moines, and Davenport were all located and operated by HyVee which is a high end grocery store. The HyVee in West Des Moines not only had a pharmacy and Starbucks but also a dry cleaning service in there was also a Food service room with a full bar.


The Country Club Hills Illinois Supercharger was located at a shopping plaza with a giant movie theater.


The last Supercharger stop was Angola Indiana. The Supercharger was sponsored by a restaurant and bar called 6 Autumns. The food was ok, but the bar had a bourbon theme and was fantastic. They carried over 100 bourbons and 30+ varieties on scotch.


We realized that the best way to end the day after long drive is to find a Supercharger that located at a hotel so you can just plug in and go to sleep, even if the hotel is not one you’d normally select.

Davenport Iowa Supercharger

Country Club Hills Supercharger

 

[robynum]

Day 5 Sunday



Today we started the day in Angola Indiana and ended in Lake Ariel Pennsylvania, for a total of 500 miles for the day. We made three Supercharger stops today: Strongsville Ohio; Falls Creek Pennsylvania; and Scranton Pennsylvania. Strongsville Ohio and Falls Creek Pennsylvania were both located at Sheets which is ironically a gas station and convenience store. The Scranton location (actually Moosic Supercharger) was located at a strip mall. The speed limits were 65-70 but people still drove 80.


The total trip so far has been 2905 miles in five days with 18 Supercharger stops.

This trip from west to east was full of unknowns when we started but we made some significant discoveries along the way. The most significant was how to efficient use of the Supercharger on long trips:
- If you set your charge to 90% you can always get a full charge in 40 minutes or less
- The Superchargers are labeled 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b...etc - if a car is charging do 1a and you connect to 1b you will split the power.
- Check out the comments on the station to find the fastest charging port...I found 3a to work best at most stops.
- Finally, try to make your last stop for the day at a Supercharger at or walking distance from a hotel. Then you can just plug in and check in for the night.

Additionally, unless you drive like Miss Daisey, try to schedule your distance between Superchargers to about 70% of your battery miles. It’s very unsettling when your car tells you need to reduce your speed below the speed limit to make it to the next Supercharger especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere in states like Nevada, Utah, or Wyoming and you pull in with 29 battery miles remaining.

29 battery miles remained when I arrived at the Tooele Utah Supercharger


Moosic Supercharger near Scranton Pennsylvania which was the last of 18 stations from San Francisco to Lake Ariel Pennsylvania.