Driving From LA to Vegas....

[BOBEDIGITL]

I've had my Model 3 LR since July '18 and of course I'm still head over heels about it. I ordered AP and FSD a couple of weeks ago and although it can be a bit wonky at times, it's a joy to just be able to sit back and relax a bit. I'm heading down to Vegas with a few friends in June and of course I insisted I drive. My buddies are not EV owners and they're scared of running out of juice halfway there. I only have about 5k miles on it since my daily commute is only 10 miles round trip. The longest drive I had so far is about 100 miles both ways so I'm a little familiar with making a long trip. Does anybody have any tips/advice on making this specific trip a pleasant one and as stress free as possible? Should I let AP go the whole way and not take over? Certain speed I should go?....Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Tam]

...stress free as possible? Should I let AP go the whole way and not take over? Certain speed I should go?....Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

LAX to Las Vegas is about 280 miles.

I drive conservatively and use Autopilot staying with posted speed limits and I start a trip with 50 miles extra.

In this case 280+50=330 miles on the battery gauge before starting the trip.

Driving above posted speed limit would consume much more energy so I would advise to stop and Supercharge in the middle of the way such as Baker with 40 stalls or Yermo with 18 stalls or Barstow with 16 stalls depending on the availability as shown on your navigation screen.

When I use AP, I don't let all my hands off the steering wheel. I always have at least one hand with a slight counter torque to monitor the steering and correct it if needed.

Good luck!

 

[Zaxxon]

I've had my Model 3 LR since July '18 and of course I'm still head over heels about it. I ordered AP and FSD a couple of weeks ago and although it can be a bit wonky at times, it's a joy to just be able to sit back and relax a bit. I'm heading down to Vegas with a few friends in June and of course I insisted I drive. My buddies are not EV owners and they're scared of running out of juice halfway there. I only have about 5k miles on it since my daily commute is only 10 miles round trip. The longest drive I had so far is about 100 miles both ways so I'm a little familiar with making a long trip. Does anybody have any tips/advice on making this specific trip a pleasant one and as stress free as possible? Should I let AP go the whole way and not take over? Certain speed I should go?....Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I just did this on Saturday. Was no problem and we were in a P3D. More about the trip here. There's a Supercharger in Primm, NV, plus more on the route (eg Baker, CA, Barstow, CA). You'll be fine regardless of conditions.

 

[israndy]

All I EVER do is point the car at my final destination and let it dictate the drive. Sometimes I wanna stop somewhere along the way and it doesn't think that is the MOST efficient, I have to point the car at that waypoint first and when I get there I point the car to my final destination and again, it just takes you there. If something happens along the way, like I caught a 30 MPH headwind one time, it will tell you what to do, stop at a closer charger or at least slow down to make your destination.

-Randy

 

[75Shappyt]

you will make it just fine and have doing it!!

 

[BOBEDIGITL]

LAX to Las Vegas is about 280 miles.

When I use AP, I don't let all my hands off the steering wheel. I always have at least one hand with a slight counter torque to monitor the steering and correct it if needed.

Good luck!

Ya I definitely don't fall asleep at the wheel while using AP, as great as it is, I still know I have to be attentive at all times. Staying at the posted speed limit makes the most logical sense. Previous trips to Vegas I making it in under 3 hours, but that's going about 80-90 mph during a big portion of the drive. I'm assuming I could do the same in the 3, but I'll be taking a lot longer in the supercharger.

I just did this on Saturday. Was no problem and we were in a P3D. More about the trip here. There's a Supercharger in Primm, NV, plus more on the route (eg Baker, CA, Barstow, CA). You'll be fine regardless of conditions.

I figured June will be perfect weather to head out over there. I'll be driving after work so hopefully it wont be too hot where I'll be using the AC and killing even more juice.

All I EVER do is point the car at my final destination and let it dictate the drive. Sometimes I wanna stop somewhere along the way and it doesn't think that is the MOST efficient, I have to point the car at that waypoint first and when I get there I point the car to my final destination and again, it just takes you there. If something happens along the way, like I caught a 30 MPH headwind one time, it will tell you what to do, stop at a closer charger or at least slow down to make your destination.

-Randy

Last week when I charged to 80%, I punched in the address and it said I would have to stop in Yermo for about 25mins. Usually when I put destinations into the nav, it's pretty spot on as to how much battery I'll left over. Maybe give or take a percentage or two. But I'm assuming that Yermo stop is for the round trip?

 

[MacInfoSys]

I did this trip from OC to Vegas about a month ago. I had a full days work so I was unable to charge to full 310. I left the house at 290 miles. I tend to drive pretty fast so my efficiency for the trip was not great but it was not bad and to the point of needing to stop all the time. I left OC and got stuck in a lot of traffic on 15 and further up at Cajon pass. I was hungry so I ended up stopping Barstow even though the navigation was routing to stop at Yermo. Barstow stop was for 25 min and by the time I was getting ready to leave it stated I was good to charge when I got to Vegas so Yermo was not even needed anymore. I decided to stop at Baker since I wanted to see the huge amount of charging stalls and charged for about 7-8 min. Took off from there and got into Vegas with about 100 miles to spare. The entire trip I was going back and forth between Autopilot and self drive since I sometimes enjoyed the more adventurous drive. I averaged anywhere from 75-90 when I was driving and when on Autopilot set to 80..

 

[israndy]

I have read that for the Model S going much faster than the speed limit will actually cause your trip to be LONGER because you burn thru so much charge that you have to stop to top up. I wonder what the math is on that and how it applies to the Model 3 which charges so fast. I am always driving into Superchargers and leaving again before a single S or X has moved.

-Randy

 

[Zaxxon]

I have read that for the Model S going much faster than the speed limit will actually cause your trip to be LONGER because you burn thru so much charge that you have to stop to top up. I wonder what the math is on that and how it applies to the Model 3 which charges so fast. I am always driving into Superchargers and leaving again before a single S or X has moved.

-Randy

We tested that a bit on last week's trip. The answer seems to be that for the 3 if there are enough Superchargers on your route that you can hit them around 5-20% when you roll in and charge only to 60-70% so you avoid the slow part of the taper, speeding is worth it.

 

[MacInfoSys]

speeding is worth it.

lol. Until you get pulled over! :-O

 

[Uncle Paul]

You and your buddies will find the trip much more enjoyable if you stop part way and take a break for a stretch and bathroom visits. I recomend Eddie World in Yermo. Interesting place to stop with lots of snacks and the worlds cleanest bathrooms.

Your buddies will get a chance to see how the Superchargers work, and it takes all the anxiety away for everybody.

Bonus is that you will get to Vegas with extra charge so you can drive around if you wish, and still have enough juice to get back on the road and stop again for some juice on your way home.

It becomes not a big deal to stop. Gives everyone something to talk about and everyone arrives in Vegas much fresher and ready to hit the town, rather than make it an early night.

Enjoy your trip.

And as everyone says. Going across the desert often means traveling at 80 MPH plus. Range will suffer, so plan on making a convenient stop part way.

 

[Zaxxon]

Also, there are two Superchargers in Vegas, and most of the big hotels also have L2 charging in their garages.

 

[animorph]

Looking at ABetterRoutePlanner would give you an idea of what to expect, charging and trip time. Note that you will minimize your wait at a Supercharger if you charge only enough to reach the next charger (plus a safety margin of 20% or less), or with whatever charge you need for driving at your destination. The time penalty for waiting for 100% charged is pretty steep.

The nav seems to favor long drives and long charges. Online route planners seem to favor more frequent stops and shorter charges. I don't think there is a large time difference between the two, but if you prefer more frequent stops you'll probably have to enter your next Supercharger as your destination. that's what we do.

Keep an eye on the charge remaining at destination at the bottom of the nav turn list while you're driving. If it's getting too low for comfort (10%?), slow down a bit until it stabilizes. That's your main defense against running out of charge before the next charger.

 

[stevemc]

I agree with charging at Eddie World Yermo. I find the supercharges in LV to often be very busy so you may want to have a higher state of change when you get into LV.

 

[ProphetM]

Yup, just stop at EddieWorld in Yermo. It's a great stop - look around, use the restroom, get some food, and the car will probably be ready to go before you are.

 

[BOBEDIGITL]

Awesome advice guys! For as long as I've had the car, I've never had range anxiety. But considering this is the longest trip I've ever made, I didn't want to be overly confident especially with other people in the car. I was expecting to make at least one pit stop so I'm not too concerned by that. I just don't want to be that guy going 65 mph and have everyone else zipping past me. I want to make sure I arrive with enough juice to get out of vegas and get to one of the nearby chargers along the way. Don't know how crowded the vegas supercharger can get but i'm assuming the would. I'll definitely try and find out if my hotel has any chargers available just in case.

 

[Zaxxon]

Awesome advice guys! For as long as I've had the car, I've never had range anxiety. But considering this is the longest trip I've ever made, I didn't want to be overly confident especially with other people in the car. I was expecting to make at least one pit stop so I'm not too concerned by that. I just don't want to be that guy going 65 mph and have everyone else zipping past me. I want to make sure I arrive with enough juice to get out of vegas and get to one of the nearby chargers along the way. Don't know how crowded the vegas supercharger can get but i'm assuming the would. I'll definitely try and find out if my hotel has any chargers available just in case.

With the density of Superchargers on the route from LA to Vegas, you can drive at the prevailing speed just fine. Your best bet is probably to just stop in Primm and charge up fairly high, and then you just don't have to worry about charging at all in Vegas.

 

[BOBEDIGITL]

With the density of Superchargers on the route from LA to Vegas, you can drive at the prevailing speed just fine. Your best bet is probably to just stop in Primm and charge up fairly high, and then you just don't have to worry about charging at all in Vegas.

Ya I definitely don't want to be charging in Vegas. Maybe I'll just charge a little more than I need to during my last stop so I can have enough battery left to make it to vegas and get out without having to charge nearby.

 

[jjgunn]

@Zaxxon nailed it

Long lines for the SuCh'r in the Vegas city limits - besides, once you get there you want to have fun in that adult playground - not sit in line waiting to charge

 

[Zaxxon]

To put a finer point on this, let me resurrect some TeslaFi stats from my trip on Saturday:

• Departed Hawthorne at 88% battery (LR P3D)
• Arrived Baker Supercharger 23%. Speed was fairly low till we left the LA area (traffic; ugh) and 80-85 MPH afterward.
• Charged in Baker for 25 minutes, from 23% to 75%.
• Drove to the Vegas Strip Supercharger, averaging 73 MPH for this leg (brought down a bit by LV traffic). Arrived with 57% charge. We charged for a bit here because we were going to be heading back to Denver the next day and didn't want to have to Supercharge again before the car had a chance to warm up fully. There was a short wait (we arrived and were first in line, and got in after maybe five minutes). Had we instead stopped in Primm, we likely could have gotten right in.
• Superchargers we skipped: a bunch in the LA area, Barstow, Yermo, Primm. Plenty of options for you.