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Driving Tampa to Spokane in 2020 MX
- Thread starter ScottFLA
- Start date
A Better Routeplanner to plan the trip and get good time and charging estimates. My trips are usually Northeast and California, so no direct experience with your route.
Everything you need is already built into the car....
Don't make it hard... because it just isn't.
Don't make it hard... because it just isn't.
IdaX
Member
I’ve done the opposite: drove from the pacific NW to Key West. Great adventure! Plenty of supercharging options, and great way to see the country.
Of course, that was before the Dark Times. Before the Virus.
Of course, that was before the Dark Times. Before the Virus.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
We did Seattle to North Carolina in our X a year or so ago. We didn't do much planning...we pretty much just got in the car and let it route us. Really easy.
The X is the nicest road trip car we have ever had. Have fun!
We did an 11,000-mile trip in an S in 2014 that took some planning, but Superchargers are a lot more ubiquitous now.
(I started doing 3,500-mile electric road trips in my Roadster over 10 years ago. DC charging didn't exist yet, and the nearest L2 station was over 800 miles away. THAT trip took some planning).
The X is the nicest road trip car we have ever had. Have fun!
We did an 11,000-mile trip in an S in 2014 that took some planning, but Superchargers are a lot more ubiquitous now.
(I started doing 3,500-mile electric road trips in my Roadster over 10 years ago. DC charging didn't exist yet, and the nearest L2 station was over 800 miles away. THAT trip took some planning).
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My daughter and I have done Boston to San Diego to Seattle to Boston, Boston as to Atlanta to LA to Boston, Boston to Miami to Boston, and a few more multi-kilo-mile drives. Altogether 47 states plus some provinces, and 15-20 National Parks. We took 6+ weeks or so for the cross-country drives over the past two summers, and are hoping to do Halifax to Vancouver in 2020.
Minimal planning is necessary. Pay attention to energy consumption through the mountains; you'll consume extra on the climbs but reclaim back much on the downside.
Carry a case of bottled water and windshield cleaning stuff. I have only seen two superchargers with windshield cleaning supplies (one in Texas and the other in Nebraska), and the bugs will accumulate.
Enjoy!
Minimal planning is necessary. Pay attention to energy consumption through the mountains; you'll consume extra on the climbs but reclaim back much on the downside.
Carry a case of bottled water and windshield cleaning stuff. I have only seen two superchargers with windshield cleaning supplies (one in Texas and the other in Nebraska), and the bugs will accumulate.
Enjoy!
Drove Seattle - Columbus OH - Denver - Seattle two years ago, and headwinds can cause significant range degradation. We hit this on I-70 westbound from Indiana. Keep an eye on energy consumption if you encounter headwinds.
Mehdi
Member
I have to agree that the car system is best for planning routes.
My wife and I spent 2 months and put just over 13K miles on the car just about this time last year and found that the guidance in the car provides the most reliable maps and charger stops. The trip took us from Portland, OR to Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and back to Portland, and then to Yellow Stone, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Niagara, Toronto, Montreal and back to Portland.
The entire trip was powered by Superchargers (free) and we took time to stop wherever we liked to stop along the way. We only had a set date for being in Toronto, and a set date for being back home... all other stops were ad-hock!
My wife and I spent 2 months and put just over 13K miles on the car just about this time last year and found that the guidance in the car provides the most reliable maps and charger stops. The trip took us from Portland, OR to Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and back to Portland, and then to Yellow Stone, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Niagara, Toronto, Montreal and back to Portland.
The entire trip was powered by Superchargers (free) and we took time to stop wherever we liked to stop along the way. We only had a set date for being in Toronto, and a set date for being back home... all other stops were ad-hock!
Head winds can reduce available miles by 10 to 20%. Allow a little extra. Did Houston to Seattle last year, no problems. On some back roads you may loose navigation because of lack of Cell signal to car.
Mehdi
Member
Just a warning if you drive early morning or late afternoon hours: Watch out for wildlife as you go through the higher elevation/wooded areas. We encountered many deer on the road... dead and alive!
I drove from San Francisco to Tampa/St. Petersburg/West Palm Beach last summer in a MX (as well as SF-Dallas and SF-MN). As was posted above, just plan your daily route each morning with your in-vehicle Supercharger station mapping. As was also posted above, I found headwinds did make a difference as well as terrain and speed (80mph wasn't too bad on range, getting about 80% of displayed range). Highly recommend using AutoPilot as much as possible-saved me several time with unexpected lane changes by big rigs-much faster and safer than I could have responded. Trust your in-vehicle charge at destination estimates, as you may show very high usage early in a segment, but find that you actually gain range by long downhills. Have Fun!!
RoadTrippers is a great app for finding interesting places along any route, both during planning and travel. It's free, but well worth the annual "pro" fee of $29 for extra features. We used it constantly on a 2200 mile Western road trip last year.
Yes, I also recommend A Better Route Planner. It adds more options and give a slightly better assessment of range potential. I drove my 2017 model X from Chicago to Edmonton and had no issues except for Montana which didn't have enough super chargers along the route to Canada. Shouldn't be a problem for your tip and isn't a problem anymore for me since they've added chargers since my last trip.
BM3B
“beaver”
You should have a great time on the road, just be careful to clean the supercharger handles (or use and throw away gloves), I suggest wearing a mask indoors as well. Make sure to call ahead to confirm that hotels are open, some are closed due to covid-19. Last summer I drove from CA-MN and back, 5,500 miles in a model x100d with my kids, I rented it from a friend, I own a model 3.. We averaged 400 miles per day. Here is a trip log on a different forum that I posted.
Trip: 4,000 miles LA - MN - LA | Tesla
I found I could reliably do 150 miles between charges driving 80 mph and charging to 90% normally, I only had a few range charges to 100%. Try to charge quickly upon arrival when the battery is still warm, it will cut down the charging time. And use NAV to Supercharger to warm up the batter too (e.g. put it in the NAV at the hotel in the morning if you didn't get a chance to charge the night before). It can take 15-30 min to warm the battery up.
CA-MN-CA trip totals in X100D:
5,394 miles
1,935 kWh (so close to 2 megawatt hours MWh)
26 supercharger stations
359 Wh/mile (119%)
11 days driving, 22 days total
72 mph average
55 hours driving, 24 hours supercharging (optimized for fewest stops, 30% of travel time was supercharging)
9 states outside California
Longest drives: 484 miles, 6:12
My observations of first trip in an X (July 2019)
- so much space! I had no trouble fitting 5 people (including 3 car seats in a single row) and all our stuff for a 3 week road trip
- love the dual screen, now that I am back in my model 3 the screen feels so small!
- love the air suspension, soaks up the bumps really well, adjustable ride height
- too many phantom brake incidents! nearly daily, my wife asked me to turn off AP like 5 times
- Tesla clearly studied the Acura mdx, best selling 3 row SUV, I know because I have one and there are a lot of similarities e.g. the rear compartment handle
- middle bench does not tilt forward enough to get someone in and out of 3rd row easily
- loved it! now to save my money and buy a used model x in a few years,...but Raven arghhhhh might need to wait longer
Trip: 4,000 miles LA - MN - LA | Tesla
I found I could reliably do 150 miles between charges driving 80 mph and charging to 90% normally, I only had a few range charges to 100%. Try to charge quickly upon arrival when the battery is still warm, it will cut down the charging time. And use NAV to Supercharger to warm up the batter too (e.g. put it in the NAV at the hotel in the morning if you didn't get a chance to charge the night before). It can take 15-30 min to warm the battery up.
CA-MN-CA trip totals in X100D:
5,394 miles
1,935 kWh (so close to 2 megawatt hours MWh)
26 supercharger stations
359 Wh/mile (119%)
11 days driving, 22 days total
72 mph average
55 hours driving, 24 hours supercharging (optimized for fewest stops, 30% of travel time was supercharging)
9 states outside California
Longest drives: 484 miles, 6:12
My observations of first trip in an X (July 2019)
- so much space! I had no trouble fitting 5 people (including 3 car seats in a single row) and all our stuff for a 3 week road trip
- love the dual screen, now that I am back in my model 3 the screen feels so small!
- love the air suspension, soaks up the bumps really well, adjustable ride height
- too many phantom brake incidents! nearly daily, my wife asked me to turn off AP like 5 times
- Tesla clearly studied the Acura mdx, best selling 3 row SUV, I know because I have one and there are a lot of similarities e.g. the rear compartment handle
- middle bench does not tilt forward enough to get someone in and out of 3rd row easily
- loved it! now to save my money and buy a used model x in a few years,...but Raven arghhhhh might need to wait longer
2 of my kids moved to the west coast (we're in New Jersey) and we planned a road trip going to Seattle, then San Francisco, Albuquerque, Grand Canyon, several other parks and monuments and back home. When the pandemic struck, we waited and waited, but finally have decided to cancel all reservations and wait until next year. It is not worth the worry about clean (virus free) motel rooms and what is open or closed along the way. We feel, better safe...
As far as route planners go, I use A Better Route Planner, Tesla's and AAA's. AAA knows nothing about charging stations, so it wasn't so helpful, but it still filled a few things in. ABRP is good, but I take the Tesla ap as the best. It does focus on keeping you on the highways and it wouldn't route us to Crater Lake, Oregon, but putting in a destination at the other side of the country, and having a route in front of you in 2 minutes just can't be beat.
As far as route planners go, I use A Better Route Planner, Tesla's and AAA's. AAA knows nothing about charging stations, so it wasn't so helpful, but it still filled a few things in. ABRP is good, but I take the Tesla ap as the best. It does focus on keeping you on the highways and it wouldn't route us to Crater Lake, Oregon, but putting in a destination at the other side of the country, and having a route in front of you in 2 minutes just can't be beat.
I've done that part of Oregon quite a few times with my Tesla Model 3 AWD. It is definitely possible to get up and down Crater Lake. In the summer it is fine. In the winter, it can be a bit tight in terms of mileage and timing.
My wife and I are planning to drive from Sarasota to Seattle in the next month (June). The plan is to take a southern route across the country then up through Colorado or wait and go up the west coast of California.
We shipped shipped our 3 down from Seattle via truck for $1000 months ago. Have been plotting route options with A Better Route Planner app, then expect to use the Tesla map daily.
Now that the world is shrouded in the shadow of the virus, the romance of destination stopovers in New Orleans, Austin, monument valley or San Diego has changed.
Very interested in your trip, be sure to post updates and pictures.
We shipped shipped our 3 down from Seattle via truck for $1000 months ago. Have been plotting route options with A Better Route Planner app, then expect to use the Tesla map daily.
Now that the world is shrouded in the shadow of the virus, the romance of destination stopovers in New Orleans, Austin, monument valley or San Diego has changed.
Very interested in your trip, be sure to post updates and pictures.
E-GAL
Member
Did Portland, Oregon to Fort Meyers years ago when there were only four ways across the country. You have a lot more more options now. The car can do it, no problem. You may need to check on the availability of things for yourselves, though -- motels, food options, restrooms.
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