First Road Trip in Alabama

[BamaRed]

Taking my first road trip in my MYLR this upcoming Friday 12-23 and the forecast is set to be COLD for us. 33F for the high on the trip. The distance from my home to my destination is around 130 miles then back for a total round trip of 260 or so. I don't have any concerns on making this trip in the summer when it is warm, but the cold weather makes me worry a bit on the range. I am headed to Tuscaloosa and there is a SuperCharger there (V3) - but my travel will be on a road without any charging from here to there.

Should I be worried about that much range loss that it would be a concern? Going to charge to 100% and precon before leaving and watch the heater use. It will be a nice two lane road back country for the trip so no extreme speeds. I plan on making it to my destination, visiting with family, then hitting the SuperCharger before heading home to top off. ABRP says I can make it without charging but I just worry about the cold as I have not experienced it yet. I have only had the car about a month.

I know it has probably been discussed, but I could not find any specific example about this type of scenario. SCs are plentiful in other states, but they are sparse here still. Hoping that gets better in the future. We are seeing some 3rd party chargers popping up (CCS) since we are home to several auto plants, like Mercedes, Hyundai, etc. and I do have a CCS adapter.

TIA for all the advice. I love my car and it is great for my daily driving and such, just worried about this cold as it usually never is this cold down here.

 

[NeverGoingBack]

You should be fine. We drive ours all over the place up here in NE Mississippi (we’re up in IL visiting grandkids right now …. Pretty frosty up here). Same as you - superchargers are pretty spread out.

Drive around a little in the cold and then put your destination in the Navigation system. Car will use your recent rate of consumption along with temperature and other weather conditions to tell you what your SoC will be when you arrive and whether you need to stop to recharge. It’s pretty reliable ….. but always good to leave a little slack to minimize anxiety.

If you want to nerd out, get ABRP (A Better Route Planner) and you can control just about every variable involved to plan out your trip and charge stops.

You could also bounce off SCs Montgomery, Birmingham, or Meridian MS depending on where you start from and whether you feel like going a little out of your way. Car will likely route you through one of those if necessary.

 

[CaseyL]

You should be fine as long as you charge before your return trip. I'm on a road trip and in South Georgia right now. Woke up to 35 degree weather this morning. I'm sitting at about 75% with about 100 miles to my next Supercharger. I'll easily make it with over 30% left.

I figure on about a 20% penalty in this type of weather. The good news is that it usually warms up a good bit during the day which moderates the penalty. However I do see that this might not be true in your case (for 12-23).

As you get more trips under your belt, your comfort level will increase.

Enjoy!

 

[jcanoe]

Your highway speed with have the greatest impact on your Model Y's range and overall efficiency. Try and maintain speed to no more than 70 MPH. Lowering you speed by just 5 MPH can add 9% to your range. Other factors include wind, elevation changes and general road conditions (dry/wet/snow covered.) Drive a bit more slowly for the first half of the trip, then you can adjust your speed for the second half with confidence.

Make sure the tires are inflated to at least the recommended 42 PSI or even few pounds more.

ABRP trips assume you are not towing a trailer, have a bike rack or have a roof/luggage rack.

 

[BamaRed]

You should be fine. We drive ours all over the place up here in NE Mississippi (we’re up in IL visiting grandkids right now …. Pretty frosty up here). Same as you - superchargers are pretty spread out.

Drive around a little in the cold and then put your destination in the Navigation system. Car will use your recent rate of consumption along with temperature and other weather conditions to tell you what your SoC will be when you arrive and whether you need to stop to recharge. It’s pretty reliable ….. but always good to leave a little slack to minimize anxiety.

If you want to nerd out, get ABRP (A Better Route Planner) and you can control just about every variable involved to plan out your trip and charge stops.

You could also bounce off SCs Montgomery, Birmingham, or Meridian MS depending on where you start from and whether you feel like going a little out of your way. Car will likely route you through one of those if necessary.

I am just north of Montgomery going up 82 to Tuscaloosa. I am pretty confident about making it to T-Town no problem. I think I am going to hit the Cottendale SC (Tuscaloosa) one and probably go back via Interstate up I59 to B'ham and can hit the Mountain Brook SC if needed. Then come back down I65 to home.

Thank you everyone so far for the responses. ABRP shows me being good and looking at Tesla Nav just pre-planning I should be good, but it does want me to hit the SC.

 

[BamaRed]

Your highway speed with have the greatest impact on your Model Y's range and overall efficiency. Try and maintain speed to no more than 70 MPH. Lowering you speed by just 5 MPH can add 9% to your range. Other factors include wind, elevation changes and general road conditions (dry/wet/snow covered.) Drive a bit more slowly for the first half of the trip, then you can adjust your speed for the second half with confidence.

Make sure the tires are inflated to at least the recommended 42 PSI or even few pounds more.

ABRP trips assume you are not towing a trailer, have a bike rack or have a roof/luggage rack.

Thanks @jcanoe I love your posts, always very informative and helpful and was hoping you would chime in!

 

[CaseyL]

Should I be worried about that much range loss that it would be a concern? Going to charge to 100% and precon before leaving and watch the heater use. It will be a nice two lane road back country for the trip so no extreme speeds.

Another thought or two. The climate system uses far less than you might think. Be comfortable. You probably don't need to charge to 100% either.

Driving backroads is a plus, since your average speed will be moderate. As jcanoe said, speed easily makes the biggest impact on consumption.

 

[240vPlug]

I think you will be fine. Cold doesn't affect MY as much as other EV because of the heat pump. Precondition and keep highway speeds low. Stop at SC and charge. I would also look at ABRP beforehand as that will take into account elevation changes and other conditions. You can really geek out with ABRP. Enjoy!

 

[BamaRed]

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice. I think I am going to go for it and be fine. It is cold today but not as cold as it will be Friday and I can notice the consumption increase. It appears to be about 1-2% on my short morning trip to work. I have it scheduled in ABRP and it shows that I will make it fine. Still kinda nervous, but got to break it in some time!

Again, thanks everyone!