First Road Trip in my 2022 Model S

Just drove from my home in the Bay Area to Arizona for my first road trip in my 2022 Model S. For the most part the trip went well with the exception of the following:

1: Range was below what I expected given the car supposedly had a range of 405 miles. Charged the car to 100% before I left and admittingly drove down I5 at about 75-80 MPH which the car handled beautifully but I ultimately had to charge the car had the following location (235 miles from my home) as the charge level was down to about 8%:

Easy Trip Food Store
29541 Stockdale Hwy
Bakersfield, CA 93314-9644

2: The car's onboard computer indicated prior to our ultimate stop in Bakersfield that we should stop at the following charging station:

Buttonwillow, CA - Cal Club Rd (No Amenities) Supercharger
24551 W Lerdo Hwy
Buttonwillow, CA 93206

As the navigation was directing us to this Supercharger we followed the directions to a tee and for the life of me, could not find it anywhere! Admittingly it was foggy outside but there was nothing near here even though there was a sign saying turn right with a Tesla emblem on it which we did and other than a road still under construction, there was nothing resembling a charging station and ultimately we simply turned around and went the extra 16 miles to the charging station in Bakersfield. Anyone been to this charging station in Buttonwillow that we may have missed?

3: After charging in Bakersfield the onboard computer had us go to the following Supercharger:

Victoria Gardens
12642 Cultural Center Dr.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739-7511

This was a big mistake as not only is it not close to the 210 where we were traveling, the chargers were very slow (about 50kW) and the bathrooms not convenient. Truth is, we never should have stopped here as we had plenty of charge left and after a few minutes left and went to the following Supercharger:

Morongo Travel Center
48540 Morongo Trail
Cabazon, CA 92230

This was an excellent place to charge as the bathrooms were quite nice and the other amenities convenient as well. Only issue was that the computer was trying to send us to this other nearby location:

Desert Hills Premium Outlets
48400 Seminole Drive
Cabazon, CA 92230-2125

We wanted to go to the Morongo Travel Center as the chargers were up to 250kW so we got a little turned around with the navigation trying to send us to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets so we probably burned about 20 minutes of extra time going in circles trying to get the Morongo Travel Center. With this 20 minute delay along with probably a 40 minute delay by going to the Rancho Cucamonga charger (not to mention the 15-20 minute delay trying to find the Buttonwillow Supercharger) we added about an hour plus to our trip which we would not do on the next drive from the Bay Area to Arizona.

4: Our last stop was at the following Supercharger:

Carl's Jr.
1451 West Main Street
Quartzsite, AZ 85346-5359

This proved to be an excellent choice which as a side note we used (along with the Supercharger at the Morongo Travel Center) on the way back. Our other stop on the way back was at the following Supercharger:

Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
24553 W Dorris Avenue
Coalinga, CA 93210

This too proved to be an excellent stopping location.

Bottom line, a little advance planning will go a long way towards minimizing the time spent stopped on a long trip but again, outside of perhaps a little less range that I expected, the car performed beautifully and the bathroom breaks along the way proved very convenient not to mention necessary. Very pleased with the performance of the car and will gladly take it again on our next road trip!

"Tesla Model S electric car at Union Square, San Francisco" by mariordo59 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog feed.

 

[EastCoast85D]

I always google the supercharger stops the in car route planner wants to stop at and adjust accordingly to my needs. Otherwise you might end up in the middle of no where or an inconvenient location.

75-80mph is a real range killer I see. I can get rated at 70mph in my 85D so I typically won’t go over that.

 

[vcor]

When looking at superchargers, tap on the pin on the map. It will show the charge rate, if any stalls are disabled (rare), and what amenities are available. I also try and time my stops to align with food and bio breaks.

As for range vs speed, you can get 600+ miles of range if you drive at 35 mph on flat-level ground. Drive at 80 mph, and you'll be lucky to get 300 miles of range. The range calculator is based on the EPA tests, at 55-65 mph, flat, 70F temperatures. Speed has the same effect on ICE cars too - the faster you go the mpg numbers go way down.

Sometimes finding the exact Supercharger location is a bit of a trick when it's in a large mall or shopping center. Tough in fog. Tesla could do a better job at navigation for the last 500 feet or so.

Might be worth reading: Range University – TeslaTap

 

[Spalding]

Just drove from my home in the Bay Area to Arizona for my first road trip in my 2022 Model S. For the most part the trip went well with the exception of the following:

1: Range was below what I expected given the car supposedly had a range of 405 miles. Charged the car to 100% before I left and admittingly drove down I5 at about 75-80 MPH which the car handled beautifully but I ultimately had to charge the car had the following location (235 miles from my home) as the charge level was down to about 8%:

Easy Trip Food Store
29541 Stockdale Hwy
Bakersfield, CA 93314-9644

2: The car's onboard computer indicated prior to our ultimate stop in Bakersfield that we should stop at the following charging station:

Buttonwillow, CA - Cal Club Rd (No Amenities) Supercharger
24551 W Lerdo Hwy
Buttonwillow, CA 93206

As the navigation was directing us to this Supercharger we followed the directions to a tee and for the life of me, could not find it anywhere! Admittingly it was foggy outside but there was nothing near here even though there was a sign saying turn right with a Tesla emblem on it which we did and other than a road still under construction, there was nothing resembling a charging station and ultimately we simply turned around and went the extra 16 miles to the charging station in Bakersfield. Anyone been to this charging station in Buttonwillow that we may have missed?

3: After charging in Bakersfield the onboard computer had us go to the following Supercharger:

Victoria Gardens
12642 Cultural Center Dr.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739-7511

This was a big mistake as not only is it not close to the 210 where we were traveling, the chargers were very slow (about 50kW) and the bathrooms not convenient. Truth is, we never should have stopped here as we had plenty of charge left and after a few minutes left and went to the following Supercharger:

Morongo Travel Center
48540 Morongo Trail
Cabazon, CA 92230

This was an excellent place to charge as the bathrooms were quite nice and the other amenities convenient as well. Only issue was that the computer was trying to send us to this other nearby location:

Desert Hills Premium Outlets
48400 Seminole Drive
Cabazon, CA 92230-2125

We wanted to go to the Morongo Travel Center as the chargers were up to 250kW so we got a little turned around with the navigation trying to send us to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets so we probably burned about 20 minutes of extra time going in circles trying to get the Morongo Travel Center. With this 20 minute delay along with probably a 40 minute delay by going to the Rancho Cucamonga charger (not to mention the 15-20 minute delay trying to find the Buttonwillow Supercharger) we added about an hour plus to our trip which we would not do on the next drive from the Bay Area to Arizona.

4: Our last stop was at the following Supercharger:

Carl's Jr.
1451 West Main Street
Quartzsite, AZ 85346-5359

This proved to be an excellent choice which as a side note we used (along with the Supercharger at the Morongo Travel Center) on the way back. Our other stop on the way back was at the following Supercharger:

Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
24553 W Dorris Avenue
Coalinga, CA 93210

This too proved to be an excellent stopping location.

Bottom line, a little advance planning will go a long way towards minimizing the time spent stopped on a long trip but again, outside of perhaps a little less range that I expected, the car performed beautifully and the bathroom breaks along the way proved very convenient not to mention necessary. Very pleased with the performance of the car and will gladly take it again on our next road trip!


View attachment 894976
"Tesla Model S electric car at Union Square, San Francisco" by mariordo59 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog feed.

I've often struggled to find the exact location of Superchargers. A big overhead sign, like at any gas station, would be a big help - although obviously some locations might balk at that.

 

[Georgesb2]

It's nice to have that much range, at least the EPA range.
For others like me, who have Model 3/Y we have much less range...

 

[gaswalla]

I go to supercharge.info prior to charging at a site I do not know well. Click on the site, click 'discuss', and it takes you to the TMC forums thread on that supercharger. Our forum colleagues share a lot of useful info like tricks on quickly finding the stalls, local food and amenities, as well as recent happenings (like a fire at Baker, eg).

 

[maximizese]

I've learned to use the onboard trip planner as a guideline, but I tend to over-ride it for what I think is a more efficient road-trip. I usually start with A Better Route Planner a few days before my trip, then I compare it to what our Tesla suggests. Because my S85 is nerfed, our car does not charge very quickly above 30% SOC therefore I try to arrive at a Supercharger site that is less than 60% occupied and with an SOC below 10% to maximize what's left of my fast charging capabilities. Often times this means bypassing the recommended Supercharger site from the onboard trip planner and navigating to the one or two beyond. I make sure to use the Trip graph on the Energy window to make sure I have enough Projected Range and will either increase or decrease my cruise speed to get there within 8-12% SOC.

I've had enough of waiting for Supercharger stalls from the early days and so far have enjoyed all the new sites and expansions (I also avoid 3-day holiday weekends and peak driving weekends). I remember waiting 20 minutes for 1/8 stalls to be available in Quartzsite, then waiting 60 minutes to charge before I could limp my way to the next nearest Supercharger in Indio, Ca. It was ASU graduation month and I was driving back in a windstorm with a 20mph headwind with 50mph gusts. Had to keep it under 70mph just to make it...I set the suspension at "low" just in case. It's a completely different scenario now that Tesla has added Ehrenberg, Buckeye, and expanded Quartzsite.

 

[Wattsisname]

Just drove from my home in the Bay Area to Arizona for my first road trip in my 2022 Model S. For the most part the trip went well with the exception of the following:

1: Range was below what I expected given the car supposedly had a range of 405 miles. Charged the car to 100% before I left and admittingly drove down I5 at about 75-80 MPH which the car handled beautifully but I ultimately had to charge the car had the following location (235 miles from my home) as the charge level was down to about 8%:

Easy Trip Food Store
29541 Stockdale Hwy
Bakersfield, CA 93314-9644

2: The car's onboard computer indicated prior to our ultimate stop in Bakersfield that we should stop at the following charging station:

Buttonwillow, CA - Cal Club Rd (No Amenities) Supercharger
24551 W Lerdo Hwy
Buttonwillow, CA 93206

As the navigation was directing us to this Supercharger we followed the directions to a tee and for the life of me, could not find it anywhere! Admittingly it was foggy outside but there was nothing near here even though there was a sign saying turn right with a Tesla emblem on it which we did and other than a road still under construction, there was nothing resembling a charging station and ultimately we simply turned around and went the extra 16 miles to the charging station in Bakersfield. Anyone been to this charging station in Buttonwillow that we may have missed?

3: After charging in Bakersfield the onboard computer had us go to the following Supercharger:

Victoria Gardens
12642 Cultural Center Dr.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739-7511

This was a big mistake as not only is it not close to the 210 where we were traveling, the chargers were very slow (about 50kW) and the bathrooms not convenient. Truth is, we never should have stopped here as we had plenty of charge left and after a few minutes left and went to the following Supercharger:

Morongo Travel Center
48540 Morongo Trail
Cabazon, CA 92230

This was an excellent place to charge as the bathrooms were quite nice and the other amenities convenient as well. Only issue was that the computer was trying to send us to this other nearby location:

Desert Hills Premium Outlets
48400 Seminole Drive
Cabazon, CA 92230-2125

We wanted to go to the Morongo Travel Center as the chargers were up to 250kW so we got a little turned around with the navigation trying to send us to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets so we probably burned about 20 minutes of extra time going in circles trying to get the Morongo Travel Center. With this 20 minute delay along with probably a 40 minute delay by going to the Rancho Cucamonga charger (not to mention the 15-20 minute delay trying to find the Buttonwillow Supercharger) we added about an hour plus to our trip which we would not do on the next drive from the Bay Area to Arizona.

4: Our last stop was at the following Supercharger:

Carl's Jr.
1451 West Main Street
Quartzsite, AZ 85346-5359

This proved to be an excellent choice which as a side note we used (along with the Supercharger at the Morongo Travel Center) on the way back. Our other stop on the way back was at the following Supercharger:

Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
24553 W Dorris Avenue
Coalinga, CA 93210

This too proved to be an excellent stopping location.

Bottom line, a little advance planning will go a long way towards minimizing the time spent stopped on a long trip but again, outside of perhaps a little less range that I expected, the car performed beautifully and the bathroom breaks along the way proved very convenient not to mention necessary. Very pleased with the performance of the car and will gladly take it again on our next road trip!


View attachment 894976
"Tesla Model S electric car at Union Square, San Francisco" by mariordo59 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog feed.

Pre planning at your desk with " A Better Route Planner" works really well.
Gorgeous car.

 

[Maaz]

I’m guessing you are driving with the 21” wheels.

 

[jhuang]

I usually never go with Teslas recommended stops. While I’m charging at the first station, I see which station I should go to next, based off of distance, charging speeds, etc. The one time I let Tesla decide where to charge it led us 10 minutes away from the I-5, which wasn’t super ideal. It was our first time road-tripping, back in 2015, so we had no option but to stop there due to limited stations. Otherwise we would’ve charged a bit more and went farther south and found something closer to the freeway.

 

[Big Dog]

I'm a fan of Harris Ranch and Kettleman (many high speed chargers). Also, there is another ButtonWillow SC a few miles past where you stopped and the second one is right off of the 5, with amenities, and hard to miss.

And yeah, no way you get good range doing 75+.

 

[slmskrs]

When looking at superchargers, tap on the pin on the map. It will show the charge rate, if any stalls are disabled (rare), and what amenities are available. I also try and time my stops to align with food and bio breaks.

As for range vs speed, you can get 600+ miles of range if you drive at 35 mph on flat-level ground. Drive at 80 mph, and you'll be lucky to get 300 miles of range. The range calculator is based on the EPA tests, at 55-65 mph, flat, 70F temperatures. Speed has the same effect on ICE cars too - the faster you go the mpg numbers go way down.

Sometimes finding the exact Supercharger location is a bit of a trick when it's in a large mall or shopping center. Tough in fog. Tesla could do a better job at navigation for the last 500 feet or so.

Might be worth reading: Range University – TeslaTap

I don't recall the specific supercharger (northbount at bottom of grapevine on I5?), but tesla nav said we had reached the supercharger location in the back of an outlet mall, but the superchargers were nowhere to be found. Kept driving around the stores and finally found them way on the other side. Why Tesla's nav doesn't know where some Telsa superchargers actual location is is beyond me.

 

[Papa's Pepper]

Another point I've discovered is in regards to those superchargers located in multi-story structures. Rare are there any signs in the structure so now I just go to the top level on an outside wall. Usually works.

 

[aerodyne]

Another point I've discovered is in regards to those superchargers located in multi-story structures. Rare are there any signs in the structure so now I just go to the top level on an outside wall. Usually works.

Some times it tells you in the directions or SuC notes, like 7th floor in Burbank, top level in Pasadena, two examples.

 

[gaswalla]

picture of Buttonwillow supercharger:

 

[gmontem]

The take away I got from the OP is we all need to tweet Elon to add an option to prioritize Superchargers with nice restrooms, which is not a bad idea if you ask me.

 

[Rocky_H]

but tesla nav said we had reached the supercharger location in the back of an outlet mall, but the superchargers were nowhere to be found. Kept driving around the stores and finally found them way on the other side. Why Tesla's nav doesn't know where some Telsa superchargers actual location is is beyond me.

Because there are no more navigation directions to give within a parking lot. It can't say "Go 200 more feet on Broadway and turn left on Pine St." There just aren't any more streets in the parking lot, so it will say "arrived" once you are in the parking lot. What you need to do at that point once you turn into the parking lot is to zoom in on the map and look directly at it. It will show with very good accuracy exactly where the pin of the Supercharger location is, and you can see what direction and how far that looks from the triangle of your car.

 

[treker]

I use the PlugShare app as a backup. People will give better location information as in which floor, which side of the building,etc.

 

[maximizese]

Because there are no more navigation directions to give within a parking lot. It can't say "Go 200 more feet on Broadway and turn left on Pine St." There just aren't any more streets in the parking lot, so it will say "arrived" once you are in the parking lot. What you need to do at that point once you turn into the parking lot is to zoom in on the map and look directly at it. It will show with very good accuracy exactly where the pin of the Supercharger location is, and you can see what direction and how far that looks from the triangle of your car.

Yep. Between following the other Teslas going to the Supercharger and using the satellite picture view on the Navigation screen, I've yet to struggle with finding the Supercharger stalls. I usually have my passengers keep a look out too while I focus on driving. Probably visited some 40 different Supercharger sites and have yet to get stumped. The trickiest one for me so far has been between one in a paid parking structure down in San Diego and the one at by the LINQ in Las Vegas. The latter requires a gate code to access and is displayed on the Navigation screen details.

 

[Parker3097]

Pre planning at your desk with " A Better Route Planner" works really well.
Gorgeous car.

I’ll download it today. Thanks for your assistance.