From San Jose, CA to Los Angeles, CA

[BruceHulkBanne]

I am planning my first long distance electric road trip in my Tesla Model 3 mid-range. With 100% charge I get 225 miles.
I plan on leaving San Jose on Friday the 1st at 6AM and returning on Monday the 4th, leaving Los Angeles at 3PM.
Since this is my first electric road trip of this distance, any pointers, tips would be appreciated.
I checked on ABRP, and it's saying I should do a stop at Harris Ranch Supercharger and Bakersfield Supercharger, and that should be good enough.
I am curious about real work experience from folks who have made this trip, especially since it's July 4th weekend.

Thank you!

 

[SO16]

I haven’t done that specific route but I just finished a 5,300 mile road trip and I strictly used the in car NAV.

Since it’s your first time, err on the side of over charging (the NAV is good about giving a decent buffer) so that way you have less chance of a range anxiety situation. Once you get used to the car and long road trips, you can cut that time down.

I now leave when it says 5 min remaining but that’s because I can judge it a bit better. However if there is lots of construction, traffic and detours, having extra range isn’t a bad thing. NAV can reroute as well for traffic if you have premium subscription for traffic data.

Sometimes I force a stop at a supercharger (waypoint) before a city so that way I don’t need to deal with charging in the city if the NAV routed me to it.

Others will probably be able to say which charging spots are best.

Pay attention at busy locations. If you have your charge amount set at higher than 80%, it may reset to 80%. If you are at a busy location and not actually charging for more than 5 min, you will get charged an idle fee per minute.

 

[BruceHulkBanne]

Thank you! This is super helpful!

 

[cpa]

I've driven 86,000 miles over eight years. I remember! (And there were only about 80 Superchargers in the entire US of A then! I've been from California to Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Denver, SE British Columbia during this time.

Anyway, I suggest that you look either at PlugShare or the Tesla web site for all the Supercharger locations between SJ and your destination. Let's ignore the two at Gilroy and Casa De Fruita because they are so close to your point of embarkation. In order heading south on Interstate 5 you will encounter
--Firebaugh (56)
--Harris Ranch (21 I think)
--Kettleman City (40); also on the east side with 56 (subject to closure)
--Buttonwillow (10)
--Bakersfield - West on I5 (10)
--Bakersfield - Copus Rd. (20)
--Tejon Ranch -- Dennis McCarthy Dr. (24)
-- Outlets at Tejon Ranch -- (across the freeway, using the east exit) (56)
--Santa Clarita (about 4 miles off the freeway and a lengthy drive back on the freeway.)

then you'll be in the greater LA Metro Area and have choices off the various freeways that will take you to your destination.

I mention this because to trust blindly the navigation may not be in your best interests overall. Of course, if speed is the primary factor, then by all means charge to 100% at home before departing and then follow the navigation.

But you may wish to eat. You may wish to stretch your legs for a 20-minute period at YOUR convenience, not the car's convenience. The car charges fastest at the bottom quarter of the battery. Plugging in with 15% results in a faster initial rate than does plugging in at 35%.

You may wish to avail yourself of the nice lounge at Kettleman City with its clean restrooms. You may wish to grab a snack at Tejon Ranch before heading over the hill.

In other words, it might be better to charge to 85-90% before leaving because you will arrive at your preferred stop with a reasonable state of charge, neither too much or too little.

Firebaugh, Kettleman City (16/40), Kettleman City, Bernard Drive, Bakersfield - Copus Rd and the Outlets at Tejon Ranch all are version 3 Superchargers. The other spots are version 2.

 

[smilepak]

I am planning my first long distance electric road trip in my Tesla Model 3 mid-range. With 100% charge I get 225 miles.
I plan on leaving San Jose on Friday the 1st at 6AM and returning on Monday the 4th, leaving Los Angeles at 3PM.
Since this is my first electric road trip of this distance, any pointers, tips would be appreciated.
I checked on ABRP, and it's saying I should do a stop at Harris Ranch Supercharger and Bakersfield Supercharger, and that should be good enough.
I am curious about real work experience from folks who have made this trip, especially since it's July 4th weekend.

Thank you!

I’ve done that route many times. My recommendation is first enter in the destination on your Tesla map. See where they suggest you. Along the way before reaching the first SC, change the destination to that SC and see if the batter estimation is correct and let it recalibrate.

For me the stop would be Casa De Fruita or if you have 100% when leaving SJ, then directly to
Firebaugh. Then I stop by Kettleman for a quick 15 minutes. Go to Tejon for 30 minutes. That will take you to LA