I’m in Austin and I would advise against it. Just not worth the risk to save a few hours vs. I-40. It’s. It’s not safe to slow down to 55 mph on I-10 in West Texas, and you never know about wind which can kill your range. Take I-40 to Amarillo, then Childress, Sweetwater, Junction, to Austin.
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Highway distance driving
- Thread starter kiloecho78
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- 75d highway range limit
Pre-planning with EVTripPlanner or similar service (EVTO is a good phone app and does take weather into account) is a great idea to see if you should even attempt this and get a good idea of the fastest charging strategy (which is not to skip Superchargers and only charge enough to reach the next Supercharger with your desired margin unless you are delaying for a meal or other reason).
During the trip, use the Tesla navigation. It will tell you when to Supercharge, but most importantly it will give you a pretty good estimate of how much charge will remain when you reach the next stop. I always check that as I'm driving. If it gets too low (10% for me), you can slow down to reduce your consumption. The navigation does consider elevation changes and your consumption for the last 30 miles, so it is fairly accurate but not perfect.
During the trip, use the Tesla navigation. It will tell you when to Supercharge, but most importantly it will give you a pretty good estimate of how much charge will remain when you reach the next stop. I always check that as I'm driving. If it gets too low (10% for me), you can slow down to reduce your consumption. The navigation does consider elevation changes and your consumption for the last 30 miles, so it is fairly accurate but not perfect.
Being the engineer in the family that is why I operate all the electronics and do the calculations. I also do all the range anxiety worrying. After stopping at the rv park on the way west we met an owner traveling west driving a 75d that makes the trip often. She assured us we would not have problems going east. We will be heading west next month but plan on going thru Flagstaff. This will be our 5th coast to coast trip. Enjoy your trip and car and relax!Thank you for the reply. All of my calculations and practice are showing me that this is possible but actually doing it is sometimes another story. My wife will be driving the Tesla for all but the two segments I've mentioned here. For these I'll take over since I've got the patience and practice (plus as an engineer I can do calculations on the fly).
Don85D
Member
A couple of thoughts for your consideration... if there is no need to travel together with the second vehicle and trailer I would avoid following too closely as it's an added risk of stone chips or windshield damage. Staying in front of the second vehicle would be my choice to set the pace. When travelling in groups we use GMRS or older CB radios for vehicle to vehicle communication. It helps a lot to know that the second vehicle can be contacted quickly if you need to exit for charging or a break.
As stated in a previous post, enjoy the journey. We used to drive straight through at max allowable speed in our BMW but that changed with the Tesla. Charging stops are enjoyable breaks even if they may cost you an extra hour for the entire trip.
As stated in a previous post, enjoy the journey. We used to drive straight through at max allowable speed in our BMW but that changed with the Tesla. Charging stops are enjoyable breaks even if they may cost you an extra hour for the entire trip.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Had a similar issue when we would take motorcycle trips with someone along, driving a support SUV. The Harleys did best stopping every 200 miles for fuel and for the riders to stretch, get some water and use the restroom. The people in the SUV always wanted to drive 500 miles at a clip.
We always used the bikes to set the pace and when to stop.
Same thing when driving a ICE vehicle and an EV. The EV will set the pace and determine when and where to stop. Trying to match stops with a SUV will put you at the extreme range of your capability and induce significant stress.
Best to plan your trip to the capabilities of your EV and tell the ICE when and where you will be stopping.
Some times, traveling at around 70 mph and stopping at around 15% reserve, and charging back up to 80-85%, in an EV will get you to your destination much faster than traveling at 85 mph, traveling to 2% range and charging up to 100%.
Your computer and display will show you the prefered time to stop, and how long you should charge to optimize your trave efficiency.
Frequent short stops for juice will usually result in a very pleasant and relaxing journey.
When towing a trailer, this is also a good time to put your hand on the trailer wheel bearings. Small wheels, running at high speeds and under load often will have one hub or the other running pretty hot. Good to check at every stop in case one is overheating.
We always used the bikes to set the pace and when to stop.
Same thing when driving a ICE vehicle and an EV. The EV will set the pace and determine when and where to stop. Trying to match stops with a SUV will put you at the extreme range of your capability and induce significant stress.
Best to plan your trip to the capabilities of your EV and tell the ICE when and where you will be stopping.
Some times, traveling at around 70 mph and stopping at around 15% reserve, and charging back up to 80-85%, in an EV will get you to your destination much faster than traveling at 85 mph, traveling to 2% range and charging up to 100%.
Your computer and display will show you the prefered time to stop, and how long you should charge to optimize your trave efficiency.
Frequent short stops for juice will usually result in a very pleasant and relaxing journey.
When towing a trailer, this is also a good time to put your hand on the trailer wheel bearings. Small wheels, running at high speeds and under load often will have one hub or the other running pretty hot. Good to check at every stop in case one is overheating.
Kendon trailers have full-sized wheels, so this isn’t as much of a concern for me. I’ve done several long distance tows with this trailer but have had experience with small wheel trailers before. Thanks for the input though, always good to have more info.
We are VERY happy to report that we made it from Van Horn to Ozona with ease! After stopping for a full charge in Van Horn we set off towards Ozona with a 10 knot wind off the right front quarter panel. Our range anxiety went through the roof because everything except for my calculations was telling us to turn and head towards Midland. We had a back-up plan to head to the Iraan charging house if we got to that exit and it didn't look like we'd make it to Ozona, however by the time we got to the Iraan exit the Tesla was telling us we had plenty of charge to make it to Ozona. In fact the speed warning was gone, but despite this we still maintained our speed discipline and kept both the Tesla and the Ford cruise controls set to 65 (actually the Tesla was set to 70 with the following distance set at 4 on autopilot just to keep her glued to the same safe spot behind the truck). In my calculations in the worst case scenario I found that we would pull in to Ozona with 4 miles remaining on the battery, however when we plugged in we had 42 miles of charge left. Very proud of my little 75D & my wife who learned to drive it very efficiently in our 1/2-cross country trip.
Here's a little more of what we learned along the way:
1. Stop at every charging station along your route. This not only saves time in the long run by keeping charging times at a minimal but also gives you a chance to stretch your legs and probably most importantly helps the little businesses around the charging stations with your purchases. We bought at least a drink at every stop kind of just as a way of saying thanks for allowing Tesla to put their charging station nearby.
2. Autopilot is not necessarily your friend. If you are not following a slower accelerating vehicle that has a driver intentionally accelerating to keep the Tesla's consumption under 50 Wh/mi you may find your efficiency isn't quite what you were calculating. In traffic situations rely on yourself instead of the autopilot unless your lead car is actively assisting you.
3. If you're driving across the SW U.S. keep your climate control ON while charging, if you don't good luck getting that thing cooled down on range mode.
If anyone has any questions or wants more information from me about this trip (if you're having a little range anxiety yourself) feel free to ask.
Here's a little more of what we learned along the way:
1. Stop at every charging station along your route. This not only saves time in the long run by keeping charging times at a minimal but also gives you a chance to stretch your legs and probably most importantly helps the little businesses around the charging stations with your purchases. We bought at least a drink at every stop kind of just as a way of saying thanks for allowing Tesla to put their charging station nearby.
2. Autopilot is not necessarily your friend. If you are not following a slower accelerating vehicle that has a driver intentionally accelerating to keep the Tesla's consumption under 50 Wh/mi you may find your efficiency isn't quite what you were calculating. In traffic situations rely on yourself instead of the autopilot unless your lead car is actively assisting you.
3. If you're driving across the SW U.S. keep your climate control ON while charging, if you don't good luck getting that thing cooled down on range mode.
If anyone has any questions or wants more information from me about this trip (if you're having a little range anxiety yourself) feel free to ask.
