Hood River, OR to Ashland, OR trip report

[TeslaSinHR]

Here's a quick run down of my biggest Tesla road trip so far. From Hood River, OR to Ashland, OR for a weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival - a total of 350 miles with my twin charge 85. The Woodburn supercharger wasn't live yet so I had to plan it out carefully. I created a spreadsheet that would calculate my time, distance, charging, etc. to give me an overall sense of where to stop, for how long and what my journey would be like. I also included additional charging spots in case we needed them.


The original plan had it taking 7.5 hours - including 2 hours of charging. In the end it took 10 hours! 1:45 more charging than planned, about 20 minutes due to unplanned traffic, and I figure an extra 20 minutes in overhead finding the charging stations, getting plugged in, etc.


I had planned to stop at the Tesla Showroom at Washington Square 75 miles into my trip to top off (rated max range is 270). I assumed that I could charge at 60 mi/hr since they had an HPWC. We panicked because it was only charging at around 35 mi/hr and we needed to make up 92 miles of battery (I was driving at around 68 mph most of the way). We had tickets for a play that evening and we were concerned about being late. Luckily I read a tip on Recargo that you need to manually increase the max current in your Tesla to 72 A otherwise it will only draw 40 A. It still only charged at around 42 mi/hr (208 v / 72 A). We stayed an extra 45 minutes there and left with 253 rated miles of range.


Next stop was at Knox Butte RV park in Albany. They were very helpful in trying to find me a 14-50 plug to use even though they were completely full. Charged for 2 hours there while having lunch at a nearby restaurant (Cascade Grill). Given that we weren't getting the range we expect and we'd have some bill hills to climb in southern Oregon, we charged a little bit extra. Left with 251 miles of rated range to go 222 miles.


I drove at the speed limit - 65. Very hard for me. Especially coming up on a vehicle going like 63. I had to force myself NOT to pass them. Every big hill we went up made me very nervous but going down the other side alleviated that. We figured we'd arrive in Ashland pretty close to empty. The plan was to just dump the car, pick up our tickets and go see the show and worry about charging later.


We actually arrived 45 minutes early with 16 miles of range. Decided to try to try and find the Blink charger in the nearby parking garage - reports were that it is ICED a lot. Miraculously - one EV charging spot was open (the other was ICED) even though the parking garage was jammed. WooHoo! Plugged in, picked up the tickets and got to the theater in time to have a glass of wine before the show!


After the show we went to our friends' home where were staying and plugged into their 110 v outlet. They offered to let us use one of their cars so we could leave the Tesla plugged in but I declined the offer. I explained that I really wanted to prove to myself that this car can be used for long road trips and that I wouldn't need a "backup vehicle" at my destination.


Over the weekend we were able to charge at the Blink charger near the theater whenever we were seeing a show and at the friend's house at night. We left Ashland a day and a half later with a 100% full charge.


Driving back I just kept it slow to minimize how much charging time I'd need. We charged at the free Areovironment station in Eugene while having lunch nearby and again at the HPWC at Washington Square in Portland. It was oddly refreshing to take these walk breaks during a long road trip.

Lessons:
- I'm glad I planned out our route, mileage, stops, charging time, and listed the RV parks along the way that would have 14-50 outlets.
- Thanks to the Internet, I can research what is around the different charging places and used that to decide where I would like to stop
- Driving slower makes a big difference - even if only 3 mph slower. I could never bring myself to go much slower that 63 in a 65 zone. Plus its more relaxing because I'm not constant catching up to slower drivers as much and being frustrated.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Good report. Thanks for sharing. It will help others in the area too.

BTW, the Tesla HWPC at Washington Square should be a 100 amp circuit, which means you can draw the max - 80 amps from it, not just 72. Give you just a bit more speed.

 

[Discoducky]

I really like the oddly refreshing comment Well put!

 

[ckessel]

Glad you made it and didn't need the Roadster adapter. I was the fellow in Ashland at the same time as you. We did Portland to Sonoma and back, stopping in Ashland there and back: for the day to charge on the way down and overnight on the way back. FYI, you can park at the chargers on Lithia way as long as youi want as long as you're plugged in (the 4hr limit is waived for charging EVs).

My trip had some similar experiences. Slow wins the race. I spent much of the trip at 60 in the slow lane moseying behind a trailer truck. You get really good Wh/mile usage, usually near 300-310 overall even given the mountain passes. On the flat lands, I did even better.

Dropping from 65-60 may take you 5 minutes longer to get there, but you'll save 20 minutes in charge time to get those miles back.

I've heard the maxim that for the overall quickest trip, don't drive faster than you can charge. Obviously you can't toodle along at 25 mph on the freeway, but it gets the point across. Of course, if you've got superchargers that charge at 250mph, then you can drive really fast

 

[brianman]

Good report. Thanks for sharing. It will help others in the area too.

BTW, the Tesla HWPC at Washington Square should be a 100 amp circuit, which means you can draw the max - 80 amps from it, not just 72. Give you just a bit more speed.

Unless it's like the one in Bellevue Square that is rigged with/similarly-to the Roadster HPC and set at 72A on the switches inside.

 

[TeslaSinHR]

I couldn't get it to go past 72 A. And I thought it was odd that it defaulted to 40 A and I had to manually override it.

BTW, the Tesla HWPC at Washington Square should be a 100 amp circuit, which means you can draw the max - 80 amps from it, not just 72. Give you just a bit more speed.

- - - Updated - - -

FYI, you can park at the chargers on Lithia way as long as youi want as long as you're plugged in (the 4hr limit is waived for charging EVs).

I was able to purchase an all day parking pass for $3 at the Hargadine(?) lot right next to theater even they everyone told me it had a 4 hour limit.

I spent much of the trip at 60 in the slow lane moseying behind a trailer truck. You get really good Wh/mile usage, usually near 300-310 overall even given the mountain passes.

I had read about drafting behind truck - when you're already resigned to driving slow, drafting is actually kind of fun! I was average under 300 for most of the trip.

 

[PhilBa]

Cool trip! I'll be making a Seattle to Jacksonville (close to Medford) run in the not too distant future. Woodburn helps but it's still a long way from there. Hope the other two SCs are truly up this fall.

It's funny, I was drafting a semi on I5 just today and getting <300 wh/mi. It especially seems to help in the rain.

I'm stashing away "oddly refreshing" for use at a date to be named later.

 

[Thumper]

It will be inconvenient to charge in Ashland if Blink goes out of business and is turned off completely. Once the superchargers south of Woodburn are open we can use those. Ashland is a major destination for both Californians and Oregonians. Ashland needs better and more charging near the theaters. I talked to a reporter for the Ashland paper about this issue while attending the Forest Grove Concours. She was somewhat interested in the story but I never heard anything more from her.

 

[SCW-Greg]

Yesterday, at the Woodburn Supercharger grand opening, they said they would have the entire I5 corridor installed by Thanksgiving.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I plan on 8-8.5 hours for 310 miles with just 14-50 charging. We have hills no matter which way I leave the area and I drive slooow, like 60 in the 65 zones or even 57 depending on traffic. With traffic it is better to just follow it closely and go 65 -75 mph or whatever it is doing since you will be getting better than rated with the lower wind resistance.

I did a 805 mile 2 day trip on Tue/Wed to the Bay area then Sac for the night and then through Lake Co back up to Eureka. (496mi / 310mi) Driving on I5 going 72mph I see ~280 Whr/mi.

I am waiting for the SC that will let me get to Ashland and/or Salem, excitedly

I do like the 'oddly refreshing' walks myself and usually end up spending more time than I need at some of my charge stops

 

[brianman]

Yesterday, at the Woodburn Supercharger grand opening, they said they would have the entire I5 corridor installed by Thanksgiving.

I also mentioned that at least a few of us in Washington are hoping the Seattle to Folsom trip is "supercharger only" for the next Teslive (presuming it's in California). Without hesitation, the answer was an enthusiastic yes.

 

[stevezzzz]

I made a 1300-mile round trip to Topeka and St Joseph at the beginning of August using 14-50 outlets in RV parks and a 4.2 kW charger at my destination. I averaged 278 Wh/mi by driving 62 on I-70, with people whizzing by; in eastern CO and KS the traffic is light enough that you don't feel like a hazard driving 15-20mph slower than the bulk of the traffic. I took advantage of one big rig that crawled past me doing 65-70 to draft loosely for 50 miles or so. When 40A charging is the best you can find, it's absolutely true that driving slower improves your speed-made-good at the end of the day. Once you've convinced yourself of that, it's oddly refreshing to relax in the right lane and not have to think about passing.

Superchargers will change everything.

 

[ckessel]

Once you've convinced yourself of that, it's oddly refreshing to relax in the right lane and not have to think about passing.

I will echo that too. Those big rigs set cruise control and just plod along. The drive felt much faster than it was because it takes so little concentration to just drift behind them, whereas switching to/from the fast lane regularly requires more attention on who is coming up behind you at 80 even if you're going 75.

 

[brianman]

When 40A charging is the best you can find, it's absolutely true that driving slower improves your speed-made-good at the end of the day. Once you've convinced yourself of that, it's oddly refreshing to relax in the right lane and not have to think about passing.

Part of what upsets the "refreshing" aspect to me is that I'm aware (potentially overly...) of how some will misinterpret this activity as a Tesla failing rather than an owner stretching the utility of the vehicle while the infrastructure catches up. For 5 below, most (sane) people should be thinking "he's taking a break, or is tired, or is talking on the phone, or whatever" but when you're 10+ below limit many (most?) will start to give quizzical looks about whether the vehicle is nearly-disabled or something.

As an example, most people don't think much of it when a trailered vehicle shows up at the track. But if/when it's a Tesla there's a high likelihood they'll assume something's "wrong".

 

[Lyon]

I live in Eugene and have a Roadster HPC adaptor that I'm more than willing to let folks use as they pass through. I live about 5 minutes away from the charging station here and am more than happy to drop off the adaptor then come pick it up.

Just throwing it out there for the next person who wants to make the trip. In a few months it's not going to matter because of the Superchargers though.

PM if interested.

 

[DouglasR]

Until the SC network is built out, Roadster HPCs in Eugene, Canyonville, Yreka, and Orland can make a big difference (many people are willing to lend out their adapters). I drove from Seattle down to the Bay Area this past February -- two days each direction, even with cold weather and snow on the roads -- which would not have been possible without twin chargers and a Roadster adapter.

 

[TeslaSinHR]

Wow - I had no idea the "oddly refreshing" comment would be resonate with people! Yeah - usually when I'm on a road trip its all about keeping moving.

Even with superchargers I will have to stop for 30 minutes or more and I'd rather take a refreshing walk (hopefully it will no longer feel odd) to a restaurant/cafe of my choice rather than whatever McJunk food is across the street (*cough* Centralia *cough*).

 

[SCW-Greg]

Part of what upsets the "refreshing" aspect to me is that I'm aware (potentially overly...) of how some will misinterpret this activity as a Tesla failing rather than an owner stretching the utility of the vehicle while the infrastructure catches up. For 5 below, most (sane) people should be thinking "he's taking a break, or is tired, or is talking on the phone, or whatever" but when you're 10+ below limit many (most?) will start to give quizzical looks about whether the vehicle is nearly-disabled or something.

As an example, most people don't think much of it when a trailered vehicle shows up at the track. But if/when it's a Tesla there's a high likelihood they'll assume something's "wrong".

This!

Well, that... and my time competitive ego.

 

[drbradfo]

Did you use Range Mode? I've found that really helps with mileage.

 

[TeslaSinHR]

I keep forgetting about "range mode" as something different from "max range". :-(