How do you plan your charging stops?

[SCTes1aMan]

I'll be a first-time owner when my 2022 M3LR arrives next month (hopefully) and I had a question about how you approach your charging on long drives. I'm sure this is often covered so feel free to point me to good threads on the subject. In my case, I don't often take long trips but soon I will need to occasionally take a trip that is 435 miles each way. Looking at the recommended route and stops from Tesla, they have two stops along the way and that seems reasonable to me. I used some other planners and they recommend three stops. Obviously, everyone is different in how they want to handle this but I was just curious how some of you approach your planning. Thanks

 

[Cutch26]

Just let the Tesla on board computer do it for you.. it is way smarter than we are and has never let me down.. occasionally if I’m familiar with the super chargers in the area I will skip one that I don’t prefer to go to one a little further that I like better but this is something you would learn over time. At the beginning just kick back and enjoy the ride while Tesla handles all the tough calculations for you

 

[Johann Koeber]

Just let the Tesla on board computer do it for you.. it is way smarter than we are and has never let me down.. occasionally if I’m familiar with the super chargers in the area I will skip one that I don’t prefer to go to one a little further that I like better but this is something you would learn over time. At the beginning just kick back and enjoy the ride while Tesla handles all the tough calculations for you

That is exactly how I do it.

One caveat: depending on the charging situation at the final destination, I like to arrive there with 20 ... 40 % SoC, just to be safe. If I know that I will be able to charge at the destination, then this is obviously not necessary.

 

[Ciaopec]

Opinions, techniques, and ideas are like a wholes: everyone has one. Tesla Nav has improved since I started 6 years ago and ABetterRoutePlanner is a nice tool for advance planning. Most of my 150,000 miles were driven before the proliferation of Superchargers and I read all I could from the early adopters. Old habits die hard and my basic philosophy still holds: arrive with a low state of charge (at this juncture I'm OK with 8-10%) then top up to near 50% + or - and drive. This usually allows me to leapfrog charging stops. If I need to eat I'll take more charge than I need. Only once have I stayed at a hotel with a destination charger. Nice but not necessary. Relax, enjoy, you'll sort it out. But if you don't need the electrons or you don't need a meal break forget charging too much beyond 50%; a waste of time. JMHO

 

[vanjwilson]

I'll be a first-time owner when my 2022 M3LR arrives next month (hopefully) and I had a question about how you approach your charging on long drives. ... Obviously, everyone is different in how they want to handle this but I was just curious how some of you approach your planning. Thanks

If I've never been a certain route with my Tesla, I will scope it out with A Better Route Planner first. I like to zoom in and follow the route, because sometime there will be another supercharger, either before or after one they recommend, that I would rather stop at, either because I know I can stretch the miles, or there is a restaurant I want to try, or whatever.

Once I start the trip, I also enter the route in the car's nav, so that it can precondition the battery for charging. If the Tesla nav doesn't pick the supercharger you want to use, now you can just enter it as a waypoint, and it will adjust its charging plan for the rest of the trip.

My personal charging style on road trips is this:

• Charge up to 90% before you leave home.
• Try to arrive at every charger with between 10% and 20% state-of-charge remaining. This gives you enough buffer for detours and last-minute side trips, but you charge faster when the car is at that low state of charge.
• Ride the bottom half of the battery. The charging speed slows as the battery fills up, so I only charge beyond 60–70% at any one stop. It depends on how far the next place I plan to stop is.
• For overnight trips, try to stay at a hotel that has a Tesla or J1772 Level 2 charger, but is also near a supercharger. If you can charge at the hotel, you will save a little time and money. If you can't charge at your hotel for some reason (equipment broken or already in use), then you should go to the supercharger at night while the battery is still warm.

Everyone's style is different. (My wife will get down to 5% and then charge up to 90% so that she can watch a whole show on a streaming service. De gustibus non est disputandum.)

Find your own charging style, and enjoy your new Tesla!

 

[father_of_6]

Just let the Tesla on board computer do it for you.. it is way smarter than we are and has never let me down.. occasionally if I’m familiar with the super chargers in the area I will skip one that I don’t prefer to go to one a little further that I like better but this is something you would learn over time. At the beginning just kick back and enjoy the ride while Tesla handles all the tough calculations for you

I've read a lot of positive reviews of abetterrouteplanner.com. I second the onboard computer method. You push the right wheel button, say "navigate to Disney world", and the entire route appears onscreen with charging stops. Super easy.

I've done this for a few cross state trips of about 7 hours. As mentioned by @Johann Koeber, it doesn't consider how much charge you have left at your destination, that's for you to know. For instance, it might only suggest charging enough to hit your destination with 10% charge... and that may not be enough to get back to a charger from there... it can't know whether you have charging at your destination.

 

[Nosken]

As above, I use abetterrouteplanner.com extensively. I use it to plan the trip, bio breaks and my meal stops. Once I’ve planned it, I just get in the car and use the onboard computer for the trip. Sometimes, I will have it direct me to particular charging locations, that might have a restaurant I would use while charging. When you stop to grab something to eat, you’ll probably charge longer than usual, and it will readjust for the remainder of the trip. Make sure, anytime you’re stopping at a charging station, you use the navigation so that it will preheat the battery to the optimum charging temperature upon arrival.

 

[DeltaOne]

I'll be a first-time owner when my 2022 M3LR arrives next month (hopefully) and I had a question about how you approach your charging on long drives.

Learn how to use the Energy / Trip screen.

The Trip screen, part of the Energy screen, becomes active when you use the car's navigation system to plot a route. The Trip screen will show the car's estimate of energy usage on one line and the actual energy usage on another line.

Say the nav system is estimating you'll arrive at your destination (real destination or a Tesla Supercharger) with 17% battery left. Watching the Trip screen, as you drive, will tell you if you're doing better or worse than the estimate. If you're doing worse you can slow down or stop to charge.

I find the Trip screen to be a great comfort and know if I'll make my destination or need to make a plan B.

 

[GtiMart]

All comments so far are great. The car's trip planner works well if you drive reasonably, it's not too cold, and you live in an area that's well covered with Superchargers. Those conditions are not fully respected for me so planning in advance using ABRP has a higher importance, although I also use the car's navigation as I drive, AND the trip screen to adjust my speed if necessary.

 

[SCTes1aMan]

All comments so far are great. The car's trip planner works well if you drive reasonably, it's not too cold, and you live in an area that's well covered with Superchargers. Those conditions are not fully respected for me so planning in advance using ABRP has a higher importance, although I also use the car's navigation as I drive, AND the trip screen to adjust my speed if necessary.

I agree, the comments so far have been great. I know newbies probably show up asking the same questions so I really appreciate the answers. I don't foresee myself stressing too much about the charging but I wanted to get some ideas on the best practices. Now all that I need is the car!

 

[Knightshade]

I generally start with what ABRP tells me, then look at if any changes make sense.... (for example is there a way to stop at a V3 charger instead of V2 with a small change-- or are there 2 stops just as good for charging but one has better services/safer area/etc)

Other thing is what will the charge situation be when I arrive.

If I'm needing to drive 435 miles one way I can probably do that with ONE stop, if I'm plugging in at my destination (hotel, airbnb, relatives house, whatever)... though 2 MIGHT be needed depending on the route and where the chargers are... certainly no more than 2 should be needed.

But if I will not have overnight charging at my destination a 2nd/3rd stop as close as possible to destination, to charge high enough, would need to be added.

 

[RayK]

In addition to using ABRP and the in-car navigation, if you are not sure about the charging resources at or around your destination, try using Plugshare to see what the charging landscape is like there.

 

[KenC]

I'll be a first-time owner when my 2022 M3LR arrives next month (hopefully) and I had a question about how you approach your charging on long drives. I'm sure this is often covered so feel free to point me to good threads on the subject. In my case, I don't often take long trips but soon I will need to occasionally take a trip that is 435 miles each way. Looking at the recommended route and stops from Tesla, they have two stops along the way and that seems reasonable to me. I used some other planners and they recommend three stops. Obviously, everyone is different in how they want to handle this but I was just curious how some of you approach your planning. Thanks

ABRP for me. You're driving 870 miles, so more than one stop. That means there's little advantage to charging up more than your daily commute level at home. My daily charge is 60% SOC, and that's what I start a trip with. Charging to 100% before you start, may save you 10 minutes at your first stop, but that's it. In 870 miles of driving, that 10mins, is fairly miniscule.

Run simulations in ABRP. The better your inputs, the better your output, since it uses real-world data. Typically, the best strategy for the shortest trip time is to drive FAST as you're comfortable with, and charge at low SOC, under 15% SOC, where charging speed is the fastest, and charge up to about 65% SOC, and repeat. That gives you about a 50+% SOC usable for shortest trip times. That works out to about 140 mile legs. And, given your one-way trip of 435 miles, means 2 stops, minimum. Of course, since superchargers aren't always placed in the ideal spots for you, it might mean 3 stops, but it all depends upon you and your location.

 

[mbp11]

I also like ABRP. What is also cool about the web site and portable app (besides the fact that is is free) is that it works for many types of EVs, not only just Teslas.

 

[v8eater]

Short answer, bladder capacity.

I did a cross country trip and planned every charging stop before I departed, deviated from the plan almost immediately. I think the onboard charging recommendations are ok but too conservative for my liking. I use Plug share to look at amenities around the SC stations then wing it on the road.

 

[Battouttahe77]

I just put my destination into the Nav and it figures out my stops. We just did a round trip from Virginia to Florida and had no issues.

 

[toquar]

Opinions, techniques, and ideas are like a wholes: everyone has one. Tesla Nav has improved since I started 6 years ago and ABetterRoutePlanner is a nice tool for advance planning. Most of my 150,000 miles were driven before the proliferation of Superchargers and I read all I could from the early adopters. Old habits die hard and my basic philosophy still holds: arrive with a low state of charge (at this juncture I'm OK with 8-10%) then top up to near 50% + or - and drive. This usually allows me to leapfrog charging stops. If I need to eat I'll take more charge than I need. Only once have I stayed at a hotel with a destination charger. Nice but not necessary. Relax, enjoy, you'll sort it out. But if you don't need the electrons or you don't need a meal break forget charging too much beyond 50%; a waste of time. JMHO

Someone just posted a YouTube video link on here somewhere comparing Tesla map, Google map, and ABRP. It was definitely an informative video.

 

[WhiteWi]

Charging to 100% before you start, may save you 10 minutes at your first stop, but that's it. In 870 miles of driving, that 10mins, is fairly miniscule.

It is not true. It saves me one extra charging stop which would have taken at least 30 minutes.

 

[SCTes1aMan]

Someone just posted a YouTube video link on here somewhere comparing Tesla map, Google map, and ABRP. It was definitely an informative video.

I found it.

 

[KenC]

It is not true. It saves me one extra charging stop which would have taken at least 30 minutes.

My rec is to start at your usual daily SOC. you don't need to start at 100%. For most, that's 80 or 90%.

How long does it take to add 10% or 20% SOC, 7.5 to 15kW, at a Supercharger? It's certainly not 30mins. In this case where the driver is definitely making 2 stops, there's minimal time advantage to starting with 100% SOC.

As for your contention, you can save "one extra charging stop", that would mean driving 435 miles, instead of 2 quick stops, doing it in one long stop. That's the slow way to do a trip, because you'll have to supercharge from low SOC to high SOC, and once you get past 50% SOC, the significant charge taper is a very inefficient to drive.