How do you plan your charging stops?

[Knightshade]

But if overnight charging, it costs you zero time to start at 100%

Thus all time spent making up for not doing that during the road trip is wasted time. If it's 30 minutes or 10, it's wasted either way compared to leaving at 100%

It also gives you a bit more flexibility in where to stop, covering cases for example where going just a little bit further might get you to a V3 charger instead of a V2 one and thus save you even MORE time.

 

[cpa]

About all that I can add is that some Supercharger locations are more suited to spending 20 minutes than others. Time of day is important too. I've been to a number of locations that are buttoned up by 9PM and don't reopen until 9AM, so finding a bathroom may be more difficult or require a second stop just to use the facilities. You might decide to spend 45 minutes to charge to near full while you grab a bite to eat and stretch your legs by taking a short walk about. You may be in a hurry. All these factors in my opinion weigh towards determining your best strategy.

PlugShare will point out the proximate facilities for eating or convenience stores and open bathrooms. Tesla's navigation operates in a vacuum; you get different results at different times of day with different SOC due to traffic and battery level. I still don't understand the Better Route Planner. It is not self-evident how it works, so offer no opinion one way or another.

Your journey is relatively short. You can experiment going and coming with opting for one stop or two and see how that works for your personal situation.

 

[Rocky_H]

I don't know if Tesla fixed this one aspect of the in-car trip planner or not. It bit me in the ass, and so earned my distrust, so I won't use it anymore. If you just pick a final destination, and let it pick all of your Supercharger stops along the way, it had a preference set in the programming for fewest number of stops, and all else be damned!! And so it gave me a recommendation on a trip to charge all the way to 100% full and arrive at only 4%! Sheesh! Do you know why? It was trying to skip over a Supercharger in the middle. And couple that with another bad function--it HIDES all of the Supercharger icons off the map that it is not having you charge at, so I looked and didn't see any other options.

So no, I won't really trust just letting it pick everything. I may do that once at first to get a general idea of the trip, but then I'll cancel that and see where the Superchargers are and pick one that's about the right distance away, where I would want to stop and navigate to there. So the car's recommendations may be OK sometimes, but don't blindly trust them. If a charging stop is showing up as really long, it may be doing something stupid like that, trying to make your skip over one that you really shouldn't.

 

[father_of_6]

But if overnight charging, it costs you zero time to start at 100%

Thus all time spent making up for not doing that during the road trip is wasted time. If it's 30 minutes or 10, it's wasted either way compared to leaving at 100%

It also gives you a bit more flexibility in where to stop, covering cases for example where going just a little bit further might get you to a V3 charger instead of a V2 one and thus save you even MORE time.

Also my daily SOC isn't 80 or 90%, it's 60%. I see no reason *not* to charge to 100% at home before a trip. Cheaper electricity too (usually).

 

[philly4]

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,

That's based on the assumption that charges are perfectly along the route of travel and (mostly) conveniently aligned with where you would prefer to charge. If they aren't, then saving a stop can be very significant.

 

[Snowball316]

For long trips I just follow the Tesla Supercharger network on the screen.

For short trips I use PlugShare app to see if there are any chargers close by my destination to top off

I hope that helps

 

[SteelClouds]

I just got off a 1,500 mile road trip. The Tesla nav works well..mostly .. but.. it doesn't mind to run you down to single digits at the end. I would plan my whole route and then check it against ABRP.. check my percentages and add in a few stops as a rule. At 50% I start looking for a charger. Part of this is I have short legs with a Standard Plus ( 2019) so my range is kinda limited to start with at 200 miles usable. I went from Flagstaff to Kingman which is 152 miles.. but I left with 90% and ended up with 7% which is about 15 miles of range. 2nd issue to keep in mind is weather.. Flagstaff was 36 degrees and snowing.. took a hit on my range that the computer didnt allow for. Item 3.. the nav expects you to be running about 60 mph.. not the 75 that AZ runs at. I ended up drafting slow RVs and trucks to keep my speed low and stretch my range.. thats the ONLY reason I made it to the supercharge under my own power. So dont take the range as "truth" but more of a "guideline"

 

[BigNick]

I don't know if Tesla fixed this one aspect of the in-car trip planner or not. It bit me in the ass, and so earned my distrust, so I won't use it anymore. If you just pick a final destination, and let it pick all of your Supercharger stops along the way, it had a preference set in the programming for fewest number of stops, and all else be damned!! And so it gave me a recommendation on a trip to charge all the way to 100% full and arrive at only 4%! Sheesh! Do you know why? It was trying to skip over a Supercharger in the middle. And couple that with another bad function--it HIDES all of the Supercharger icons off the map that it is not having you charge at, so I looked and didn't see any other options.

So no, I won't really trust just letting it pick everything. I may do that once at first to get a general idea of the trip, but then I'll cancel that and see where the Superchargers are and pick one that's about the right distance away, where I would want to stop and navigate to there. So the car's recommendations may be OK sometimes, but don't blindly trust them. If a charging stop is showing up as really long, it may be doing something stupid like that, trying to make your skip over one that you really shouldn't.

Programmed by a 19-year-old college intern with a superbladder, most likely.

I haven't taken a road trip in my M3P yet, and in my used (4 years old when I got it) P85D we never took a really long-distance trip (our road trip required a single SC stop and might have been possible without it if hypermiling.)
But driving 90% of the car's range is a good bit past my "personal" range these days and almost double my wife's.

 

[Krash]

Good recommendations in this thread. Here are a few bits of emergency planning advice.

1) Install an app to find destination chargers in areas without supercharging locations.

2) carry your mobile charger and the common plugs. Think welders, dryers amd RV parks in a bind.

3) some members carry a quality (thick) extension cord for emergencies with the Mobile Charger even though Tesla tells you you shouldn’t.

4) Get RFID cards and payment added to the app installed for common local chargers where you travel. Near me that’s EVGo and Chargepoint.

5) Keeping a few $5 bills in the glovebox to pay for electricity or more likely just to tip those that have it. Maybe paper, pen and envelope to leave a note.

6) If you travel to the Midwest in the winter, do as the locals do and keep a sleeping bag in the trunk for safety.

7) When it becomes available, get the new Tesla CSS (DC) adapter to keep beside your J1772 (AC) adapter.

 

[Python]

Prior to my purchase/pickup i used ABRP and Plugshare to estimate my charges used on my way home (1400km) after picking up the car. Honestly after running though many different senerios i found the websites to be inaccurate.

Ended up just using the onboard planner and trusted the system. Worked flawless and i arrived at the next charger +/- 3% what the navigation predicted - And i was going above the speed limit not restricting myself one bit.

My initial start for a trip either leaving from home or a destination charger (hotel) where i can charge to 100% i do as it buys me more of a buffer and it can charge at overnight without any waiting. Once i depart i trust the onboard navigation. Never let me down.

I only use the websites to see what chargers are around the area (hotels mostly), never for planning my charging stops.

 

[Maxpilot]

In my experience, the Tesla Nav planner is VERY accurate and I trust it. However, it will sometimes skip a charger. I like to stop every 1.5 hours or so to use the restroom and just stretch my legs, so I pretty much stop at all superchargers on my route. The other day, I did not need to stop but stopped at a SC to for 6 minutes to use the restroom and gained almost 10kwh during that time. When the car says you have enough charge to continue, I go. It's faster that way.

I use ABRP only for situational awareness. It's very buggy. I was going to pay to upgrade, but will wait until it is not beta. Google maps works almost as well.

 

[DeltaOne]

I recently learned that Google Maps, on your desktop computer, can show Superchargers.

Once you have the route mapped, click "More" and in the "search along the route" box type Tesla Superchargers. This will show some Superchargers. If you zoom in on a section of the route, click the "search this area" box and it'll show the Superchargers for that segment.

Might be useful for some pre-trip planning.

My trips, so far, have been simple and I've found the in-car nav system to work just fine.

 

[SteelClouds]

2) carry your mobile charger and the common plugs. Think welders, dryers amd RV parks in a bind.

Don't bank on this depending on where you are driving. My last trip was in AZ and there are some long stretches of highway with dinky towns and ZERO places to charge unless you want to bang on a door or two and beg for an outlet. Even some of the bigger towns may only have one plug share site listed. Casa Grande comes to mind. Its a very small supercharger.. like 6 stalls. But the three times I've been there.. there has always been a broken one. At least one.. last time two of the six were down. There is one other charger in plug share.. it's a Volta two station J plug at a Kohl's. Thats it. Dont forget to bring at least one J adapter. I have two on the off chance some asshat steals one which has been known to happen. ( not to me)

So yes, carry the mobile and plugs which I do.. but do your homework the best you can before you leave. Sites like Casa Grande are precisely why arriving below 10% is a bad idea. I much prefer arriving at 30% or above if I have any choice in the matter Gives me the wriggle room I need to go hunt something down if need be.

 

[Krash]

Don't bank on this depending on where you are driving. My last trip was in AZ and there are some long stretches of highway with dinky towns and ZERO places to charge unless you want to bang on a door or two and beg for an outlet. Even some of the bigger towns may only have one plug share site listed...

Closest emergency in my car was sending a family member with infants from Page, AZ to Beaver, UT. Temperatures dropped suddenly and an RV park was needed for a few hours. I've added to my list keeping a few $5 bills in the glovebox to pay for electricity or more likely just to tip those that have it.

 

[Sunvalleylaw]

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.

So just to be clear, you are using abetterrouteplanner AND navigation for the reasons stated, at the same time when you are stopping to charge?

 

[Nosken]

So just to be clear, you are using abetterrouteplanner AND navigation for the reasons stated, at the same time when you are stopping to charge?

I primarily use ABRP to plan the long trip so I can calculate meal and overnight stops, since I can set departure times. Once I have established my route, I use the onboard navigation, adjusting intermediate charging stops as I travel. The ability to add waypoints in the new on board navigation allows me to plan an entire day. Usually, while charging, I’ll grab my iPad and update ABRP.

 

[Sunvalleylaw]

I primarily use ABRP to plan the long trip so I can calculate meal and overnight stops, since I can set departure times. Once I have established my route, I use the onboard navigation, adjusting intermediate charging stops as I travel. The ability to add waypoints in the new on board navigation allows me to plan an entire day. Usually, while charging, I’ll grab my iPad and update ABRP.

Good to know the on board nav has improved in that way. No one seems to mention Apple Maps. I have used that a lot in my normal road trips. Is there a reason why it is not mentioned here other than it is apple? (and that is ok by me if that is why it is).

 

[Knightshade]

Good to know the on board nav has improved in that way. No one seems to mention Apple Maps. I have used that a lot in my normal road trips. Is there a reason why it is not mentioned here other than it is apple? (and that is ok by me if that is why it is).

Does apple maps let you enter your vehicle and compute charging stop options automatically in a Tesla?

Because if not, that's why it's not mentioned.

 

[Sunvalleylaw]

Does apple maps let you enter your vehicle and compute charging stop options automatically in a Tesla?

Because if not, that's why it's not mentioned.

You can search for "EV Chargers" or "Tesla Chargers" and it works. But no, not as you say.

 

[Nosken]

Good to know the on board nav has improved in that way. No one seems to mention Apple Maps. I have used that a lot in my normal road trips. Is there a reason why it is not mentioned here other than it is apple? (and that is ok by me if that is why it is).

Both Google maps, and Apple Maps allow you to look in plan trips using charging stations.
I recommend that you embrace ABRP, either on a website yourself from a computer, or the app.
It is a wonderful tool that can deal with so many variables, and, if you use the paid version, it will adjust your route in real time using real time weather.
Another great feature is, if you are paying for it, it will show you what the status and current load on the supercharger stations.