I-5 to California Pros

[B5Bob]

I finally have a VIN for my RWD 3 and so am thinking about my first road trip to Southern California (from southern Willamette Valley). I know there are users here that make this (or portions of this) trip fairly frequently, so I'm curious if there's anything in particular I should be aware of as we approach winter holiday season? I've heard reports about SC waits during holiday travel in the past, but I'm curious how widely that's felt. Only on specific travel days (i.e. Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Sunday after), or just generally throughout the holiday week? Outside of holidays, should I generally avoid weekends? I assume between bay area and LA are most congested.

This will be a two-day trip for me. I'm too old to bomb that drive in 16 hours and then hallucinate that I'm driving for the next day.

Also anyone have any much experience with cold/cool weather efficiency on the RWD/LFP? I'm estimating 300wh/mi at highway speeds. (For ABRP pre-planning and to find spots when my bladder/legs demand.)

 

[ucmndd]

This is really a very easy trip these days. Many different charging options once you hit California and lots of capacity.

Expect congestion at the peak times of the busiest travel days - Thanksgiving weekend is the big annual stress test and indicator of how well Tesla’s supercharger expansion has kept up with deliveries. Every year has been a bit different.

No need to “generally avoid weekends”… just think twice and be willing to take your time during the busiest peak periods and holidays.

 

[B5Bob]

This is really a very easy trip these days. Many different charging options once you hit California and lots of capacity.

Expect congestion at the peak times of the busiest travel days - Thanksgiving weekend is the big annual stress test and indicator of how well Tesla’s supercharger expansion has kept up with deliveries. Every year has been a bit different.

No need to “generally avoid weekends”… just think twice and be willing to take your time during the busiest peak periods and holidays.

It appears I am too new to "Like" posts yet, but I appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

 

[ucmndd]

It appears I am too new to "Like" posts yet, but I appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

Enjoy the new car! That first road trip is a special one.

 

[Tronguy]

I’m on the right coast, so any advice is probably worth the wastebasket it came out of. However, do trust the NAV when it says to stop at some Supercharger or other on your trip. There’s some suspicions around that Tesla is attempting to dynamically route cars away from predicted overused/crowded SCs.

How well this is working is unknown (far as I know, nobody’s actually asked Tesla about this), but there are recent reports that, once one gets going, the NAV may periodically rejigger the original planned stops for different ones, with some stops being for what appear to be silly short times, like 7 minutes. FWIW, yeah, this has happened to me a few times during my last chug up and down the coast this last week.

Finally, over on this side of the continent, it’s becoming very apparent that Tesla (a) is very definitely charging different rates at different SCs and (b) the rates tend to be time-of-day dependent, with a typical 2:1 ratio on the costs, higher between noon and 9 pm, less otherwise. You can see this on the NAV screen by hitting the little “electron zap” icon on the screen to see the SCs, then tapping on an individual SC marker on the map to get the rates and available stalls. How much this is going to change anybody’s driving habits, I got no clue.

In any case, enjoy the trip!

 

[B5Bob]

I’m on the right coast, so any advice is probably worth the wastebasket it came out of. However, do trust the NAV when it says to stop at some Supercharger or other on your trip. There’s some suspicions around that Tesla is attempting to dynamically route cars away from predicted overused/crowded SCs.

How well this is working is unknown (far as I know, nobody’s actually asked Tesla about this), but there are recent reports that, once one gets going, the NAV may periodically rejigger the original planned stops for different ones, with some stops being for what appear to be silly short times, like 7 minutes. FWIW, yeah, this has happened to me a few times during my last chug up and down the coast this last week.

Finally, over on this side of the continent, it’s becoming very apparent that Tesla (a) is very definitely charging different rates at different SCs and (b) the rates tend to be time-of-day dependent, with a typical 2:1 ratio on the costs, higher between noon and 9 pm, less otherwise. You can see this on the NAV screen by hitting the little “electron zap” icon on the screen to see the SCs, then tapping on an individual SC marker on the map to get the rates and available stalls. How much this is going to change anybody’s driving habits, I got no clue.

In any case, enjoy the trip!

Thanks for the reply. It's an interesting idea, and I wonder how predictable the behavior of Tesla drivers is. There is the early adopter enthusiast contingent, and then the luxury car segment buyer. One may assume the former is more likely to do their own route planning and ignore the nav, while the latter may just follow the nav. But there are loads of confounding factors, like the density of chargers, whether you have children in the car, etc... How long before major corridors (like I-5 between SF and LA) are to the point where you can just pull off at any exit and find fast charging, no nav needed?

Thanks for the reminder on tiered pricing. For now I'm content to not pay nearly $7/gallon in the central valley to fill my "hybrid" SUV that somehow gets only 24mpg. Short of driving on the graveyard shift, there's likely no avoiding Tesla's SC peak pricing, although maybe it will get me out of bed and on the road earlier, and prioritizing overnight stops with AC charging.

 

[cpa]

From an old fart who has traveled about 70,000 miles (more than most, but fewer than others) on the Supercharger Highway across the US of A since 2014:

I live smack-dab in the center of California. I am quite familiar with all the SC locations on both Interstate 5 and State Highway 99. I have been to most of them over the years. Tesla navigation is good to a point.

I would use Tesla navigation as a starting point for Supercharging. It takes into consideration your current state of charge and then uses its voodoo to determine where and for how long to stop until you reach your destination. If you dial up the navigation the night before you depart and your car is at 60%, it assumes you are leaving immediately. If you charge at home to 85% overnight and leave, you will have different results.

I would take thirty minutes a few days before you leave and scout out possible charging spots based upon the time of day you decide to depart and your ETA at various locations. Then factor in your personal needs. Use PlugShare to see if there are possible places to eat or use the facilities or take a 15-minute stroll to stretch your legs. For example, Myrtle Point is a nothing McDonalds Burger or A&W Burger. Fine for the bathroom but that's it for me. Grants Pass has the Black Bear Diner. Medford has a Starbucks. Not much happening in Yreka. But the restaurant at the motel at Mt. Shasta City has good food. Similarly, Williams CA has Granzella's across the street from the Superchargers--decent food and a fun bar and shopping experience if that is your thing. Firebaugh has fast food while Harris Ranch has a fabulous steak restaurant adjacent to the SC stalls. Kettleman City has a lounge on the west side of highway 41 and In-n-Out Burger or Bravo Farms on the 56-stall addition on the east side of highway 41.

Anyway, I think you get my drift. If speed and efficiency are your sole objectives because you pack all your food and eat on the fly, only stopping for nature's call, then by all means use the Tesla Navigation!

One last word of advice: Colder temperatures mean slower charging times (generally despite the pre-conditioning) and less efficient driving, especially up and over Siskiyou Pass south of Ashland. It's all downhill from there, so you will have better efficiency as you descend into the Sacto Valley. The return trip is all uphill, so you will be using a lot more juice. If you anticipate "range anxiety," you can always start out on a leg slightly slower than your normal habits and track your arrival percentage estimate using the trip tab in the energy graph. If you see your estimate drop from ~20% to ~14%, you may wish to slow down and have it remain constant or increase slightly until you are comfortable that the remaining miles to the next SC is close enough not to matter.

Happy driving!

 

[B5Bob]

From an old fart who has traveled about 70,000 miles (more than most, but fewer than others) on the Supercharger Highway across the US of A since 2014:

I live smack-dab in the center of California. I am quite familiar with all the SC locations on both Interstate 5 and State Highway 99. I have been to most of them over the years. Tesla navigation is good to a point.

I would use Tesla navigation as a starting point for Supercharging. It takes into consideration your current state of charge and then uses its voodoo to determine where and for how long to stop until you reach your destination. If you dial up the navigation the night before you depart and your car is at 60%, it assumes you are leaving immediately. If you charge at home to 85% overnight and leave, you will have different results.

I would take thirty minutes a few days before you leave and scout out possible charging spots based upon the time of day you decide to depart and your ETA at various locations. Then factor in your personal needs. Use PlugShare to see if there are possible places to eat or use the facilities or take a 15-minute stroll to stretch your legs. For example, Myrtle Point is a nothing McDonalds Burger or A&W Burger. Fine for the bathroom but that's it for me. Grants Pass has the Black Bear Diner. Medford has a Starbucks. Not much happening in Yreka. But the restaurant at the motel at Mt. Shasta City has good food. Similarly, Williams CA has Granzella's across the street from the Superchargers--decent food and a fun bar and shopping experience if that is your thing. Firebaugh has fast food while Harris Ranch has a fabulous steak restaurant adjacent to the SC stalls. Kettleman City has a lounge on the west side of highway 41 and In-n-Out Burger or Bravo Farms on the 56-stall addition on the east side of highway 41.

Anyway, I think you get my drift. If speed and efficiency are your sole objectives because you pack all your food and eat on the fly, only stopping for nature's call, then by all means use the Tesla Navigation!

One last word of advice: Colder temperatures mean slower charging times (generally despite the pre-conditioning) and less efficient driving, especially up and over Siskiyou Pass south of Ashland. It's all downhill from there, so you will have better efficiency as you descend into the Sacto Valley. The return trip is all uphill, so you will be using a lot more juice. If you anticipate "range anxiety," you can always start out on a leg slightly slower than your normal habits and track your arrival percentage estimate using the trip tab in the energy graph. If you see your estimate drop from ~20% to ~14%, you may wish to slow down and have it remain constant or increase slightly until you are comfortable that the remaining miles to the next SC is close enough not to matter.

Happy driving!

Thanks for all the tips!

I don't know how closely the web-based trip "planner" (Go Anywhere | Tesla) and in-car navigation match, but I've heard Tesla nav skews for longer driving legs and longer charging stops, whereas something like ABRP seems to do more frequent, but shorter stops (although you can adjust this) to optimize charge curve. My body probably skews towards the latter, but I'm not sure how I'll feel once I'm out on the road.

Looking forward to at least checking out the lounge in KC.

 

[PLUS EV]

I have a couple differing views from the previous posters:

-I do use the Nav for longer trips to see what type of route it plots out, but I definitely wouldn't trust it blindly. When they first rolled out the suggested charging stops, I thought it worked pretty well, but I've seen some awful suggestions on recent trips, including but not limited to... telling me to unplug from a v3 supercharger and drive down the street to plug in at a v2 supercharger (why on earth would I do that?), telling me to turn around and back track dozens of miles when there is an empty supercharger which I can easily reach along my path of travel (huh?).

Sometimes I do agree with what it has to say, but I often tweak the stops slightly simply because there is a restaurant or coffee shop near one of the superchargers that I've been to before and I actually like so I might stop at that supercharger instead of the more efficient one that it suggests, or I might make a longer stop (sit-down meal) at one and then skip the next one that it suggests. The most common tweak is simply to stop more often than it suggests. It often suggests hour-long charging stops and skipping more superchargers (sometimes assuming I will drive slowly to make this plan work), but if I'm trying to make good time, I usually make two 20-minute stops rather than one hour-long stop. I usually need to pee every 1.5-2 hours anyway.

The main things to be aware of if you do decide to override the Nav's planned charging stops are that superchargers provide different charging speeds and have different levels of occupancy. You don't want to pass by a 250kW supercharger to get to a crowded 150kW supercharger where you will have to share power with your neighbor for example. Or at least, if you do make this choice, it better coincide with a location where you actually want to make a long stop.

-wrt cpa's comments, sure you can do as much pre-planning as you like, but I don't think it's necessary. There's an incredible amount of information in the Nav and it's easy to zoom in on each supercharger and view the nearby businesses before you get to them. You can even see the hours of operation and call them if necessary (to make a food order or ask some other specific details). If you have a co-pilot, you can delegate these responsibilities, but I don't find it too difficult to perform these tasks while driving alone with Autopilot along the interstate (there are fewer distractions when driving solo so that helps).


Generally speaking, crowded superchargers aren't too much of an issue on long trips if you remain flexible and use your head. Observe the occupancy data provided by the Nav on busy travel days and adjust your charging stops accordingly. Weekends are busier, but typically not too much of a problem. Big holiday weekends are the real trouble spots.

 

[bruce4000]

I’ve started doing more with the J1772 adapter that comes with the car. I use plug share app to find a hotel in the area I need to stop that has either a Tesla wall connector or J1772 and then charge, often for free overnight, or at least after dinner if busier. Unfortunately most only have a couple of chargers so I usually like to have a SC not too far away in case the hotel chargers let me down.

 

[Unclepaul]

On major holidays, most travelers leave in the morning with a 100% charge. This means they all are planning to drive till about lunch time and recharge while having lunch. This is why you see reports of long lines. Mostly due to poor planning on drivers part.

Better to drive and watch the number of available stalls ahead on your display. When it looks to be getting crowded, stop for some juice, then drive till the afternoon, when the lines will be gone.

Urban areas are similar, with workers wanting to charge up during breakfast, lunch and dinnertime. Those are the most crowded. Early in the Morning, late at night etc are usually pretty quiet.

 

[B5Bob]

Thanks, all, for the additional insights.

 

[Tronguy]

That’s right, this is your first Tesla. General rule with the typical battery is the recommendation not to charge over 90% on a daily basis, for three reasons, in order of importance:

1. It impacts battery longevity
2. It takes forever to get that last 10%
3. You don’t get regen braking when you’re at that high charge. The brakes still work, but it’ll be a little disconcerting if you’re used to one pedal driving

The one published exception is when you’re about to go on a long trip. So, using the car’s built-in charging options, one typically charges starting in the wee hours so the car is maxed out just before leaving. It’s cheaper that way, too: home charging is typically 2x or 3x cheaper than SC charging.

The other bit that people have been alluding to is that the rate of charge is much, much faster when the battery State of Charge (SOC) is tiny rather than full. At 5% to 10% you’ll get the full blast of that 250kw (or whatever) SC. By the time one gets to 30% or 40% the car starts limiting the charge rate. When one gets to 80%, it doesn’t matter what kind of SC one is hooked to, the charge rate will be 60kw and dropping.

The general rule is that charging from 10% to 80% takes 20 to 30 minutes, the lower number at the 250kw chargers. And if you’re trying to cover the maximum distance in the minimum time, 80% is as high as you want to generally go. With exceptions for:

1. Long legs sans SCs where one wants to max out the range. This generally won’t be true for your trip.
2. You’re stopping for dinner or lunch somewhere and want to eat and take your time. In which case the car will be ready for the next leg before you are. If the SC isn’t crowded you can let it charge (one can change the charge limit in the app), but if the car is maxed out or the SC is crowded.. well, we all have the experience of having to pop up and go move the car to let someone else in and avoid the idle charge penalty that Tesla imposes. Which means that the restaurant one is eating at shouldn’t be a 15 minute walk away .

So, on any given leg, assuming you’re driving an LR, you’ll typically be doing around 250 miles between full and near empty, plus or minus, which is around 3.5 to 4 hours driving time. At which point you’ll want to stop, anyway, stop watching the bugs hit the windshield and hit the loo. 20 minutes later if you’re dedicated you’ll be on your way.

If you want to play tourist and stop somewhere to go shopping or whatever (can never have enough tee shirts) be advised that ChargePoint and similar charging stations have infested the universe, some of which cost a bit, others are free. These charge at 30 mph or so, as compared to the 1000 mph one gets out of a SC, but what the heck, if you’re going to wander the cutesy streets and look at knick nacks for an hour, why not? The PlugShare app’s your friend for this if you want to take the trouble of finding an (open) spot.

The J1772 adapter that comes with the car is invaluable for this kind of activity. Unless you luck into a Tesla Wall connector somewhere. These are called, “Destination Chargers” by Tesla, do show up on the NAV, and one can get 40-45 mph charge rates out of them. But, again, on a long trip where you’re hitting up fairly common SCs, not really necessary.

 

[cpa]

One thing that I failed to mention above: Superchargers installed in the past two years are generally Version 3. They are easily identified by the narrow cables affixed to the charge plug, about 3/4" in diameter. The guts of these installations provides for the maximum jolt of 250kW at sufficiently low states of charge (under 18% or so.) Most stalls are labeled 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B, etc. Unless the location is full up, the guts can play traffic cop with the wattage coming from the hardware, so that you'll receive your car's maximum.

Older installations are Version 2. The cables on Version 2 are much thicker; perhaps twice the diameter as Version 3. These locations charge at a maximum of 150kW. They are installed in pairs: 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. Usually they are next to each other, but occasionally they are 1A, 2A, 3A, 1B, 2B, 3B. Anyway, that software splits the available power between the shared numbers, unlike the Version 3 which shares power among all stalls. Accordingly, if you pull into a Version 2 Supercharger and innocently plug into stall 2B and stall 2A is occupied, you will receive a maximum of 75kW, not the full 150. As the other stall enters into the taper, your rate will increase. Therefore, be extra vigilant when selecting the stall at a Version 2 location. Try to find a pair where both the A and B are open. Otherwise, you may be surprised that the suggested 15-minute layover turns into 25-30 minutes! Moreover, the person already plugged into the shared stall will immediately see his speed decrease to ~72kW.

The navigation screen identifies the maximum rate--either 150kW or 250kW.

The "urbancharger" set up is in urban areas. It is doubtful that you will avail yourself of that style. That style already splits the 150kW rate into two 72kW stalls; there is no sharing.

 

[B5Bob]

If you want to play tourist and stop somewhere to go shopping or whatever (can never have enough tee shirts) be advised that ChargePoint and similar charging stations have infested the universe, some of which cost a bit, others are free. These charge at 30 mph or so, as compared to the 1000 mph one gets out of a SC, but what the heck, if you’re going to wander the cutesy streets and look at knick nacks for an hour, why not? The PlugShare app’s your friend for this if you want to take the trouble of finding an (open) spot.

Yes I've been looking around on PlugShare to see what's around my usual stomping grounds. I did notice some somewhat hostile comments left in the reviews about Tesla's using the J1772 chargers... I also noticed the ring accessory to prevent someone from unplugging from the adapter. Is this a real problem or just a few bad apples?

 

[B5Bob]

One thing that I failed to mention above: Superchargers installed in the past two years are generally Version 3. They are easily identified by the narrow cables affixed to the charge plug, about 3/4" in diameter. The guts of these installations provides for the maximum jolt of 250kW at sufficiently low states of charge (under 18% or so.) Most stalls are labeled 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B, etc. Unless the location is full up, the guts can play traffic cop with the wattage coming from the hardware, so that you'll receive your car's maximum.

Older installations are Version 2. The cables on Version 2 are much thicker; perhaps twice the diameter as Version 3. These locations charge at a maximum of 150kW. They are installed in pairs: 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. Usually they are next to each other, but occasionally they are 1A, 2A, 3A, 1B, 2B, 3B. Anyway, that software splits the available power between the shared numbers, unlike the Version 3 which shares power among all stalls. Accordingly, if you pull into a Version 2 Supercharger and innocently plug into stall 2B and stall 2A is occupied, you will receive a maximum of 75kW, not the full 150. As the other stall enters into the taper, your rate will increase. Therefore, be extra vigilant when selecting the stall at a Version 2 location. Try to find a pair where both the A and B are open. Otherwise, you may be surprised that the suggested 15-minute layover turns into 25-30 minutes! Moreover, the person already plugged into the shared stall will immediately see his speed decrease to ~72kW.

The navigation screen identifies the maximum rate--either 150kW or 250kW.

The "urbancharger" set up is in urban areas. It is doubtful that you will avail yourself of that style. That style already splits the 150kW rate into two 72kW stalls; there is no sharing.

It's too bad Tesla doesn't label the split units more clearly. Seems like a good way to make an enemy without knowing it!

I'll prioritize 250kW, of course, but that's another question. With the LFP battery the initial reviews coming out of Europe last year (Tesla Bjorn, etc) seemed to show them peaking at 160kW. I believe the charge curves have been updated since. Can they take more advantage of the full 250 now?

 

[Tronguy]

Yes I've been looking around on PlugShare to see what's around my usual stomping grounds. I did notice some somewhat hostile comments left in the reviews about Tesla's using the J1772 chargers... I also noticed the ring accessory to prevent someone from unplugging from the adapter. Is this a real problem or just a few bad apples?

Well, the hostility has some basis. SCs are all over the place and charge really quickly. The Frankenplug (CCS) port DC fast chargers are rare and often not working, meaning that people with non-Teslas are a lot more dependent on L2 AC chargers. So, jealousy. But if you’re there and need the charge, well, that’s what the charging station is there for! Especially.. the free ones.

I dunno how other cars work, but if the J1772 adapter is in the car and the cable is in the adapter, neither can be disconnected without getting the car to let go. This keeps the adapter from getting stolen, but it also keeps another soul from snagging the cable and plugging it into their car. Which would, I guess, frustrate both the desperate and the entitled. Far as I know, nobody’s tried doing this to my car.

Honestly, I’ve only used the ChargePoints et. al. maybe a dozen times in five years, usually in parking garages, when an SC wasn’t available.

 

[B5Bob]

This is the "product" I'm referring to. It seems to imply that the J1772 could be disconnected from the adapter, even if the adapter remains locked into the car.

J1772 adapter lock

So I wanted to be able to lock my charging port and the adapter and the J1772 plug while charging since I've seen and heard enough incidents of cars getting unplugged. The one lock offered by evannex seems flimsy and way overpriced.... so I 3d printed my own.

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[wws]

Nowadays it is pretty easy to drive all of I-5 just on V3 Superchargers. The main V2 Superchargers between Oregon and California are Grants Pass, Shasta (2 co-located sites), and Corning. The V2 site in Springfield OR can get pretty busy. I try to use the new Harrisburg V3 instead.

 

[PLUS EV]

Well, the hostility has some basis. SCs are all over the place and charge really quickly.

Totally disagree with this take. How is it my problem, as a Tesla owner, that their EV has few functional charging options? Teslas can and should charge at any charger that is available and/or convenient or even FREE in some cases.

Also, I have had someone unplug me when I was charging at a J1722 overnight. I had to alter my trip plans because of it. I guess I'm not sure about the newer Teslas, but on my 2016 and 2018 Model Ses, the plug does not lock into the adapter (the adapter does lock into the car however as you pointed out).