Info Help needed ASAP for stretch between Columbia,MO & Independence SC

[Luder94]

My family and I will be driving south from Chicago area and have multiple stops to make on our way down to St. Louis. Ultimately we will end up in Houston, but with the route we need to take, it isn't the prescribed one by our MS navigation.

The route we need to take puts us on a path where our P85+ will not make it from 'point A' to 'point B'. Our point A is Columbia, MO and point B is the Independence supercharger. We've used EVTripPlanner.org to find other chargers..... and no luck.

From other forums, my wife found a location, Tiger Hotel, with a HPWC. Can anyone in the area or who has done the trip offer any suggestions? Depending on time of day when we reach Independence, we were planning on an overnight stay there; most likely Stony Creek Hotel.

Will we need to get on PlugShare to use other (non-Tesla) chargers?

Thanks in advance!

 

[FlasherZ]

First, just confirming - Columbia, MO or Columbus, MO?

Columbus, MO is only 43 miles from Independence. Columbia is a bit further.

You can make it from the St. Charles, MO (St. Louis area) supercharger to the Independence, MO (KC area) supercharger if you manage your speed. If you meant Columbus, then you may need to stay on highway 70 to go to Independence, do your supercharging, then backtrack the 43 miles to Columbus.

Columbia, on the other hand, is on I-70 between the two Superchargers. If you need to stop in Columbia for the night or an event, the Tiger hotel is a good place to stop. There are few other options. You don't necessarily need to stop if you manage your speed.

 

[Luder94]

FlasherZ, thank you for the quick response!

My mistake, I should've wrote Columbia.... after 13 years of marriage, I listen to what my wife says in snippets. Our trip calls for a stop at the St.Charles supercharger (which is really our "point A"). If we do a full range charge there and keep our speed in check, we can make it. I'm not sure I want to chance it with two kids (8 and 6) in tote if I don't have to. From Independence, our destination is Houston, the concern was to get to Independence.

 

[FlasherZ]

FlasherZ, thank you for the quick response!

My mistake, I should've wrote Columbia.... after 13 years of marriage, I listen to what my wife says in snippets. Our trip calls for a stop at the St.Charles supercharger (which is really our "point A"). If we do a full range charge there and keep our speed in check, we can make it. I'm not sure I want to chance it with two kids (8 and 6) in tote if I don't have to. From Independence, our destination is Houston, the concern was to get to Independence.

I think you'll make it without a problem, we have several members of the St. Louis group who make the trip to KC on a regular basis. You may need to drive the speed limit (70) or perhaps even a few mph under during the final bits to guarantee you make it (depending on wind), but I don't think you'll have a problem. Do a full range charge at St. Charles (there's a grocery store, a great Italian restaurant there, among other stores) and you should be good.

Columbia provides a good "checkpoint" to see how you're going on the trip graph - if the weather is proving difficult, you may need to stop in the Tiger Hotel for a half hour on their HPWC, that would guarantee you'd make it without issue. Grab a drink and snack, enjoy a restroom stop, say hi to everyone there, and then continue on.

 

[Luder94]

Again, thank you very much!!!

With your last post and what I just read through on this thread: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/46982-Supercharger-Columbia-MO/page6, I'm quite a bit less nervous.

Now the only thing that worries me is my wife's and kids' weights alongside the 100+ pounds of clothes, shoes, and tool to go the whole length. This may be a leg that my wife has to drive. I have a heavy foot; we may stop at Tiger on the way down, but try to drive past it on the way back.

 

[FlasherZ]

For what it's worth, the difference between 200 lbs. and 600 lbs. is 1 Wh/mi. I just took my family (me, wife, 4 boys, frunk and back seat full) on a 2700 mile round trip from St. Louis area to Orlando and back, and I found EVTripPlanner to be realistic about the rated miles needed. There is very little difference between just me and the rest of the family. You'll be good as long as your foot gets modulated.

 

[purplewalt]

You can make it from St. Louis to Independence without an intermediate top-up/supplemental charge.
Be sure to put your car in "Range Mode".
Get a full range charge @ St. Charles, MO.

If you decide to stop at Columbia, MO for a quick top-up charge, fine.
Leaving St. Charles drive at 55 to 60 mph, for the first 130 miles (or so) and then decide if you need to increase your speed, you should do fine.
Slowing down for that one segment of the drive is the only part that you might need to make adjustments for.
Wind, weather, etc. are out of your control and you may need to adjust driving technique and speed to compensate.

Various people have different philosophies on using Cruise Control or not.
Some drivers swear by it.
I do not use it anymore, and I got 256 kW/mi as my average on my recent trip to Houston, Columbus, San Marcos and Waco.
And that includes driving inside Houston Loop traffic.
That works out to over 300 miles of real mile range on a 254 mile range charge.
I have found that modulating your speed and driving just a bit slower is the biggest thing toward achieving long range when you absolutely need it.

 

[Luder94]

Made it into Houston last night. The drive from St. Charles to Independence was a little white knuckle; but the wife did well. She drove that leg and we got to Independence with about 47 rated miles.

Ran into quite a few other Tesla owners at almost all the Superchargers.....Tesla owners are some of the nicest owners. Thanks for the help and advise! I'll update this post with some pics from our trip in a day or two. We took pics at all 10 Superchargers we had to stop at.

 

[jvonbokel]

As someone who has driven to KC both unsuccessfully (before St Charles Supercharger) and successfully (after St Charles Supercharger), I'm glad to hear you made it, and look forward to seeing pics in your next update!