Hello fellow Tesla enthusiasts!
I know there have been a LOT of posts about road trips here and there however I literally just experienced every type of road condition and weather in one long 3 week road trip so figured I would share. If you want 'technical specifics' I am happy to share them with you in a PM but this post is strictly about the overall experience and the 'fun' of it.
On a personal note, I used to love to drive then somewhere along the way (probably due to the soul sucking traffic in LA) I started hating it. That is until I got my Tesla- Model 3, AWD, LR. Now I love driving again so that makes the purchase all the more worth it. Even traffic is better due to the auto pilot and great sound system. And after this road trip, I love the car even more. I would go through the ordering process all over again (I was a day 1 reservation holder and lets just say it didn't go that great)- it's that good. Best car I have ever owned hands down.
I got laid off from my job and was in a bit of a funk so I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and go on a road trip. I have free supercharging so even better. And I gave myself a challenge- to shake some stuff up- and do something I have never done before at least once a day- which was kind of easy since i was driving to some places I have never been. Fun experiment to clear the head and reset.
I started in LA, where I live, then went to see the poppies near Lancaster. Beautiful. And then drove on to Joshua Tree for 2 days. I stayed at a friends house who lives 'off the grid' so I had to drive on 'roads' of sand and some 'roads' that didn't really seem like roads. No issues at all- I just drove slow and steady. Never felt I was going to get stuck. Check! He said I was the first Tesla to come down their road
Then I drove through the Mojave Natural Preserve to Vegas. Stunning. Because I have the long range (and filled up in Twentynine Palms- just in case- before I left), I never had to worry about making it through the desert. Check!
Powered up in Primm then went on to Vegas and stayed a couple of days. Funny enough, I had a lot of people in Vegas freaking out about my car- wanting to know all about it, see it up close, etc. I get used to LA where you throw a rock and can hit one on every corner. But Vegas? Who knew people would be so enthusiastic. I opened my frunk in front of the hotel and drew a crowd. And the valet guys kept asking me- are you sure you don't want to valet- so they could drive it. I even took one on a test drive and showed him all of the bells and whistles. It was fun.
Then I drove up through St George through Utah then across to Grand Junction CO. Plenty of chargers along the way. Gorgeous country.
Then on to Silverthorne (near Vail) where I encountered snow. No issues there either. To be fair it was not heavy snow but snow none the less. Drove like a dream. Obviously colder weather than the desert so I used my friends 110v in the garage to keep her plugged in during my stay so I didn't lose any power. And bonus- there was a supercharger down the street from my friends house so I topped off before I left. And I of course took my friend for a test drive and now he is buying one. Check!
Then from Silverthorne to Denver for a few days. Hit some snow and then some really heavy rain coming down into Denver. And you guessed it- all good. No issues. Felt solid on the road. Used more energy (as you all probably know) in the cold and up and down mountains but I charged more than what it said to get to my next destination and I was all good.
Found out when driving in the Assisted Cruise Control option (can't remember technical name) that the car will automatically slow down around curves if the cruise is going too fast to make the turn which is a really nice feature. I was ready to take control at all times (and would usually drive without cruise on winding roads) but I wanted to experiment. Car slowed down every time to take the curves safely. Excellent feature.
In Denver, met a few other friends who I also gave test drives and they are buying one too. Check!
My Mom decided to fly into Denver from Texas to join me on this next leg of my road trip- kind of an early Mother's Day, mother/daughter adventure. We left Denver and went to Jackson Hole WY. Gorgeous country. My mom kept calling it 'Gods Country'. I drove all the way there because she was enjoying the sites so much.
On a side note, I decided to do an experiment. I kept saving the footage on my USB so I could save the beautiful scenery along the way- and have some video. It's not the best video in the world but it is still really good to share the journey w/family and friends. I would put the car on auto pilot and try and take photos along the way. Made my mom a little nervous but I got some good shots. We even facetimed my Dad so he could see the scenery as well. You can't do that in an ICE vehicle. I'm sure I freaked some fellow drivers out who had no idea I was on auto pilot. I'm going to put together a video with snippets from the video footage and still photos and I'm giving it to my Mom for Mother's Day as a memento.
Jackson Hole is a really great little town. I'm definitely going to go back and spend some time. We were on a time schedule so only stayed the night and walked around a little during the day. And awesome enough- a supercharger there too.
Then on to West Yellowstone where we charged again. We were going to go into Yellowstone but the weather was really stormy. Going through the mountains on the way to Jackson Hole- the Tetons- were stunning and all of the area around Yellowstone was stunning. Weather was cold and rainy and roads were really up/down and curvy. We saw deer and Elk right by the road and narrowly missed a fox running across the road as well as a jack rabbit. Car handled all of it perfectly.
Realized by accident that when I engage assisted cruise control, sometimes it will automatically set to the speed limit and other times it will set to whatever speed I set it at- depending on how I press the toggle. Not sure how to explain how to do it so I encourage you to experiment on your own. Pretty cool.
Then we went on through more of WY, then Idaho, then WY then Montana. We lost track on what state we were in most of the time. We stopped in Laramie WY to charge and the electricity was completely off in that side of town. No electricity anywhere. I tried two different plug ins thinking something was wrong with my car or the charger itself but no- no electricity at all. That was a first. There was a guy and his sons at the supercharger and they were in a hurry so they backtracked and went back to the previous supercharger 44 miles away- so 88 miles total out of the way- after I told him he didn't have enough energy to make it to the next supercharger. We decided to just enjoy a nice lunch and when we came back, electricity was back on.
On a side note, the guy who owned the other Tesla was under the impression that he could just drive slower to get to the next supercharger. It was over 100 miles to the next charger and he only had 89 miles of charge. As far as I know there is no way to get 100 miles out of 89 driving up and down hills even if you go 50 miles an hour. Please correct me if I am wrong but I would not gamble on that one.
Then we drove on to Butte and stayed the night. Charger there too. Score!
Mom decided to drive and had a lot of fun with the car. She said it made her nervous because the car is my 'baby'. I told her to just relax and have fun. She said that she has a hard time 'feeling the road' with the car and she can't feel when the car is not steady on the road- comparing to my old SUV. I told her it's not that she can't feel the road it's that the car is always steady on the road and solid- never feels out of control. After thinking about it, she agreed.
My mom used to race cars so she is not a 'normal' mom and/or driver. She knows cars and she loves my Tesla. She said it's a dream to drive.
Then we drove to Moses Lake to stay the night then on to Seattle the next day. I stayed a couple of days outside of Seattle with a friend and her family and my mom flew home. Great Mother/daughter trip with awesome memories.
I stayed north of Seattle and there were chargers EVERYWHERE. The hotels also had chargers. That was a nice change compared to other parts of the country who haven't caught on yet.
Realized that if I press the break just a bit harder then it holds like the brake does. I had seen on the screen where it says 'hold' but didn't realize what it was and that I could take my foot off the break. This is EXTREMELY helpful on hills so you don't roll back. Something most of you probably know but throwing it out there in case you don't.
I introduced my friend Donna and her daughters to the car and they loved it. The girls asked if they could just stay in the car and hang out in the driveway. I took them for a test drive per their request and they just wanted to keep on driving. I stopped at a half hour. They had fun with the seat heaters, the games and the internet. They asked if they could just key up a movie on the internet and stay there for a few hours. And this is an 11 and 17 yr old. Future Tesla owners right there AND I think I talked their mom into getting one too.
At this point, my neck and shoulders were pretty sore from driving so much. I remembered seeing somewhere that I could change the steering so I went into the controls and changed the steering from 'standard' to 'comfort'. That helped a lot.
Then I drove down from Seattle, charged in Aberdeen then on to Corvalis for the night. Then down to Grants Pass and over to the coast again. Stayed in Trinidad CA in a beautiful cabin on the ocean and in the Redwoods for the night. Then on to Ukiah to charge and go to Orr Hot Springs for the night to soak and relax. Then north of San Francisco to see my cousin for the night in Petaluma (where there is also a supercharger) then on to the Central Coast to Paso Robles for the night. Hit some hot springs there and then back home to LA.
In the past, road trips for me were all about the A to the B and how fast I could get there. Since I have gotten my Tesla, it has been more about enjoying the ride- though I do drive fast (though safe) to get there cause it's fun. I actually stop and getting a meal as I charge instead of stopping at a gas station and eating a bunch of junk as I drive. It's been different for me. Made me learn some patience and my body is thanking me for it. Instead of being exhausted everyday and having my body vibrate and feel I am still on the road (when I try to sleep), I am now more relaxed. The car is just so comfortable. The music selections are amazing and I went the whole trip with only a couple of songs repeating themselves. Chargers are everywhere now. Hotels are adding them for free.
I decided to just make the trip leisurely and not get stressed about having enough charge, driving slower, not using air, etc so I always just charged more than what it said to charge to get to my next destination- at least 10 to 20 percent more- and I never had an issue. After driving TX to CA and southern to northern CA a couple of times- and now this trip- that is always my rule of thumb. Better safe than sorry.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I know it was long but it was a long roadtrip. The overall takeaway? I love my car even more than I did when I got it. Best car I have ever owned and well worth the stretch to buy it. Car handles well in all driving conditions and weather. And even after driving for 3 weeks, I would still jump in and drive some more. Best road trip ever!! I encourage you to go out and smell the roses. See some of the country you haven't seen before. It's beautiful! Do something you have never done before just because. Happy traveling!!!
I know there have been a LOT of posts about road trips here and there however I literally just experienced every type of road condition and weather in one long 3 week road trip so figured I would share. If you want 'technical specifics' I am happy to share them with you in a PM but this post is strictly about the overall experience and the 'fun' of it.
On a personal note, I used to love to drive then somewhere along the way (probably due to the soul sucking traffic in LA) I started hating it. That is until I got my Tesla- Model 3, AWD, LR. Now I love driving again so that makes the purchase all the more worth it. Even traffic is better due to the auto pilot and great sound system. And after this road trip, I love the car even more. I would go through the ordering process all over again (I was a day 1 reservation holder and lets just say it didn't go that great)- it's that good. Best car I have ever owned hands down.
I got laid off from my job and was in a bit of a funk so I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and go on a road trip. I have free supercharging so even better. And I gave myself a challenge- to shake some stuff up- and do something I have never done before at least once a day- which was kind of easy since i was driving to some places I have never been. Fun experiment to clear the head and reset.
I started in LA, where I live, then went to see the poppies near Lancaster. Beautiful. And then drove on to Joshua Tree for 2 days. I stayed at a friends house who lives 'off the grid' so I had to drive on 'roads' of sand and some 'roads' that didn't really seem like roads. No issues at all- I just drove slow and steady. Never felt I was going to get stuck. Check! He said I was the first Tesla to come down their road
Then I drove through the Mojave Natural Preserve to Vegas. Stunning. Because I have the long range (and filled up in Twentynine Palms- just in case- before I left), I never had to worry about making it through the desert. Check!
Powered up in Primm then went on to Vegas and stayed a couple of days. Funny enough, I had a lot of people in Vegas freaking out about my car- wanting to know all about it, see it up close, etc. I get used to LA where you throw a rock and can hit one on every corner. But Vegas? Who knew people would be so enthusiastic. I opened my frunk in front of the hotel and drew a crowd. And the valet guys kept asking me- are you sure you don't want to valet- so they could drive it. I even took one on a test drive and showed him all of the bells and whistles. It was fun.
Then I drove up through St George through Utah then across to Grand Junction CO. Plenty of chargers along the way. Gorgeous country.
Then on to Silverthorne (near Vail) where I encountered snow. No issues there either. To be fair it was not heavy snow but snow none the less. Drove like a dream. Obviously colder weather than the desert so I used my friends 110v in the garage to keep her plugged in during my stay so I didn't lose any power. And bonus- there was a supercharger down the street from my friends house so I topped off before I left. And I of course took my friend for a test drive and now he is buying one. Check!
Then from Silverthorne to Denver for a few days. Hit some snow and then some really heavy rain coming down into Denver. And you guessed it- all good. No issues. Felt solid on the road. Used more energy (as you all probably know) in the cold and up and down mountains but I charged more than what it said to get to my next destination and I was all good.
Found out when driving in the Assisted Cruise Control option (can't remember technical name) that the car will automatically slow down around curves if the cruise is going too fast to make the turn which is a really nice feature. I was ready to take control at all times (and would usually drive without cruise on winding roads) but I wanted to experiment. Car slowed down every time to take the curves safely. Excellent feature.
In Denver, met a few other friends who I also gave test drives and they are buying one too. Check!
My Mom decided to fly into Denver from Texas to join me on this next leg of my road trip- kind of an early Mother's Day, mother/daughter adventure. We left Denver and went to Jackson Hole WY. Gorgeous country. My mom kept calling it 'Gods Country'. I drove all the way there because she was enjoying the sites so much.
On a side note, I decided to do an experiment. I kept saving the footage on my USB so I could save the beautiful scenery along the way- and have some video. It's not the best video in the world but it is still really good to share the journey w/family and friends. I would put the car on auto pilot and try and take photos along the way. Made my mom a little nervous but I got some good shots. We even facetimed my Dad so he could see the scenery as well. You can't do that in an ICE vehicle. I'm sure I freaked some fellow drivers out who had no idea I was on auto pilot. I'm going to put together a video with snippets from the video footage and still photos and I'm giving it to my Mom for Mother's Day as a memento.
Jackson Hole is a really great little town. I'm definitely going to go back and spend some time. We were on a time schedule so only stayed the night and walked around a little during the day. And awesome enough- a supercharger there too.
Then on to West Yellowstone where we charged again. We were going to go into Yellowstone but the weather was really stormy. Going through the mountains on the way to Jackson Hole- the Tetons- were stunning and all of the area around Yellowstone was stunning. Weather was cold and rainy and roads were really up/down and curvy. We saw deer and Elk right by the road and narrowly missed a fox running across the road as well as a jack rabbit. Car handled all of it perfectly.
Realized by accident that when I engage assisted cruise control, sometimes it will automatically set to the speed limit and other times it will set to whatever speed I set it at- depending on how I press the toggle. Not sure how to explain how to do it so I encourage you to experiment on your own. Pretty cool.
Then we went on through more of WY, then Idaho, then WY then Montana. We lost track on what state we were in most of the time. We stopped in Laramie WY to charge and the electricity was completely off in that side of town. No electricity anywhere. I tried two different plug ins thinking something was wrong with my car or the charger itself but no- no electricity at all. That was a first. There was a guy and his sons at the supercharger and they were in a hurry so they backtracked and went back to the previous supercharger 44 miles away- so 88 miles total out of the way- after I told him he didn't have enough energy to make it to the next supercharger. We decided to just enjoy a nice lunch and when we came back, electricity was back on.
On a side note, the guy who owned the other Tesla was under the impression that he could just drive slower to get to the next supercharger. It was over 100 miles to the next charger and he only had 89 miles of charge. As far as I know there is no way to get 100 miles out of 89 driving up and down hills even if you go 50 miles an hour. Please correct me if I am wrong but I would not gamble on that one.
Then we drove on to Butte and stayed the night. Charger there too. Score!
Mom decided to drive and had a lot of fun with the car. She said it made her nervous because the car is my 'baby'. I told her to just relax and have fun. She said that she has a hard time 'feeling the road' with the car and she can't feel when the car is not steady on the road- comparing to my old SUV. I told her it's not that she can't feel the road it's that the car is always steady on the road and solid- never feels out of control. After thinking about it, she agreed.
My mom used to race cars so she is not a 'normal' mom and/or driver. She knows cars and she loves my Tesla. She said it's a dream to drive.
Then we drove to Moses Lake to stay the night then on to Seattle the next day. I stayed a couple of days outside of Seattle with a friend and her family and my mom flew home. Great Mother/daughter trip with awesome memories.
I stayed north of Seattle and there were chargers EVERYWHERE. The hotels also had chargers. That was a nice change compared to other parts of the country who haven't caught on yet.
Realized that if I press the break just a bit harder then it holds like the brake does. I had seen on the screen where it says 'hold' but didn't realize what it was and that I could take my foot off the break. This is EXTREMELY helpful on hills so you don't roll back. Something most of you probably know but throwing it out there in case you don't.
I introduced my friend Donna and her daughters to the car and they loved it. The girls asked if they could just stay in the car and hang out in the driveway. I took them for a test drive per their request and they just wanted to keep on driving. I stopped at a half hour. They had fun with the seat heaters, the games and the internet. They asked if they could just key up a movie on the internet and stay there for a few hours. And this is an 11 and 17 yr old. Future Tesla owners right there
AND I think I talked their mom into getting one too.At this point, my neck and shoulders were pretty sore from driving so much. I remembered seeing somewhere that I could change the steering so I went into the controls and changed the steering from 'standard' to 'comfort'. That helped a lot.
Then I drove down from Seattle, charged in Aberdeen then on to Corvalis for the night. Then down to Grants Pass and over to the coast again. Stayed in Trinidad CA in a beautiful cabin on the ocean and in the Redwoods for the night. Then on to Ukiah to charge and go to Orr Hot Springs for the night to soak and relax. Then north of San Francisco to see my cousin for the night in Petaluma (where there is also a supercharger) then on to the Central Coast to Paso Robles for the night. Hit some hot springs there and then back home to LA.
In the past, road trips for me were all about the A to the B and how fast I could get there. Since I have gotten my Tesla, it has been more about enjoying the ride- though I do drive fast (though safe) to get there cause it's fun. I actually stop and getting a meal as I charge instead of stopping at a gas station and eating a bunch of junk as I drive. It's been different for me. Made me learn some patience and my body is thanking me for it. Instead of being exhausted everyday and having my body vibrate and feel I am still on the road (when I try to sleep), I am now more relaxed. The car is just so comfortable. The music selections are amazing and I went the whole trip with only a couple of songs repeating themselves. Chargers are everywhere now. Hotels are adding them for free.
I decided to just make the trip leisurely and not get stressed about having enough charge, driving slower, not using air, etc so I always just charged more than what it said to charge to get to my next destination- at least 10 to 20 percent more- and I never had an issue. After driving TX to CA and southern to northern CA a couple of times- and now this trip- that is always my rule of thumb. Better safe than sorry.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I know it was long but it was a long roadtrip. The overall takeaway? I love my car even more than I did when I got it. Best car I have ever owned and well worth the stretch to buy it. Car handles well in all driving conditions and weather. And even after driving for 3 weeks, I would still jump in and drive some more. Best road trip ever!! I encourage you to go out and smell the roses. See some of the country you haven't seen before. It's beautiful! Do something you have never done before just because. Happy traveling!!!
