Just took delivery on Thursday and going on my first "road trip" today - range anxiety

[idealdreams]

I took delivery of a LR AWD Model 3 on Thursday and it's incredible. To the point where I'm just sitting inside it in the garage just playing around with everything it can do. Today I'm taking it on a "road trip," of roughly 200 miles, and the range anxiety is setting in before even leaving.

ABRP estimates that I'll have about 33% battery by the time I make it back home, which I understand is between 65-100 miles left of range, so that's calming me a bit, but I'm worried that the climate control and speeds of 75 mph max will affect that.

I really don't want to run out of range on my third day of ownership and there are unfortunately zero superchargers or charging stations anywhere near my route. The stops I am visiting also do not have a 240 volt receptacle so I can't charge while I'm visiting.

Does anyone have any tips to calm my nerves for the first trip? I am assuming I'll be fine but the worry is still there nonetheless. Should I bring my mobile cable with me even though I can only get 4 miles of range max per hour with it with the standard connection?

 

[Krash]

Always carry the mobile charger, the 15A plug, a quality extension cord and some spare cash. And a pillow.

Learn to get comfortable drafting behind big trucks.

Install the Plugshare app on your phone. Learn to turn the chargers icon on and off of the nav screen.

Buy the full suite of mobile plugs in case you need to use an RV park, welding shop or dryer.

Install the popular charging apps on an NFC capable smartphone before you go and test them before you really need them.

Hard to be more specific without knowing where you live or where you are going. Chademo adapter is $400 ish but I understand really handy to fast charge in the Northeast.

 

[TheLocNar]

Just drive a little bit slower at times and turn off climate when you're comfortable. No biggie. 33% is plenty of reserve.

 

[Eno Deb]

I really don't want to run out of range on my third day of ownership and there are unfortunately zero superchargers or charging stations anywhere near my route. The stops I am visiting also do not have a 240 volt receptacle so I can't charge while I'm visiting.

May I ask what area your trip is taking place in? Unless it's some really remote area, I can't imagine that you can take a 200 mile trip in the lower 48 without coming close to at least a level 2 charger?

 

[ucmndd]

There’s really nothing to worry about. Watch your estimated percentage on arrival. If you need to, slow down.

Done.

 

[thimel]

Relax. 33% is plenty of reserve. I normally make the trip planner in the car tell me I will have 15% when I arrive. It is quite accurate if you go the speed of normal traffic on the route. If you put your destination in the navigation system, It continuously tells you how much charge you will have when you arrive. In the unlikely case that gets too low, then slow down. The car will actually tell you to do this. Enjoy your trip.

 

[kavyboy]

Just to echo what @TheLocNar wrote earlier, speed is your biggest controllable factor. Cabin heater is the next. Keep your trip graph up (I found this video at youtube about that) and if it's looking close, slow down.
Bring the charging equipment you have. Drive normally, but slow down if the car says to. That's it. Oh, and don't sweat it and enjoy the trip.

 

[Electric700]

I took delivery of a LR AWD Model 3 on Thursday and it's incredible. To the point where I'm just sitting inside it in the garage just playing around with everything it can do. Today I'm taking it on a "road trip," of roughly 200 miles, and the range anxiety is setting in before even leaving.

ABRP estimates that I'll have about 33% battery by the time I make it back home, which I understand is between 65-100 miles left of range, so that's calming me a bit, but I'm worried that the climate control and speeds of 75 mph max will affect that.

I really don't want to run out of range on my third day of ownership and there are unfortunately zero superchargers or charging stations anywhere near my route. The stops I am visiting also do not have a 240 volt receptacle so I can't charge while I'm visiting.

Does anyone have any tips to calm my nerves for the first trip? I am assuming I'll be fine but the worry is still there nonetheless. Should I bring my mobile cable with me even though I can only get 4 miles of range max per hour with it with the standard connection?

Congrats!!

What route are you planning to take?

All good suggestions here, especially the PlugShare one. You can charge your car with a Level 2 J1772 station like one from ChargePoint or EVgo. There may be Tesla destination chargers as well that you can use, just in case.

 

[tccartier]

Relax. 33% is plenty of reserve. I normally make the trip planner in the car tell me I will have 15% when I arrive. It is quite accurate if you go the speed of normal traffic on the route. If you put your destination in the navigation system, It continuously tells you how much charge you will have when you arrive. In the unlikely case that gets too low, then slow down. The car will actually tell you to do this. Enjoy your trip.

Agreed, the nav system within the car works quite well in terms of letting you know if you can reach a destination or not and where you would have to stop and charge and for how long. I don't use any other third-party apps to get this information the car knows everything and can do it on its own. The only thing I would add to the on-board navigation in the car would be the ability to add a waypoint along the way in addition to a final destination. That would enable one to determine if they could reach a destination and come back to their starting point. And or the ability to add multiple stops in between your start point and your final destination.

 

[Krugerrand]

Charge it to 100%
Put it on trip planner
Drive
Plug it in at your destination or along the way at anytime you start to vomit
Drive some more

The trip planner is very accurate, especially once the car knows your driving style. It’ll tell you if you’re cutting it close on range. Slow down then or charge it. Otherwise, we’ll see you back here in a bit laughing at yourself for being overly concerned about your range.

 

[NickFie]

Does anyone have any tips to calm my nerves for the first trip? I am assuming I'll be fine but the worry is still there nonetheless. Should I bring my mobile cable with me even though I can only get 4 miles of range max per hour with it with the standard connection?

Let the car help you.

Put your destination in Navigation. Specify round-trip. That will show likely charge level at destination and upon arrival home.

While driving, bring up the energy chart. It’s in the second set of icons that show up when you tap the “more” icon at the bottom of the screen. Use Trip view to see how your burn rate compares with the car’s prediction.

If I took the trip, I would drive calmly on the outbound leg to conserve energy in this new situation. Explore Autopilot... You should arrive at the destination with reasonable charge level.

On the return trip, go crazy. Keep your eye on energy chart to ensure you will arrive with at least 10%.

If you need to conserve energy, use Chill acceleration mode. Set cabin temp higher.

 

[dblankenbaker]

The cure for range anxiety is being prepared for 'what if'. That said, my car has never let me down and always tells me when I need to slow down to get to the next charger. The only times that has happened is when I've been cruising above 80 mph, or took a 40 mile detour.

Worst case: you have to call roadside assistance.

 

[hmgolds]

Agreed, the nav system within the car works quite well in terms of letting you know if you can reach a destination or not and where you would have to stop and charge and for how long. I don't use any other third-party apps to get this information the car knows everything and can do it on its own.

I don't know how the M3 nav system will tell you where 3rd party charging options are. I can't even get plugshare.com to load on the vehicle browser without the browser crashing.

Let the car help you. Put your destination in Navigation. Specify round-trip. That will show likely charge level at destination and upon arrival home.

The nav system seems to compensate for speed pretty well. I don't know if it compensates for terrain or traffic.


To the OP, I too think you'll be fine. But I would have the plugshare app on my phone and I would set up a chargepoint account. If using ABRP, make sure your settings (temp, speed, etc) are correct. I'd have an extension cord, UMC and J1772 adapter in the car (as others have suggested). I know you said there were no charging stations on the route, but did you check for Tesla destination and chargers on plugshare?.

 

[VT_EE]

Drafting behind trucks with the AutoPilot set to the min following distance saves an amazing amount of energy. Trust the nav trip planner. It is very good and usually conservative.

 

[MrMassTransit]

You'll be absolutely fine with that kind of a reserve. The navigation system will estimate how much you have remaining at the end of the trip and you can track consumption in real time against the estimate. If you are worried that you're falling behind, drive 65 and you'll be good. If you're really worried, you can go a bit slower. But honestly, with the predicted reserve there's no cause to even think about the range at all.

That being said, I always carry my UMC (I have a HPWC, so I just keep it in the car) and I would never, ever go anywhere without the J1772 adapter. Plugshare is your friend, as others have mentioned.

I have an SR+ and I wouldn't even be worried about that range, but I have a few years experience in EVs.

 

[ngogas]

You will be just fine. Your trip is not that long. 33% is like a third left on the ice tank.

 

[rickdogg82]

Use Standard (max) brake regen.

 

[Dana1]

Always carry the mobile charger, the 15A plug, a quality extension cord and some spare cash. And a pillow.

Learn to get comfortable drafting behind big trucks.

Install the Plugshare app on your phone. Learn to turn the chargers icon on and off of the nav screen.

Buy the full suite of mobile plugs in case you need to use an RV park, welding shop or dryer.

Install the popular charging apps on an NFC capable smartphone before you go and test them before you really need them.

Hard to be more specific without knowing where you live or where you are going. Chademo adapter is $400 ish but I understand really handy to fast charge in the Northeast.

Agree with everything except drafting. Don’t be that guy. No one likes a tailgater and you can’t see the road ahead and potential hazards.

Use Navigate on Autopilot. Cruise control helps range for both ICE and EVs. You’ll also see your expected battery level at arrival. If it decreases steadily you know you either need to stop for a charge or slow down. I just did a 304 mile trip with my LR. I went 75-80 except for the 2 hours it took to go 7 miles. It actually looked like no charge was needed but I did stop for 15 minutes at a supercharger because 1)Thirsty 2) Not that brave. 33% is a lot of reserve.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Jeeez where is this place you are going. I thought North Dakota is the only state with no superchargers.

 

[Eno Deb]

Hard to be more specific without knowing where you live or where you are going. Chademo adapter is $400 ish but I understand really handy to fast charge in the Northeast.

The Chademo adapter doesn't work with the Model 3.

By far the most important adapter is the J1772. According to the Department of Energy there are currently about 20,000 L2 charging locations with about 50,000 outlets in the US, plus about 4000 Tesla destination chargers and of course the Superchargers. It's unlikely you'll even need the UMC anywhere but in the most remote areas.