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

[Rocky_H]

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

But there are certainly routes within "covered" states that are not on the main interstates that therefore do not have Superchargers. And for a round trip, you could certainly go 100 miles out and 100 miles back to make a 200 mile trip that is not covered.

I concur with a couple of folks, though--if you're on a remote route, there are usually campgrounds or RV parsk or something that would be available for charging if needed.

 

[ksb467]

You should be fine this time of year. Only way to get over range anxiety is try it safely. What you propose looks fine. Keep an eye on the car range estimator on the NAV. It’s very accurate. And take the cord and adapters. Enjoy

 

[darth_vad3r]

In ABRP you can set your speed. Try 130% of speed limit and see what your new estimated arrival % is. If it’s still comfortable (above 10-15%) then don’t sweat it. Especially if you won’t actually go that fast, but you’ll know the impact if you were to. AC doesn’t consume much power at all relative to heating.

I found that recent spring rise in temp has made my battery more efficient so much so that even with AC on I’m still getting better efficiency than a few weeks ago with no heat or AC but slighlty cooler temps. The batteries like it a bit warm

 

[tccartier]

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.

True story there are more j1772 connector's out there than anything else. As far as the mobile connector I've used mine twice in just over two years both times were to see if it still worked. And I've been across the country 2 times with my Model S and will be heading to Minnesota in a few days.

 

[Tysto]

Honestly, I wouldn't even charge up 100%. My Model 3 LR starts each day with 275 miles of range, and that's plenty for what you're doing. Trust the navigation range figure.

 

[animorph]

33% is plenty of margin. I usually like 20%, but 15% if charging is slow. 6% SoC at destination is the lowest I've left a Supercharger with, since I was at 98% and couldn't add any more. We did travel 3-5 MPH slower than usual in that case, and arrived with more than 6%.

Rain or headwinds could reduce charge more than ABRP is estimating. But 33% remaining should cover that no problem.
Trip planners usually use an "average" speed for each road segment, not just the speed limit, so driving the speed limit + 5 MPH or so should be no problem.

If it's a round trip, of fairly close, then watch your charge remaining for the round trip on the nav's driving instructions. It'll keep you updated on how your 33% margin is doing. Looking at ABRP on the browser and letting ABRP access your car data can also tell you how you're doing, though I haven't tried that.

If it's a loop trip, the nav can't help as much. Write down the ABRP estimates of SoC at each stop and you can see how you're doing along the way.

And the key is, of course, if that 33% is dropping fast enough that anxiety kicks in, slow down a few MPH (maybe more under extreme conditions) until it stops falling. I usually try to stay above 10% charge remaining. On the other hand you may also find you're using less than ABRP and nav have estimated.

It's slightly more comforting to me to think of 33% as well over an hour of driving at speed.

 

[Nvbob]

We can only echo what everyone else is advising you. To make you feel comfortable, charge to 100% before the trip. Put your destination in the NAV, it is pretty accurate. Keep you charging cable and adapters with you, just in case, We just finished a 6300 mile (across country and back) trip in our LR AWD and did not have any issues. It was FUN!!!!

 

[BerTX]

...
Plug it in at your destination or along the way at anytime you start to vomit
...

My priorities are different when I start to vomit. Maybe it's just me.

 

[Dgmcginty]

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?

Maybe: This past weekend we went in hot weather here in Florida towards Disney from the East coast. Total mileage one way was 84 miles ( real on the ground miles) It took 100 Tesla miles. (Miles off the battery) I am now figuring about a 16% loss of battery due to climate control and ambiant temp for future trips

 

[darth_vad3r]

Speed is a massive factor too. If you drive a tad slower you could recoup that 16%, or a bit faster could make it 30%

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

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?

How long is your road trip? I think the only thing you really have to worry about for the proposed trip is vampire drain if the trip will be longer than a few days. Be sure not to use Sentry Mode, Cabin Overheat Protection with AC, and make sure you always close the doors and your car is happily sleeping, while you are on your trip, if you really plan on doing no charging. You can lose a lot of miles if your car doesn't sleep - but if it is sleeping fine, you'll be fine for the proposed trip, even if it lasts up to about a week.

Always bring the UMC with you with a quality extension cord. If your trip is of any significant length, I would plan to plug in where you can overnight - there is no real downside to it - though it's probably not necessary for your trip. You generally should not leave the car at below 50% SoC for any significant length of time (though I wouldn't worry about it too much), since Tesla does not allow you to plug it in and leave it below that SoC. So having the UMC allows you to keep things safely in the optimal zone. If you charge up your car regularly, it also gives you flexibility to do sidetrips you might not otherwise do. There's no reason to be limited. 4 mi/hr for a several day trip is plenty. But there's no reason to waste your time making a special stop to charge. Just charge when you're done driving, if the opportunity presents itself (and pay the person who is providing you energy, if you can and it is appropriate). Public chargers for a trip of this length are mostly a waste of time and inconvenient - really would be just for emergencies, or for a longer trip.

My brother with an AWD travels routinely between Seattle and Portland, and uses a 120V connection in Portland to charge over a 3-day weekend. That's 400 miles round trip, and he doesn't have to use the Superchargers (unless he wants to). So having the UMC with you is key.