LA to Vegas - LR

[Beachybumm]

Wondering if anyone has made the LA to Vegas trip with a 2018 M3 LR, starting at 100%. It's 267 miles, but my car is rated for 310. Of course, there are major temp changes along the route, especially in the summer where it goes from 80 in LA to 110 in Vegas.

But I'm wondering if anyone has ever made this trip without stopping, averaging around 77mph. I hate the idea of waiting and paying for SCs when I can charge for free once I get to Vegas (my gf lives in a bldg with free chargers).

Has anyone done this trip without stopping? If so, what percent battery was left?

 

[Celledral]

Temperature change is the least of your worries. Elevation change had a much bigger impact from LA to LV.

 

[Beachybumm]

Temperature change is the least of your worries. Elevation change had a much bigger impact from LA to LV.

So is that a Yes or No?

 

[Watts_Up]

Temperature change is the least of your worries. Elevation change had a much bigger impact from LA to LV.

The first pic is at El Cajon Pass (3,777 ft 1,151 m)
and the second pic is at Molycorp Mountain Pass (4,730 ft 1,440 m),
Las vegas altitude is 2,001 ft (610 m), and Los Angeles is.... well around sea level !!!

 

[Beachybumm]

View attachment 564754

The first pic is at El Cajon Pass (3,777 ft 1,151 m)
and the second pic is at Molycorp Mountain Pass (4,730 ft 1,440 m),
Las vegas altitude is 2,001 ft (610 m).

Again, I'm looking for a yes or no, not data.

 

[Watts_Up]

Again, I'm looking for a yes or no, not data.

Yes, possible, it depend of your speed... and you can even take a nap using autopilot !!!

Tesla Model 3 LA to Las Vegas on a single charge

- Start with full charge 308 miles (video 1:56)
- Trip 279 miles with 44 miles left (video 4:57)
Note: Speed was around 65-70 mph, but speed limit is 75 and everyone is going 85 !!!
​

Tesla Navigate on Autopilot - LA to Vegas via I-15 North​

 

[ckoval7]

According to A Better Route Planner, you'll want to charge. A Better Routeplanner

 

[Zoomit]

So is that a Yes or No?

No f-ing way.

 

[Watts_Up]

No f-ing way.

May be you should get a Lucid: Lucid Air goes 400-miles in SF to LA roadtrip on single charge

 

[jjrandorin]

So is that a Yes or No?

You can likely make it if you drive 50-55 MPH (so the answer is no, you wont make it). with about a 15-20 minute supercharge in between you would be fine, though

One thing you may or may not realize is power usage does not increase linearly with speed increase. It increases exponentially. Driving 80 MPH uses MUCH more power than driving 60MPH.

You mention your average speed driving to vegas, but that sort of buries the leade that to hit that average speed you will definitely be driving over 80MPH in stretches (likely 85 or even slightly faster) since in many places on the way to vegas thats the "flow of traffic" headed out there.

You likely drive out that way a lot (GF out there and all), and I havent driven there in my model 3, but I used to go to vegas for a mini vacation with my wife 1-2 times a year for 15-20 years, until I bought my house and started dropping my gambling money into my home instead (lol).

TL ; DR - No, you wont make it without supercharging, not at anywhere near speeds that you will be driving there, anyway. You could definitely make it if you drove 45mph, but no one is doing that. You likely could make it if you drove 55 mph but no one is doing that either. You definitely WILL NOT make it without supercharging driving anywhere near the speeds driven to get out there 75+.

 

[camalaio]

To add to the above (and I don't know the route personally)

Even needing to Supercharge a bit, you can Supercharge just a bit and still mostly take advantage of free charging at your destination. Tesla doesn't have per-use fees, just per-minute or per-kWh so stopping by isn't an unnecessary cost. Use abetterrouteplanner.com (put in accurate settings for temperature, desired arrival charge, etc.) to get a very good prediction.

 

[Uncle Paul]

If you want to travel at high speeds, you will want to take a 10-15 minute break at Eddie World or another Supercharger. Plug in, use restroom and be on your way. Cost very little, you can travel the speed you want and drive relaxed.

If you want to travel free and nonstop, you will need to travel slowly.

 

[ucmndd]

You need a 10 minute splash and go at Baker or elsewhere, then you can drive as fast as you want and worry about nothing. That’s a far more rational choice than puckering the whole way on a 100-0% cannonball run that will likely have you going 60-65 on a road with an average real world speed north of 80.

 

[ucmndd]

May be you should get a Lucid: Lucid Air goes 400-miles in SF to LA roadtrip on single charge

Raven Model S can do that too.

 

[jrweiss98020]

Where can he buy a Lucid or Raven for that trip?

 

[Beachybumm]

You need a 10 minute splash and go at Baker or elsewhere, then you can drive as fast as you want and worry about nothing. That’s a far more rational choice than puckering the whole way on a 100-0% cannonball run that will likely have you going 60-65 on a road with an average real world speed north of 80.

My concern is that I've read on long weekends you can wait hours for a SC. I drove back on July 4th weekend and it took me 7.5 hrs to get back. The traffic in baker alone was about 45 mins, so I can only imagine what the SCs looked like.

 

[mtndrew1]

I’ve done this drive many times in the identical car.

Unless you’re going 55 MPH you’ll need to stop.

Hopefully that satisfies what appears to be a very strict “yes/no” constraint.

 

[Uncle Paul]

On long weekends, speeds will also be lower due to traffic in the busiest times of the day.

Key to missing the lines is to stop a little earlier or later than everybody else.

Seems like you are trying to stack all the problems you can to defeat your goal of driving straight thorough.
You want to drive at extreme speeds...keeping up with traffic at 80+MPH.
Want to go on long weekend, when chargers will be busiest.
Want to work the extreme edge of your least expensive Tesla.
Do not want to pay even a penny, as G/F has available free charging.
Do not want any inconvenience, even charging while using a bathroom or taking a short break.

With all these contraints and lots of anxiety for anything but a perfect outcome, you most likely would be better off renting a gasser for the trip. (Of course this will cost you for gas and rental).

 

[MXLRplus]

Sidebar:
Oddly enough, it seems an EV uses more juice going from LV to LA than LA to LV. Prevailing winds? I don't know, but it does use more for me.

 

[crackers8199]

My concern is that I've read on long weekends you can wait hours for a SC. I drove back on July 4th weekend and it took me 7.5 hrs to get back. The traffic in baker alone was about 45 mins, so I can only imagine what the SCs looked like.

i've done the trip from LA to vegas about 5 times i think since getting my model 3 (exact same car you're asking about, 2018 LR RWD), and i can't imagine there's any chance you can make it without stopping unless you enjoy pissing people off and/or potentially being run off the road a few times. you'd literally have to average 55mph (maybe 60) to do that trip without stopping. of course, if you're talking about a long weekend traffic-wise where you're going to be averaging 40mph the entire trip, then MAYBE you could make it without stopping.

that being said, you're worrying way too much about how long you'd have to wait for a SC. you've got four potential stops in the desert (barstow, yermo, baker and primm) to pick from, and baker is HUGE (40 stalls), yermo is no slouch either at 18 stalls.

it's highly unlikely you'd have to wait for hours at either location, IMO. i've never even had to wait at yermo (although one time we did get the last stall available and there was one car waiting when we came out). i've never stopped at baker (we always prefer eddie world based on amenities), but i check the map every time we go and it's never more than half to 3/4 full. there are always at least 10 or so spots open, at least on the times i've done this drive.

likeliest scenario: you pull into any of the four SC (checking the map along the way for availability), plug in, use the restroom, get back in your car and make it with plenty of miles to spare...along with being able to do 80+ the entire way if traffic allows. a single stop for a few dollars and not having to worry about it vs unnecessarily trying to save just those few dollars in electricity and potentially getting stranded in the middle of the desert is a no brainer, IMO.

edit: just put my home here in lake elsinore into a better route planner and set las vegas as the destination (no address, just the center of the city). from HERE (so i'm about 80 or so miles east of LA proper, which means it'd be even worse for you depending where you're coming from), and then blocked out every charger along the way. it tells me i can make it without stopping if i only average 56mph the entire way. no thanks.