Long distance driving suggestions?

[purplewalt]

Two quick points forOP's consideration when long distance driving and charging based on my own experiences in my Model S.
Jerry33 is correct, your first trip in an EV will be an adventure.
First couple of days will allow you to get into and find your personal "travel groove".
Go with the flow, have a sense of humor, you will always get some material for great stories over dinner.

#1.
Don't discount or overlook RV Parks as viable charging (and staying) Options.
Some are close to Motels, and adjacent RV Park (if open in Winter) may charge you $10 or $15 for an overnight charge.
Most KOAs and similar RV campgrounds have Kabins, and they are generally pet friendly.
Kabins can be rented, you will generally need your own bedding, pillows and such.
You can be charging your X at a 50A outlet, maybe even a slightly slower charge than 40A max, say 32A.
Not ALL RV parks have premium or updated electrical at their outlets.
Some Kabins have ensuite baths for an additional fee.
Some other RV Park campgrounds have similar Cabins or Rooms for rent.
Becoming a member of KOA or other RV system (Good Sam's) makes staying a bit more affordable as you get a discount.
Always best to call ahead and confirm reservations and available space and charging capability, especially as you get further South during the Winter.
Southern RV Parks with warmer weather generally get lots of long-term people dodging Snow at their home locations.

#2.
Traveling up-hill in Mountains eat range, and that needs to be accounted for in your range buffer calculations.
The distance you can travel on flat land would be very hard to accomplish going up-hill in mountains.
Small hills, not so much, but going up-hill in the Smokies and Rockies will take a lot more energy than standard driving.
Down-hill driving GAINS you some mileage back, but there generally is a net range loss.
Don't be afraid to emulate similar speeds that large trucks use going up-hill: they might be doing 40-45 mph up a steep incline.

Regarding CHAdeMO adapter: I have 105K miles on my S, and have never used it. Only place I got it out was in Houston at a Nissan Dealer, and they had not repaired their Electrical charging equipment since it was damaged by a lightning strike.
So, not really necessary to acquire it.
Maybe should you travel to Canada at some point, the CHAdeMO might be of service.

 

[DCGOO]

Two quick points forOP's consideration when long distance driving and charging based on my own experiences in my Model S.

#1.
Don't discount or overlook RV Parks as viable charging (and staying) Options.

Note that RV parks are generally NOT listed in the PlugShare app. But there are a bejillion campground apps, you need to look for 50 amp service. A 50 amp RV outlet is the same 14-50 outlet we have all come to know and love. A 30 amp RV outlet is not compatible at all with the normal connectors we typically carry around. It is possible to make an adapter, but most of us won’t bother (120V anyway).

 

[jerry33]

Note that RV parks are generally NOT listed in the PlugShare app. But there are a bejillion campground apps, you need to look for 50 amp service. A 50 amp RV outlet is the same 14-50 outlet we have all come to know and love. A 30 amp RV outlet is not compatible at all with the normal connectors we typically carry around. It is possible to make an adapter, but most of us won’t bother (120V anyway).

Yes, you'll need another site such as RVparking.com to find the RV parks. Just look for the ones with 50 amps.

 

[Bianchijoe]

Again, thank you all for your valuable input. We leave next week and several other questions have popped up. Do most of you use the screen on your car directly while utilizing ABETTERROUTEPLANNER? Also does anyone have a sample or suggested spreadsheet we can have?
Thanks in advance.
Joe

 

[DCGOO]

Again, thank you all for your valuable input. We leave next week and several other questions have popped up. Do most of you use the screen on your car directly while utilizing ABETTERROUTEPLANNER? Also does anyone have a sample or suggested spreadsheet we can have?
Thanks in advance.
Joe

A spreadsheet for what?
I have ABRP bookmarked in the in-car browser and use it there sometimes, but generally I run it on an iPad, unless I buried the iPad somewhere. It is an additional screen and has GPS, and somewhat easier to type on. But whatever is most convenient in your situation.

 

[Only Trons]

I don't use the browser for much of anything because it is so slow.

Also, I've not used ABRP yet. I have used EV Trip Planner. After you've mapped a route, you can then see a detailed view which is like a spreadsheet. I use these numbers as my "going in" position. You can save it into a .csv file and then convert that to Excel. Of course, any plan is only as good as the information one inputs into the plan. I typically use estimates such as 1.1 times speed limit and best estimate of loaded weight with an additional fudge factor. I've never gone wrong ...... other than the time we were passing through the Midwest heading to our final stop of the evening in Green River UT. The winds were much stronger than I had estimated and the energy estimator was telling me I may not make it. So we slowed down. Ended up with the last 60 or 70 miles traveled at speeds below the limit. Arrived at our hotel (next to the Green River supercharger) with about 15 miles remaining.

 

[Tdreamer]

Again, thank you all for your valuable input. We leave next week and several other questions have popped up. Do most of you use the screen on your car directly while utilizing ABETTERROUTEPLANNER? Also does anyone have a sample or suggested spreadsheet we can have?
Thanks in advance.
Joe

Lots of good advice in this thread.

For tracking, I use TeslaFI (TeslaFi link with referral code). They offer a two week free trial. With a referral code the trial is extended to one month. I've used this service to log all my driving since about a month after I purchased my Model X in September '17. I've got 32,000 miles of trips and supercharging data logged to-date, including a 4,000 mile road trip out to South Dakota last May.

 

[Bianchijoe]

Thanks I will try it. I completed over 2400 miles from outside of Boston to Denver. We went through the vortex and stayed mostly on I 70.
The roads were not bad but the cold during the middle of the trip caused us to get almost 50% loss of distance shown on the dash.
The car started every day no problem. The biggest issue aside from not really knowing how many miles we could travel in between charges was early morning Supercharging when it was -7 and 20 mph winds. we did not know that not only does the car have to be warmed up but the charging pump as well. I had no clue. Off next week to Juarez than back to Boston. Some warmer weather should help with the milage.
Joe