Long Road Trip--Reduced Driving Fatigue?

[Promo714]

I'm toying with the idea of driving from Los Angeles to Nashville in the 3 in November. My daughter is having a baby (our 9th grandchild) and my wife is flying out a few days before the due date while I am waiting until the baby is born and the dust settles a little. Might even wait and include Thanksgiving and then my wife and I would drive back together. I have never driven that far and in that direction (east/west) in any car. The longest I've done is LA to northwest Montana in an ICE a few times. One time (in my 20s) I did that drive non-stop just to see if I could.

My hesitation in doing it now is how long it might take relative to the fatigue factor. I am 59 and don't have the stamina I used to have, and based on a drive from LA to Portland, Oregon last year in our Ford Flex, I was only good for about 9-10 hours in the car with my wife sharing the drive. I have not done more than a 3-hour trip in the 3 so far.

I will be driving the east leg by myself and based on EV Trip Planner and Better Route Planner, it would take me about 36 hours of driving/charging to get there. Based on that time-frame, and considering I will only have about 2 weeks off from work, I would want to do the trip out there as quickly as possible--say 3 days of 12 hours each--but I'm concerned I won't be able to keep up that pace. Am I out of my mind? Those of you who have taken long road trips in a Tesla, does the EAP and forced rest stops for charging make it considerably easier to drive longer distances in a day? What are your experiences?

 

[Pkmmte]

I used to take annual road trips to San Francisco and/or Vegas from Los Angeles back when I had an ICE. It usually took between 4 to 7 hours and that easily tired me out.

When I first got my Tesla, I tried going on a similar road trip to see if I'd get tired (to Kettleman and back) and I surprisingly wasn't tired at all. It felt as if I didn't even drive that far.

3 months ago, I took an emergency road trip to Central Oregon in one day. I left at 9am and got there at 1am. I expected to be A LOT more tired than I was, but I really wasn't. I was still tired, but slightly less than what I used to for much smaller trips back in my ICE. I'd say EAP does a great job at reducing fatigue!

 

[Helmuth]

I really enjoy driving long distance in our Model X. But I think it’s similar in the M3!
The charging stops give you energy back and are relaxing your body.
And if you rest one hand on the steering wheel (no discussion please! I hold it at the 8 position with my left hand) you can watch the car doing it’s thing. Just know the limitations and you will enjoy it!

We are planning our next trip from Orlando, FL to Las Vegas (with enjoyable stops on our way there) right now...

 

[suwaneedad]

I'm not sure whether it's EAP that makes driving less tiring, or just the more frequent breaks that does. For example, on your route you'll be driving ~2 hours and then stopping for ~20-30mins generally. That's a nice chance to walk/stretch and prevent stiffness from creeping in.

Last summer I drove 2500mi from Fremont to Atlanta in a Lexus SUV with my son in 48 hours including brief stops at hotels for 5-6 hours of sleep. I won't do that again. By the time we were done, my lower back had tightened up and it took me three days to be able to breathe again even with the chiropractor's help daily. But we stopped every tank of gas, which meant about every 4-6 hours, and generally for 5-10 minutes per stop.

I'd be tempted to take your trip (I'm 48), particularly if equipped with an airbed so I could avail myself of KOAs for overnight charging, for maximum flexibility in terms of where I put my head down for the night on the way east. A primary reason I got the LR was to avail myself of the opportunity to see America for 2-3 cents/mile in fuel costs. This trip of yours sounds like such an opportunity. Can you stretch out the trip longer to see some sights along the way which may not interest your wife on the return leg? Doing so would further help break up the drive into what would then simply be a Great American Road Trip!

Keep us posted if you decide to make the leap. Good luck and safe travels and above all congratulations on your additional grandchild.

 

[MikeATL]

If money isn’t an issue, is there someone who’d share the drive out with you and you could pay for their one way flight home?

 

[Uncle Paul]

Understand your concerns.

Autopilot significantly reduces the fatigue on longer trips, but back to back +12 hour days will be tough and fatiguing.

Better off to just fly.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I don't see the benefit in putting yourself through that.

It's only worth driving if you can actually see the sights along the way.

Until we get FSD it's best to fly when it involves that much distance.

 

[animorph]

My wife and I share driving for 11 to 12 hour per day drives from Arizona to the east coast in a Model X. I'm 63. While I don't think I'd want to do more than about 6 hours a day alone, maybe not being a passenger for another 6 hours would help add to that. My wife is younger and complains she never gets to drive enough. And a few TMC members have driven more than 12 hours alone.

No question the car itself (I'd expect the Model 3 to be very similar) and EAP are a tremendous help, along with the charging stops (out of the car). We made our first trip using pretty much TACC only and were fine with that. Autosteer acted pretty drunk for much of 2017. Our steering is super easy. I haven't driven the 3 yet, only my wife has had a test drive, but I'm expecting it to be very similar. I'll know this weekend after our 3 is delivered! The last trip was pretty much all full Autopilot for me. My wife is still too leery of Autosteer to use it. I think it helps me drive a little longer, but the other stuff is more important.

I'd say give it a try. Others have done it, and I might even give it a try in a pinch.

 

[cpa]

Right after we got our S in May 2014, I took a road trip to Denver and back. (No autopilot in those years.) I was 61.

On the return trip I was driving solo. I left Moab, Utah at 7:15AM MDT, thinking that I would stop overnight in Kingman before heading home to the Central Valley.

Anyway, I still felt refreshed and alert at Barstow around 9:30PM PDT after Supercharging in Blanding, Flagstaff, and Kingman.

I ordered a burger and a salad at Chili's, got in the car around 10:15, and made it to Tejon Ranch around 12:30. I left there 20 minutes later, and arrived home at 3:15 without any fatigue. Twenty-one hours of driving that were interrupted with five SC stops ranging from 40-60 minutes. I kept hydrated with water, and besides my meal at Chili's, I had a sandwich in Flagstaff, and a bag of cashews at Kingman. At each stop I walked around for at least 20 minutes.

 

[Dana1]

I'm toying with the idea of driving from Los Angeles to Nashville in the 3 in November. My daughter is having a baby (our 9th grandchild) and my wife is flying out a few days before the due date while I am waiting until the baby is born and the dust settles a little. Might even wait and include Thanksgiving and then my wife and I would drive back together. I have never driven that far and in that direction (east/west) in any car. The longest I've done is LA to northwest Montana in an ICE a few times. One time (in my 20s) I did that drive non-stop just to see if I could.

My hesitation in doing it now is how long it might take relative to the fatigue factor. I am 59 and don't have the stamina I used to have, and based on a drive from LA to Portland, Oregon last year in our Ford Flex, I was only good for about 9-10 hours in the car with my wife sharing the drive. I have not done more than a 3-hour trip in the 3 so far.

I will be driving the east leg by myself and based on EV Trip Planner and Better Route Planner, it would take me about 36 hours of driving/charging to get there. Based on that time-frame, and considering I will only have about 2 weeks off from work, I would want to do the trip out there as quickly as possible--say 3 days of 12 hours each--but I'm concerned I won't be able to keep up that pace. Am I out of my mind? Those of you who have taken long road trips in a Tesla, does the EAP and forced rest stops for charging make it considerably easier to drive longer distances in a day? What are your experiences?

I’ve only done an 8 hour day but I found I was much less fatigued than I have typically been on road trip. Other cars have had adaptive cruise control so I attribute the auto steer. That and the minimalist dash doesn’t have me looking all around...I think my mind rests a little more if that makes any sense. A few posts have said that planning more stops with less charge reduces overall time (because of how fast it charges 20%-80%. That being said it’s an awfully long drive and I’d probably fly unless you’re going to be there for several weeks and car rental expense would be nuts.