Hi folks,
I thought I might share a little trip and range report.
We live over in East Texas (Longview, TX area) and took a great trip up to Colorado Springs. I did some research ahead of time to make sure I’d be in a good comfort zone with the ranges on the various legs - and thought this might help someone else.
Conditions were generally 35 degrees to 60 degrees - we never seemed to face a headwind. Probably had a good tailwind on the way home.
We left home topped off to about 90%, which in the Model 3 LR is about 280 miles of range or so. I-20 west and a first stop at the Denton Supercharger. I think we charged about 30 minutes or so. The next stop was Childress, TX. This supercharger is located with a gas station, so there’s bathrooms and refreshments to buy, etc. I believe we arrived with a good 60 miles or so of range.
At Childress we charged pretty close to 100% as the next leg was fairly long. I wanted to make it all the way to Dumas, TX to the Hampton Inn there. There’s destination chargers there and my plan was to charge overnight and be fully charged for the next leg which is Dumas to Trinidad, CO.
Anyway, we made it to Dumas with about 15% of range left. My backup plan was a quick stop in Amarillo at the supercharger if required, but that proved to be unnecessary. My only concern was whether I might get to the hotel and find all the destination chargers in use, or non-operational. But there’s a city owned (I believe) RV lot in Dumas that you could use in a pinch. I believe it has 50amp service. Check chargepoint for details. Anyway, all was good and the destination chargers at the Hampton were available in and in perfect working order. I also called ahead and the front desk said they are not commonly used.
Overnight, we did a 100% charge for the next leg to Trinidad Colorado. As I recall the miles aren’t that bad (186 or so), but I was concerned about the climb in elevation. Leaving Dumas, TX you start climbing. By the time you get to Raton, NM, you’re around 6000 feet or so. Then you have to climb the Raton Pass which tops out around 8200 as I recall. From there, it’s downhill to the Trinidad, CO supercharger. Anyway, I didn’t want to be nervous about the range, so we did a 100% charge which took us to about 307 miles or so of range.
The Model 3 handled the elevation gain with ease. At times I kept the speed reduced slightly. In a 70mph zone, I may have been running about 67 or so. Mostly I watch the range and back off the speed a bit if I feel concerned.
We arrived at Raton, NM with about 70 miles of range as I recall. The climb to the summit is only about 10-15 miles or so, so I knew we’d be okay. And again, with the tremendous torque of the electric motor, the Model 3 climbs Raton Pass like its not even there. Once we crested the pass it’s basically all down hill and you pick up some nice regen.
The supercharger in Trinidad is also at a gas station, so there’s a Wendy’s for some refreshments. I do recall the electricity rate seemed much higher here than in Texas. In any case, the rest of the trip was a non-event, as we easily made it to Colorado Springs and used destination chargers at the hotel where we stayed. We ventured up to Woodland Park a time or two, and again the Model 3’s efficiency was impressive... as was some regeneration on the way down. A nice plus of regeneration is there’s no temptation to ride the brake to keep your downhill speed under control... regen keeps you at a comfortable speed and puts a bit back into the battery.
The trip home from Colorado Springs was even easier - as the trip is basically downhill after you climb the Raton Pass... and I think we were helped by a bit of tailwind.
In any case, maybe this helps somebody else contemplating the same sort of trip.
We found the the range estimates of the navigation system to be spot on.
About the only time (on a different trip) that I’ve found consumption to be significantly higher than predicted was a cold and rainy night... the rain apparently adds a lot of drag. Probably it was windy as well.
I thought I might share a little trip and range report.
We live over in East Texas (Longview, TX area) and took a great trip up to Colorado Springs. I did some research ahead of time to make sure I’d be in a good comfort zone with the ranges on the various legs - and thought this might help someone else.
Conditions were generally 35 degrees to 60 degrees - we never seemed to face a headwind. Probably had a good tailwind on the way home.
We left home topped off to about 90%, which in the Model 3 LR is about 280 miles of range or so. I-20 west and a first stop at the Denton Supercharger. I think we charged about 30 minutes or so. The next stop was Childress, TX. This supercharger is located with a gas station, so there’s bathrooms and refreshments to buy, etc. I believe we arrived with a good 60 miles or so of range.
At Childress we charged pretty close to 100% as the next leg was fairly long. I wanted to make it all the way to Dumas, TX to the Hampton Inn there. There’s destination chargers there and my plan was to charge overnight and be fully charged for the next leg which is Dumas to Trinidad, CO.
Anyway, we made it to Dumas with about 15% of range left. My backup plan was a quick stop in Amarillo at the supercharger if required, but that proved to be unnecessary. My only concern was whether I might get to the hotel and find all the destination chargers in use, or non-operational. But there’s a city owned (I believe) RV lot in Dumas that you could use in a pinch. I believe it has 50amp service. Check chargepoint for details. Anyway, all was good and the destination chargers at the Hampton were available in and in perfect working order. I also called ahead and the front desk said they are not commonly used.
Overnight, we did a 100% charge for the next leg to Trinidad Colorado. As I recall the miles aren’t that bad (186 or so), but I was concerned about the climb in elevation. Leaving Dumas, TX you start climbing. By the time you get to Raton, NM, you’re around 6000 feet or so. Then you have to climb the Raton Pass which tops out around 8200 as I recall. From there, it’s downhill to the Trinidad, CO supercharger. Anyway, I didn’t want to be nervous about the range, so we did a 100% charge which took us to about 307 miles or so of range.
The Model 3 handled the elevation gain with ease. At times I kept the speed reduced slightly. In a 70mph zone, I may have been running about 67 or so. Mostly I watch the range and back off the speed a bit if I feel concerned.
We arrived at Raton, NM with about 70 miles of range as I recall. The climb to the summit is only about 10-15 miles or so, so I knew we’d be okay. And again, with the tremendous torque of the electric motor, the Model 3 climbs Raton Pass like its not even there. Once we crested the pass it’s basically all down hill and you pick up some nice regen.
The supercharger in Trinidad is also at a gas station, so there’s a Wendy’s for some refreshments. I do recall the electricity rate seemed much higher here than in Texas. In any case, the rest of the trip was a non-event, as we easily made it to Colorado Springs and used destination chargers at the hotel where we stayed. We ventured up to Woodland Park a time or two, and again the Model 3’s efficiency was impressive... as was some regeneration on the way down. A nice plus of regeneration is there’s no temptation to ride the brake to keep your downhill speed under control... regen keeps you at a comfortable speed and puts a bit back into the battery.
The trip home from Colorado Springs was even easier - as the trip is basically downhill after you climb the Raton Pass... and I think we were helped by a bit of tailwind.
In any case, maybe this helps somebody else contemplating the same sort of trip.
We found the the range estimates of the navigation system to be spot on.
About the only time (on a different trip) that I’ve found consumption to be significantly higher than predicted was a cold and rainy night... the rain apparently adds a lot of drag. Probably it was windy as well.
