Model X Road Trips

[Daisame]

Also, having the extension cords and adapters is good for if you are visiting someone and they don't have any outlets in easy access to where your car is parked. Being able to unplug a dryer and extend that out to the car is a nice option to have.

 

[rhc19]

We could use a little advice. We have a new Model X (long range) and are planning a trip across eastern Oregon to Colorado. The key piece of the trip is to get across eastern Oregon as there is no charging infrastructure in that region. Departing from Bend, the Tesla route planner takes you to Baker City, OR - a trip of 231 miles thru mostly desert with some mountains at the end.

My concern is that this is winter, and so the cold temperatures impact range. Technically, it looks like we should be fine if we top off the battery before departure. However, I'm just wondering if anyone out there has any experience with taking a Tesla over that route?

Is it really feasible? Or is the route planner being overly optimistic for these conditions?

 

[yerEVan]

I can’t really comment on that trip. But if you have the Raven X, then 100% charge should safely get you there for 231 miles since it’s rated 328 miles, normal conditions. Try with range mode turned on. And drive 65mph. What’s the speed limit on that stretch?

 

[JimVandegriff]

We could use a little advice. We have a new Model X (long range) and are planning a trip across eastern Oregon to Colorado. The key piece of the trip is to get across eastern Oregon as there is no charging infrastructure in that region. Departing from Bend, the Tesla route planner takes you to Baker City, OR - a trip of 231 miles thru mostly desert with some mountains at the end.

My concern is that this is winter, and so the cold temperatures impact range. Technically, it looks like we should be fine if we top off the battery before departure. However, I'm just wondering if anyone out there has any experience with taking a Tesla over that route?

Is it really feasible? Or is the route planner being overly optimistic for these conditions?

I'm assuming you will be traveling on Rt. 26. If that is the case, and you get concerned about the distance, there is a free Tesla destination charger for a short top up at the historic Hotel Prairie in Prairie City, Or. It is about 164 miles by car from Bend (so says Siri). I got the info from Plugshare.com. Have a great trip.

 

[rhumbliner]

We could use a little advice. We have a new Model X (long range) and are planning a trip across eastern Oregon to Colorado. The key piece of the trip is to get across eastern Oregon as there is no charging infrastructure in that region.

We’ve made that trip several times in our S90D with a range of 270 miles — winter and summer. My route of choice was thru Burns, Oregon. It required a charge time in Burns of 2 hours but we always planned the trip such that we arrived for either breakfast or lunch at a nearby coffee shop. I prefer that to the longer drive around thru Baker.

One caveat, I had the high amperage charger installed on my S90D and was able to charge with the J-1772 at 70 amps.

 

[AudubonB]

There has been a Rustic Bunting consistently in the SW corner of Washington state - Cape Disappointment - for enough number of days that I am considering making a trip to see this exceedingly rare bird. I have been CapeDisappointed in searching for it back home either in the Aleutians or along western coastal AK, where it most often has been observed (and even there very unusual).

Has anyone good info on dependable charging between there (Long Beach area) and the nearest SpC, which is in Aberdeen? The 150 mi R/T from/to the SpC is not a showstopper, but another charging site would add some comfort.

 

[aesculus]

There has been a Rustic Bunting consistently in the SW corner of Washington state - Cape Disappointment - for enough number of days that I am considering making a trip to see this exceedingly rare bird.

I had to make sure my wife was not around when I read this post.

 

[ohmman]

There has been a Rustic Bunting consistently in the SW corner of Washington state - Cape Disappointment - for enough number of days that I am considering making a trip to see this exceedingly rare bird. I have been CapeDisappointed in searching for it back home either in the Aleutians or along western coastal AK, where it most often has been observed (and even there very unusual).

Has anyone good info on dependable charging between there (Long Beach area) and the nearest SpC, which is in Aberdeen? The 150 mi R/T from/to the SpC is not a showstopper, but another charging site would add some comfort.

Very cool. Aside from the ones listed on Plugshare, I don't know of anything great. A thought, if you care to consider it, is to go south to Fort Stevens and plug into a 14-50 there. Fort Stevens has an interesting shipwreck on the beach and you can tour the military museum. Fort Stevens carries the distinction of the only US land to be attacked in WWII (Hawaii was a territory at the time). A Japanese sub shelled it while traversing the coast.

We camped at Fort Stevens this past summer and hauled the camper up to Aberdeen to charge without trouble. I think you'll be fine either way.

 

[Bob Denny]

2020 MX LR+ (is this a "Raven"?). Mesa AZ to Tustin CA round trip. 100% start, Eherenburg AZ (231 mi, 75mph avg), arrive 32%. Leave 96% (55 min charge), to Riverside CA (175 mi, 70mph avg) arrive 34%. Leave 91% (59 min charge), to residence Tustin CA (39 mi, 56mph avg) arrive 77%. Put car on 110 trickle charger (gas dryer there ) for a day and a half, charged to 98%. The return trip required only the one stop at Ehrenburg, for a 51 minute charge, 31% - 94%. Then Ehrenburg to home arriving with 30%.

I know that with ABRP I probably could have reduced the charging time and cut it closer/ I didn't want to. I juiced it in Riverside so I could get to my daughter's with enough juice to drive around locally and still get back to Riverside. The trickle charging worked great and allowed me to get the whole way back with only one stop.

 

[Skydiver42]

2018 MX 75D. Went from Paramus New Jersey to Shreveport Louisiana. 1450 miles over 2 days. Was on the highway on autopilot most of the time, speeds usually between 75 and 85mph and finished the trip at 341wh/mi. Have to say this was is my first Tesla and road-tripped it across the country for my first drive.

It was a blast and probably the easiest road trip vehicle I have ever been in. Autopilot makes long stretches super easy and stopping every 150 or so miles broke the trip up into manageable parts that made it go by faster. Never had any range anxiety and never had problems getting to a supercharger.

I will say that the supercharger in Birmingham can be confusing to get to at first. The Tesla Nav directs you to the upper highway but then thinks you are on the lower level and tells you to exit where there isnt one. But otherwise it performed great. The estimated arrival charge I also found was a bit pessimistic, but I guess its better to be overly cautious when it comes to that. I would leave when the nav said I would arrive at my next stop with 5% and usually arrive with 10-12%.

 

[napabill]

2018 MX 75D. Went from Paramus New Jersey to Shreveport Louisiana. 1450 miles over 2 days. Was on the highway on autopilot most of the time, speeds usually between 75 and 85mph and finished the trip at 341wh/mi. Have to say this was is my first Tesla and road-tripped it across the country for my first drive.

It was a blast and probably the easiest road trip vehicle I have ever been in. Autopilot makes long stretches super easy and stopping every 150 or so miles broke the trip up into manageable parts that made it go by faster. Never had any range anxiety and never had problems getting to a supercharger.

I will say that the supercharger in Birmingham can be confusing to get to at first. The Tesla Nav directs you to the upper highway but then thinks you are on the lower level and tells you to exit where there isnt one. But otherwise it performed great. The estimated arrival charge I also found was a bit pessimistic, but I guess its better to be overly cautious when it comes to that. I would leave when the nav said I would arrive at my next stop with 5% and usually arrive with 10-12%.

Be careful of headwinds. Can really eat into reserve. I use 15% as my target.

 

[Skydiver42]

Be careful of headwinds. Can really eat into reserve. I use 15% as my target.

Luckily most of my legs had bailout chargers I could have hit if I wanted, but thank you and I will keep that in mind.

I hit quite a few storms and the rain didn't affect my range as much as I thought based off what I have read on here.

 

[ElectricIAC]

Recently did DFW to SA with the family in our new XSR (75KW Raven), Learned some lessons about the BTX5 pack but never felt uncomfortable as our P3D also gets similar range (but charges a bit faster)

Avoided the Waco/Temple/Austin mess on the way in by using Corsicana, Giddings, and San Marcos SC’s.

 

[KentuckyX]

Recently did DFW to SA with the family in our new XSR (75KW Raven), Learned some lessons about the BTX5 pack but never felt uncomfortable as our P3D also gets similar range (but charges a bit faster)

Avoided the Waco/Temple/Austin mess on the way in by using Corsicana, Giddings, and San Marcos SC’s.

I took my first long road trip this past weekend in my “new” (to me) 2017 MX 100D. 1200 miles round trip. Coming from a Model 3 to the X, I‘ll have to learn to be a little patient at the charging stops. 3 stops going down, and 3 coming back. All were about an hour. Other than the slow charging, the X performed very nicely and showed me why it’s such a nice vehicle for long trips. The return leg took 14 hours(!) due to some traffic, slow and out of the way chargers, and having to keep my speed lower between 2 of the charge stops, but I arrived home feeling very relaxed thanks to Autopilot and the EXTREMELY comfortable seats and seating position of the X.

 

[dmurphy]

August 2 - 18th, 2020: Epic Road Trip '20!

Just returned from a completely epic road trip! A huge loop from NJ out to Utah and back east again. Visited 7 different national parks & monuments, as well as a whole bunch of other sites. Just an incredible trip.

I could talk for weeks on end about the various parks, monuments, sites & attractions but since this is a Model X forum, I'll focus on that.

In one word:SPECTACULAR! We just picked up our 2020 Model X LR at the end of June, and I guess you could call this its "shakedown cruise"... can't imagine pushing it much harder, and it responded spectacularly at every turn. Super comfortable ride, great performance, and really, really pleased at its wattage burn. Don't think it could've done much better. Average wh/mi burn at the end of the trip was about 307 wh/mi. Given that we climbed up to 8,100 feet above sea level (and back down again) - don't think I could've asked for more.

Supercharging was an absolute breeze. A Better Route Planner was my copilot and almost spot-on at all points. I wish Tesla would just purchase it and integrate with the in-dash navigation.... it's brutally clear that ABRP has fantastic algorithms!


3 of us - myself, my wife & my son, in a 6-seater Model X were super comfortable. My wife's stroke of BRILLIANCE was to pack all of our clothing in packing cubes instead of suitcases. We used the frunk for our clothes, and it was just perfect. Each day we'd grab that day's packing cube, and bring that into our hotel room. Kept everything organized, easy to manage and sorted! Can't overstate enough how fabulous the frunk is.

The only "glitch" if you will were the Colorado wildfires this week. Neither the in-dash nav nor ABRP picked up on the county roads closed in the mountains. We ended up driving 2 hours west of Aspen, had to backtrack all the way back there, and head due east all the way to Grand Junction CO. Then headed south and across I-50 west. Cost us almost a full day to get to Colorado Springs... But given how big this itinerary was, that's a very minor glitch indeed.

The most expensive part of the entire trip were the car washes! Our hotels were covered with Marriott points, and we have free Supercharging... so just washing those darn bugs off the nose of the vehicle was the most expensive cost of the entire trip.

Conclusion: Model X is the *ultimate* road trip vehicle! This was the first time we've ever road tripped off the eastern seaboard, and can't wait for the next one. We're looking forward to the next 200,000+ miles in our X. I couldn't have ever imagined doing this in our previous Enclave... would've been exhausting to say the least. Autopilot + FSD really saved the day here!


States visited: NJ-PA-OH-IA-IL-WI-MN-SD-WY-UT-CO-KS-MO-KY-OH-WV-PA-NJ

6,638 miles drive
15 states visited
2,039 kW used
307.17 wh/mi average
$0.00 Supercharging cost
0.00 gallons of fuel
0.00 CO2 emissions
Highest elevation: 8,100 feet above sea level
Bugs splattered: 10,578,841
8 national parks & monuments:
- Devils Tower
- Mt. Rushmore
- Little Bighorn Battlefield
- Yellowstone
- Grand Teton
- Arches
- Canyonlands
- St Louis Arch
Other sites:
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- Millenium Park, Chicago
- Crazy Horse Memorial
- Sturgis Rally (just driving through - bioweapon defense mode ACTIVATED!)
- Deadwood, SD
- Jackson Hole, WY
- Aspen CO
- Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
- Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum, KY
- Every freakin' roadside attraction you can think of

 

[KentuckyX]

August 2 - 18th, 2020: Epic Road Trip '20!

Just returned from a completely epic road trip! A huge loop from NJ out to Utah and back east again. Visited 7 different national parks & monuments, as well as a whole bunch of other sites. Just an incredible trip.

I could talk for weeks on end about the various parks, monuments, sites & attractions but since this is a Model X forum, I'll focus on that.

In one word:SPECTACULAR! We just picked up our 2020 Model X LR at the end of June, and I guess you could call this its "shakedown cruise"... can't imagine pushing it much harder, and it responded spectacularly at every turn. Super comfortable ride, great performance, and really, really pleased at its wattage burn. Don't think it could've done much better. Average wh/mi burn at the end of the trip was about 307 wh/mi. Given that we climbed up to 8,100 feet above sea level (and back down again) - don't think I could've asked for more.

Supercharging was an absolute breeze. A Better Route Planner was my copilot and almost spot-on at all points. I wish Tesla would just purchase it and integrate with the in-dash navigation.... it's brutally clear that ABRP has fantastic algorithms!


3 of us - myself, my wife & my son, in a 6-seater Model X were super comfortable. My wife's stroke of BRILLIANCE was to pack all of our clothing in packing cubes instead of suitcases. We used the frunk for our clothes, and it was just perfect. Each day we'd grab that day's packing cube, and bring that into our hotel room. Kept everything organized, easy to manage and sorted! Can't overstate enough how fabulous the frunk is.

The only "glitch" if you will were the Colorado wildfires this week. Neither the in-dash nav nor ABRP picked up on the county roads closed in the mountains. We ended up driving 2 hours west of Aspen, had to backtrack all the way back there, and head due east all the way to Grand Junction CO. Then headed south and across I-50 west. Cost us almost a full day to get to Colorado Springs... But given how big this itinerary was, that's a very minor glitch indeed.

The most expensive part of the entire trip were the car washes! Our hotels were covered with Marriott points, and we have free Supercharging... so just washing those darn bugs off the nose of the vehicle was the most expensive cost of the entire trip.

Conclusion: Model X is the *ultimate* road trip vehicle! This was the first time we've ever road tripped off the eastern seaboard, and can't wait for the next one. We're looking forward to the next 200,000+ miles in our X. I couldn't have ever imagined doing this in our previous Enclave... would've been exhausting to say the least. Autopilot + FSD really saved the day here!


States visited: NJ-PA-OH-IA-IL-WI-MN-SD-WY-UT-CO-KS-MO-KY-OH-WV-PA-NJ

6,638 miles drive
15 states visited
2,039 kW used
307.17 wh/mi average
$0.00 Supercharging cost
0.00 gallons of fuel
0.00 CO2 emissions
Highest elevation: 8,100 feet above sea level
Bugs splattered: 10,578,841
8 national parks & monuments:
- Devils Tower
- Mt. Rushmore
- Little Bighorn Battlefield
- Yellowstone
- Grand Teton
- Arches
- Canyonlands
- St Louis Arch
Other sites:
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- Millenium Park, Chicago
- Crazy Horse Memorial
- Sturgis Rally (just driving through - bioweapon defense mode ACTIVATED!)
- Deadwood, SD
- Jackson Hole, WY
- Aspen CO
- Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
- Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum, KY
- Every freakin' roadside attraction you can think of


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Very, very cool. I did a similar trip from Louisville to Denver to 8 NPs and Monuments (many of the same ones you hit) with my Model 3 in 2018. The Model 3 was still a unicorn back then and it got a lot of attention at each stop we made. Especially from the visiting tourists from other countries who weren't expecting delivery for another year or so. I expect to do a similar trip when COVID subsides to add a few other NPs to my "seen them" list. Hope you enjoyed your brief stay in Louisville.

 

[totoro722]

Just completed 3500 miles from Orange County CA to Bainbridge Island and back with stops in Mendocino, Crater Lake, and the Oregon coast (drove out onto the beach and back through loose sand, which was new and cool). Aside from COVID restrictions, things went very smoothly, and the car was flawless. My wife says it is like flying business class. Biggest problem was driving down the Central Valley in CA on the way back: the smoke was incredible. The filters in the car kept most of the smoke and all of the ash out of the car: was noticeably stronger smoke smell whenever I exited the car at a stop. Driving past one fire right after another was a frightening experience, though never felt in danger in the car; just scary to see the whole state going up in flames. 298 Wh/mile for entire trip.

 

[dmurphy]

Very, very cool. I did a similar trip from Louisville to Denver to 8 NPs and Monuments (many of the same ones you hit) with my Model 3 in 2018. The Model 3 was still a unicorn back then and it got a lot of attention at each stop we made. Especially from the visiting tourists from other countries who weren't expecting delivery for another year or so. I expect to do a similar trip when COVID subsides to add a few other NPs to my "seen them" list. Hope you enjoyed your brief stay in Louisville.

Thank you! We did enjoy our time in Louisville, brief though it was. One thing that I was *very* saddened to see were some of the results from the protests that've taken place. Seeing historic buildings with smashed out windows and covered in graffiti is disheartening.

Understand the movement, just not a fan of destruction of property.

We got a lot of comments about the X - in particular, from some of the many bikers we saw in SD & WY. Was a bit surprised by that - the dichotomy of guys in their leathers riding a Harley checking out the Model X was pretty amazing. But there's plenty of room in this world for all of us - I was checking out their Harleys as much as they were the X. Really great stuff!

 

[ElectricIAC]

Thank you! We did enjoy our time in Louisville, brief though it was. One thing that I was *very* saddened to see were some of the results from the protests that've taken place. Seeing historic buildings with smashed out windows and covered in graffiti is disheartening.

Understand the movement, just not a fan of destruction of property.

Sorry, Those are called riots.

 

[dmurphy]

Sorry, Those are called riots.

Tip-toeing through the garden, I am ...