n00b needs ADVICE before 1,200 mile road trip!

[arijaycomet]

Looks like I’m the resident newbie today! Deposit has been made for Roadster #613, final funds are in-hand, and airfare has been booked. Car is a 2.0 Roadster Sport located in Florida with R80 3.0 pack upgrade. Last annual maintenance was done ~2 months ago (less than 100 miles on car since). Two brand new tires, car checks out otherwise, ready to go!

Right now my plan is to fly in Friday night, inspect car Saturday morning, wrap the front end with some temporary protective film (paint protection, seeing as the car has sub-5k miles only!). Purchased a set of CAN JR/SR adapters (both) to allow for charging. Included with the car are both 120/240v charge cables. Far as I can tell, all details are in working order....

THAT SAID.... what advice do folks have for someone who hasn’t really “driven” a Roadster before? I had the chance to ride as a passenger a year ago, and drove one 2 years ago in a parking lot. I’ve had 65+ different cars in my life, huge Tesla fan (this will be my 9th Tesla, but first Roadster). BUT... any advice/pointers are appreciated.

Thanks to the help of @Darren S .... my route is well sorted with Tesla destination chargers (HPWC) and backup J1772. But any other thoughts/comments are welcome. What sort of wh/mi do people see in 3.0 equipped cars? What sort of items should I be looking for when I inspect the car, esp before a 2-3 day 1,200 mile road trip? TIA... this isnt my first long drive (last time it was a 75D Model X driven from Tampa, FL to Cleveland, OH) — but this time around the charging is going to make for a much longer, more tedious journey!

 

[supersnoop]

Don’t put a temporary film on the front of the car. Roadster paint is notoriously thin and you’ll likely pull the paint off when you try to remove the film. I carry a bottle of Lucas Speed Wax spray and some microfiber towels for when I travel. Keeps the front nice and smooth to cut through the air.

 

[dhrivnak]

Looks like I’m the resident newbie today! Deposit has been made for Roadster #613, final funds are in-hand, and airfare has been booked. Car is a 2.0 Roadster Sport located in Florida with R80 3.0 pack upgrade. Last annual maintenance was done ~2 months ago (less than 100 miles on car since). Two brand new tires, car checks out otherwise, ready to go!

Right now my plan is to fly in Friday night, inspect car Saturday morning, wrap the front end with some temporary protective film (paint protection, seeing as the car has sub-5k miles only!). Purchased a set of CAN JR/SR adapters (both) to allow for charging. Included with the car are both 120/240v charge cables. Far as I can tell, all details are in working order....

THAT SAID.... what advice do folks have for someone who hasn’t really “driven” a Roadster before? I had the chance to ride as a passenger a year ago, and drove one 2 years ago in a parking lot. I’ve had 65+ different cars in my life, huge Tesla fan (this will be my 9th Tesla, but first Roadster). BUT... any advice/pointers are appreciated.

Thanks to the help of @Darren S .... my route is well sorted with Tesla destination chargers (HPWC) and backup J1772. But any other thoughts/comments are welcome. What sort of wh/mi do people see in 3.0 equipped cars? What sort of items should I be looking for when I inspect the car, esp before a 2-3 day 1,200 mile road trip? TIA... this isnt my first long drive (last time it was a 75D Model X driven from Tampa, FL to Cleveland, OH) — but this time around the charging is going to make for a much longer, more tedious journey!

What a great way to really learn the car. If I keep the speed to 65 I can come close to rated range, If you average 50 by taking state routes then you can even do better. So if you can find a lunch stop with a destination charger you should be able to do 400 miles a day. If you come through Kingsport TN, I have a Roadster plug at 16 kW I can offer. With the 3.0 and destination charging it is finally reasonable to travel with the Roadster. One warning is don't cut it too close. I am not sure the 3.0 is calculating ending range properly. Once I thought I had 45 miles of range before the display went to unable to calculate. Since I had 30 miles I thought I was OK. I was not, as after 25 miles the car died. So when the charge is too low to calculate plug in soon.

 

[twiersum]

What a great way to really learn the car. If I keep the speed to 65 I can come close to rated range, If you average 50 by taking state routes then you can even do better. So if you can find a lunch stop with a destination charger you should be able to do 400 miles a day. If you come through Kingsport TN, I have a Roadster plug at 16 kW I can offer. With the 3.0 and destination charging it is finally reasonable to travel with the Roadster. One warning is don't cut it too close. I am not sure the 3.0 is calculating ending range properly. Once I thought I had 45 miles of range before the display went to unable to calculate. Since I had 30 miles I thought I was OK. I was not, as after 25 miles the car died. So when the charge is too low to calculate plug in soon.

The seat pads are thin....if I were going to drive more than an hour or two I'd get a 2nd foam pad. Have fun!

 

[gregd]

I second Dhrivnak's comments. I bought my car from an outfit some 127 miles distant, and as things turned out, they offered to deliver it to my house. 127 miles, no sweat, right? The car charged to 174. Well, the inexperienced driver had a bit of "fun" on the drive (logs indicated 85mph+), and he arrived with 6 miles left on the VDS. Standard mode, as well - he didn't know about Range mode. Or physics, apparently. He had even turned off the radio and cabin fan towards the end in the hopes he's make it, which he did.

What I do is set the Nav system (Google maps or the in-dash unit if your route is reasonably close to its ancient maps) to my next charging stop, and mentally calculate a delta of what the car's Ideal miles shows on the VDS, vs the remaining distance indicated by the Nav. That way I can tell how well I'm doing in terms of remaining charge. (Great reminder that I never was good at doing subtraction in my head in school...) Oh, and make sure you're looking at Ideal miles not Estimated, since Estimated is historical and rarely a good prediction of the future. As Dhrivnak says, if I stay below about 66 mph, I can usually beat the clock in terms of range. I try to plan my route and charging so that I never go below about 40 miles in Range mode (20 standard). This is on the original battery, which I have good experience with. You might want a bit bigger buffer, until you get a feel for it.

Smile at all the ICEs when you get caught in traffic, because your range will go up and theirs will go down.

You might want to get a snapshot of the car's logs before starting the trip, just to have a baseline. Some of the logs get pushed off the end over time, so getting a log as early as you can is good, unless the prior owner can supply you with the historical data.

Enjoy the trip, and welcome to the Roadster club!

 

[dhrivnak]

The seat pads are thin....if I were going to drive more than an hour or two I'd get a 2nd foam pad. Have fun!

Personal preference as I have done several 400+ mile trips and find the seats perfectly comfortable.

 

[supersnoop]

Personal preference as I have done several 400+ mile trips and find the seats perfectly comfortable.

1.5 seats are very comfortable. I’ve heard that the 2.x seats have less cushion, but I’ve never sat in one.

 

[backmost]

The seats aren't too bad on my 1.5 though I believe I have the upgraded sport seats. Still barely just had the car for a week so have yet to test it on a long trip!

 

[Peter.h]

1.5 seats are very comfortable. I’ve heard that the 2.x seats have less cushion, but I’ve never sat in one.

I'm happy with the 2.5 seats and have done 5-6 hours in a stretch in them (with LA traffic the charge lasts looooong).

The only long distance issue for me is that I'm too tall (at 6'5) and usually end up screwing up my neck (taking the sun visor out helps but only a little)

@arijaycomet - it's awesome you are taking this long trip in your new roadster. You'll have an awesome time. All the best!

 

[Roadster]

what advice do folks have for someone who hasn’t really “driven” a Roadster before?

1. Plan B.
2. Patience.
3. Removal of the lead from your right foot.
4. Patience.
5. Plan B.

Congrats on your latest acquisition @arijaycomet and welcome to the Roadster club!

 

[Peter.h]

1. Plan B.
2. Patience.
3. Removal of the lead from your right foot.
4. Patience.
5. Plan B.

Congrats on your latest acquisition @arijaycomet and welcome to the Roadster club!

6. Enjoy
7. Grin ear to ear

 

[hcsharp]

1. Plan B.
2. Patience.
3. Removal of the lead from your right foot.
4. Patience.
5. Plan B.

Congrats on your latest acquisition @arijaycomet and welcome to the Roadster club!

I've tried to do #3 "Removal of lead from right foot" but I have a learning disorder that's prevented me from doing it. I might also be dyslexic because it looks like there's only 2 other items on that list, which is pretty good for a new ride. Wish I could join you! Post a pic of your car charging somewhere.

 

[arijaycomet]

Don’t mind the “TRAKtape” on the front of the car. Tried to protect it from road debris. Rain ended up making the tape not stick too well, a combination of shoddy install (my fault) and other factors LOL— tape is no longer on now. But this was a nice photo I took today for quick upload here. THanks again @hcsharp

 

[ML Auto]

A can of clear Plasti Dip works great for road trips. Just spray it on and peel it off when you are done. Since you will have plenty of free time on your trip back that is something to consider.

 

[hcsharp]

Don’t mind the “TRAKtape” on the front of the car. Tried to protect it from road debris. Rain ended up making the tape not stick too well, a combination of shoddy install (my fault) and other factors LOL— tape is no longer on now. But this was a nice photo I took today for quick upload here. THanks again @hcsharp

Beautiful car! Thanks for the pic!