New owner road trip thoughts

[snikt]

Just took my first road trip in my M3 and also my first electric vehicle. Went from my house near Denver to Rapid City, SD, through rural areas of Wyoming and South Dakota. Overall was very impressed by the speed of the superchargers, even though these were all older V2 versions. For nearly all stops the charging was done while we were stopped for lunch or restroom breaks, and the car was done charging before we were even ready to go. Almost no time was spent actually waiting for the car to charge separately.

Overall drove 1171 miles and averaged 259 wh/Mile, which seems good to me especially since much of the driving is on lonely 75-80+MPH roads and through really windy plains.

I was debating on getting a Mach-E originally and looking on Plugshare I actually don't think I would have even been able to do this trip in the Mach-E. There's 0 fast CCS chargers between Northern CO and between Rapid City, which is a huge distance.

Dog mode was also really useful for some areas we couldn't bring our dog.

Thumbs up for the Model 3 and road trips, even through pretty remote areas. It would only be better than this in most other locations.

 

[bjrosen]

I wouldn't buy a CCS car yet unless the places that you want to go are served by EA. It's not just having locations, it's about having more than one charger at each location. On our road trip to Maine on Saturday there was an EVGO CCS charger next to the Portland Superchargers and there is also one next to the Kennebunk Superchargers. Both have a single CCS and and a single CHADeMO plug and a charge rate of 60KW. I'd hate to be in a MachE and really need to charge only to find out the charger is broken. Superchargers always have a minimum of eight chargers so even if three of the cabinets were down you would still have two chargers available. The only good thing about CCS chargers is that nobody is ever there. I expect this will all improve significantly in the next couple of years but for now I'd take a pass on a CCS car. The only exception to that rule will be Aptera, which hopefully will start shipping next year. Aptera's will be ridiculously efficient, 100Wh/mile, which will give them incredible range. I have a reservation on a 600 mile version, the top spec will be 1000 miles, the charging rate will only be 60KW but that shouldn't matter because I don't think I will ever need to fast charge. That Maine trip was 400 miles and the most I've ever done in a day is 450 miles, 80% of 600 is 480 miles. I drive the limit so I'm getting better efficiency than you, my average on my M3 AWD has been 228Wh/mile over the last 9000 miles which is almost all day trips.

 

[snikt]

I wouldn't buy a CCS car yet unless the places that you want to go are served by EA. It's not just having locations, it's about having more than one charger at each location. On our road trip to Maine on Saturday there was an EVGO CCS charger next to the Portland Superchargers and there is also one next to the Kennebunk Superchargers. Both have a single CCS and and a single CHADeMO plug and a charge rate of 60KW. I'd hate to be in a MachE and really need to charge only to find out the charger is broken. Superchargers always have a minimum of eight chargers so even if three of the cabinets were down you would still have two chargers available. The only good thing about CCS chargers is that nobody is ever there. I expect this will all improve significantly in the next couple of years but for now I'd take a pass on a CCS car. The only exception to that rule will be Aptera, which hopefully will start shipping next year. Aptera's will be ridiculously efficient, 100Wh/mile, which will give them incredible range. I have a reservation on a 600 mile version, the top spec will be 1000 miles, the charging rate will only be 60KW but that shouldn't matter because I don't think I will ever need to fast charge. That Maine trip was 400 miles and the most I've ever done in a day is 450 miles, 80% of 600 is 480 miles. I drive the limit so I'm getting better efficiency than you, my average on my M3 AWD has been 228Wh/mile over the last 9000 miles which is almost all day trips.

2 of the 4 superchargers I visited only had 4 stalls, so they definitely don't always have a minimum of 8

 

[Darmie]

That's awesome to hear. Road trips are so much fun in a Tesla. Fall is the best season to get out and see the country too.
It's all the other stuff that makes a Tesla fun to own. Do we know of any other EV maker that has Dog Mode? I didn't think so. I now keep a game controller in my console. Do I need one, No. Do I love playing Sky forces, Yes.

 

[rpiotro]

I wouldn't buy a CCS car yet unless the places that you want to go are served by EA. It's not just having locations, it's about having more than one charger at each location. On our road trip to Maine on Saturday there was an EVGO CCS charger next to the Portland Superchargers and there is also one next to the Kennebunk Superchargers. Both have a single CCS and and a single CHADeMO plug and a charge rate of 60KW. I'd hate to be in a MachE and really need to charge only to find out the charger is broken. Superchargers always have a minimum of eight chargers so even if three of the cabinets were down you would still have two chargers available. The only good thing about CCS chargers is that nobody is ever there. I expect this will all improve significantly in the next couple of years but for now I'd take a pass on a CCS car. The only exception to that rule will be Aptera, which hopefully will start shipping next year. Aptera's will be ridiculously efficient, 100Wh/mile, which will give them incredible range. I have a reservation on a 600 mile version, the top spec will be 1000 miles, the charging rate will only be 60KW but that shouldn't matter because I don't think I will ever need to fast charge. That Maine trip was 400 miles and the most I've ever done in a day is 450 miles, 80% of 600 is 480 miles. I drive the limit so I'm getting better efficiency than you, my average on my M3 AWD has been 228Wh/mile over the last 9000 miles which is almost all day trips.

The Aptera uses such little power. It is incredibly efficient. If you connected a 250Kw CCS charger to I think it would just burst into flame. How long would it take to top that off? 47 seconds? Did you know that the total aero drag on that thing is less than just the outside mirrors on a Ford F-250?

Sorry for derailing this thread.

 

[rpiotro]

Just took my first road trip in my M3 and also my first electric vehicle. Went from my house near Denver to Rapid City, SD, through rural areas of Wyoming and South Dakota. Overall was very impressed by the speed of the superchargers, even though these were all older V2 versions. For nearly all stops the charging was done while we were stopped for lunch or restroom breaks, and the car was done charging before we were even ready to go. Almost no time was spent actually waiting for the car to charge separately.

Overall drove 1171 miles and averaged 259 wh/Mile, which seems good to me especially since much of the driving is on lonely 75-80+MPH roads and through really windy plains.

I was debating on getting a Mach-E originally and looking on Plugshare I actually don't think I would have even been able to do this trip in the Mach-E. There's 0 fast CCS chargers between Northern CO and between Rapid City, which is a huge distance.

Dog mode was also really useful for some areas we couldn't bring our dog.

Thumbs up for the Model 3 and road trips, even through pretty remote areas. It would only be better than this in most other locations.

This reinforces my confidence in taking some reasonable road trips. Thanks.

My son bought a model Y in February. He has already taken a four day trip from Milwaukee, WI to Dearborn MI. And another from Milwaukee to rural SE Kentucky. NO anxiety. In Detroit they stopped to visit GM's Renaissance Center. The have a half dozen spots with level ll chargers reserved for EVs. Nice touch He has also since taken a 400 mile road trip pulling a small RV trailer. Takes careful planning but can be done.

I plan on going to visit a friend in Minneapolis with my M3 SR+. Two stops of 15 minutes each. Hard to beat.

 

[Zacster]

I did the trip from Wall, SD to Boulder but once we headed out from Custer there were no chargers on the route we took through Scottsbluff. I wouldn't have made it to Cheyenne in my SR+. Good thing we were in my daughter's Camry. I'd have had to go out of the way to do that trip, but we'd probably have just skipped Scottsbluff entirely. It wasn't an important stop, but we wanted to see the history of it. Imagine being in a horse drawn wagon coming across the prairie and seeing nothing but grass for hundreds of miles and then you encounter that.

 

[SlimJim]

You are an early adapter. I still take a ICE for long trips. lol

 

[rexki]

I wouldn't buy a CCS car yet unless the places that you want to go are served by EA. It's not just having locations, it's about having more than one charger at each location. On our road trip to Maine on Saturday there was an EVGO CCS charger next to the Portland Superchargers and there is also one next to the Kennebunk Superchargers. Both have a single CCS and and a single CHADeMO plug and a charge rate of 60KW. I'd hate to be in a MachE and really need to charge only to find out the charger is broken. Superchargers always have a minimum of eight chargers so even if three of the cabinets were down you would still have two chargers available. The only good thing about CCS chargers is that nobody is ever there. I expect this will all improve significantly in the next couple of years but for now I'd take a pass on a CCS car. The only exception to that rule will be Aptera, which hopefully will start shipping next year. Aptera's will be ridiculously efficient, 100Wh/mile, which will give them incredible range. I have a reservation on a 600 mile version, the top spec will be 1000 miles, the charging rate will only be 60KW but that shouldn't matter because I don't think I will ever need to fast charge. That Maine trip was 400 miles and the most I've ever done in a day is 450 miles, 80% of 600 is 480 miles. I drive the limit so I'm getting better efficiency than you, my average on my M3 AWD has been 228Wh/mile over the last 9000 miles which is almost all day trips.

Aptera Timeline ?? do you think they are on this track?

Taken from SEC.gov - edgar - here
Our 12-month plan is to complete our design and validation for a production intent vehicle that we can scale production on in 2022. Our key planned activities and milestones to achieve our 12-month plan of operation includes the following:

• Release all part designs for Beta builds, which began in Q2 and will continue in Q3 of 2021
• Build our Betas vehicles in Q3 of 2021
• Begin Test and Validation in Q3 of 2021
• Begin improved Gamma design from lessons learned in Q3 and Q4 of 2021
• Sort out basic supply chain for Gamma vehicles in Q3 and Q4 of 2021
• Release Gamma Body in Q3 of 2021
• Start building first Gamma units in Q4 of 2021
• Start building our production strategy and begin test builds with Gamma vehicles in station builds in Q4 of 2021
• Continual validation through till we build the first Delta vehicles towards the end of 2021
• Deliver a vehicle to a customer by the end of the year.
• Then build out our facilities and ramp up production accordingly in 2022.

228 Wh/mile - 4.38 miles/kWh is better than the Nissan Leaf - Congrats! (wife's 7 year average on her 2015 leaf is 4.2)

 

[TexasTezla]

We love taking our Tesla out on long road trips. We are based in Dallas but have driven to Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Denver and more. Next week we are off to Destin, FL for Christmas. M3 is a GREAT car for road trips. For this upcoming trip we have purchased a Tesmat and we will sleep in the car for the first time for a bit of fun! Just on the way down (and back) to FL of course, not while we are in FL, that's an AirBnB rental!

 

[rexki]

We love taking our Tesla out on long road trips. We are based in Dallas but have driven to Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Denver and more. Next week we are off to Destin, FL for Christmas. M3 is a GREAT car for road trips. For this upcoming trip we have purchased a Tesmat and we will sleep in the car for the first time for a bit of fun! Just on the way down (and back) to FL of course, not while we are in FL, that's an AirBnB rental!

Awesome Adventure - We are taking the 2 week old M3LR for Xmas from Chicago to Central Texas - Lexington (rural) Level 2 charger on the solar array on my avatar.
1,113 miles- 18.3 hours pure travel time - 2.4 hours at Supercharger - 54 mph trip average - $99.72 @ 0.37 ?? - .09/mile

Merry Christmas and seasons greetings to you - and safe travels!

 

[densum87]

Just took my first road trip in my M3 and also my first electric vehicle. Went from my house near Denver to Rapid City, SD, through rural areas of Wyoming and South Dakota. Overall was very impressed by the speed of the superchargers, even though these were all older V2 versions. For nearly all stops the charging was done while we were stopped for lunch or restroom breaks, and the car was done charging before we were even ready to go. Almost no time was spent actually waiting for the car to charge separately.

Overall drove 1171 miles and averaged 259 wh/Mile, which seems good to me especially since much of the driving is on lonely 75-80+MPH roads and through really windy plains.

I was debating on getting a Mach-E originally and looking on Plugshare I actually don't think I would have even been able to do this trip in the Mach-E. There's 0 fast CCS chargers between Northern CO and between Rapid City, which is a huge distance.

Dog mode was also really useful for some areas we couldn't bring our dog.

Thumbs up for the Model 3 and road trips, even through pretty remote areas. It would only be better than this in most other locations.

Great trip! I live in Rapid City, SD and enjoy the trip. My least favorite charger is in Lusk, WY as its a little slow and is a common stop along this route. All 4 charging stations were full on my last trip!

 

[TexasTezla]

Awesome Adventure - We are taking the 2 week old M3LR for Xmas from Chicago to Central Texas - Lexington (rural) Level 2 charger on the solar array on my avatar.
1,113 miles- 18.3 hours pure travel time - 2.4 hours at Supercharger - 54 mph trip average - $99.72 @ 0.37 ?? - .09/mile

Merry Christmas and seasons greetings to you - and safe travels!

Nice road trip! Is that solar array in Lexington? Very nice! I am having Tesla solar installed in my house in a couple of months and adding a SPAN panel too. Can't wait to get off grid where possible! Seasons greeting to you and likewise, safe travels!

 

[rexki]

Nice road trip! Is that solar array in Lexington? Very nice! I am having Tesla solar installed in my house in a couple of months and adding a SPAN panel too. Can't wait to get off grid where possible! Seasons greeting to you and likewise, safe travels!

Yes on the L2 charger - free EVSE that came with the Leaf 7.5 years ago - recycled to solar power in its golden years.
4.5 north of Lexington and 4.5 miles south of the US largest bat *sugar* crazy bitcoin farm - nasdaq:RIOT - (gotta love the scatt correction algorithm)

BTW - I am a solar Developer - EPC company if you have any questions on your solar.

 

[Yarbi]

Yes on the L2 charger - free EVSE that came with the Leaf 7.5 years ago - recycled to solar power in its golden years.
4.5 north of Lexington and 4.5 miles south of the US largest bat *sugar* crazy bitcoin farm - nasdaq:RIOT - (gotta love the scatt correction algorithm)

BTW - I am a solar Developer - EPC company if you have any questions on your solar.

Just took my first road trip in my M3 and also my first electric vehicle. Went from my house near Denver to Rapid City, SD, through rural areas of Wyoming and South Dakota. Overall was very impressed by the speed of the superchargers, even though these were all older V2 versions. For nearly all stops the charging was done while we were stopped for lunch or restroom breaks, and the car was done charging before we were even ready to go. Almost no time was spent actually waiting for the car to charge separately.

Overall drove 1171 miles and averaged 259 wh/Mile, which seems good to me especially since much of the driving is on lonely 75-80+MPH roads and through really windy plains.

I was debating on getting a Mach-E originally and looking on Plugshare I actually don't think I would have even been able to do this trip in the Mach-E. There's 0 fast CCS chargers between Northern CO and between Rapid City, which is a huge distance.

Dog mode was also really useful for some areas we couldn't bring our dog.

Thumbs up for the Model 3 and road trips, even through pretty remote areas. It would only be better than this in most other locations.

I too just returned from a long trip, 2750 total miles in my 2021 MS long range plus. Averaged 280 wh/hr with running the heater in the morning and ac in the afternoon. Went from Charlotte to San Antinio and back. No problem finding charging locations even during the thanksgiving holiday. Great car!!

 

[Prairie]

Great trip! I live in Rapid City, SD and enjoy the trip. My least favorite charger is in Lusk, WY as its a little slow and is a common stop along this route. All 4 charging stations were full on my last trip!

Desperately need more tesla chargers out here in the Northern Great Plains For us locals because distances for everyday driving are greater than east and west coasts and for the tourists that provide iincome. I am not driving to Lusk from Nebraska to charge as it is way out of the way. Discovered using ABRP that I can’t visit several state parks in NEB because I can get there but I can’t get back due to lack of charge.

 

[XPsionic]

Desperately need more tesla chargers out here in the Northern Great Plains For us locals because distances for everyday driving are greater than east and west coasts and for the tourists that provide iincome. I am not driving to Lusk from Nebraska to charge as it is way out of the way. Discovered using ABRP that I can’t visit several state parks in NEB because I can get there but I can’t get back due to lack of charge.

Yeah I agree, there needs to be more superchargers in remote places off interstates in little towns. There are many interesting places to visit in the USA that are very difficult to access today if you don't want to stay at hotels or campgrounds with L2 charging.

 

[jbcarioca]

Among many of us who are old-timers there are many such stories.
My first coast to coast US trip was in a Model S70 in 2015. Then there was far fewer Superchargers, and one in Wyoming for which I was first to use it. On my first trip from Miami to Chicago in my P85D in early 2015 most of my charging was either at local welding shops or in hotels plugging in to utility rooms. I carriesd a very long industrial extension cord that I often used.
Driving from Milan, Italy to Slovenia, Dubrovnik and on to Montenegro then back with Switzerland, and Austria included. That trip with a Model X was 100% Superchargers.

Once you become really comfortable with choices and trip planned the anxiety pretty much disappears. Of course it does help to have a few adapters, not that you'll lose them, but they reduce anxiety.

An EV is a bit like a small single engine airplane. Trip planning is essential, if only to avoid anxiety.

 

[Prairie]

love part about similarity to flying single engine airplane! I’d heard about welding shops and those may be an option. Adapter? I just discovered another Nebraska day trip I can’t make in.
LR X due to lack of charge. Can’t wait 5 yrs for infrastructure. I knew out here I’d be on the leading edge of EV. But time is quickly passing and for some of use, the future is now, or never. This ol gal just wants to have fun!

 

[jbcarioca]

love part about similarity to flying single engine airplane! I’d heard about welding shops and those may be an option. Adapter? I just discovered another Nebraska day trip I can’t make in.
LR X due to lack of charge. Can’t wait 5 yrs for infrastructure. I knew out here I’d be on the leading edge of EV. But time is quickly passing and for some of use, the future is now, or never. This ol gal just wants to have fun!

These are the common types of adapter:

Welder Power

Welding is not easy, it is hot, physically straining and dangerous. Most people don’t realize how important welding is in our lives. Welders work on everything from cars to planes, pipelines, and buildings. There will be a growing need for welders in the future and we want to make sure we can...

acworks.com

Here are some from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Couplago-Charging-Welder-Adapter-14-50R/dp/B08881GM5G

Probably the easiest and cheapest way to simplify you life with RV parks and welding shops is to lookout the for sale pages here of elsewhere.
In the Kansas/Nebraska/Oklahoma Supercharger-free areas there are usually odd Nissan dealers o EV fans who sometimes have CHAdeMO. CHAdeMO adapters are easily available used because they now are mostly not needed outside British Columbia and a few other areas of Canada.

I have not had problems needing Superchargers except in very remote areas. Since 2019 in North America Halifax, NS to Victoria BC was easily done with 100%
Superchargers. Earlier it was 'exciting and adventurous'. For NS itineraries in the entire Central US it still can be dicey. As it can be in much of the world.
I routinely plan for overnight stays with level 2 charging, usually findable, usually on PlugShare. I have always called the location Iplan to sue that way tomato sure I could do it. Commonly in really remote places you'll need to talk with maintenance people, or the local RV park or welding shop just to clear the way.

I used to fly coast to coast and further in tiny airplanes so this became standard flight planning. Perhaps the is part fo the reason I'm happy to drive my two BEVs almost anywhere. FWIW, driving around Southern Brazil in an EV (A Volvo XC-40 Recharge there) can be a 2012-style US adventure. Unless you can make it into a game, it is really, really aggravating. As a game you get some improbable stories.

One thing to remember is that fi you are willing to make some driving compromises you can end ou with much increased range. Similarly NEVER stop for a meal or nature break without having a place to plug in, no matter how slow. Doing at, say, 60 mph rather the 80 plus more common in fairly rural areas with often come close to doubling your range. 'Hypermiling' is not fast but it conserves energy.

With a few tricks and planning you really can go anywhere with a Tesla, any Tesla.

OTOH, going slowing and steadily enough to make a nonstop 470 mile trip in my Model S Plaid was wild overkill and generated derision from my favorite passenger. Especially because we passed dozens of perfectly usable Superchargers on the way. We returned faster.