Range Anxiety how close do you cut it - and have you been bit?

[Ragnarkov]

Did you try use the L2 in Drumheller? There’s supposed to be one there. I didn’t bother, just stayed long enough at Hanna, but Drumheller was my plan B if Hanna didn’t work.

There's apparently 2 different L2 charging areas, but both are in the Downtown(?) Part of drumheller, which is not a quick walk away from the museum. And we were already running very late to a friends that day. So we just went straight thru.

I was actually quite shocked they wouldn't have had some form of charging at the museum... its decently out of the way from everything else. But I did know this prior to visiting.

 

[SammichLover]

There's apparently 2 different L2 charging areas, but both are in the Downtown(?) Part of drumheller, which is not a quick walk away from the museum. And we were already running very late to a friends that day. So we just went straight thru.

I was actually quite shocked they wouldn't have had some form of charging at the museum... its decently out of the way from everything else. But I did know this prior to visiting.

Ah, also time constrained. Yeah they aren’t near the museum, which is a fair distance out into the hoodoos.

 

[vickh]

I have been down to 12 miles. First time I got the battery damage alert @ work I panicked and left for a close by charger.

 

[Dan203]

I got my BMW down to 2 miles once. First and only time I used "eco mode".

With the ability charge at home and my "orbit" only maybe 50 miles I can’t imagine I'll be letting the Tesla get down that low.

 

[Lanzer]

I've felt range anxiety on my Nissan Leaf back in 2011.

Picked up the car 100 miles away. Figured I'd charge in San Francisco on the way home, only to find out that EV chargers require this thing called a "Chargepoint card" to operate. (Didn't do my homework, thought I can use my credit card or something but it was 2011) Had to drive away from the city to a free charging station that I found on my phone, got myself in some industrial zone with no signs of life and no charging station. Drove back and forth with 4 miles on the car sweating it out. I parked at the advertised address, talked to people at the building and turns out the owner is one of the early adopters who wish to provide EV charging, and Chargepoint installed something similar to a residential unit that can only be seen inside their warehouse, unlike the typical charging station you see on the streets. The owner was very nice and curious of my EV, we had a nice chat and I got to calm down. That was my first and only case of range anxiety.

 

[cOoTeR]

I'm still waiting for my model 3 performance to be delivered. But one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on buying it was that the range and supercharger network make it a practical vehicle. I live in Arizona and most of my wife and I's family live in Ohio. So we often drive to Ohio for vacation. I put out address and my families address into the Tesla planner and a better route planner. It looks like charging will only add 4-7 hours to the trip each way. But after looking at this thread it has got me thinking. What is a safe charge level at arrival at charging stations to put in for cross country trips? Is 20% a good margin or should I do more?

 

[SammichLover]

I'm still waiting for my model 3 performance to be delivered. But one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on buying it was that the range and supercharger network make it a practical vehicle. I live in Arizona and most of my wife and I's family live in Ohio. So we often drive to Ohio for vacation. I put out address and my families address into the Tesla planner and a better route planner. It looks like charging will only add 4-7 hours to the trip each way. But after looking at this thread it has got me thinking. What is a safe charge level at arrival at charging stations to put in for cross country trips? Is 20% a good margin or should I do more?

In warmer weather I used to use 12% estimated arrival SOC, which really was 10%. Since the charge curve patch I’m in the 18-20% range normally. Which is really 18-20% because Tesla also fixed a systemic inaccuracy in the estimate.

The reasons are it charges so fast it’s easy to slip up to level and also the charging is fast enough now I feel less time pressure to keep it low to charge faster.

In freezing temps, rain, headwinds, etc you’ll want to bump that a lot more. The lower the ambient temp the more inaccurate the estimate is.

How good your Plan B options are, which I use plugshare for, also is a factor.

 

[Ragnarkov]

I'm still waiting for my model 3 performance to be delivered. But one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on buying it was that the range and supercharger network make it a practical vehicle. I live in Arizona and most of my wife and I's family live in Ohio. So we often drive to Ohio for vacation. I put out address and my families address into the Tesla planner and a better route planner. It looks like charging will only add 4-7 hours to the trip each way. But after looking at this thread it has got me thinking. What is a safe charge level at arrival at charging stations to put in for cross country trips? Is 20% a good margin or should I do more?

If you set your destination while sitting at a SC, it will automatically let you know when you have enough range + buffer to safely make it there. But that buffer for me has only been about 10-15%, and depending on the terrain, weather conditions etc., I've found it feels safer to manually wait till you have about 20%. If your next destination IS a SC, try to keep it no more than 15-20% though. I'll explain why.

When travelling through more than 1 supercharger, always ALWAYS try to minimize your % when getting to your next SC station. The lower the car's charge when you arrive, the faster you initially charge. Going from 20% to say 70% will actually take less time than going from say 30% to 80%, so you get the same amount of charge, but are on your way quicker. In the US, I think it costs per kw, so the only benefit is time saved. If you ever travel in Canada, they charge you for the time you sit, so it actually also costs less if you lower your start/stop %s.

Anyways, congrats on the M3. You'll love it!

 

[Ragnarkov]

Also, as SammichLover said, use plugshare (and there might be others as well, depending on your area). Use it to see what alternate charging stations are available, and get ALL charging system apps necessary (so far I've used chargepoint and flo). A lot of these are actually free, but require an account in order to access their charging system. Some cost money, some are free, but most/all need access granted. Accounts are usually free to setup, although they usually also require a CC added, incase one of their stations does cost money.

Once you get used to it, it's pretty slick though.

 

[MountainRatMat]

Been trying to decide what to do about this. Should I get a wall charger for home so I could leave the mobile connector in the car? Or should I get a second mobile connector and leave one in the car. Probably not a ton of situations where I'll actually need the mobile connector in the car, but I'd hate to need it and not have it.

If you are going to go that far and buy a second mobile connector can I suggest spending the extra money and getting the Tesla wall charger for home. I did it and get 42mph of charge now. Not mandatory but it is nice to have that extra speed when you want a quick top up.

 

[MountainRatMat]

En route yesterday, map indicated we'd arrive with 21% SOC. It was very windy on our route, they an hour that had dropped to 10% projected SOC. I diverted to a SC and 5 mins of charge added about 20%. I probably would have been fine, but was worth it to me to stop.

Would be great to easily forecast wind en route.

Try this site, you can pull it up on the browser in the car:

Tesla Winds and Elevation

I use it all the time on long trips, it takes a bit of set up and I still can't get the elevation portion to work but it is a great little web app.

 

[MountainRatMat]

In the US, I think it costs per kw, so the only benefit is time saved. If you ever travel in Canada, they charge you for the time you sit, so it actually also costs less if you lower your start/stop.

In the US it is state by state, most states are by the kwh, some states you aren't allowed to be a "utility" so they have to charge by time. The time part really gets you at high charge states when the battery is just trickle charging.

 

[SammichLover]

If you are going to go that far and buy a second mobile connector can I suggest spending the extra money and getting the Tesla wall charger for home. I did it and get 42mph of charge now. Not mandatory but it is nice to have that extra speed when you want a quick top up.

The HPWC is really nice. I got one but then ended up installing it at the race track because charging speed even more important there.

I went with the middle compromise at hime, bought a used Gen 1 UMC that I leave plugged in at home. That is 40A (on a 50A breaker), half way between the UMC’s 32A and the HPWC’s 48A.

 

[vickh]

In the US it is state by state, most states are by the kwh, some states you aren't allowed to be a "utility" so they have to charge by time. The time part really gets you at high charge states when the battery is just trickle charging.

we're a time state in AZ. What's the best way to use that to our advantage? I know not trickle charge to 100%

 

[Swampgator]

Bologna.

With an ICE you can throw a rock and find a place to refill the gas tank in about 5 minutes. With an EV if you are really screwed you are charging on 120V and have to sit around spending hours just putting 10 miles of range back on the car.

EVs have a lot of advantage, range flexibility if you do a ton of driving and need to replenish range very quickly is not one of them.... especially if you are outside of high supercharger density areas like California.

Hey have you driven in DC? You can drive a long way and not pass a gas station. Did turo this week with an ice and was the first time I've had range anxiety since getting my tesla.

 

[Swampgator]

Hey have you driven in DC? You can drive a long way and not pass a gas station. Did turo this week with an ice and was the first time I've had range anxiety since getting my tesla.

Oh. And Google directions had no way of knowing my fuel level and helping me find gas stations on my trip either.

 

[StellarRat]

In my Leaf less than 5 miles was a common thing. In the LR RWD I've never been below 50 miles of range. That was nearly a FULL charge in the Leaf.

 

[MountainRatMat]

we're a time state in AZ. What's the best way to use that to our advantage? I know not trickle charge to 100%

Between 10%-60% SOC will give you the best results. You want to be at as high of a charge rate as possible to minimize time at the stall. Sharing a paired stall would also be bad.

 

[SammichLover]

Between 10%-60% SOC will give you the best results. You want to be at as high of a charge rate as possible to minimize time at the stall. Sharing a paired stall would also be bad.

If you do need a higher SOC than that, if you make it to 60kW rate, and you have something else you’d like to be doing anyway, you might as well leave it to about 45kW as 45kW is the same price per kW as at 90kW.

I am interested to see what they do on V3 pricing once that hits a per minute states outside of Las Vegas.

For those that don’t know, somehow Tesla is pricing per kWh at that V3 SC while the rest of SC in NV (all of them I think?) are per min.

 

[eustachio]

Try this site, you can pull it up on the browser in the car:

Tesla Winds and Elevation

I use it all the time on long trips, it takes a bit of set up and I still can't get the elevation portion to work but it is a great little web app.

Thanks, I've seen that before, I gave up, daunted by the many setup steps. For the next roadtrip...