Well, it is about time for me to leave the northeast until next summer. I will be driving my 3LR from Revere Beach to Lorton, VA (Autotrain station) on Thursday, Sept 5. I plan to charge in Greenwich, CT and Newark, DE to charge. I have to be in Lorton by 2:30pm. Question is, how long should this take? Tesla website says 8 hours, but others have told me at least 10. I am sure someone has done this trip before
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Revere Beach, MA to Lorton, VA
- Thread starter Dk2943
- Start date
My parents did it back in March from the greater New Haven, CT area. They went down the day before and stayed at a hotel less than a mile from the station. I think it was the the Holiday Inn Express.
Based on my limited experience, traffic around DC is horrendous, worse than NYC. Since you have to be there by a specific time during the workday, I would allow a couple of hours just for that. We made a trip from MA to SC to view the 2017 solar eclipse, and a nominal 16 hour drive turned into a 19 hour drive because of traffic in those two cities. In my case I left Tyngsboro MA at 4am, and stopped in Brooklyn around 8am to pick up two of my grown children. The only real delay was DC, mainly northern VA, and we didn’t get to Charleston until 11pm.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
I would suggest NOT charging in Greenwich, CT. It's a very small SC install (4 stalls) and they are often ICEd since the parking lot is tiny. There's fast turnaround there, so you might not wait long, but why risk it? I'd suggest taking the Tappan Zee bridge (avoids NYC and GW bridge traffic) and stopping in Tarrytown, NY or West Nyack, NY to charge.
Have you tried using this?
A Better Routeplanner
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Manchester, NH to Herndon, VA was ~10 hours. You're going to charge for 40 minutes at each stop at least, so plan for that.
I'm interested in your experience with the Autotrain folks loading your car onto the train. I'd like to do a half road trip to FL, and ride the train for most of the way.
Thanks for all of your help. I hate to drive through NYC, so I always take the Tappanzee Bridge and then the Garden State Parkway to the NJ TPK..
As to Autotrain, I took it on the way up. I put the car in Valet mode and gave them the card. No problem! They told me they deal with Teslas all the time. The Autotrain is MUCH better than driving the whole way
As to Autotrain, I took it on the way up. I put the car in Valet mode and gave them the card. No problem! They told me they deal with Teslas all the time. The Autotrain is MUCH better than driving the whole way
Great to know about the autotrain! It's not that the drive is terrible, but if I can sleep while still moving, why not go that route. Especially if I can drive my own car when I get to the other end.
Like you, I also drive around NYC. But I also drive through RI instead of through the middle of CT. There are some great charger stops on I-95 with really good charge speeds.
If you care about trip speed, taking the merritt parkway to the hutchinson parkway to the cross county to the henry hudson down to the GWB is definitely the way to go. Its' really a lot shorter. While you technically drive through parts of the city it's not bad. I don't find the route very stressful personally, especially with no tolls on the GWB going south. Just don't take the cross bronx on 95. That route has always been horrible for me. Whichever route you take, making some effort to avoid rush hour is also key.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
This is my standard route.. I drive this so much I could do it with my eyes closed (and of course with AP engaged)!
IT'S A JOKE!
Well, the hurricane has changed my plans. My goal was to be home by Sunday Sept 8th. The Autotrain is canceled for Sept 5. I believe it is also going to be cancelled for Friday, Sept 6 and it is full on Saturday, Sept 7. Even if i take the Autotrain, if electricity is out, I will be unable to charge. Now , I think I will be forced to do the drive. If I drive down I-95, I will run into the hurricane or its aftermath. The alternative, which is actually a better way to drive to Florida, is to take the I-78 out to Harrisburg and pick up the I-81 south to I-77 to Columbia, SC. Then the I-26 to the I-95. Problem is that, when there is a big storm, the I-26 and I-95 flood in South Carolina Short of going to Atlanta and then going South on the I-75, which adds 5+ hours to the drive, I am sitting in Revere waiting for the storm to clear
Just please be careful. Flooding shows up before the storm, and it goes from nuisance to deadly much faster than you expect. Falling branches kill people, flooding roads kill people, and debris in the road can damage your vehicle leaving you stranded with no chance of rescue. A failed power grid also leaves you without the ability to charge, potentially stranded. If you're the only person driving in an area, you shouldn't be there either.
This is my report of my drive from Revere to Miami Beach:
I left Friday in the afternoon. I wanted to avoid NYC, so I crossed the Tappanzee Bridge. I would have charged in Connecticut on the 15, but it was filled with Teslas charging, so I moved on to Nyack, NY. There was no one there. Took the I278 out to II-78 to I-81. Recharged at Carlisle, PA, just outside of Harrisburg. Spent the night just over the PA border. Charged again in West VA. Took I-81 to I-77, which is a beautiful drive though the mountains. Charged again in Mt Airy, NC. and again in Columbia, SC. Took the I-26 to I-95, spending the night outside of Savanah, GA. Charged at the Savanah Airport (nice new airport where they validate your parking ticket). Charged again in Daytona Beach and again in Aventura, FL
If this seems uneventful, it was. Every time I stopped to charge, I looked for where I should charge next and the GPS just took me there. It was easy. Chargers were everywhere I needed. Car drove great. It was comfortable. The lack of vibrations really made a difference in long distance driving. The trip was so easy, I may drive on my way up there next June rather than the Autotrain
I left Friday in the afternoon. I wanted to avoid NYC, so I crossed the Tappanzee Bridge. I would have charged in Connecticut on the 15, but it was filled with Teslas charging, so I moved on to Nyack, NY. There was no one there. Took the I278 out to II-78 to I-81. Recharged at Carlisle, PA, just outside of Harrisburg. Spent the night just over the PA border. Charged again in West VA. Took I-81 to I-77, which is a beautiful drive though the mountains. Charged again in Mt Airy, NC. and again in Columbia, SC. Took the I-26 to I-95, spending the night outside of Savanah, GA. Charged at the Savanah Airport (nice new airport where they validate your parking ticket). Charged again in Daytona Beach and again in Aventura, FL
If this seems uneventful, it was. Every time I stopped to charge, I looked for where I should charge next and the GPS just took me there. It was easy. Chargers were everywhere I needed. Car drove great. It was comfortable. The lack of vibrations really made a difference in long distance driving. The trip was so easy, I may drive on my way up there next June rather than the Autotrain
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