Road Trip Advice - Walnut Creek to Cambria to Monterey

[IGotEastBay]

Hi all,

I'm going to be taking my first road trip in my 75D MS. We're going from Walnut Creek to Cambria for a few days and then to Marina (near Monterey) before heading home. Any recommendations on routes to take/super charging strategy/any tips or advice for MS road trips/etc would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[SMAlset]

Have fun! We just did our first trip in our MS 75D from essentially Gilroy 101 S to Santa Ynez. Thinking 101 will be your main route down and up. If you don't know it Hwy 1 basically north of San Simeon (Hearst Castle) is closed due to the Big Sur forest fires last year and subsequent landslides this spring. You might encounter construction crews going up past Cambria from what I read. They'll be working on clearing the landslides and building a new bridge for sometime to come. The Big Sur fire stopped just north of Hearst Castle so it really encompassed a large area having started south of Carmel.

Gilroy is good for supercharging (16 stalls now). We left Gilroy @ 9:40 am with 226 miles and arrived at Atascadero supercharger @ 12:03 pm with 74 miles to give you some idea. The stall at Atascadero 4a I think it was, last one to the far right in the straight row of stalls, was very slow like 6kW, so we moved to another one and charging was fine. Others there said that stall is typically slow for them. Atascadero is an overshoot for you but not by much.

If you go to Hearst Castle while in Cambria (been to both places and HC is really worth the trip), they just installed 4 HPWCs there. Check out the California Supercharger area on the forum for specific threads on the different supercharger locations ( California ) . On your way back home via 101 you can take Rt 68 before Salinas over to Seaside (supercharger--haven't been to yet) and then on to Monterey. The 17 mile drive around the Pebble Beach area is very nice and a great place to stop and take photos.

When we were traveling south on the 9th there were several wildfires along the way. At present CalFire's maps are only showing the Park/Garza fires as still burning along your route. You may still see them from 101 but guessing their 30 miles or so away. Worth checking the CalFire website to keep an eye on any fires along your route ( CAL FIRE - California Statewide Fire Map ). If you do notice fires when you go, and if you have Biodefense mode, turn it on. I have allergies and asthma and as soon as I detected smoke it quickly sucked the smoky air out.

It's a nice drive south on 101 in general and the 75D felt great driving. You won't be going thru Cuestra Grade as it's further south than you are going but I've driven it in our ICE and now with the 75D and what a difference. No effort climbing and great handling on regen on the way down. I was really impressed.

 

[bmah]

Hi neighbor, congratulations on the new ride! (I live in Lafayette.)

Sounds like a fun trip you have planned...should be fairly easy because all the places you're going are fairly close to Superchargers and you're traveling in a fairly Supercharger-rich environment. I've taken my S85D between Lafayette and the Monterey area a bunch of times (most recently for TMC Connect last month), as well as 101 home from SoCal.

@SMAlset gives good advice. The Gilroy Supercharger is a good first charging stop. You didn't say whether you had destination charging available in Cambria for your few days there. If not, you could stop at the Atascadero Supercharger on your way (sort of) to Cambria to pick up some electrons for your local driving there. Going to Marina, you'd probably stop at the Seaside Supercharger (again assuming you need a charge to get there or if you need energy for your local driving around the Monterey area).

I echo the suggestion for 17 Mile Drive...there have been many gorgeous photos of Teslas taken there. Expect your car to draw some attention from tourists, and possible Tesla time.

Coming back up to Walnut Creek, you could use either Seaside or Gilroy to get enough energy for your trip back. There are Superchargers in Dublin or Fremont if you need them (you probably won't), although in general I avoid the Bay Area superchargers except in emergencies because they're frequently congested.

A lot has been written in other threads about doing road trips in a Tesla, which I won't try to repeat here. But here are a few tips for your first road trip:

1) Remember that driving an EV on a road trip is somewhat different from an ICE car. You don't fill up your "tank" at a Supercharger, just charge enough to get to your next stop (plus a margin). Your car charges faster on the "bottom" half of the battery, so if you try to get a 100% charge at a Supercharger you'll be sitting around for a really long time. If you have destination charging at your overnight stops, use those to give yourself a full (or nearly-full) battery to start your driving for the day.

2) While driving, put your next charging stop (or destination) into the Nav, and then put the trip energy graph on the CID, so you can watch your energy consumption as you progress towards your destination.

3) If you're picky about cleaning your windshield, bring cleaning supplies with you (glass cleaner, etc.) because you won't be stopping at gas stations.

Hope you have a safe and fun trip!

Bruce.

 

[IGotEastBay]

Thanks for the replies! All great info. It's also great to meet a neighbor, Bruce. Will keep an eye on the fire map. Also, I'll probably bring some cleaning supplies in the frunk (although I HATE closing it, it's a pain) since we'll be parked outside overnights for the first time.

We don't have a destination charger at either of our locations but we should have an easy time getting to the super chargers to charge up. I was thinking about Gilroy on the way to Cambria since it has restaurants nearby and then topping off at Atascadero before looping back to the hotel, so we have a good charge. That gives us ~ 1.5 hour drive to Gilroy, lunch and then a 2.5 hour or so drive to Atascadero. We're going to Hearst Castle, who have a destination charger, so that's going to help.

On the way from Cambria to Monterey, I was thinking about going to Atascadero to charge up and get a quick bite with the family before topping off at Seaside on the end of the trip (we're staying in Marina) so we're good to drive around town.

On the way home, we'll probably top off at Seaside before heading back. We won't need to charge after that.

Thanks again!!

 

[smartypnz]

New Superchargers are almost done in Monterey at the Del Monte Center. You didn't say when the trip was, but I'm guessing in two weeks they will be up. The Seaside service center SC's tend to be busy (6 stalls) on weekends with visitors. Del Monte will have 10.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Have travelled 3/4 of the 101 for the past 3 days. The map tells you when to unplug with a projection of 20% or so at the next charger. Very accurate and no worries, enjoy your stress free drive!