Road trip planning tools [ABetterRoutePlanner and EV Trip Optimizer]

[hydro 481]

The system is already predicting what time of day you’ll arrive and how long you’ll stay as part of the normal trip plan.

More than that, they have data on what almost a million Teslas are doing every day, so if they put some effort into data analysis, they’ll quickly get not only how accurate the predictions are for any given leg, but also how people prefer to drive the legs - how fast are they taking each road, where do they skip a charger, where do they sit down for a meal or go shopping.

In principle they could even build a profile for you - this person likes sit down meals, but usually isn’t shopping in malls, that one prefers to drive straight through, and then personalize the navigation plan to match what you usually choose.

Obviously the plan won’t be more accurate than the weather forecast it is based on - but all they really need from that is “you might need another 20% for this leg” and if they overshoot it won’t matter much.

What you said makes sense, at least in theory and on paper. I just don't know if it's really all that simple to implement. We'll probably never find out though since I doubt they would ever find it worth their while to do something like this. I'm sure the current trip planner is 'good enough' for most people.

 

[PittCaleb]

Many have answered here... But I'll add...

You need not do anything, just use the in-car Nav system and you'll be good.

However, you can do better by using something like ABetterRoutePlanner.com to help guide you.

The nav system tends to drive you to 10% then charge you to 80%. As an example, it may want you to stop 2 times for 40 minutes each where 3 stops for 20 minutes each will result in a "faster" overall trip. Just an example.

You won't go wrong just using the car as your guide, however you might be able to do better.

 

[doghousePVD]

One warning if you have Nexus or Global Entry when crossing back to the US: everybody in the car has to have the card with them, or else you are all detained for half an hour or so. Ridiculous, but happened to me at Buffalo. If one person does not have the card, go through the regular car lane, NOT the express lanes.

BTW, the Buffalo SC is pretty bleak. The Guilderland, NY SC was quite nice.

 

[ewoodrick]

Does the Tesla Navigation system have an option where you can find destination chargers? I only seem to be able to do it through my phone on the Tesla website. The Tesla App only shows the 4 closest destination chargers, which doesn't help when mapping out a big trip?

The point of my question is that I don't want to use my phone while driving.

Just keep scrolling to the bottom of the Supercharger listing.

 

[Ptheven]

You might need these too!!
View attachment 464267

Or this:

 

[ivy_]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but here’s a Dumb question from a soon-to-be owner: what’s the best way to locate hotels with charging options?

 

[Saghost]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but here’s a Dumb question from a soon-to-be owner: what’s the best way to locate hotels with charging options?

Plugshare - the web site versions, including the mobile web version have an amenities filter, where you can select Lodging at the charging station.

For some reason, the phone apps don't have this option, but you can use the web version from the phone's browser.

 

[doghousePVD]

try Find Us | Tesla

filter for destination chargers.

Also look at Plugshare.com

 

[Ciaopec]

Tomorrow I will be leaving Massachusetts and heading to Niagara falls in Canada. This will be my first real trip in my model 3. How does planning a trip work with Tesla. Do I need to plan out the path with the super chargers or will it automatically set up a planned route like the online route planner. Any help would be great

You are absolutely correct to rate my post (#11) disagree. While my manual (Model S) has just the information you want ("How does trip planning work with Tesla?") on page 126 you manual may not. Since the balance of the owners manual is just BS information you have bravely decided to ignore it apparently and ask your questions here.

Enjoy the trip. I'd direct you to some of the other trip planning threads but there appears to be enough info here to scrape by.

 

[Ciaopec]

I’ve done a couple long trips and Tesla does pretty good but they don’t show you all the SuperChargers along the way.

Curious how you know Tesla doesn't show all the SuperChargers along the way? In all my travels I don't know that I have ever thought Tesla was hiding SuperChargers. How would I know a charger isn't displayed? Always room to learn.

 

[Saghost]

Curious how you know Tesla doesn't show all the SuperChargers along the way? In all my travels I don't know that I have ever thought Tesla was hiding SuperChargers. How would I know a charger isn't displayed? Always room to learn.

If you enter a destination and let the car pick a route, it’ll skip past Superchargers in the denser areas, and you won’t see them as you pass.

If you hit the lightning bolt icon, you’ll see all the Superchargers on the map, and be able to select one to drive to if you wish.

The car doesn’t exactly hide them, but it doesn’t show the ones you aren’t going to on the route sometimes.

 

[devilmountain]

I recently took a trip to Hearst Castle. I accounted for destination charging not being available at Hearst Castle. Always expect destination charging to be full. On the way to Hearst Castle, I stopped at Salinas Supercharger to add an additional 20% to the battery. That additional 20% was the buffer to get me to my destination or the next Supercharger after I left Hearst Castle. That seriously is the only time I have ever had to think about my trip.

I have an upcoming trip next summer, going from Winnemucca to Boise and back. I will probably be asking the same questions next year.

 

[Birdman325]

I have stopped at the Buffalo SC several times on trips to and from NY / NJ. It is a little bit off the highway but it is in the parking lot of a small strip mall with a Borders / "serving Starbucks" inside and nice washrooms. A quick walk across the parking lot, browse some books, get coffee and use the washroom and back in the car. The only issue I had once was I arrived there early in the morning on a Sunday and nothing opened until 10.

 

[SageBrush]

I definitely didn't like the idea of stopping at a charger with an estimated 10% battery left

abetterrouteplanner lets you set the minimum SoC on arrival to a supercharger.

At least for me, planning supercharger arrivals at 10% SoC is not a worry because I periodically monitor my trip and can slow down if needed. The trip graph is the perfect tool.

 

[PittCaleb]

abetterrouteplanner lets you set the minimum SoC on arrival to a supercharger

This is the key to great planning. I recently went to Bar Harbor, ME and had to "presume" no destination charging. There's an SC before you go to the island, I think it was 25% to get from SC to island, so I needed 35% to get back, plus some around-town driving. Used ABetterRoutePlanner and set arrival SOC to 50%.

Now that I have the web browser on my SR+, this is even easier to do...

 

[KetchupKilla]

Trip went perfect. I started out using abetterroute planner but I ended up just setting my own sc stops on the way where I knew I would like to take a break. Overall a great trip and I didn't worry about range at all.

 

[longshot49]

The knowledge bombs dropped in this thread is truth. I have done many road trips and it still amazes me how great / easy it is now.

I once barely had time to go pee and back and was almost into "idle fee" zone!

Glad you had a safe trip.

 

[PlugShare]

Plugshare - the web site versions, including the mobile web version have an amenities filter, where you can select Lodging at the charging station.

For some reason, the phone apps don't have this option, but you can use the web version from the phone's browser.

This is correct. You can do filtering and planning on the web and save the trip to access from the PlugShare App.

 

[ceekz]

You can find a ton of good advice on TMC by searching road trips. I've taken a couple over that involve 10 hours or more of driving in a day and I agree, the Tesla trip planner is more likely to suggest charging stops when the battery is too low for my comfort! Especially if you drive faster than the posted speed limit (don't shame me for not wanting to be passed by Priuses) or if the temperature drops.

If you touch the lightening bolt icon in the lower right on the nav screen, it will show ALL the SC stations. And if you touch the SC symbol, you can see how many stalls are available and how many are occupied. Avoid the ones that have just 1 or 2 available- they may not be operational. On the other hand, with the new generation of supercharging, the wait is usually minimal especially at the larger SC locations.

I also prefer to arrive at my destination with nearly a full charge, unless the hotel has a destination charger. In addition, I will make short stops for quick charges so I can plan the longer charges to incorporate shopping or food stops.

The vast Tesla charging network makes it hard to understand how the other EV manufacturers can ever possibly catch up...

 

[Mikey122687]

What route planner do you guys use? I need to plan a road trip from San Diego to Monterey and would like to take the 101 all the way up to check out the scenery.