Road Trip secret strategies

[BuckeyeFanMH84]

I wrote my reply above almost two years ago, after less than a year of Tesla ownership, but I'd give the same advice today. In a Tesla, in the United States, and along major highways, there are enough Superchargers that you don't need to follow any route planning software's advice precisely; you can stop earlier (or sometimes later) than the route planner suggests. Route planners tend to optimize trips for the car's needs, but in a Tesla, most people end up needing to stop for longer than the car does, so that opens a lot of room for altering the suggestions on the fly. (That said, some people like to do "canonball runs" with minimal stops, and my experience and suggestions don't apply to them.)

As to your specific questions, starting a trip at 100% will give you the most options as the trip progresses, but charging frequently to 100% is bad for the battery. I wouldn't worry about that for a road trip every few months, but if you go on road trips every other week, charging to a lower percentage is probably preferable. Lithium-ion battery health is best when it's kept in a middle range, as close to 50% as you can manage; but of course that defeats the purpose of having a battery in the first place. As with charging to 100%, I wouldn't worry about draining the battery very low or charging very high on occasional road trips. Tesla occasionally releases data on battery degradation, and third-party sites like TeslaFi also track Tesla battery data. Both show modest battery declines over time -- typically a few percent in the first year of ownership and smaller amounts in subsequent years, with older cars having around 90% of original range for extended periods of their life. Although some owners do baby their batteries, many don't, and stories of Teslas with badly-degraded batteries are pretty rare. Overall and IMHO, concerns about battery degradation in Tesla (and in most EVs) are a bit overblown.

Awesome thank you for that information! I definitely feel more prepared just after the couple responses I've received so far. Tha k you!

 

[dmurphy]

Thank you for the information, I appreciate it! I've only owned the MYLR for a few weeks now and this will be my first long trip. I will definitely take your advice.

You're going to love it. Between the quick stops every 2 1/2 hours or so, and of course Autopilot, I've never been so relaxed taking a trip before. It's amazing!

Hope you have a great trip; share photos!

 

[KenC]

I'm planning a road trip in the next couple weeks that will span 900 miles one direction from Cleveland to KC with one overnight stop in the Cincinnati area. What is the best battery percentage to start the road trip with? Also I have seen that keeping the battery around 15-60% charge status is the most optimal. Is there truth to that?

Using ABRP, abetterrouteplanner, if you start at 60%, you spend 2h5m charging; while if you start at 90%, you spend 1h53m charging. In other words, starting at the higher SOC saves you all of 12m of charging time. On a 900 mile trip, that's nothing. Start your trip at whatever your normal daily SOC level is.

This is what ABRP is predicting if you drive 115% of speed limit, factoring in temp, wind and elevation, with lower SOC of 15%. The upper SOC varies, but only once do you have to charge above 70%, where the charge taper makes your travel time inefficient.

 

[BuckeyeFanMH84]

Using ABRP, abetterrouteplanner, if you start at 60%, you spend 2h5m charging; while if you start at 90%, you spend 1h53m charging. In other words, starting at the higher SOC saves you all of 12m of charging time. On a 900 mile trip, that's nothing. Start your trip at whatever your normal daily SOC level is.

This is what ABRP is predicting if you drive 115% of speed limit, factoring in temp, wind and elevation, with lower SOC of 15%. The upper SOC varies, but only once do you have to charge above 70%, where the charge taper makes your travel time inefficient.
View attachment 713151

Wow this awesome!!! Thank you so much for providing this ABRP!! This makes a lot of sense and matches a lot of the YouTube videos I watched about MYLR road trips! This will be extremely handy and a great guide. Thank you!

 

[srs5694]

IMHO, the biggest advantage of charging to 100% at the start of a trip (or a day's driving when doing a multi-day road trip) is that it gives you more flexibility about when to do that first charge. This can be particularly important with a lower-range Tesla or most non-Teslas; with 200-250 miles of range, charging to 100% enables you to drive for three hours straight without stopping (or maybe even a bit more), if you so choose, or to stop just briefly without consideration for charger availability. I wouldn't want to drive long enough to draw down a longer-range car's battery to a low SoC from 100% in a single session, though, for safety and comfort reasons.

 

[wws]

Wow this awesome!!! Thank you so much for providing this ABRP!! This makes a lot of sense and matches a lot of the YouTube videos I watched about MYLR road trips! This will be extremely handy and a great guide. Thank you!

Besides the Tesla app, the two fundamental apps you'll want to load on your phone and get familiar with are ABRP (as noted upthread) and plugshare. They also have associated web sites.

Use plugshare to find a plethora of charging stations of all kinds. The route you'll likely take is well covered by Superchargers - so no problem enroute. But when you get to your stop for each evening, plugshare may help find hotel/motels/inns where you can charge overnight - and start off in the morning with a "full tank". Saves needing to stop at a Supercharger after a long days drive.

Plugshare will also show which charging networks the various charging stations are associated with. For example many lower speed Level 2 stations here in California are Chargepoint stations. So if one uses them, it is useful to carry a Chargepoint RFID card and associated app. Same with Blink, EVgo, etc. But again, for your trip, there are enough Superchargers you may never need to use the others.

 

[GtiMart]

Second what wws said. I'll just add that PlugShare can also help find a level 2 plug when you're out and about during your trip. There's value in getting a couple hours of L2 charging while you eat, shop or visit something especially if the hotel doesn't have destination charging. That can remove the requirement for a hotel that has charging.

 

[BuckeyeFanMH84]

Besides the Tesla app, the two fundamental apps you'll want to load on your phone and get familiar with are ABRP (as noted upthread) and plugshare. They also have associated web sites.

Use plugshare to find a plethora of charging stations of all kinds. The route you'll likely take is well covered by Superchargers - so no problem enroute. But when you get to your stop for each evening, plugshare may help find hotel/motels/inns where you can charge overnight - and start off in the morning with a "full tank". Saves needing to stop at a Supercharger after a long days drive.

Plugshare will also show which charging networks the various charging stations are associated with. For example many lower speed Level 2 stations here in California are Chargepoint stations. So if one uses them, it is useful to carry a Chargepoint RFID card and associated app. Same with Blink, EVgo, etc. But again, for your trip, there are enough Superchargers you may never need to use the others.

Thank you for the app suggestions, I just installed both!

 

[BuckeyeFanMH84]

I'm planning a road trip in the next couple weeks that will span 900 miles one direction from Cleveland to KC with one overnight stop in the Cincinnati area. What is the best battery percentage to start the road trip with? Also I have seen that keeping the battery around 15-60% charge status is the most optimal. Is there truth to that?

Update: just downloaded and installed 2021.32.21.

2021.32.21 Official Tesla Release Notes - Software Updates

 

[WhiteWi]

Always keep an eye on the weather and the wind forecasts. A strong headwind can have a significant impact on your range - eating up a 15% buffer pretty quickly. Knowledge is power; be informed.

In this case the strategy would be to drive behind semis as much as possible!

 

[Candleflame]

In this case the strategy would be to drive behind semis as much as possible!

no they cause rockchips.