I searched the forums and have seen several posts related to specific road trips, which I enjoy reading, but I don't see one dedicated to tips and advice for planning road trips specifically in a Tesla. What are some of the most important things you think someone else should know before traveling long distances in a Tesla?
I'll start with a few things that come to mind:
Thank you for any other tips and advice you can offer!
I'll start with a few things that come to mind:
- Plan your trip and charging with evtripplanner.com. This tool is invaluable and probably the most important tip I can think of.
- Pack your mobile connector and adapters. I don't have the mobile connector in my car all the time since I use it in my garage, so I have to make sure to bring it with me when going on a road trip. Having an extra one would be nice. Having a CHAdeMO adapter might be good too; they can be expensive but you might find someone near you willing to loan you one for a road trip.
- Pack tire repair kit. Since we don't have a spare, this could come in handy. I must admit, not having a spare is probably one of the things that worries me the most about a road trip.
- Check tire tread and pressure. Tire maintenance is always important but I find it even more important with the Tesla since I'm more aware of range and I don't have a spare.
- Sign up for charging networks. I mainly do this for the free options at least. If they have an RFID, I keep it in the car. Sometimes it's just good to have an account created in case you need to use it. Some examples are ChargePoint, Blink, EVgo, etc.
- Research what restaurants, restrooms, etc. are near your charging stops. My bladder capacity is usually less than my battery capacity so charging stops work out well for me and allow me to stretch my legs. I also like to know what eating options there are ahead of time.
- Don't underestimate destination charging at your hotel. I almost exclusively narrow the hotels I stay at to those with HPWCs or J1772 level 2 chargers. I enjoy letting the car charge overnight and having a full battery in the morning. I've always had good luck with HPWCs because they seem to be located away from the front entrance and are clearly marked, but the opposite seems to be true of other charging options and they can often be ICE'd.
- Have backup charging plans. PlugShare has a website (plugshare.com) and an app that are great resources for this.
- Monitor traffic conditions. This isn't specific to Tesla, but still worth mentioning. Waze is a great app to monitor real-time traffic and road information.
Thank you for any other tips and advice you can offer!