Route planning for a Supercharger trip through the southwest

[NeverFollow]

Well, I've owned my Tesla for 2 years and still have to drive 1000 miles out of my way to go east!
It is very annoying that I can not leave my city unless I head west.
It does get old to see a Supercharger go up every 5 miles in California.

I see, to go for example from Tuscon, AZ to Austin, TX you have to go to the north toward Alburquerque, NM

Instead of going east, passing by El Paso, TX. Big detour!!!


So, Tuscon, AZ to the SpC in Albulquerque, NM is about 440 miles.

And Tuscon, AZ to SpC in Van Hornes, TX is also about 440 miles.

Only option is going north to SpC in Holbrook, AZ about 240 miles, seems possible with your P85+ 265-mi (EPA)

Better would get a new SpC in Las Cruces, NM about 275 miles, but might be challenging for a P85+ unless driving slow.


Really need a new SpC near the states line, like Denimg, NM about 215 miles from Tuscon, AZ

And then Denimg, NM to Van Hornes is 220 miles. Could works going east even with a 60D, if not using AC...

 

[ecarfan]

Moderator note: the post starting this thread was moved from the Fremont #2 Supercharger thread in the California forum because it was off topic for that thread. Anyone who wishes to discuss that decision, please PM me. Thank you.

 

[TexasEV]

Yes, we've been waiting for I-10 between Arizona and central Texas for a long time. It's on the map for 2017 completion, whether that happens or not we'll see. So far 4 superchargers on this route have opened or are under construction this year. Nothing new here.

 

[BerTX]

Really need a new SpC near the states line, like Denimg, NM about 215 miles from Tuscon, AZ

And then Denimg, NM to Van Hornes is 220 miles. Could works going east even with a 60D, if not using AC...

There is currently a Supercharger under construction in El Paso. That is just about exactly halfway between Deming and Van Horn.

 

[BerTX]

I try to put this information on route planning for I-10 in as many places as I can. Sorry if it is repetitive.

Google maps, which most of the trip planners are based on, provides average speed data for each stretch of roadway. Very accurate, crowd-sourced information collected from drivers actually on those roads. HOWEVER, some stretches of road have misleading data -- my theory is that trucks are driving slower and skewing the data.

The stretch of I-10 between Kerrville and El Paso has an 80 mph speed limit. I would imagine most Tesla owners, once the Supercharger route is finished here, will want to drive at least that fast. Problem is, Google tells the planning applications that the average speed on this road is 74 mph. If the user accepts this speed and charges their car according to this prediction, they likely will come up well short of reaching their next supercharger stop (well, they'll have to slow way down, anyway).

Check your speed correction in the planners to verify the speed it says you will be traveling on each stretch of this road. The Nav uses this data as well, so leave a significantly higher buffer than you normally would.

 

[jsmay311]

The "2017" map on this page: (Supercharger | Tesla) seems to show future plans for stations in/near Raso, Deming, and Las Cruces.

 

[PLUS EV]

Tucson to Holbrook supercharger is a no go in just about any Tesla due to elevation gain. Unless of course you use some extreme hypermiling techniques or route through PHX metro and charge along that route.

 

[BerTX]

The "2017" map on this page: (Supercharger | Tesla) seems to show future plans for stations in/near Raso, Deming, and Las Cruces.

Raso? Is that even a town? Probably Willcox.

 

[PLUS EV]

Raso? Is that even a town? Probably Willcox.

I had done that drive a couple times (in an ICE) and couldn't remember Raso either, but IIRC when I zoomed in on the 2017 map, it did indeed look like the dot was on Raso, whatever that is. Hopefully more than just a name on a map

 

[jsmay311]

The "2017" map on this page: (Supercharger | Tesla) seems to show future plans for stations in/near Raso, Deming, and Las Cruces.

Raso? Is that even a town? Probably Willcox.

You're right. The latest map update shows the future Supercharger location in Willcox.

It also shows one planned for Deming.

And the one that looked like it was in Las Cruces was actually El Paso, and that location opened April 20, 2017.

 

[PLUS EV]

You're right. The latest map update shows the future Supercharger location in Willcox.

It also shows one planned for Deming.

And the one that looked like it was in Las Cruces was actually El Paso, and that location opened April 20, 2017.

Yes, I noticed the new map updated to Willcox instead of Raso, thank goodness. I just looked up Raso on Wikipedia and Google images and couldn't find any evidence of actual civilization, so that would have been a poor choice for a supercharger!

This reminds me of an old Nevada thread where someone was suggesting they put a supercharger in Deeth, NV, and I was thinking "I've done that drive many times and don't remember Deeth whatsoever." So the first time I did that drive in my Tesla I decided to try to stop at Deeth out of curiosity and I ended up not being able to get there because I reached a gravel road that was impassable due to being covered in water (It was a wet, wet winter, but still). Fortunately the supercharger team did not actually choose Deeth for a location Just goes to show that you can't just pick names off a map that are ~100 miles apart to select supercharger locations. Some knowledge of the local amenities is necessary. This is particularly important in extremely rural areas such as SE AZ and NE NV.