Santa Rosa/ Albuquerque/ Gallup winter trip advice

[pakman00]

We've been thinking about a possible year end trip down to Arizona from the East and taking our Model X 75D. This would be our first winter long road trip, so we will have the usual range anxiety although looking at the SC map, most SC's are close enough that even if we faced severe weather conditions, we shouldn't have a problem with range even with high consumption but... I see there are a couple of legs between the Santa Rosa SC, Albuquerque SC and the Gallup, SC where it could get a little close if consumption shot up. How's the usual weather around late Dec and it looks like there's a bit of elevation change coming to and leaving Albuquerque. Plugging in high consumption rate, one of the trip planner is warning we would have to slow down on those two legs. Any insight on those two legs during winter would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[PLUS EV]

Your trouble spot is the ABQ to Gallup leg. It's 145 miles and ~1300 feet uphill. ABQ can get snow that time of year, but temps are usually reasonable. Gallup on the other hand can get absurdly cold in winter. Temps near zero are not uncommon. Still I think you will be fine, but you need to take the usual precautions. Charge to 99+% in ABQ, drive slow (I would start at 60mph and go up from there if you are way ahead of pace), lower the suspension if you can, be sure the tires aren't under-inflated (45 psi cold is good), and realize that you are going to lose about 13 rated miles due to the elevation gain so don't speed up too soon thinking you have range to spare.

The colder it is, the more careful you need to be. If it's snowy or icy or the pavement is slick in any way, you need to be prepared to charge somewhere along the way. You should probably research the RV parks on plugshare and call ahead to be sure they are open with an available outlet if the conditions look bad. If you get lucky and it's not too cold and the pavement is dry, you will probably be fine by just taking the precautions mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Due to the elevation change, you should be fine in the other direction and I don't see the ABQ-Santa Rosa leg being a problem in either direction. Good luck and have fun!

 

[beej]

I did Albuquerque to Gallup twice this summer in my S 75D. No problem at all, and I think I arrived with about 20% left. Of course cold weather and snow will make a big difference. But if the weather isn't too bad and you are prepared to take all the recommended precautions (should they be necessary), you will probably be fine.

 

[PLUS EV]

I did Albuquerque to Gallup twice this summer in my S 75D. No problem at all, and I think I arrived with about 20% left. Of course cold weather and snow will make a big difference. But if the weather isn't too bad and you are prepared to take all the recommended precautions (should they be necessary), you will probably be fine.

The operative terms here are "summer" and "S."

 

[pakman00]

Plus EV... Thanks for the helpful advice. Have already noted the RV campsites in between on plugshare.

 

[Tom Kilroy]

The road profile is from the Albuquerque Supercharger (5200' m.s.l.) to Grants (6460') to Continental Divide, NM (7228') and into Gallup (6468'.) Late December weather can be cold in the teens, but the extreme weather is normally in January or early February. Climate Gallup - New Mexico and Weather averages Gallup

 

[cpa]

Be sure to take the necessary emergency items in case of some freakishly bad weather, or horrors! a Supercharger that is not working. David99 experienced that issue last January, I believe, when he was driving in western Oklahoma/Texas panhandle on I40. He even made a thread and posted his experiences here. If I knew how to find his thread, I would furnish it. (Sorry!)