SC to Cape Cod Roadtrip Tips!

[plugsnotdrugs]

Hi everyone,

Taking off for a 1000mi road trip tomorrow from Greenville, SC to Cape Cod, MA in my Model 3 long range! I'll be taking my wife and 2yr old and we'll be pretty loaded down for our 2 week annual family vacation. We're also planning to stop about halfway or a little further depending on how late we can drive. Other than that, just trying to drive and charge efficiently with the on-board nav help.

Would love any last minute tips, tricks and lessons learned from any of your roadtrips. Thanks in advance!

 

[mazers]

I'd check out abetterrouteplanner.com It may give you better options as far as destination charging, waypoints, etc.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

^^^what he said.

And if you have the ability to choose between a highway rest area Supercharger, and say, a Wawa or a Sheetz.......pick the Wawa or Sheetz.

 

[powaking]

Ditto, also don't forget plugshare.com to find any charging points other than superchargers.

 

[NickFie]

Live near Philadelphia, drive S100D to Outer Banks (winter) and Cape Cod.

Take Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel if it isn’t too far out of the way. Lower speed (better range), less congestion and spectacular views. Watch speed limits in Md and Delaware north of the bridge-tunnel.

Norfolk SuperCharger tends to be crowded but chargers turn over pretty quickly. Several places to eat nearby.

Going towards Cape Cod, see if you can time a stop in Rhode Island SuperCharger. It’s steps from a fabulous supermarket. Lots of prepared foods. You can also stock up for the week, if there’s room in the car.

Otherwise, SuperCharger next to Dunkin’ Donuts just before you get on the Cape.

On the Cape, stop at Bistro PB in South Wellfleet. Destination chargers, great pastry. If you like good French cuisine in a friendly atmosphere, book dinner. It is pricey. You may bump into other Tesla aficionados.

If you’re staying “down” the Cape - Wellfleet and beyond- not much available. We take compatible dryer plugs and heavy gauge extension cord to charge from dryer plug. Ask landlord at your property to send a picture of the dryer socket.

 

[TORQU3]

There is a free tesla charger out behind Mashpee commons, I'm fairly certain I topped out at 48A. I'm not sure if that one is listed anywhere. There is also a supercharger close by if you were pressed for time. I went to dinner there and got 30% charge for free while we ate. Good stuff!

**Edit** It is listed on plug share btw. Good for 80A @ 208V

 

[Darmie]

Don't forget about ev trip planner. There are some apps that are for planning but I'd stick to a computer where you can see better. Also, keep in mind you can sign up for a better route planner and select your car and in the web browser monitor your progress.

Best of all, have fun. Locate the super charger stops that you want to stop at. Look at plug share to determine all the information about that super chargers. With your vehicle, you can pick and choose as you want.

EV Trip Planner

 

[Bloomj]

Hi everyone,

Taking off for a 1000mi road trip tomorrow from Greenville, SC to Cape Cod, MA in my Model 3 long range! I'll be taking my wife and 2yr old and we'll be pretty loaded down for our 2 week annual family vacation. We're also planning to stop about halfway or a little further depending on how late we can drive. Other than that, just trying to drive and charge efficiently with the on-board nav help.

Would love any last minute tips, tricks and lessons learned from any of your roadtrips. Thanks in advance!

That’s cool! I’m in Greenville too so neat to see there are more active Tesla folks nearby. Also have a 2year old so I get that! We haven’t taken a road trip in ours yet. Can’t wait to see how it goes. Have a blast!

 

[animorph]

Follow ABetterRoutePlanner or EVTripPlanner Supercharger stops for slightly more time-efficient travel. You should still be able to skip a few Superchargers, so research the stops and see what's nearby that you might like. Supercharger stops at hotels with nothing else nearby are pretty boring. The Tesla nav has you charging too slowly at the top of the battery SoC, and driving too long for my comfort.

We like the Burlington, NC Supercharger at a mall with a Rocket Fizz store.

 

[PoitNarf]

My trip to Cape Cod this past weekend wasn’t nearly as lengthy as what you’ll be doing. My drive was only about 320 miles. If I had driven conservatively enough I might have been able to get there without stopping to charge at all, but I never like rolling up to my destination with less than 10% charge left.

Anyway, listen to everyone above. The various route planning services are much better than the route planning in the Tesla navigation. When I punched in my route my Model 3 was suggesting some rather odd charging stops. On the way to the Cape my Model 3 wanted me to stop at a charging station in the Bronx. Why it was advising this made absolutely no sense to me as I would be arriving at the Bronx supercharger with over 75% charge making it a complete waste of a charging stop. I ended up ignoring the Bronx charging suggestion and kept driving all the way until the first major rest area on I-95 in CT with superchargers. There was also no way for me to program in my own charging stops on my route, the car chooses them automatically. This is probably fine for more sparsely populated areas but once you start driving through the tri-state area the supercharger decision making seems to be a complete mess. Tesla really needs to add supercharger selection as well as waypoints to the route planning. You can get around this by just planning a route directly to the supercharger you want to stop at, but this is a bit clunky in my opinion.

On your drive up and back you will see multiple superchargers in the New Haven CT area. I would suggest not using the superchargers at the I-95 rest areas and getting off the highway and head to the supercharger at the Connecticut Post Mall. I was able to get 150kW charging rate while there on Monday, the fastest I’ve ever charged my Model 3 before. The superchargers at the rest areas by there are much slower. The mall supercharger doesn’t have any bathrooms near by, but there is a Sonic and Burger King right next to it. You could go through the drive-thru at one of those or the handful of other places right by there and then eat your takeout in the car while charging super fast.

Also consider taking the new Tappan Zee Bridge instead of the GWB. The GWB and surrounding roads are horrible. If you take the Tappan Zee there is a supercharger in Tarrytown (east side of the Hudson) right by the bridge that you could stop at if you need a charge.

As has been mentioned there are currently only 2 superchargers in the Cape Cod area. If you’re going to be staying near or driving through the Mashpee area then you’ll be lucky enough to take advantage of the supercharger that recently went online there. However if you’re going to be hitting the mid-Cape or further I would suggest stopping by the Sagamore Beach supercharger before you cross the canal. If your charging options for where you will be staying are limited then charge as much as you can at the Sagamore Beach supercharger. There are a few ChargePoint stations in Provincetown that come with the added benefit of free parking. If you plan on visiting Provincetown definitely try to charge while parked there and don’t forget your J1722 adapter!

Safe travels on your trip!

 

[sduck]

I did a trip from Nashville to the Cape and back last winter. I did a write up here about it - maybe a search will find it. It's not a hard trip to plan - there are a lot of chargers on the east coast. I don't know about I95, I try to avoid it. The charger just across the bridge from the cape wasn't working right when I was there, hopefully it's fixed now. I second the suggestions above, about avoiding NYC roads if at all possible. Take the Palisades Parkway up to the TZ bridge, it's a nice drive (you still have to deal with NYC roads to get to it, sorry).

 

[Boomer543]

Let us know how it went when you get back. FYI, there is a new supercharger opening in Wareham MA sometime soon. It would be right before you drive out onto the Cape. Been watching because one of my kids is going to be teaching at a boarding school nearby. Enjoy the ride!!

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Let us know how it went when you get back. FYI, there is a new supercharger opening in Wareham MA sometime soon. It would be right before you drive out onto the Cape. Been watching because one of my kids is going to be teaching at a boarding school nearby. Enjoy the ride!!

Wareham has been permitted for nearly a year and a half, with no construction started yet.

 

[Boomer543]

Wareham has been permitted for nearly a year and a half, with no construction started yet.

Didn't know it had been that long. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer.

 

[LarryT]

I've made the trip from Fairfield County CT to Falmouth MA several times.. there is a Tesla Supercharger on I-95 East Greenwich RI.. fast and easy on and off.. I forget the exact charge rates but was very fast and never saw more than 2 other cars.. there is also a Panera Bread and a McDonalds in the same shopping area. I always top up in East Greenwich as the traffic onto the Cape can be a nightmare... and use a ton of caution when exiting from I-95 onto I-195 in Providence.. you'll be going over a bridge which the locals take at high speed... especially when they are in a rush which is always.. also expect a lot of traffic at the Bourne Bridge.. same for Sagamore Bridge.. but it's a great place to visit.. have a great trip...

 

[srs5694]

In brief:

• Install PlugShare on your phone and configure it to show the types of locations you might want to use for charging.
• Check your route on A Better Route Planner, but don't hesitate to deviate from that; it'll give you the route that minimizes time spent charging, but chances are you'll want to spend more than that stopped.
  
• Use PlugShare or the Tesla's built-in Supercharger locator to navigate to Supercharger locations along the route.

FWIW, a month ago I went on a 1700-mile (round trip) road trip and wrote up my experiences here. In that trip, the main difference compared to a road trip in a gas-powered car is that it's necessary to do a little more planning around stops. Personally, I mostly used PlugShare or the in-car navigation system to find Superchargers along my route at reasonable distances for meal stops, etc. More often than not, the stops recommended by A Better Route Planner were at awkward times, so I stopped where it was convenient for me, not the car, and it was fine. That said, if you're the type who likes to stop for minimal breaks, eat in the car while driving, etc., you might prefer optimizing via A Better Route Planner.

 

[plugsnotdrugs]

Follow ABetterRoutePlanner or EVTripPlanner Supercharger stops for slightly more time-efficient travel. You should still be able to skip a few Superchargers, so research the stops and see what's nearby that you might like. Supercharger stops at hotels with nothing else nearby are pretty boring. The Tesla nav has you charging too slowly at the top of the battery SoC, and driving too long for my comfort.

We like the Burlington, NC Supercharger at a mall with a Rocket Fizz store.

Burlington, NC was our first stop! We'll check into these route planners you suggested for our ride back this weekend