Ultimate Road Trip Challenge Downtown Austin, TX to Chama, NM in one day or less...

[buttershrimp]

Trying to plan a solo road trip... Would love some input on optimal route, especially if you are familiar with the routes of these Texas locations, and if any of the superchargers or traffic is to be avoided in the area.

It's my first big ass road trip. Please tell me your best advice on how to get there happy and not hating life.... I guess I'll be leaving at 7 am let's say to try to do all my driving during the day... Got a 100kwh battery... I have a camping mattress set up in the back to nap at superchargers... I'll be using AP2 in this mug, no need to brag you AP1 folks... I'm thinking I'll need some no-doz, a guns and roses usb stick, some funions, maybe a trucker pee collection system, a yeti, and whatever weird and oddly necessary items that I've overlooked but that only people on this forum are capable of knowing.

 

[BerTX]

Trying to plan a solo road trip... Would love some input on optimal route, especially if you are familiar with the routes of these Texas locations, and if any of the superchargers or traffic is to be avoided in the area.

It's my first big ass road trip. Please tell me your best advice on how to get there happy and not hating life.... I guess I'll be leaving at 7 am let's say to try to do all my driving during the day... Got a 100kwh battery... I have a camping mattress set up in the back to nap at superchargers... I'll be using AP2 in this mug, no need to brag you AP1 folks... I'm thinking I'll need some no-doz, a guns and roses usb stick, some funions, maybe a trucker pee collection system, a yeti, and whatever weird and oddly necessary items that I've overlooked but that only people on this forum are capable of knowing.

You don't need an auxiliary bio-break system with Tesla Supercharger network travel. Cisco- Childress-Amarillo-Tucumcari-Santa Rosa-Santa Fe- Chama, arriving just before 10pm if you are not in a rush and drive slower than other cars. About 9 pm if you drive at average car speed.

 

[JSergeant]

You don't need an auxiliary bio-break system with Tesla Supercharger network travel. Cisco- Childress-Amarillo-Tucumcari-Santa Rosa-Santa Fe- Chama, arriving just before 10pm if you are not in a rush and drive slower than other cars. About 9 pm if you drive at average car speed.

10pm seems a bit optimistic. If I look at abetterrouteplanner.com it estimates 19 hours total time, including 2:55 of charging, so that would make it more like 2am arrival.

A Better Routeplanner

 

[JSergeant]

10pm seems a bit optimistic. If I look at abetterrouteplanner.com it estimates 19 hours total time, including 2:55 of charging, so that would make it more like 2am arrival.

A Better Routeplanner

Sorry, I think some of the parameters were not correctly set. I now get 16:33 of total time, which would get you there at 11:30pm (assuming no time zone changes - I don't have to worry about that on the East coast!)

A Better Routeplanner

 

[BerTX]

10pm seems a bit optimistic. If I look at abetterrouteplanner.com it estimates 19 hours total time, including 2:55 of charging, so that would make it more like 2am arrival.

A Better Routeplanner

Maybe, but 6 1/2 hours of charging and 12 1/2 hours of driving would be a ratio that would kill Teslas as highway machines.

This route can be plotted on the car's nav -- I wonder what that says? I use EVTO for planning, as it takes weather into account as well as the usual factors. I have no idea which range and charging algorithms are more accurate. There seem to be reports of slower SC speeds in some places now, too, so no trip planner can be terribly accurate...

Edit: oops, didn't see your correction. That's more within range of accuracy.

 

[BerTX]

Sorry, I think some of the parameters were not correctly set. I now get 16:33 of total time, which would get you there at 11:30pm (assuming no time zone changes - I don't have to worry about that on the East coast!)

A Better Routeplanner

Another thing to make note of when using ANY route planner in Texas -- the average speeds for traffic that they are based on is notoriously inaccurate. This data is usually from Google Maps (either directly or indirectly), and those numbers are typically 10-15 MPH slower than the actual average speed. In fact, they are often 10+ mph lower than the posted speed limit. With any route planner, the times and range estimates will be skewed, and one has to adjust using a speed factor until the actual travel speed is achieved in the estimate.

 

[kort677]

Trying to plan a solo road trip... Would love some input on optimal route, especially if you are familiar with the routes of these Texas locations, and if any of the superchargers or traffic is to be avoided in the area.

It's my first big ass road trip. Please tell me your best advice on how to get there happy and not hating life.... I guess I'll be leaving at 7 am let's say to try to do all my driving during the day... Got a 100kwh battery... I have a camping mattress set up in the back to nap at superchargers... I'll be using AP2 in this mug, no need to brag you AP1 folks... I'm thinking I'll need some no-doz, a guns and roses usb stick, some funions, maybe a trucker pee collection system, a yeti, and whatever weird and oddly necessary items that I've overlooked but that only people on this forum are capable of knowing.

while the car is capable of a 900+ mile run you more than likely aren't. with charge stops this ride will probably take 15-16 hours. be safe and either get another driver or stop after 600 miles or so.

 

[BerTX]

while the car is capable of a 900+ mile run you more than likely aren't. with charge stops this ride will probably take 15-16 hours. be safe and either get another driver or stop after 600 miles or so.

Agree. Apparently the plan is to nap during Supercharging, and the longest SC stop will be 45 minutes or so. Not much of a catnap after a bio-break is done.

 

[buttershrimp]

Interesting! I have a route charted going from austin full charge (318 miles rm) going diagonal to sweetwater and then Santa Rosa (2 charging stops total)... total trip is 790 miles, 11 hours of driving time and 2 hours and 15 of charging... The difficult segment appears to be from Sweetwater to Santa Rosa, which requires that I drive slower for 4 hours 40 minutes...

What is the likelihood of pulling this thing off? Can someone tell me where these ideas are likely to fail?

 

[TexasEV]

Zero likelihood. You're going uphill, and often against a strong headwind.

 

[buttershrimp]

Zero likelihood. You're going uphill, and often against a strong headwind.

Reality is a cruel mistress indeed... Thanks for the input. I find that the EV trip planner is so accurate that it pretty much nails the prediction of any trip I do in retrospect (where I can enter in the variables I just encountered)... it gets my watts/mile down to the exact measurement... the difference, and the reason I think you are right, in my opinion, is that I can't really predict if I will encounter rain or wind... since the app is good at figuring out elevation changes, but when I've gone wrong with it before is when there is any unexpected wind.... a 10 mph wind drastically messes it up. I'd have to so slow down, if I encountered that, it would defeat the purpose. Still, part of me wants to strap some ice packs under my arms every 30 miles and kill the AC... and pull a thelma and louise on that segment!

 

[kort677]

Still, part of me wants to strap some ice packs under my arms every 30 miles and kill the AC... and pull a thelma and louise on that segment!

the AC uses so little power, it really isn't much of a concern. a strong headwind will doom your calcs.

 

[buttershrimp]

Does anyone think this stretch could be done? Sweetwater to Santa Rosa? If I could pull that stretch off... I could drive the rest of the way normal speed... still it could be pretty damn tight. It looks like the average wind in early september is 10 mph sse (which is good right?)

 

[BerTX]

Yo

Does anyone think this stretch could be done? Sweetwater to Santa Rosa? If I could pull that stretch off... I could drive the rest of the way normal speed... still it could be pretty damn tight. It looks like the average wind in early september is 10 mph sse (which is good right?)

You asked for advice, but you won't accept it. What you are doing is not optimizing your time. You are better off with multiple stops of shorter duration in the lower end of your SOC level. Having two long charges rather than multiple short ones loses time. This is what the trip planners are for, and what they are good at.

A different trip with lots of "plan b" charging options might be different. Your choices here are slow, and making an unplanned stop to pick up a few miles can cost you hours.

Can you drive slow enough to make it? Yes. Is it faster? No.

 

[buttershrimp]

Yo

You asked for advice, but you won't accept it. What you are doing is not optimizing your time. You are better off with multiple stops of shorter duration in the lower end of your SOC level. Having two long charges rather than multiple short ones loses time. This is what the trip planners are for, and what they are good at.

A different trip with lots of "plan b" charging options might be different. Your choices here are slow, and making an unplanned stop to pick up a few miles can cost you hours.

Can you drive slow enough to make it? Yes. Is it faster? No.

No worries, I'm definitely taking your advice! The SW airlines flights are just looking better and better.... however, I am new the road tripping game, and want to understand where things go wrong. All the tips are helpful... It sounds like what you are saying is that one stretch from sweetwater to santa rosa could ruin the trip... because one small misstep and I'll be begging some local denny's outside of clovis to borrow an outlet for the next 14 hours. I get it... also charging in the lower end of the SOC makes sense.

 

[BerTX]

No worries, I'm definitely taking your advice! The SW airlines flights are just looking better and better.... however, I am new the road tripping game, and want to understand where things go wrong. All the tips are helpful... It sounds like what you are saying is that one stretch from sweetwater to santa rosa could ruin the trip... because one small misstep and I'll be begging some local denny's outside of clovis to borrow an outlet for the next 14 hours. I get it...

There is also the undue stress involved. Driving the Supercharger network is a very relaxing way to drive, with well-spaced forced breaks. You arrive in a much better mood.

 

[buttershrimp]

There is also the undue stress involved. Driving the Supercharger network is a very relaxing way to drive, with well-spaced forced breaks. You arrive in a much better mood.

Any other tips? Leave earlier, leave later? etc. thanks for your help

 

[BerTX]

Any other tips? Leave earlier, leave later? etc. thanks for your help

If possible, especially with your larger battery, try to time your long SC session in places where you can get meals. With this trip you'll need to leave early, obviously, because of your time constraint. There is a cafe next to the SC in Sweetwater but you'll arrive at about 9:30. Maybe get brunch.

I always have the next SC entered into the nav before leaving the car to check estimated charge time, and set your charge limit to 100% in case you run over on whatever you are doing. No point in the car stopping charging and sitting there wasting time.

It has become important to stay with the car at a SC stop long enough to verify that the stall selected is performing properly. Move to another stall if necessary, and of course check the phone app for charge status.

Having the a/c on while Supercharging will make no difference in charge speed, but a definite difference in comfort when you start driving again. SCs with shade are rare.

I always clean the bugs off of the car at each SC stop.

 

[buttershrimp]

Dang that's some sweet advice

 

[buttershrimp]

If possible, especially with your larger battery, try to time your long SC session in places where you can get meals. With this trip you'll need to leave early, obviously, because of your time constraint. There is a cafe next to the SC in Sweetwater but you'll arrive at about 9:30. Maybe get brunch.

I always have the next SC entered into the nav before leaving the car to check estimated charge time, and set your charge limit to 100% in case you run over on whatever you are doing. No point in the car stopping charging and sitting there wasting time.

It has become important to stay with the car at a SC stop long enough to verify that the stall selected is performing properly. Move to another stall if necessary, and of course check the phone app for charge status.

Having the a/c on while Supercharging will make no difference in charge speed, but a definite difference in comfort when you start driving again. SCs with shade are rare.

I always clean the bugs off of the car at each SC stop.

Sounds like you have done several long trips... which ones have been your favorites or least favorite? Also does my NM trip sound doable solo?