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Planning: Cross Country @TeslaRoadTrip to TMC Connect!

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aaron.s

aaron.s

Member
May 31, 2012
997
36
#1
All -

Decided to start a new official thread for the Cross Country @TeslaRoadTrip to TMC Connect 2014!

Below you'll find the original list of people interested in taking part, in addition too several people who have emailed me. Please take a look and confirm with me if you're still interested in attending.

We will use the @TeslaRoadTrip email address for communication: [email protected]

I will also be updating the @TeslaRoadTrip web page with information about the trip, including traveling days, stops, hotels we plan to stay at and people that will join the caravan along the way. This will be a group effort, so please chime in with your suggestions, comments, etc...

Website: http://teslaroadtrip.org

Participant List:

Newark, DE Departure

Aaron Schildkraut - aaron.s - Yonkers, NY
Ben Goodwin - cinergi - Boston, MA
Peter Soukup - bluetinc - North Potomac, MD
Dante Richardson - Berlin, MD
John Groves - teslasguy - West Chester, PA
Rick Hesel - artsci - MD
Ken - NJ Plugin - North Central NJ
Eric Nadler - Enadler - Westchester, NY
Joe Robe - joer00 - Tampa, FL

Toledo, OH (Maumee) Departure

??? - mknox - Toronto, ON

Chicago, IL (Rockford) Departure

??? - elecblue - Chicago, IL

Albert Lee, MN Departure

Andrew Doane - andrewket - Northern VA
Erich - No Tailpipe - Eden Prarie, MN

Denver, CO (Silverthorne) Departure

Steve - stevezzzz - Devner, CO
Lydia Sanders - bluefuego - St. Louis, MO
Liz Gattra - Liz G - St. Louis, MO
Dave Schmidt - ??? - St. Louis, MO
??? - purplewalt - Dallas, TX

Blanding, Utah Departure

Joe Thomas - Denarius - UT

California Departure

Jim - NoMoGas - Los Angeles, CA

Co-Pilots:

Everyone should plan on having at least 1 person to share the driving! Let us know who you'd like to travel with.
Send an email to: [email protected]


Unofficial Tentative Trip Plan: Gaps to be filled in

Saturday July 12th - East Coast Meetup @ Newark, DE Chargers & Depart on Road Trip

Tuesday July 15th - Silverthorne, CO arrival - Mid to late morning arrival - Lunch Kimball Musk's Restaurant?

Thursday July 17th - Evening Arrival - BBQ At Bonnie's Home - Loomis, CA

Friday July 18th - Sunday July 20th - TMC Connect Conference - Northern CA

*Friday July 18th - Optional: Car transport for people who will fly home

Monday July 21st - Depart East for Road Trip Home


Planning Group:

Aaron Schikdkraut
Ben Goodwin
Peter Soukup (Charging Logistics Coordinator!)
Lanny Hartmann (Social Media Coordinator)
Eric Nadler
Andrew Doane (Car Transport Coordinator)
Liz Gattra
Steve Zimmerman
Cottonwood


Day 1: Newark, DE to Mishawaka, IN - 683 Miles

Supercharger Stops (Charging Stalls):

- Newark, DE (4)
- Hagerstown, MD (6)
- Somerset, PA (6)
- Macedonia, OH (6)
- Maumee, OH (6)
- Mishawaka, IN (6)

Hotels - (all within 0.6 miles of Supercharger):

Country Inn & Suites Mishawaka
Holiday Inn Express Mishawaka
Fairfield Inn & Suites Mishawaka
Best Western Plus Mishawaka
Super 8 Mishawaka


Day 2: Mishawaka, IN to Worthington, MN - 614 Miles

Supercharger Stops (Charging Stalls):

- Mishawaka, IN (6)
- Rockford, IL (6)
- Mauston, WI (6)
- Albert Lee, MN (4)
- Worthington, MN (6)

Hotels:

Holiday Inn Express Worthington (walking distance to Supercharger!)
American Inn Lodge & Suites Worhtington
Days Inn Worthington
Worthington Travelodge


Day 3: Worthington, MN to Cheyenne, WY - 697 Miles

Supercharger Stops (Charging Stalls):

- Worthington, MN (6)
- Mitchell, SD (6)
- Murdo, SD (4)
- Rapid City, SD (4)
- Lusk, WY (4)
- Cheyenne, WY (4)

Hotels:

Fairfield Inn Cheyenne (Walking distance to Supercharger!)


Day 4: Cheyenne, WY to Blanding, UT - 532 Miles

Supercharger Stops (Charging Stalls):

- Cheyenne, WY (4)
- Silverthorne, CO (8)
- Grand Junction, CO (6)
- Blanding, UT (4)

Hotels:

Four Corners Inn Blanding
Gateway Inn Blanding
Cliff Palace Motel


Day 5: Blanding, UT to Barstow, CA - 608 Miles

Supercharger Stops (Charging Stalls):

- Blanding, UT (4)
* Goulding’s RV Park - 2hr Booster charge to make it to Flagstaff
- Flagstaff, AZ (4)
- Kingman, AZ (6)
- Barstow, CA (4)

Hotels:

Country Inn & Suites (AT the Supercharger!)


Day 6: Barstow, CA to Loomis, CA - 462 Miles

Supercharger Stops (Charging Stalls):

- Barstow, CA (4)
- Tejon Ranch, CA (6)
- Harris Ranch, CA (7)
- Folsom, CA (4)

Bonnie’s Home - BBQ!

Total Mileage = 3,605 (Newark, DE to Loomis, CA)
Screen Shot 2014-02-23 at 11.01.14 AM.jpg
 
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#2
Thanks for posting the (obviously preliminary) details Aaron...

We're planning on going to the event as the dates work out well for our planned road trip from Phoenix to Saltspring Island, BC this summer.

Unfortunately, it looks like our trip plans won't allow us to meet up for the road trip portion -- we're planning on going to Disneyland for a day on Thurs Jul 17, then drive up to the Bay Area on Friday morning.. Perhaps we can join the convoy heading from the Bay Area up to Portland/Seattle/Vancouver on Mon Jul 21...
 
#3
Interesting timing. I'm tentatively driving to northern Wisconsin around that time. It's possible that rather than starting off with everyone in Delaware that I would meet up with everyone in Chicago or Milwaukee on July 13th. Aaron - I'm willing to take on the research/coordination of the car transport option. My only concern is that if the timing doesn't work with the meet up near Chicago that I won't be able to go. I have a commitment on July 12th that I can't postpone.
 
#4
I'm still an enthusiastic 'Yes!' on this.

But leaving Denver on Wednesday AM in time to get to Bonnie's by Thursday BBQ time? That's hugely ambitious. I make it just over 1500 road miles from my house outside Denver to Bonnie's place; and that's going directly from Harris Ranch to Folsom, bypassing Fremont, and also taking the Blanding-Flagstaff cutoff via Monument Valley, which requires an hour or two for a 10kW booster charge at Goulding's RV Park to avoid the 190 extra miles for the Four Corners Superchargers S-Curve through Farmington, Gallup and Holbrook.

That seems like a forced march, at best. I know there are time constraints, but we'd really need to leave Denver westbound sometime on Tuesday. There are six driving days, Saturday through Thursday, from the East coast. I think we'd better be thinking about dinner Monday or lunch on Tuesday at Kimbal's restaurant.
 
#5
Steve, All -

Starting to plan out the days... See my ongoing effort below and in first post. Looking like we can be at Silverthorne, CO before lunch on Tuesday. Not sure what time the BBQ at Bonnie's is (afternoon I suspect) - so we shouldn't count on the whole day Thursday - but more like early afternoon to arrive at her home.

I'm planning on ending each day at a Supercharger. This way we can charge people on arrival or after dinner and also early in the morning before we leave each day. Hotels & places to eat seem plentiful by the Superchargers it seems. So far, no day is over 700 miles. I suggest we all have co-pilots to share in the driving!

Aaron
 
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#6
Not sure if I will join in but will probably at least do the first day out of Boulder.

In Boulder, I have a Roadster HPC (need adapter for S), an HPWC, and a 14-50 sharing one 200A panel, so the sum will have to be throttled to 160A, and another 14-50 on a different sub-panel. If anyone wants to cut the 4-Corners S via Pagosa and Salida, there is the 70A J in Salida. In Pagosa there is the 70A J in town plus my HPWC and 4, 14-50's at my Pagosa house. Can coordinate Pagosa and Boulder both ways for those that are interested.
 
#7
1) Booster charges for those worried about the big climb out of Denver to the Eisenhower tunnel will be available at my place in Broomfield. I have a pair of 10kW 14-50 outlets in the garage.

2) I seem to remember Bonnie announcing the BBQ at her house as evening event.
 
#8
stevezzzz said:
1) Booster charges for those worried about the big climb out of Denver to the Eisenhower tunnel will be available at my place in Broomfield. I have a pair of 10kW 14-50 outlets in the garage.

2) I seem to remember Bonnie announcing the BBQ at her house as evening event.
Click to expand...

Offer stands for those wanting to top off in Boulder and make the way via Pagosa. Two 14-50's, a Roadster HPC, and an HPWC in Boulder.

HPWC, 4 14-50's, and a public 70A J in Pagosa. Can probably scrounge up a few more 14-50's in Pagosa if needed. 70A J in Salida. Consider the Salida Pagosa cut-off. Should be easy to meet up with the Blanding group in Farmington after Pagosa. Pagosa has way better hot springs, restaurants, and breweries than Blanding. To be quite direct, Blanding is pretty bland...

Silverthorne, CO to Pagosa Springs, CO - Google Maps
 
#9
stevezzzz, Cottonwood

Cheyenne to Silverthorne is only 164 miles. If we all leave Cheyenne with at least 240 miles (I suspect we will all be 85Kwh cars) - that will give us a 76 mile buffer. With warm temperatures, even going up the big climb out of Denver, shouldn't that be enough without the need for a booster charge?

If some 60Kwh cars do join us, they could stop to top off - but I have a feeling we are going to be a large group, so my planning has been to be able to make each leg in an 85Kwh car with a good buffer.

Cottonwood - I think we're going to keep with the Cheyenne -> Silverthorne -> Grand Junction -> Blanding route utilizing just superchargers. Silverthorne to Grand Junction is 177 miles and Grand Junction to Blanding is 188 miles... Easily done in an 85Kwh car...

Aaron
 
Last edited:
#10
aaron.s said:
stevezzzz, Cottonwood

Cheyenne to Silverthorne is only 164 miles. If we all leave Cheyenne with at least 240 miles (I suspect we will all be 85Kwh cars) - that will give us a 76 mile buffer. With warm temperatures, even going up the big climb out of Denver, shouldn't that be enough without the need for a booster charge?

If some 60Kwh cars do join us, they could stop to top off - but I have a feeling we are going to be a large group, so my planning has been to be able to make each leg in an 85Kwh car with a good buffer.

Cottonwood - I think we're going to keep with the Cheyenne -> Silverthorne -> Grand Junction -> Blanding route utilizing just superchargers. Silverthorne to Grand Junction is 177 miles and Grand Junction to Blanding is 188 miles... Easily done in an 85Kwh car...

Aaron
Click to expand...

EVTripPlanner shows 200 rated miles in an 85 at the speed limit with 19" tires. With an overnight range charge in Cheyenne, you should be fine, but brunch at The Kitchen in Boulder could be interesting... My chargers, several J's in Boulder, etc., and it could be an interesting detour. Also, if it is a downslope wind day, you can hit 30-50 mph headwinds and more on the way up the hill to Silverthorne, unlikely in July, but should be considered in the planning.

Blanding is really Bland! I would definitely consider Moab as the evening stop. It's way more interesting, restaurants, breweries, etc!

It's far faster to stop at almost every Supercharger and charge to just enough for the next Supercharger. Charging past 60-80% really slows down the charge rate. You should really plan on stopping at Glenwood Spring and Moab!

Looks like a great trip. Even if I don't make the trek to CA, I will definitely join you to the stop west of Boulder and greet those that want to try the Pagosa/Salida cutoff on the way back!

You really have to consider Vegas rather than Barstow as the overnight. Barstow is a half notch (maybe) above Blanding. I would definitely get up early and leave at dawn from Vegas versus spend the night in Barstow... :wink:

Looks like a great trip! :biggrin:
 
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#11
Cottonwood

I added a ? to eating at Kimball Musk's restaurant. Leaving from Cheyenne, we would be there too early for Brunch, so I have a feeling we will end up crossing it off the list. Not stopping there will make the trip to Silverthorne 164 actual miles. Even at 200 rated via EVTripPlanner - we should be fine.

Peter Soukup (electrical engineer) who's already driven across country and was our main Charging Ambassador at our recent Washington, DC event will be the charging coordinator for this cross country trip. I'm sure it will be his plan to arrive at each supercharger with the least comfortable range so we can charge as quickly as possible. I'm also sure he will decide to stop at extra superchargers so we can keep our battery level under 80% (if possible) to speed up charging times... But remember that, unlike the Tesla cross country trip with only 2 cars, we will be utilizing ALL the supercharging bays - so our charging is going to be slower regardless because of sharing bays. If we get a lot of travelers, we will most likely have to break up the caravan and stage groups of cars which will lessen backlog.

My *hope* is that the extra Superchargers in UT that are on the more direct route that goes through Vegas will be up and online by the time we take this trip. If so, that will definitely be the way we will go. If we are forced to stick to this current route, I'm not concerned if a town is bland/boring or not -- there will be a large group of Tesla Enthusiasts to talk to and share the events of the day -- that is if everyone isn't too tired and goes directly to bed after dinner!

Aaron
 
#12
aaron.s said:
Cottonwood

I added a ? to eating at Kimball Musk's restaurant. Leaving from Cheyenne, we would be there too early for Brunch, so I have a feeling we will end up crossing it off the list. Not stopping there will make the trip to Silverthorne 164 actual miles. Even at 200 rated via EVTripPlanner - we should be fine.

Peter Soukup (electrical engineer) who's already driven across country and was our main Charging Ambassador at our recent Washington, DC event will be the charging coordinator for this cross country trip. I'm sure it will be his plan to arrive at each supercharger with the least comfortable range so we can charge as quickly as possible. I'm also sure he will decide to stop at extra superchargers so we can keep our battery level under 80% (if possible) to speed up charging times... But remember that, unlike the Tesla cross country trip with only 2 cars, we will be utilizing ALL the supercharging bays - so our charging is going to be slower regardless because of sharing bays. If we get a lot of travelers, we will most likely have to break up the caravan and stage groups of cars which will lessen backlog.

My *hope* is that the extra Superchargers in UT that are on the more direct route that goes through Vegas will be up and online by the time we take this trip. If so, that will definitely be the way we will go. If we are forced to stick to this current route, I'm not concerned if a town is bland/boring or not -- there will be a large group of Tesla Enthusiasts to talk to and share the events of the day -- that is if everyone isn't too tired and goes directly to bed after dinner!

Aaron
Click to expand...

We are just on the Obsessive Optimizing (O^2) details. I made my career as a systems engineer with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, so being the O^2 is easy for me. Use my recommendations as you wish, but please enjoy the trip, and I may be one of the Merry S's.

With luck, the Green River, Richfield, Beaver, and St George, Utah Superchargers will be open by July! Grand Junction, CO to Las Vegas, NV - Google Maps
 
#13
Cottonwood said:
We are just on the Obsessive Optimizing (O^2) details. I made my career as a systems engineer with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, so being the O^2 is easy for me. Use my recommendations as you wish, but please enjoy the trip, and I may be one of the Merry S's.

With luck, the Green River, Richfield, Beaver, and St George, Utah Superchargers will be open by July! Grand Junction, CO to Las Vegas, NV - Google Maps
Click to expand...

Yes... it is too easy to O^2!

I hope you will be there!

Aaron
 
#15
I am making preliminary plans to join you...

Per Google Maps, it is 853 miles from Dallas to Silverthorne, CO or it is 781 miles from Dallas to Gallup, NM.
Currently, there are no SpC that connect Texas to the, well... er, anything.
So it might be a significantly different set of (improved) circumstances come July (did I mention very preliminary plans.)

Either way: as of today, it is a two-day drive thru "the Wild" using RV Parks as charging stops to head West, just to connect to the bigger loop.
Two or three nicely located SpC would make for a much quicker trip.
 
#16
Please take all of the following as some sanity checks and wild ideas that may help in planning...

I did a couple of sanity check calculations on Supercharger rates for the convoy passing through.

Assuming that you arrive at each stop with a reasonable buffer to eliminate range anxiety, then you will need to add the energy to each car at a Supercharger to get it to the next one. I used the Lusk, WY to Cheyenne, WY example with a P85 on 19" wheels driving the speed limit. That is a 147 mile segment needing 52.5 kW in neutral conditions. Assuming perfect packing/scheduling, the most that the four stall Lusk Supercharger can put out is 2*120kW=240kW. 240kW/52.5kW-hr = 4.6 cars per hour. Because you won't have perfect scheduling, etc, 4 cars per hour is probably a good planning number for Lusk. That means that a 16 car convoy will take 4 hours of time to get through Lusk.

There are at least two stops where you are going to want to do range charges during an overnight in the current plan, Cheyenne and Blanding. Each has two Supercharger cabinets and four stalls. A good planning number for a Supercharger range charge is 1.5 hours per car. To make best use of the Superchargers, it will be necessary to swap two sets of cars every 45 minutes. That same 16-car convoy will take 16/2*45min = 6 hours. To range charge 32 cars in Cheyenne will take 12 hours. That means getting up through the night (or hiring a trusted valet) to swaps sets of cars every 45 minutes.

There are some possible alternatives to consider to avoid the range charging through the night issue if the group gets big.

To avoid the Blanding range charge, consider spending the night at Gouldings. It is only 73 miles and an 1:20 further down the road. It may mean paying for RV spots in addition to motel rooms (you will probably want to be plugged in all night), but Monument Valley is amazingly beautiful and if you could find a sunset or sunrise setting, it could make for an amazing Tesla group photo. John Ford would be proud.

Avoiding the Cheyenne range charge is a little more difficult. The Worthington to Cheyenne day is already one of the longest, but if you wanted to drive on to Boulder/Denver, we probably could arrange for enough places for everyone to do an overnight charge. There is even a planned Tesla Service Center in Boulder. This would allow dinner at Kimball Musk's "The Kitchen." Maybe one of the earlier days could be a little longer and day three could be Mitchell, SD to Boulder, CO. Another idea is avoid getting anywhere close to a death march schedule and take another day for the journey.
 
Last edited:
#17
Good points, Cottonwood. I'll check out Goulding's and lay the groundwork for a group overnight there in July, as I pass through en route to El Centro this week (I was invited to the annual NAF El Centro photo call, and decided to make it a road trip in the S). Aaron, if you were to leave the east coast on Friday instead of Saturday, a lot of things become easier, and there's some wiggle room for unplanned contingencies: inevitably, a Supercharger will be down or ICEd when we can least afford the delay. It may even make sense, if the group gets larger and/or some people are unable to start on Friday, to stagger the starts over a couple of days and designate one place and one time for the groups to converge for a photo (e.g., 'sunset on Tuesday at Monument Valley'). I realize that takes away from the social aspect of the thing, but the only easy way to make group dinners every night feasible is to make the daily legs shorter.
 
#18
Might be a little crowded but you should really consider taking 4 people per car (not sure what the added weight will do to the range though). This would likely save you time overall since many of these stops have only four stalls.

also, with it being in July, I too would hope the i81 route through WV over to St Louis, then to CO, Utah, etc is open, since that will really save on distance traveled.

the other option, if you really want to have a big group of cars going, set off in waves of two or four, that way the whole group isn't necessarily waiting for the last guy to finish charging. It hypothetically won't save any time overall, but it will save time for the individual.

- - - Updated - - -

I would love to go with you guys, btw, I just don't know if I can feasibly take 1 week and some change off from work (even assuming I fly back). I will have to get back with you on this one. Although I will certainly be considering flying out there for this!
 
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