Sorry for going dark on everyone! I made it, and am resting up and visiting friends and family in Iowa.
Here is my route:
Getting across Montana, relying exclusively on RV Parks was a bit slow, but a great adventure nonetheless. As I found on my Roadster trip here (through Canada) 1-1/2 years ago, the slower progress and long stops was compensated by meeting a number of interesting and interested people, many of whom had never seen any kind of electric car before.
My general approach was to pick a prime candidate RV Park, but also a "safety" spot 30 or so miles closer, in case things got ugly on the energy graph, or I could not contact or confirm with the prime location. I almost always called ahead (one exception), but waited to negotiate payment until I got there. When it was a midday stop and I was only going to stay 3 - 5 hours, I offered $10, and that was always accepted. When I was planning to stay all night (even though both times I slept in the car), I willingly paid the park's standard rate for an RV ($28-35). Even though this is much more than most of us pay at public charging stations, much less the superchargers, I feel it is important to set a good example of EV owner fairness and good faith. In every case this resulted in genuine interest in the car and its possibilities.
I found EVTripper.com indispensable (in the absence of f/w 6.0) to accurately predict energy use in such mountainous terrain. More than once, I would have been toast without it.
Here is an example, from my last long leg on May 7:
Even with a tailwind, and travelling well below the posted 75 mph speed, I was hard pressed to keep to the predicted 353 Wh/mi. I finished that 180 mile run with only 5 miles RR to spare.
Here are some numbers to characterize this outbound journey:
Total miles travelled = 2,420 miles
Highest cruising speed = 80 mph (between superchargers in SD)
Highest avg. energy consumption = ~400 Wh/mi (same stretch; 20-30 mph crosswind)
Lowest avg. energy consumption = 266 Wh/mi. (final run from Iowa City to Fairfield, IA; ~55-60 mph with tailwind)
Tightest range planning = Charged to only 67 mi. RR at slow J1772 in Iowa City over dinner with my son, for a 65 mi. run; made it with 5 mi. RR to spare!
Number of times arrived at charge stop below 10 RR = 5
Number of times arrived at charge stop below 0 RR ("Charge Now") = 2
Number of times "Brodered" = 0
Longest run = 220 miles (Garryowen, MT to Belle Fourche, SD via US212)
Best Tesla Moments with RV Park owners: "You made my day!" "Well, it
is the wave of the future!" "[on phone] Yes, you can charge, but is it a Tesla? Oh great, come on in!"
Given the weather we are having in the US Midwest, I am planning on being a LOT more conservative and patient on the way home at the end of the month. South Dakota saw 30-50 mph northwesterlies today. That kind of headwind will put a dent in your range!
Cheers,
V