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Can I make it home from delivery? Raleigh to richmond

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I'm in richmond va, and will take delivery in Raleigh. Delivery is set for July...and I think I should be good, but I'm also keenly aware of my soon to be noob status. The door to door is right about 200 miles....so the s85 shouldn't have a problem, unless I drive like a maniac....which I won't.:wink:
Have other owners made that run up i85, with issues?
or would it be safer/shorter to head over to rocky mt sc,,,fill up,,then head up 95? Getting to rocky mt is fine,,,then that leg up 95 is about 25 miles shorter than the Raleigh to ric direct route.
thoughts?
am I worrying too much about this?
 
I think you'll be fine. Just ask the service center to range charge you before your delivery, as they don't normally do a range charge when you pick up the car. I'd ask them to do it so that it finishes charging right around your delivery time so the car doesn't sit around range charged for a long time.

Where in Richmond are you going? From the Raleigh SC to downtown Richmond is 160 miles on I-85. You can go a little further and get to the Glen Allen SuperCharger if you really need to before going home. Raleigh Service Center to Glen Allen is 172 miles which should be no problem at all.

That said, by July there is a chance the South Hill Supercharger might be online in which case you could go crazy and just Supercharge half way through the trip and you won't even have to range charge.
 
I was thinking the same thing...about the Southhill SC. If that thing is up and running by July,,,then that would be great.
Also, if the Fairfax service center opens up before then....I'll just take delivery there, as it is way closer than Raleigh, and closer than Rockville MD. Driving from Fairfax to RIC is much more palatable than having to go all the way through DC during the summer. That trip can take anywhere from an hour and a half to 4 hours depending on traffic.
So those are 2 'wildcards' that could possibly help me out...but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm actually in Glen Allen (short pump area) of Richmond...which is on the northwest side of the city.
Assuming my 2 wildcard situations don't work out, I'll likely just head up 85...and possibly hit the Glen Allen supercharger...so I can have some decent range when I get back to my house.

As Bifff67 stated, that'll also satisfy my need/curiosity for trying out a supercharger. It's a win win!

I confirmed my order a week ago and it feels like a year. I swear this is exactly what it feels like when you are 8 years old waiting for Christmas to come around.
 
The door to door is right about 200 miles....so the s85 shouldn't have a problem, unless I drive like a maniac....which I won't.:wink:

It isn't a problem. However, you have to keep the temptation down to drive really, really fast, And if weather is bad, especially with headwinds or cross winds, it's going to be tougher. The jump from Burlington, NC Supercharger to my home in Short Pump is about 200 miles and I only got into trouble when I didn't range charge.

I would say, the first, time, to go ahead and drive the longer distance to Rocky Mount. The Glen Allen Supercharger won't help you at all in this case. Or, pick up in Rockville, MD (which is what I did). A Saturday morning pick up and drive home should not be bad with traffic. Plus there are now 3 Superchargers in the path home from Rockville so if you were a bit, well, overzealous, you have backup.

Congratulations! If yours is black, you'll fit right in. There aren't that many Model S's around, but it seems like many of them are black in this area. If not, then it's great to have more variety.
 
I'm in richmond va, and will take delivery in Raleigh. Delivery is set for July...and I think I should be good, but I'm also keenly aware of my soon to be noob status. The door to door is right about 200 miles....so the s85 shouldn't have a problem, unless I drive like a maniac....which I won't.:wink:
Have other owners made that run up i85, with issues?
or would it be safer/shorter to head over to rocky mt sc,,,fill up,,then head up 95? Getting to rocky mt is fine,,,then that leg up 95 is about 25 miles shorter than the Raleigh to ric direct route.
thoughts?
am I worrying too much about this?

In July I doubt you will have any problems at all. Just make sure you 100% (trip) charge, and keep it ~65 on the interstates. I bet you end up at home with ~50 miles left.

If you end up in a torrential downpour I bet you end up at home with ~30 miles left.
 
Have them show you the energy app at delivery. Click on 30 miles and then 'average'. Watch the projected range and program your destination into the Nav. If the distance to your destination becomes more than your projected range consider slowing down a little. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm leaning towards techmaven's Rocky Mt suggestion. The only reason I'm avoiding the closer Rockville MD option is I'm assuming my delivery will be sometime during the week. I can't imagine I'd let it sit there until a more convenient Saturday....knowing it is just waiting for me...begging me to pick it up immediately. If that day is during the week,,,getting through DC anytime in the A.M is a crapshoot.
Also, I know that the Carmax in Raleigh is only about 5 minutes from the Tesla service center...and I'm guessing that KMX will give me a better quote for my car than Autonation. So that part helps...assuming I could get my service rep to pick me up there,,which hopefully isn't an issue.

It has been noted to keep it at ~65 if range is a question...thanks!

Also, Techmaven....mine is not black. I love the look of black but never pull the trigger on that color. I stayed on my standard 'silver streak' for my past few cars. Sigh...oh well I guess I'll manage somehow. I have seen very few around town....but ironically there are 2 in my small office building in the west end....soon to be 3! FYI, one is blue, and the other is like a grey/green color that I've never seen before.
 
It has been noted to keep it at ~65 if range is a question...thanks!

Just keep an eye on how fast your rated range is decreasing, and how far you are going. You will probably burn rated range a tiny bit faster than actual distance. And make sure you aren't eating it up too fast.

Slow down if you are using up too much range there is a HUGE difference between 55 and 65. And even a big difference between 50 and 55.

Based on no elevation gain (very slight loss) and expected warm/hot weather and probably a good amount of humidity. I would think 65 mph will get you the 200 miles easily. Headwinds, percipitation can be large impacts but you should have 260 miles plus on your range charge.
 
So my ballpark estimate was high.........the i85 route..door to door is more like 175 miles.
Heading to the Rock Mt SC...filling up and heading home is about 205 total. From that SC to my house is 145 miles.

I'll likely just 'baby it' most of the way on i85. It'll be a good test I think. If I can't make that trip work...then I'll have some recalibrating to do on future adventures.
I'm sure I'll change my mind about 500 times between now and delivery.....so I've got that to look forward to!
 
So my ballpark estimate was high.........the i85 route..door to door is more like 175 miles.
Heading to the Rock Mt SC...filling up and heading home is about 205 total. From that SC to my house is 145 miles.

I'll likely just 'baby it' most of the way on i85. It'll be a good test I think. If I can't make that trip work...then I'll have some recalibrating to do on future adventures.
I'm sure I'll change my mind about 500 times between now and delivery.....so I've got that to look forward to!

175 is easy. I-85 is a long, straight, barren stretch of road. Speed limit is 70 mph, traffic will be moving at 80mph with the occasional speed demon doing 90+. It will be mentally challenging to drive 65 mph there. But a range charge and 175 miles is easy even at 75+ mph. I did Glen Allen to Burlington Superchargers which is 205 miles I think with 65 mph at the beginning, then 70 through to Petersburg, then eventually 78mph in NC.

If you fall a little bit short, there is a free J1772 @ James River Air in the near west end courtesy of Hugh Joyce (owner) who is a fellow Model S owner. You can also swing by the Science Museum, but you'd have to have your Chargepoint account/card set up. It's charging desert on I-85 to downtown Richmond, however. The only real charging spots are car dealerships between Richmond and Petersburg. Once there is a Supercharger in South Hill, this route will be easy too.

In any case, I think 175 is easy, just avoid 80+mph at first. The big issue is that you have to have enough buffer in case there is a major accident that diverts you significantly or if weather turns unexpectedly. You then have to slow down.

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Also, Techmaven....mine is not black. I love the look of black but never pull the trigger on that color. I stayed on my standard 'silver streak' for my past few cars. Sigh...oh well I guess I'll manage somehow. I have seen very few around town....but ironically there are 2 in my small office building in the west end....soon to be 3! FYI, one is blue, and the other is like a grey/green color that I've never seen before.

I wanted silver too, but my family veto'ed it since our last two cars were also silver. There is a dolphin grey one near my neighborhood. Did you square away your electrical?
 
For what it's worth, folks at the Rockville service center had no problem picking me up at the nearby CarMax when I took delivery back in September. It was also about a 5 minute drive between the two. I imagine Raleigh would do the same; simply call or email ahead of time and ask.

Congrats on the purchase, and I don't blame you one bit for wanting to avoid DC traffic during the week!
 
Thanks again Techmaven.
I haven't had electrical installed yet, but I've been in touch with my guy....and he doesn't foresee any issues with the install. No HPWC, just the NEMA 14-50 in the garage...within a foot from my circuit breaker. He said at most it'd be $250.....but may be less.
 
Thanks again Techmaven.
I haven't had electrical installed yet, but I've been in touch with my guy....and he doesn't foresee any issues with the install. No HPWC, just the NEMA 14-50 in the garage...within a foot from my circuit breaker. He said at most it'd be $250.....but may be less.

Cool. My install was torturous in comparison, but not because of my electrician. Davis and Greene was excellent. The issue was the set up in my house, primarily the distance between the panels and the garage. Went around and around and couldn't find any way around running a lot of cable. At that point, I decided to go full bore and went ahead and did Dominion Power's Schedule EV service with the separate meter base and install a 200A panel in the garage.
 
Yeah that sounds pretty bad,,,and I've heard the separate meter isn't cheap either. Luckily my breaker box is right at my pedestrian door to the outside of the garage....and also would be on the back right (starboard?) side of where "my" garage spot will be for the MS. The wife can maintain her preferred garage config.....so everyone is a winner! So I can either park in "my" garage spot, or keep the MS in the driveway, where I can run the charge cable out the door, and plug in there.

That was my electrician's first question........"how far will it be from the fuse box?"
Luckily my answer was 'less than 2 feet'...so that makes things easier for sure.

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PaulkVA,,,,Not to get totally off topic (even though that is exactly what I'm doing) how do you like the grey interior with the matte? That is what I ordered as well, but haven't seen in person.
We have a similar configuration,,except I'm standard:crying:....with no air susp.
 
Hey, it's your thread, so I don't feel too bad about replying to an off-topic question. ;-)

I like all my color choices a lot! I think the grey seats and the obeche matte go well with each other and with the silver exterior. Obviously subjective though. :) The seats are a lighter shade of grey than I had expected them to be, even having seen the sample in the store; I recommend you take a look at an actual car with your colors in-person if you have a chance. If you can't find one locally and you plan to be in NoVA between now and your delivery, feel free to PM me.
 
IMO if weather is good, you can make it straight through no problem with a little extra for rocket launches onto I85 in RDU and 288 in Richmond.

Does Tesla not do home deliveries anymore?

I don't believe they do the home delivery anymore. I'd likely take delivery at a service center,,even if I had the option,,just in case there was something legitimately missing/wrong with the car. It could be repaired on the spot. Also, while taking delivery at a SC, I'll be solo. At home I'd likely have the kids climbing all over the car during the orientation process.

Yes, I'm fairly confident I'll be ok with the i85 route, I'll just be conservative on speed etc. Once I get closer, hopefully I'll have extra range saved up to get a bit more 'spirited' with the drive.