First trip coming up Memorial Day weekend. How to plan?

gordo · May 18, 2015

I'm excited to be taking my first roadtrip this weekend, but am having some trouble figuring out how to ensure I've planned it properly.

In a nutshell, my 157 mile route looks like this from the Bay Area to Auburn, CA:
Google Maps

On EVtripplanner, I plugged in very conservative settings (800lb payload, 1.1 speed multiplier and heavy A/C usage) and it says I'll use about 55kWh total (with the elevation change of 1519 feet). It has me hitting both superchargers on the way up (Vacaville and Rocklin), but I'm not sure if it's actually telling me to stop at them or just pointing out that they're simply on the route. Any idea?

Using in-car Nav, I'm not sure if there's a way to get it to assume a 100% charge (which is what I'll have starting out), but from 70% charge it has me hitting both Superchargers on the way up, which seems rather silly, because if I could SC to 80% at Vacaville, I figure I'd have no trouble getting to my destination without hitting Rocklin. Am I missing something or is it super conservative?

My primary question is, can I realistically range charge the car, drive up without touching a supercharger (157 miles) and with 3 days of vampire drain at my destination and no plugging in, safely make it back down to Rocklin SC (24 miles, mostly downhill) to charge up for the rest of the trip home? While I'm sure it would be fun (for me) to supercharge twice on the way up and twice on the way back, I'd rather keep it to a minimum with the wife and kids in the car...

invisik · May 18, 2015

I'd charge it on the way up. Even if it's a 10 minute stop... Can't hurt.

-m

Yombad · May 18, 2015

I'm assuming you have the 85kWh battery...you could probably make it to Rocklin on the way back, but I agree with invisik- stop for a few mins on the way there to be sure. Then perhaps you can charge up enough to skip Rocklin and hit Vacaville on the way home.
Clipper Creek is just off Hwy 49 at Kemper Rd on your route - they have an 80A EVSE, in case you find yourself needing a charge near your destination.

brianman · May 18, 2015

gordo said:
EVtripplanner ... has me hitting both superchargers on the way up (Vacaville and Rocklin), but I'm not sure if it's actually telling me to stop at them or just pointing out that they're simply on the route. Any idea?

If you ask for the route details (CSV file is one way) you'll see "charging" entries at every charging locations. Also, "used" superchargers will be green (see green arrows below) on the map. Also, when they are detailed as "stops" (see purple arrows below) then charging is expected at those locations.

CSV

Narrative,Time,"Speed (mph)","Segment Length (miles)","Total Distance (miles)","Energy (Rated Miles Used)","Segment Energy (kWh)","Segment Wh/mi","Up (feet)","Down (feet)"
...
Vacaville, CA 95687 Vacaville CA",0:37,59,36.2,36.2,38,11,294,"2,267","2,671"
...
Rocklin, CA 95677 Rocklin CA",0:50,66,54.6,54.6,63,18,324,564,361
...
"Arrive at your destination",0:11,59,11.2,11.2,19,5,480,"1,158",253
"TOTAL / AVERAGE",1:38,63,102.1,102.1,120,33.7,330,3988,3283

Observe the 37 and 50 minute charging sessions.

Observe my purple and green arrows:

gordo · May 18, 2015

brianman said:
Observe the 37 and 50 minute charging sessions.

Ok, cool, so the CSV has the required detail.

I guess it can't hurt to charge for 10-15 minutes at Vacaville, but if I'm in a P85D, why would I need to spend 87 total minutes charging when I'll clearly have enough juice to travel 157 miles under practically any reasonable circumstance I'm likely to encounter after a range charge at home? It's not like it's going to drop to 20 degrees F against a sustained 50 mph wind.... That's why I'm questioning whether the calculators are being overly cautious or if I'm missing something really important here.

brianman · May 18, 2015

I can't speak for the planner, just for my understanding of how to interpret it's output.

gordo · May 18, 2015

brianman said:
I can't speak for the planner, just for my understanding of how to interpret it's output.

Ok, so looks like it's not taking into account charging time. In the What's New section, it says that functionality is coming soon:

Coming Soon:

Calculating time to charge at a charger and including it in route time

The Road Trip Companion

Also, when I looked closely at the times indicated for the Supercharger stops, it's actually just summarizing the time and miles up to that point:

Blu Zap · May 18, 2015

@gordo,
Where in the Bay Area are you starting your trip? I live in Marin and had a recent business trip to Rancho Cordova. Range charge when I left, round trip to Rancho Cordova, then 1 stop charge at Vacaville on the way home. @invisik brings up a good point for your trip. Stop at Rocklin or Roseville on the way up, so you head up the hill and allow for 3 days of vampire drain and not have to worry about it. You can then stop at Vacaville on the way home, depending on where in the Bay Area you are headed.

I like EVtripplanner. But with the latest 6.2 update, the onboard nav works great. I had a recent trip to SoCal from the Bay Area. I had printed out the .csv from EVtripplanner. But didn't really refer to it. The nav worked great including the energy bar displaying current charge and charge when you arrive at your destination. You can adjust driving to effect that number right on the screen. It works really cool.

gordo · May 20, 2015

I'm starting out from San Mateo, so my trip is a bit longer than yours. I'll see how things are going once we get near Rocklin and make it a game time decision. Kids will be sleeping and I'd rather not wake them up, so if necessary I'll try to push through and charge overnight at 120v at my destination.

brianman · May 20, 2015

gordo said:
Also, when I looked closely at the times indicated for the Supercharger stops, it's actually just summarizing the time and miles up to that point

Hrm. Looks like I misread it. Mea culpa.

gg_got_a_tesla · May 20, 2015

@gordo, have done multiple trips up that route from the Peninsula in my S60 first and recently with the P85D. With the cluster of SCs at Vacaville, Roseville and Rocklin, there's little to think about. It does make sense to juice up in Roseville while going up and you should have plenty to make it all the way back (as the regen coming downhill from Auburn will help).

All that said, stopping at the SCs should still be fun for wife and kids; just let your wife shop at the Loft or Banana outlets in Vaca and all will be well with the world

Cottonwood · May 21, 2015

gordo said:
My primary question is, can I realistically range charge the car, drive up without touching a supercharger (157 miles) and with 3 days of vampire drain at my destination and no plugging in, safely make it back down to Rocklin SC (24 miles, mostly downhill) to charge up for the rest of the trip home? While I'm sure it would be fun (for me) to supercharge twice on the way up and twice on the way back, I'd rather keep it to a minimum with the wife and kids in the car...

Because this is your first road trip, be a little conservative. Stop at Roseville or Rocklin, and add a few comfort miles. You never know if you will want to do some driving at your destination. The more empty your battery is, the faster the charge rate, so no need to charge before there.

If it were me, I would stop at Rocklin or Roseville, then put the destination into the Nav. By pressing on the bottom of the step-by-step directions, you will get estimated SoC % after the one-way and round trip drives. Given that you are at a Supercharger, it will probably take longer to find a bathroom and get a cup of coffee than it will take you to get to 30% or more remaining SoC after the roundtrip drive. At that point, you are safe from the vampire and short joy ride drains on the battery.

Enjoy!

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First trip coming up Memorial Day weekend. How to plan?

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