First "Long" trip - newbie requesting some real world advice

[Bloomj]

Ok, forgive me for using the word long but I'm just trying to get some advice from folks that have some experience with charging. I pick up my car on Saturday so I have zero real world experience. Next week I'll be driving about 115 miles from home, staying overnight at a hotel that does NOT have a charger. Along the route, especially in the area of Charlotte I'll be are several chargers, mostly J1772 Level two connections.

The car is an AWD LR Model 3.

I don't have a way to charge while I'm working on Friday (without leaving the car somewhere and ubering to the work site).

Should I plan to stop for an hour or two on my way into town Thursday to add ~50miles of range?

Should I charge to 100% before I go? On one hand I feel that the car will do the trip on one charge even keeping it at 80% before I leave but I'm trying to balance the unknowns of real world use, trying to follow optimum battery charging/discharging recommendations...

How would you approach a trip like this?

 

[stonelance]

Charge to 100% and then you can likely make it round trip without charging. You can use the nav system to your destination and it will tell you the % left at the destination and the round trip % left. I usually keep a buffer of 10-20% depending on driving speed, temperature and elevation changes.

 

[idoco]

Speed is the largest consumer of energy (followed by cold, headwinds, elevation changes, and rain). You can't control the weather, but you can control speed.

Keep it at or below the speed limit this trip. This will give you a good idea of consumption. As you gain experience with longer trips you'll figure things out.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

With an LR Model 3, you should probably be able to make that trip with just a full charge.

Use A Better Routeplanner to plan things before a long trip.

 

[Snow Drift]

There are a lot of SC in South Carolina and one near Charlotte. For example: 2720 Mallard Creek Church RD, Charlotte, NC. You can stop and top off on your way. Your only issue should be the way home. You only lose 1-2% overnight.

You can get an idea by using www.tesla.com/trips (select model 3) and then put in your round trip addresses. This assumes 310 mi range, but it might help you feel more comfortable.

 

[copyhacker]

Keep in mind also that many hotels will have a 120V outlet somewhere along an external wall facing the parking lot. Pick up a good long, heavy-duty extension cord (you should carry one on trips anyway) and that might do you in a pinch.

Where in SC are you located? I'm in Columbia and day trips to & from Charlotte are sometimes less certain than they should be, due to poor Supercharger placement.

 

[srs5694]

I agree with all of the above advice. A ~230-mile round-trip journey is unlikely to require extra charging for a long-range Model 3 unless it's in very cold weather or driven at extremely high speeds, provided it's charged to 100% before departure. That said, you can always use public Level 2 chargers if they're convenient, and if you do start running low on charge, Tesla's navigation will alert you to the problem and suggest a stop at a nearby Supercharger.

FWIW, I recently posted my experiences with a much longer (~1700 mile round trip) road trip here. I did the final leg, which is 232 miles according to Google Maps, without stopping for a charge. I left with a 97% SoC and arrived home with 28%. This was in a RWD LR Model 3, so your AWD would consume a little more power, but with the caveats about speed, weather, etc., I'd expect an AWD wouldn't have problems with that distance.

 

[Bloomj]

Thanks for the input everyone. So from the responses here it seems that most would lean towards the method of 100% charge and just do the trip on one charge. I think that's probably the most realistic option and I'll consider the speed / efficiency piece as well as keep an eye out for 120vac outlets at the hotel.

 

[realvvk]

Ok, forgive me for using the word long but I'm just trying to get some advice from folks that have some experience with charging. I pick up my car on Saturday so I have zero real world experience. Next week I'll be driving about 115 miles from home, staying overnight at a hotel that does NOT have a charger. Along the route, especially in the area of Charlotte I'll be are several chargers, mostly J1772 Level two connections.

The car is an AWD LR Model 3.

I don't have a way to charge while I'm working on Friday (without leaving the car somewhere and ubering to the work site).

Should I plan to stop for an hour or two on my way into town Thursday to add ~50miles of range?

Should I charge to 100% before I go? On one hand I feel that the car will do the trip on one charge even keeping it at 80% before I leave but I'm trying to balance the unknowns of real world use, trying to follow optimum battery charging/discharging recommendations...

How would you approach a trip like this?

1. Definitely charge to 100%.
2. Always have a PLAN B: find several charging stations along your route where you can charge in case you determine you need to.
3. Plan your route. Use EV Trip Planner and A Better Routeplanner
   • check to see if there is a shorter/lower speed alternative route that would allow you to arrive just a few minutes later but use much less energy.
   • for example, I had to go somewhere and the navigation system routed me through the high speed toll roads that would allow the fastest arrival. I would need to stop at a supercharger that was out of the way if I went this way. I found an alternative 50 mph highway that would bring me to my destination about 10 minutes later (nothing on a 1.5 hour trip) but allowed me to complete the trip without charging at all.
   • play around with speed -- see if you can avoid charging by lowering your speed a little bit. These EV-aware trip planner web sites allow you to do that.
4. Park in the shade to avoid excessive A/C use.
5. Turn off Sentry Mode.
6. Turn off cabin overheat protection (see "park in the shade" above.)
7. Make sure your tires are not underinflated.
8. Don't carry junk you don't need.
9. Utilize energy chart screen to see how you are doing along the way.

​

 

[Bloomj]

Using a better route planner here is what it is saying: Leave my house at 90%, drive to the local supercharger and pick up 3% at a cost of $4.26 (seems like a lot for a few miles of range) and then arrive in charlotte with 55% remaining. Then return with 11% remaining. If I take out that short supercharger stop it shows no workable plan. See settings below.

 

[realvvk]

Did you try changing the initial charge from 90 to 100%?

Also try changing the target remaining charge from 10% to 9%, 8% -- whatever you feel comfortable with. 10% is what, 30+ miles?

 

[stonelance]

It looks like it is set to metric (km). I'm assuming you want miles? If you drive over the speed limit normally, make sure to adjust the "Reference Speed".

Also, that reference consumption seem high, but i'm less familiar with the metric version. Isn't that ~320 kWh/mi ?

 

[animorph]

Be sure to check the Tesla Supercharger box, just in case. It looks unchecked in the screenshot. You don't want to ignore them.

ABetterRoutePlanner should be fairly accurate. From what you've said, charging to 100% would give you 18% remaining after the round trip. That sounds safe enough to me.

Check PlugShare to see hotel or public charging options. We've charged at a Publix store in the Ballantyne area. Super slow, but it would give you a few extra miles.

There was a new thread a few days ago here about a permit for a Supercharger at the Toringdon Market. If that actually happens you should have a fairly convenient Supercharger when coming from the south.

 

[Bloomj]

Stonelance, I looked at the units and adjusted for speed (I think). I'm assuming 65mph-ish on the highway. Also, wasn't sure what sort of reference consumption I should expect?

Realvvk - I will change to 100%. Was is the consensus on how low you can realistically run the car without issues long term (battery health) or short term performance?

 

[realvvk]

Stonelance, I looked at the units and adjusted for speed (I think). I'm assuming 65mph-ish on the highway. Also, wasn't sure what sort of reference consumption I should expect?

Realvvk - I will change to 100%. Was is the consensus on how low you can realistically run the car without issues long term (battery health) or short term performance?

One trip is not going to damage anything. If you are making this trip every day, that's a different story.

For everyday driving you want to be between 20% and 80%.

 

[stonelance]

Stonelance, I looked at the units and adjusted for speed (I think). I'm assuming 65mph-ish on the highway. Also, wasn't sure what sort of reference consumption I should expect?

I have a P3D- which should be about the same as the AWD, unless you got the 19" rims, then possibly a bit better. I have 310 kWh/mi average over about a year, but for the summer I would expect 280-290.

I think the Tesla nav in the car starts showing the battery as "red" around 7-8%, so I suspect everything above is fine, but even going below is probably not the end of the world.

 

[edigest]

All good advice. A couple more data points:

When planning with ABRP uncheck "Tesla CCS." That is EU-only. Do select "Tesla Supercharger."

There is a 16 kW destination charger available to the public in Charlotte at the Tryon St Garage. You can find destination chargers that may not show up on ABRP on the Tesla Supercharger Page. (Most are customer-only. But a few public chargers pop up here and there.)

16 kW is good for ~47 miles per hour of charge so you can add a little anti-range-anxiety energy over lunch before heading back.

 

[rickdogg82]

Use Chill mode. It might give you some extra range especially since you will still be learning the car on the trip.

 

[Bloomj]

Thanks! Good stuff, exactly what I was looking for.

 

[darth_vad3r]

Call the hotel and ask about overnight charging outlet availability?