Need all the tips I can get for long road trip

[Dalia]

Hello all! We're planning a very long road trip, Chicago to Orlando. I'm very nervous. We've never taken a long road trip like this to begin with, let alone with the X. What are some tips? Has anyone ever run out of charge? Do you follow all the stops for charging on the map? What are ways to conserve charge while driving? Does the autopilot use a higher electricity consumption? (I noticed it in the 500's when I use autopilot). And any other tips. Thanks so much!

 

[Dalia]

Forgot to add that I will be traveling with kids, older ones, so that's a little nicer (12, 10, and 6).

 

[kort677]

plan your routing, don't waste time overcharging, charge enough to make it to your next stop using the trip planner will be a big assist, watch your speed, and be cognizant of the weather and how it will affect your range.

 

[loganintx]

You may want to pick up a $450 CHAdeMO charger adapter to give you additional high speed charging options if your desired route goes to far away from supercarger stations.

 

[mspohr]

Use EVtripplanner.com to plan your trip.
Use the nav to get to the next SC and keep the trip energy graph on the screen. If your predicted charge at destination drops below 10%, slow down and it will recover.
Use Plugshare.com to have a backup plan if you run low. There is electricity everywhere.

 

[ZBB]

+1 for EV Trip Planner... They recently added charge time estimates, which is helpful. I find EV Trip Planner does better estimates than the built in app in the car also...

My recommendation is to set EV Trip Planner to a speed factor of 1.1 -- which means 10% above the average speed reported by Google. That allows driving ~5 over the limit and you should see pretty close to the estimate.

If you are ever worried about range, just slow down a bit -- especially early in the leg. Use the in-car energy estimate graph and try to keep it at a reasonable buffer. I usually start a leg targeting 20% buffer, and if that drops below 10% I slow down to the limit. We just did a really long leg a bit over a week ago with no alternate charging (i.e. "RV Park") along the route -- estimate showed 5% buffer from 100%. We drove a bit under the limit for the first 75 miles or so, which pushed the reserve up to about 10% -- and drove the rest of the way at the limit or a bit above. We reached the Supercharger with 6% remaining...

 

[PGeer]

Our first trip in the X was Seattle to Phoenix and back, all on freeways. All I did was use voice to create a route ("Navigate to Phoenix") and let the car determine the route. Because it was all freeway, I never arrived at a supercharger with less than 30% of battery. Often we'd charge more than the minimum because we'd stop for lunch or coffee. It was the easiest trip you could imagine.

Hop in your car, press the voice button on the wheel and speak your destination. After it creates a route, scroll through the details. It will show you all the supercharger stops and an estimate of how much energy you'll have left when you get there. You'll see quickly if there are any stops that might be worrisome.

 

[napabill]

I've got 65K miles on my S, much of which from "tripping". My formula is to use the Trip Planner in the car, put in the next SC as your destination, and charge to a 20% reserve. I expect to lose some of that reserve, but try and keep at 12% or higher. If drops below that, then back off on speed.

 

[David99]

You can save a lot of time if you follow these rules:
How to save a lot of time on long trips

 

[Vizir]

i'm planning to take a long trip in june, tagging this to keep it handy.

 

[mrElbe]

Chicago to Orlando is a piece of cake. Evtripplanner.com is your friend. As mentioned previously, I always charge to a projected 20% of battery left at the next charger. The on board trip planner will tell you its OK to continue at about a projected 11%. This is fine in Summer but I like the extra assurance of 20%

 

[cclaygo]

Our first trip in the X was Seattle to Phoenix and back, all on freeways. All I did was use voice to create a route ("Navigate to Phoenix") and let the car determine the route. Because it was all freeway, I never arrived at a supercharger with less than 30% of battery. Often we'd charge more than the minimum because we'd stop for lunch or coffee. It was the easiest trip you could imagine.

Hop in your car, press the voice button on the wheel and speak your destination. After it creates a route, scroll through the details. It will show you all the supercharger stops and an estimate of how much energy you'll have left when you get there. You'll see quickly if there are any stops that might be worrisome.

I agree with this completely. I tried the EV apps, but in reality you do not EVER want to get caught outside a supercharger range. Trust the map and charge a little extra each stop. Then you have nothing to worry about.

 

[FarmerDave]

Just completed a road trip from central PA to Key West and return. I second the post that says charge more than the minimum to reach the next SC. Destination charging is great; it's just like home, starting every day with a full charge.

While traveling north from the SC in Plantation, FL to the SC in Savannah, GA the on-board trip planner suddenly re-routed us through Orlando. Turns out we were fighting a >25 mph headwind at 71 mph for a 96 mph effect. We were averaging >435 watts per mile.The car knew we wouldn't make Savannah hence the reroute. We reached the Orlando SC with estimated 40 mile range remaining.

 

[Chrisizzle]

A lot of good advice here. From my three long range winter road trips, I will add:

1) If you haven't already, drive your car down to zero range and gain confidence that the gauge is accurate. You need to not panic and know what you've got left when the little red light comes on. (I always did the same in my new gas cars too). Do this near your home or a supercharger obviously.

2) From the above test, you'll also discover acceleration drops and heat becomes useless around 25%. Bring extra jackets if you are doing the trip in a colder month.

3) Someone mentioned the CHADEMO adapter. I have one for safety but have never used it. My J1772 extension cord has been much more useful. It means a charger will never be blocked when it matters. I ordered mine here J1772 Extension Cord

 

[Dalia]

Just completed a road trip from central PA to Key West and return. I second the post that says charge more than the minimum to reach the next SC. Destination charging is great; it's just like home, starting every day with a full charge.

While traveling north from the SC in Plantation, FL to the SC in Savannah, GA the on-board trip planner suddenly re-routed us through Orlando. Turns out we were fighting a >25 mph headwind at 71 mph for a 96 mph effect. We were averaging >435 watts per mile.The car knew we wouldn't make Savannah hence the reroute. We reached the Orlando SC with estimated 40 mile range remaining.

Wow, that's amazing!

 

[kort677]

[

While traveling north from the SC in Plantation, FL to the SC in Savannah, GA the on-board trip planner suddenly re-routed us through Orlando. Turns out we were fighting a >25 mph headwind at 71 mph for a 96 mph effect. We were averaging >435 watts per mile.The car knew we wouldn't make Savannah hence the reroute. We reached the Orlando SC with estimated 40 mile range remaining.

that's odd!
from plantation traveling up I95 you'd be passing by port st lucie, port orange, st augustine and kingsland, unless you came north on the FLA TPK the planner took you way out of the way. Which car are you in and what version of the software are you running? since the latest updates the trip planner has become far more usable however sometimes when you notice that you're using too much "juice" and you slow down a bit the trip planner gets it wrong and you need to reload your destination in order for it to recalibrate and eliminate false readings.

 

[LoL Rick]

Hello all! We're planning a very long road trip, Chicago to Orlando. I'm very nervous. We've never taken a long road trip like this to begin with, let alone with the X
....
Forgot to add that I will be traveling with kids, older ones, so that's a little nicer (12, 10, and 6).

The trip will take longer than you think it will. Plan for that so that you can relax and enjoy the adventure.
I did Tampa to Stroudsburg, PA last year by myself, and had someone with me on the return trip. My biggest challenge was getting him to work on the car's schedule. We could spend 45 minutes at a charging stop and 15 minutes into the next leg he had to stop. If you can get everyone in the car to buy into the schedule (we stop when the car needs to stop) then it should be a huge help.

 

[FarmerDave]

[


that's odd!
from plantation traveling up I95 you'd be passing by port st lucie, port orange, st augustine and kingsland, unless you came north on the FLA TPK the planner took you way out of the way. Which car are you in and what version of the software are you running? since the latest updates the trip planner has become far more usable however sometimes when you notice that you're using too much "juice" and you slow down a bit the trip planner gets it wrong and you need to reload your destination in order for it to recalibrate and eliminate false readings.

We were traveling on the Florida Turnpike, and yes, Orlando was out of the way! But we didn't run out of gas (oops).

 

[ohmman]

Definitely as above - charge more than when you're told you have enough to reach the destination. That's a 10% buffer, but I shoot for 15-18%.

Also, the best advice I ever received (and sometimes the hardest to abide) is start slow, finish fast. Drive under or just at the speed limit for the first quarter. See how your trip chart looks. Speed a little if you can, and if your estimate looks good. Keep speeding up as you go. The opposite (finishing very slowly) is no fun.

 

[Enadler]

One thing not discussed are overnight stops. I assume you will spend at least one night on the road, possible 2. If this is the case you open yourself up for many more options as you can utilize destination charges on the road for overnight charging.

I traveled from NY to Atlanta last spring and it was a piece of cake. As stated before EVtripplanner is amazing. The Tesla GPS will often tell you to charge when you don't need to. When looking to make time charge for a short period with enough charge to get to the next SC. However, remember some stops will be longer than others, meal breaks vs bathroom/coffee breaks. Build this into your plan.