Planning: Cross Country @TeslaRoadTrip to TMC Connect!

[stevezzzz]

Great work on the scouting! Beautiful photos and video!! Thanks for sharing!!!

You're welcome, Butch.

What do you think it would have been like for you to make it on to Gouldings last night?

Um...dark? :biggrin:

If I'd left at first light instead of after rush hour it would have been an easy day to Goulding's. However, I talked to the manager of the campground and she's not keen on having us show up for an overnight stay: it's their busiest month. Of course, if we were to book half a dozen sites and pay the full overnight fee, I imagine that might work. The alternative is to do Cheyenne-Blanding, overnight there, and then make a late-morning stop for a booster charge and late breakfast/early lunch as their departing guests check out and before the new crop arrive mid-afternoon.

By the way, after I talked to her a couple of weeks ago, she apparently made up her mind about charging for, ah, charging: the flat rate is $10 for a midday charge.

 

[stevezzzz]

Today I did Blanding-Goulding's (Monument Valley)-Flagstaff-Kingman. I spent a couple of hours on a 14-50 outlet at Goulding's just to be safe. Overall, Blanding-Flagstaff used 75.2 kWh with temps in the 60s and a fairly stiff headwind during the second leg. With the booster charge it was easy, but I still watched my speeds and drafted a couple of vehicles when the opportunity presented. If you have an 85 with a good battery, 19" wheels with LRR tires and good weather, Blanding-Flagstaff is just doable. Just. If you're lucky. Flagstaff-Blanding should be relatively straightforward since it's about 1500' downhill.

On the way to Goulding's I took a little side trip to fly the quadcopter over Mexican Hat Rock. Video is not ready yet, but here are a couple of stills to whet your appetites.

- - - Updated - - -

I stopped in Tuba City to sound out the owners of the Quality Inn and RV Park there about charging opportunities. You may recall from another thread that I had called them up a week or two ago and was given the brush-off. Today I pulled up in the Model S right in front of the reception area and pretty soon had half a dozen employees out looking at the car and making admiring comments. By the time I left I had the manager thinking that letting Model S owners get mid-day booster chargers in the RV park was a great idea; more than that, she was planning to contact Tesla about installing a Supercharger in the motel parking lot. And she mentioned the owners of the property also have another Quality Inn up in Page.

Score one for face-to-face diplomacy. :biggrin:

Update: here's one of the video clips from Mexican Hat:

Steve Zimmermann Photography | Utah

 

[aaron.s]

AMAZING Scouting Steve! Thanks so much!

Aaron

 

[cjc9er]

Nice pics, Steve! Your other route option could be to cut the diagonal from Flagstaff to Quartzsite or Yuma and then head across to Hawthorne, bypassing Barstow entirely, but improving the scenery considerably. I just did San Diego to Prescott, AZ in a day in my 60 with SC stops in Yuma and Quartzsite. Prescott is quite possibly the least EV-friendly city I've ever been to - see the comments on this letter to get a sense of what I mean, but the road conditions and scenery in the area are great.

Second day was more challenging - left Prescott with a bare bones charge from a 120 volt outlet at a motel and came over the mountain to Jerome, which would also be a visually amazing stopoff point/photo op for your road trip. Got into Sedona with a few miles of range left and recharged at Sedona Rouge on their 14-50 while enjoying the facilities, (the many nearby campgrounds would also work for your group to top off). Easy to make the Flagstaff SC from there, and then had a series of quick charges in Holbrook, Gallup, and Farmington on my way home. If you guys did Blanding-Monument Valley-Flagstaff-Jerome-Quartzsite-Indio-Hawthorne, it could be really memorable, proving that neither mountains nor desert heat will deter a Tesla!

I'll second the comments of others about wanting to tag along for at least a portion of the trip that passes near my neck of the woods. Could shoot some photos or otherwise help with logistics for a day or two...

 

[Enadler]

Guys I know we will be missing some beautiful country but I am hoping that the I80 route from Cheyenne to SF will be open by July. This will save several hundred miles and possibly a day of driving.

 

[Cottonwood]

Guys I know we will be missing some beautiful country but I am hoping that the I80 route from Cheyenne to SF will be open by July. This will save several hundred miles and possibly a day of driving.

See my post at Utah Super Charger Locations - Page 9. I think that there is an excellent chance that the I-70 to I-15 route will be open by July, saving several hours, but, in my opinion, the odds are much lower for the I-80 corridor to be open by then. I-80 would be nice, but I don't think it's going to happen... :frown:

 

[Denarius]

Guys I know we will be missing some beautiful country but I am hoping that the I80 route from Cheyenne to SF will be open by July. This will save several hundred miles and possibly a day of driving.

Im hoping so too. But we should definitely plan around what we know is available. As we get closer we can tweak it to the most efficient route.

 

[Enadler]

Im hoping so too. But we should definitely plan around what we know is available. As we get closer we can tweak it to the most efficient route.

reluctantly agree.

 

[muleferg]

Love the Video's. Thanks for sharing. You convinced me to buy the Phantom. I already have the oreginal GoPro and a HDPro Hero3. My Tesla is in the build stage since March 1. Now I have something to take me away from the computer, watching my Dashboard. Planning a photo shoot there where you shot the footage.

 

[LaurieO]

Hi, I am brand new here. Am so interested in doing this!!! Do you have room for more cars? I have a P85, would be leaving from Newark. I am not sure if I can get friends or family to join me, 1 at most, regardless will have room in the car for passengers. Please let me know if I can get on list...thanks! Laurie from Philly Pa area

 

[andrewket]

Hi, I am brand new here. Am so interested in doing this!!! Do you have room for more cars? I have a P85, would be leaving from Newark. I am not sure if I can get friends or family to join me, 1 at most, regardless will have room in the car for passengers. Please let me know if I can get on list...thanks! Laurie from Philly Pa area

Go to the top banner and click on groups. You'll find a listing for the cross country TMC trip there. Join the group. That will give you access to the planning threads.

 

[chickensevil]

Hi, I am brand new here. Am so interested in doing this!!! Do you have room for more cars? I have a P85, would be leaving from Newark. I am not sure if I can get friends or family to join me, 1 at most, regardless will have room in the car for passengers. Please let me know if I can get on list...thanks! Laurie from Philly Pa area

Welcome to the forums!

 

[CatB]

Signed up and psyched
undecided on whether I should join the caravan though - has anyone figured out good option for shipping our beloved cars back safely?
Shame the i70 route won't be covered by SCs by then, if I could return by a different route, I would think about RT.

 

[aaron.s]

CatB

Join our group... (Groups section) - there is some discussion going on there....

Aaron

 

[aaron.s]

All -

Suggest we start the planning stage of our trip across the country to Bonnie's BBQ & TMC Connect.

How does Saturday, May 17th in the evening sound for our first conference call?

Future planning will happen in the TMC Connect: Cross Country Drive Group here on TMC - so if you haven't joined the group, please do! Please respond to this in the group under the new thread I am about to create for the conference call....

Thanks!
Aaron

PS - I suggest the conference call for this Saturday the 17th at 8pm EST (5pm PST). Please see the group thread for conference call number...

 

[aaron.s]

All -

We will be having our first Conference Call for the @TeslaRoadTrip 2014 Cross-Country Drive to TMC Connect this Friday, May 23rd at 8pm EST.

If you're interested in joining the cross country drive and would like to participate in this conference call (only people making the trip please), the information about the call is in a new thread in our TMC Group: TMC Connect: Cross Country Drive - so please join the group if you haven't already...

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[amallah]

What a fantastic idea, I will definitely be joining from Newark next year!!

 

[aaron.s]

Second Conference Call - @TeslaRoadTrip Cross Country to TMC Connect

All -

We will be having our second Conference Call for the @TeslaRoadTrip 2014 Cross-Country Drive to TMC Connect this Wednesday, June 4th at 8pm EST.

If you're interested in joining the cross country drive and would like to participate in this conference call (only people making the trip please), the information about the call is in a new thread in our TMC Group: TMC Connect: Cross Country Drive - so please join the group if you haven't already...

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[panderson23]

Hey guys, I just got the mass mailing email about this yesterday. Sounds like a blast. It looks like this may line up with a trip I'm planning from Columbus, OH to Austin (Albert Lea), MN. Where's do I go to sign up?

 

[aaron.s]

See one post above yours about our conference call on Wednesday evening and the TMC Group you can join!

Aaron