For those interested, thought that I would share a few comments and takeaways from a road trip that I took with my oldest kids (sons age almost 8 and 6) from Milwaukee, WI to La Quinta, CA and back. For context, I have a 2018, FSD-equipped AWD Model 3 with 18" Aeros (non-Performance, and have not purchased $2,000 acceleration upgrade). My Model 3 is HW 2.5 (hoping for the HW 3.0 upgrade in 1Q20). I am on software version 2019.40.50.7.
We had post-Christmas plans to meet family in La Quinta, and based on expensive airfare and memories of some fantastic road trips in college (20 years ago, sadly), I decided to drive out with two of our three kids (my wife and 2 year old daughter flew).
We had to make it to La Quinta in two days on the way out, as our AirBnB was booked before I made the road trip plan and I did not want to leave on Christmas Day. The trip began at 4AM CST on 12/26, with the intention to make it to La Quinta by the evening of 12/27. I used www.abetterrouteplanner.com extensively before the trip to plan the route and estimate how long it should take with charging stops. I also identified two routes (one northern via I-80 through WI, IL, IA, NE, CO, UT, NV and CA) and one southern along the old Route 66 through WI, IL, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ and CA), and chose to drive out via the southern route for warmer weather (improved battery efficiency). We had almost three days for the return, which afforded the northern route for mountain awesomeness.
Key takeaways from the trip:
Some photos from the trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Ybwm42h8v5jLiNeA
I am sure that I am forgetting details of interest to the TMC community. Happy to answer any questions. On a related note, I made a couple of videos earlier this year about getting three car seats into the back seat:
We had post-Christmas plans to meet family in La Quinta, and based on expensive airfare and memories of some fantastic road trips in college (20 years ago, sadly), I decided to drive out with two of our three kids (my wife and 2 year old daughter flew).
We had to make it to La Quinta in two days on the way out, as our AirBnB was booked before I made the road trip plan and I did not want to leave on Christmas Day. The trip began at 4AM CST on 12/26, with the intention to make it to La Quinta by the evening of 12/27. I used www.abetterrouteplanner.com extensively before the trip to plan the route and estimate how long it should take with charging stops. I also identified two routes (one northern via I-80 through WI, IL, IA, NE, CO, UT, NV and CA) and one southern along the old Route 66 through WI, IL, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ and CA), and chose to drive out via the southern route for warmer weather (improved battery efficiency). We had almost three days for the return, which afforded the northern route for mountain awesomeness.
Key takeaways from the trip:
- The outbound trip entailed ~2,100 miles and 15 supercharger stops (Bolingbrook, IL, Normal, IL, Mehlville, MO, Rolla, MO, Springfield, MO, Joplin, MO, Catoosa, OK, Oklahoma City, OK, Shamrock, TX, Tucumcari, NM, Albuquerque, NM, Gallup, NM, Payson, AZ, Quartzsite, AZ, Ehrenberg, AZ; total supercharging cost: $88.19). The return trip entailed similar mileage and 18 supercharger stops (Twentynine Palms, CA, Las Vegas LINQ, NV, St. George, UT, Beaver, UT, Richfield, UT, Green River, UT, Grand Junction, CO, Glenwood Springs, CO, Silverthorne, CO, Brush, CO, Ogallala, NE, Gothenberg, NE, Grand Island, NE, Lincoln, NE, Shelby, IA, Altoona, IA, Davenport, IA, Rockford, IL; total cost: $140.34). Average efficiency was 307 Wh/mile on the way out; 315 on the way back. I assume that the return trip was less efficient and more expensive due to colder temperatures (with resulting lower efficiency) and potentially lower efficiency in the first half of the trip due to the more significant mountain elevation changes, but would love insights from the TMC community here. Supercharging unit costs were generally lower in the states that we traveled on the return. Both directions entailed roughly 30 hours of driving and 6 hours of en route supercharging.
- I had AutoPilot engaged for every moment that I could (there were two instances when distraction led AutoPilot to "cut me off", requiring an exit, shift to park and resumption of drive to reengage. I found AutoPilot to be >95% reliable driving on the highway (no scary wheel jerks off the road or on curves), with the only notable issue being an occasional phantom slowdown (probably five times total on trip). On and off-ramp execution was probably closer to 80%, though that is more of a nice to have than a requirement for me until (unless?) AutoPilot can fully handle the transition to local roads from the highway. As noted elsewhere, AutoPilot does sometimes temporarily struggle with wide lanes when on-ramps converge, though it was smooth within lane lines aside from that. AutoPilot handled curvy, mountain driving very well, though it did feel like it would depart from the lane lines occasionally on sharp curves (it did not actually do so, but I had my hands ready in case it did, and occasionally took control proactively). Roads were dry aside from a three hour stretch in Central AZ on the outbound trip, but the Model 3 handled that weather without slippage or other noticeable issue (context: I lived in Portland for a number of years and drove Subarus when I lived there. The Model 3 was much more sure footed in this small bad weather, mountain driving sample).
- I used Tesla navigation in combination with abetterrouteplanner to determine charging stops. Tesla navigation was generally more conservative than abetterrouteplanner, but neither led me down a range anxiety path. When relying on abetterrouteplanner when it disagreed with Tesla navigation, I made sure to navigate to the supercharger recommended by abetterrouteplanner such that the Model 3 would precondition the battery for supercharging. I also used PlugShare to identify specific tips about each supercharger (good/bad chargers, food options), and occasionally used Tesla website for supercharger amenity information. I also found PlugShare to be invaluable for identifying hotels and other locations with Tesla/EV charging.
- Most of my charging stops were at 150kW superchargers, which typically delivered 130-135 kW. State of charge upon arrival certainly impacted charging speed. I had to move between charger units at three superchargers due to the perception of poor (sub-100 kW) charging speed, and each time the move improved charging performance (patience at the initial charger unit may have had the same impact - no counterfactual). I utilized two 250kW (V3) superchargers - Ehrenberg, AZ and Las Vegas LINQ - and saw peak charging speeds in the low 200 kWs.
- Reflecting a particularly nerdy side of my personality, I was generally excited to experience the superchargers, see where they were and what they offered. Aside from a few middle of the night supercharger stops in small towns (no 24 hour gas stations or restaurants) and one located next to a closed hotel that has clearly become a home for local opioid addicts (Joplin, MO), I was very impressed with that which was available while you charged, and the longer than gas stop breaks were legitimately helpful to break up the trip a bit and afford my young boys some run around time. That said, faster charging (more V3) would be welcome (at least for Model 3s), and I could not imagine trying to do such a long trip with lower kW charging options offered for non-Tesla EVs.
- We spent one (partial) night at a hotel on the way out (Holiday Inn Express in Amarillo, TX) and one on the way back (Best Western in St. George, UT), and both offered free Tesla Destination charging (which, based on PlugShare, seems to be getting more ubiquitous, with one or more options in most towns at this point). I noted that the Tesla Destination Charging site reflects a small subset of hotels offering Tesla charging, and utilized PlugShare exclusively to search for EV-friendly hotels to save a little $ and time.
- For entertainment, we utilized digital books, podcasts, a bit of Kindle time (we do not let our boys have much (any) screen time at home, so they were very excited for a few multi-hour Kindle stretches in the car), and group iPad viewing via a RAM Mount suction cupped to the inside of the glass roof when on the move. When charging and in the car, we occasionally used Tesla's in car entertainment options (Beach Buggy Racing, Netflix and YouTube), and were thoroughly impressed. The Tesla fart app came in handy a couple of times, as well, to keep things fun.
- The Model 3 had enough room to be comfortable, but it is a small car and would be tight with larger kids/all five of us. I would love to try the same trip in an S with RFS or a 6/7-seat X, though my perception is that there would be even more charging time due to the relative inefficiency of the much larger S or X.
Some photos from the trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Ybwm42h8v5jLiNeA
I am sure that I am forgetting details of interest to the TMC community. Happy to answer any questions. On a related note, I made a couple of videos earlier this year about getting three car seats into the back seat:
