Road-trip range concerns - Southeast

[Msicario]

Sheesh ….. the whole road trip range thing just isn’t real. Superchargers are everywhere …. Unless you’re going to Big Bend Park down in Texas for an “off road trip”, you have nothing to worry about. Every time we stop at a supercharger on a road trip, the car is ready to go before we are.

If you pre schedule your stops; You’ll be out of there in about 20 min. Depends in how much juice your getting

 

[electrikcuban]

I would only add to look for other superchargers in the navigation, if the one you are being routed to is having you arrive with over 40% state of charge.
Tesla is very conservative, and you often find another one a bit further up the road that will still allow you to make it at a safe lower charge (as long as your driving doesn't dramatically change).
You always want to charge at the lowest state of charge you feel comfortable with, for faster charging speeds. Never charge over 80% as it is a waste of time.

 

[Rocky_H]

There are no SC stations in Chandler or Gilbert

I get kind of tired of people claiming these Superchargers just don't exist.

Chandler Supercharger:

Supercharger - Chandler, AZ

the world's number one supercharge sleuth (@MarcoRP) located permits for a future supercharger in Chandler, AZ. Didn't see a discussion thread opened up yet. Seems like much needed location. Hope we can update supercharge.info @Big Earl

teslamotorsclub.com

And the Mesa Supercharger shows as only 2.7 miles from the city center of Gilbert.

Supercharger - Mesa, AZ

Tesla is finally building a Supercharger in the East Valley!!! Last week, Tesla filed an ADR permit for a Supercharger in Mesa. 12 stalls are being added in the parking stalls beside Party City at 1859 S Stapley Drive (33.3802, -111.8056)

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[RichAZ/CapeCod]

...We’re in the Southeast so not the best network (from what I’ve heard) and I also have some concerns about charging stations becoming full and having to wait extended periods. ...

The Southeast is inundated with SCs! And, you traveling a day before the July 4th holiday or what? Where did you get the extended wait periods from??

Twice a year wifey and I do an AZ>Cape Cod>AZ trip, not to mention other 500 to 1000 miles jogs. You really just need to take a couple of longish road trips to see the reality of your situation.

Oh, and I keep my speed to 75 mph. More comfortable just tooling along in the right lane, not so much for the added efficiency of that speed. You gain damn little in travel time for the extra 5 mph of speed. Just saying.

Rich

 

[Msicario]

I get kind of tired of people claiming these Superchargers just don't exist.

Chandler Supercharger:

Supercharger - Chandler, AZ

the world's number one supercharge sleuth (@MarcoRP) located permits for a future supercharger in Chandler, AZ. Didn't see a discussion thread opened up yet. Seems like much needed location. Hope we can update supercharge.info @Big Earl

teslamotorsclub.com

And the Mesa Supercharger shows as only 2.7 miles from the city center of Gilbert.

Supercharger - Mesa, AZ

Tesla is finally building a Supercharger in the East Valley!!! Last week, Tesla filed an ADR permit for a Supercharger in Mesa. 12 stalls are being added in the parking stalls beside Party City at 1859 S Stapley Drive (33.3802, -111.8056)

teslamotorsclub.com

Chandler AZ submitted paperwork Working on other nearby No doubt, good news for future SC stations

 

[NeverGoingBack]

If you pre schedule your stops; You’ll be out of there in about 20 min. Depends in how much juice your getting

It usually doesn’t take more than 15 min for me …….

 

[NeverGoingBack]

Chandler AZ submitted paperwork Working on other nearby No doubt, good news for future SC stations

 

[Msicario]

I don’t disagree that all manufacturers report EPA results, I’m just saying that is a misleading measurement at a time where distances matter.

You mention ICE here, which is important.
There are gas stations everywhere and they only take a few minutes to refill. The other thing to note is that it is much cheaper to put a larger fuel tank on than a larger battery. So, range, if an issue, can be mitigated (long term).

If you think about it, other than delivery drivers, what real world use is the EPA ratings.
It’s certainly not to compare between companies when companies like Tesla use 5-cycle to their advantage Vs companies like Porsche that deliberately lower their ratings.

EPA will test drive only at 60-65mph under perfect driving conditions; Not real world driving Try driving in lots of states where speed limit is 75mph, big trailer rigs will be doing 80mph in the slow lane

 

[pbcsd]

I’m planning to get an MY this fall but after seeing the thread about real world range (going 80mph with a/c on) I have some concerns about range and road trips.
We don’t mind stopping every three hours of driving but it does seem like we’d have to stop much more frequently for our typical trips. We’re in the Southeast so not the best network (from what I’ve heard) and I also have some concerns about charging stations becoming full and having to wait extended periods. It’s tough to gauge whether adding all the stops would be worth it on road trips.

Thoughts?

Have had my Y for over a year now. Honestly, the range is terrible compared to their stated range. In Canada I get maybe 350km-400km if I’m super lucky vs the 490 or whatever stated range. In the winter it drops another 20% or so. As others mentioned you basically need to drive the speed limit everywhere. If you have a lead foot it decreases substantially. Which is kind of ironic given how Teslas are known for their off the line speed.

I have a charger at home so not really an issue except the rare time I forget to charge the night before and have a longish trip on low battery.

If I’m doing a road trip longer than a couple hundred KM, it’s typically in the winter for a hockey tournament and to be honest I just use my wife’s Audi Q5 as finding chargers where the hockey tournaments are isn’t easy. Plus I can easily drive for 3 hours plus and prefer not to have to stop and find a charger and wait the 20 min or whatever. But that’s just me.

It can also take way longer to heat up after a night out in -20 to -30 weather and god help your range if you don’t let it warm up. My wife barely made it 45km home from work after it was out several hours on in that cold and she didn’t know to warm it up (battery drained 40-50% on that short trip…it was nuts and she was petrified as she watched it drain).


Not sure I will buy another EV until these solid state batteries come out with proclaimed doubling of range. Which is an issue as I will need a third car soon and had little interest in dumping money into another ICE vehicle.

Probably would have still bought the Y regardless as I do love not getting gas and the punchyness of it. The Tesla SC network is also obviously a plus and thankfully have never run into the horror stories you read about hour or more long waits.

But if I did several road trips a year and didn’t have the ICE as a backup, not sure I’d have bought an EV. Maybe an X or S which I believe have much longer range.

To each their own though. Range anxiety is a real thing, there are tons of ways to mitigate it that you learn to live with and use though.

 

[Fourdoor]

All depends on what type of bladder the passengers have Even in an ICE, either me or my wife would need stopping after 2h, sometimes less, and only occasionally 3h. I plan my EV stops in the 1.5-2h range and we're always happy. Superchargers are fast enough that by the time we go to the bathroom and grab a drink, the car's ready to go. For us, an EV is really not that much slower overall, even on long trips.
People that have bladders of steel and can go 6h without stopping will indeed lose more time in an EV.

At the 3h mark you're on the verge. You can do it, it won't be that bad, but it will be slower than ICE. You can reduce that additional time by stopping more often but you can't completely remove it.

A single person (or a motivated couple) on a speed run will get better results in an ICE, but a family taking a road trip will see virtually zero difference in travel time compared to an ICE car, I have never heard of a ICE car gas break taking less than 15 min if you are traveling with a wife and kids, so how is that any different than a charging stop? And most ICE fuel stops are based more on the bladder range of the smallest bladder rather than the gas gauge, so having that VW diesel with 700 miles of range on one tank of fuel isn't going to do you any good traveling with the family

One thing that you will notice, there are not convenience stores / restrooms directly associated with the Supercharger. If it happens to be located at a gas station, that is perfect... but many of them are located at a shopping center, or a mall, or a hotel, or somewhere else that you will have to seek out a restroom... in some cases, that associated mall / shopping center is closed at night and if you are doing a road trip that uses one of those locations as a stop, and your arrive after closing time you will be relieving yourself behind some shrubbery, or making a separate bathroom stop.

One problem I have (I don't think most people have this) is that my wife refuses to use a restroom at a hotel if she is not a guest at that hotel... so if we stop at a Supercharger that is in a hotel parking lot, we then have to make a separate stop for a restroom break in a dirty gas station restroom. I have explained to her that the Hotel expects people using the chargers to use their public restrooms, and that it will be cleaner and more pleasant than the average gas station, but she refuses. My future solution is to never use a Supercharger that is located at a hotel if I can avoid it.

Keith

 

[Msicario]

Have had my Y for over a year now. Honestly, the range is terrible compared to their stated range. In Canada I get maybe 350km-400km if I’m super lucky vs the 490 or whatever stated range. In the winter it drops another 20% or so. As others mentioned you basically need to drive the speed limit everywhere. If you have a lead foot it decreases substantially. Which is kind of ironic given how Teslas are known for their off the line speed.

I have a charger at home so not really an issue except the rare time I forget to charge the night before and have a longish trip on low battery.

If I’m doing a road trip longer than a couple hundred KM, it’s typically in the winter for a hockey tournament and to be honest I just use my wife’s Audi Q5 as finding chargers where the hockey tournaments are isn’t easy. Plus I can easily drive for 3 hours plus and prefer not to have to stop and find a charger and wait the 20 min or whatever. But that’s just me.

It can also take way longer to heat up after a night out in -20 to -30 weather and god help your range if you don’t let it warm up. My wife barely made it 45km home from work after it was out several hours on in that cold and she didn’t know to warm it up (battery drained 40-50% on that short trip…it was nuts and she was petrified as she watched it drain).


Not sure I will buy another EV until these solid state batteries come out with proclaimed doubling of range. Which is an issue as I will need a third car soon and had little interest in dumping money into another ICE vehicle.

Probably would have still bought the Y regardless as I do love not getting gas and the punchyness of it. The Tesla SC network is also obviously a plus and thankfully have never run into the horror stories you read about hour or more long waits.

But if I did several road trips a year and didn’t have the ICE as a backup, not sure I’d have bought an EV. Maybe an X or S which I believe have much longer range.

To each their own though. Range anxiety is a real thing, there are tons of ways to mitigate it that you learn to live with and use though.

Spot on Range anxiety is real; I’ve experienced some real, legitimate embarrassment; Having to drive on a highway to get to my next SC; Cars, Trucks, Trailers looking at me laughing while I drive my expensive MYP under 60mph..

 

[CaseyL]

I’m planning to get an MY this fall but after seeing the thread about real world range (going 80mph with a/c on) I have some concerns about range and road trips.
We don’t mind stopping every three hours of driving but it does seem like we’d have to stop much more frequently for our typical trips.

Making it 3 hours while driving 80 is a bit of a stretch. Also, that would reqire that there is a Supercharger exactly 3 hours away. Stopping more often is really not a bad thing. I see Tesla families having picnics, walking dogs, and one lady was sunbathing in a lounge chair in back of her Model Y.

We’re in the Southeast so not the best network (from what I’ve heard) and I also have some concerns about charging stations becoming full and having to wait extended periods.

This is really not a thing in the Southeast. I've stopped for 175 Supercharger sessions in Florida and Georgia and once I had to wait 10 minutes (while eating). That is the only time I have ever encountered a full charging area.

Last week I stopped at an extremely busy Buc-ees near St Augustine and 10 of the 12 chargers were open and available.

 

[fholbert]

A single person (or a motivated couple) on a speed run will get better results in an ICE, but a family taking a road trip will see virtually zero difference in travel time compared to an ICE car, I have never heard of a ICE car gas break taking less than 15 min if you are traveling with a wife and kids, so how is that any different than a charging stop? And most ICE fuel stops are based more on the bladder range of the smallest bladder rather than the gas gauge, so having that VW diesel with 700 miles of range on one tank of fuel isn't going to do you any good traveling with the family

With the wife and two kids I assume your lucky to drive 90 minutes without someone needing to pee?

 

[Darmie]

There is many joys to tesla ownership. Unless you are always on a road trip, 99.998 % of the time, the tesla will always be the best car to travel in.
We've done many road trips in our 2018 MX, Each time we hit the road, we see more and more superchargers than we did before.
Check out supercharge.info to get a quick glance of chargers in your route. You are not stuck with just Tesla superchargers. Check out PlugShare - EV Charging Station Map - Find a place to charge . You can always find a spot to charge. As a famous YouTube creator once mentioned, the ABC's of EV ownership is to Always Be Charging.

 

[howardnj]

I think you are missing a stop or two at the beginning.
From how I read it, it looks like your first stop to charge was after 416 miles and you had 31% left.

My reply was for only charge stops between NC and Florida

FWIW

Here is the entire trip from NJ to Florida. Left home with a 90% charge. The Churchville Rd stop in Md is at a Royal Farms open 24 hours
Rest area stops were for bathroom and in one case just to close and rest my eyes
Spent the night in Florence, SC

31-May-23	13323	1342 Miles 0	76%-90%	EB Leave for Florida	12:15 AM
31-May-23	13462	139 Miles	35%-80%	Tesla Churchville Rd Md.	02:22 AM 40 Min	$12.21
31-May-23	13565	243 Miles	43%	Rest Area I95	04:30-04:50
31-May-23	13597	274 Miles	29%-86%	Fredricksburg, Va. Tesla	05:20 AM Exit 126	$17.22	35 Min
31-May-23	13720	398 Miles	39%	Loves, Exit 4 Va. Skippers, VA	08:12 AM Bathroom
31-May-23	13739	416 Miles	31%-90%	Tesla Halifax, NC Exit 168	9:15 AM	$17.20	35 Min Dunkin Donuts
31-May-23	13807	485 Miles	63%	Rest Area Johnson County NC	10:30 AM Near Smithfield
31-May-23	13858	536 Miles	44%-90%	Fayetteville, NC Exit 49 Cracker Barrel Here	11:40AM	$12.87	30 Min
31-May-23	13911	589 Miles	71%	Rest Area SC
31-May-23	13948	625 Miles	58%-90%	Florence, SC Magnolia Mall	2:10 PM	$9.12	25 Min
1-Jun-23	14122	800 Miles	5%-81%	EnMarket Pooler, Ga	5:15 AM	$15.54	35 Min
1-Jun-23	14187	864 Miles	52%-90%	Brunswick, Ga Tesla	6:50 AM	$7.42
1-Jun-23	14282	959 Miles	51%	Rest Area, SC Johns County	8:50 AM
1-Jun-23	14290	968 Miles	47%-90%	St. Augustine, Fl Buccees	9:11 AM	$10.85	30 Min
1-Jun-23	14387	1056 Miles	45%	Rest Area N Brevard Co	11:15 AM MP227 I95
1-Jun-23	14421	1099 Miles	29%-90%	Rockledge, Viera Fl Parking Lot	11:40 AM	$16.56	35 Min
1-Jun-23	14447	1124 Miles	77%	Rest Area
1-Jun-23	14510	1187 Miles	47%	Rest Area Sleepy	2:10 PM
1-Jun-23	14552	1230 Miles	28%-90%	FPL Evolution WPB Fl Tpke	2:42 PM	$14:82	35 Min

 

[gtae07]

With the wife and two kids I assume your lucky to drive 90 minutes without someone needing to pee?

Half the time that someone is me. And by 90-120 minutes I really want to get out of the car for a bit anyway.

Our most common "road trip" is Savannah to Atlanta area--220 ish miles, usually a hair under 4 hours with 1-3 stops and that's in an ICE vehicle. It's no different with the Tesla...

 

[howardnj]

For those in the NJ area here is my log of the return trip from Florida to NJ with a two night stop and taking the ferry from Lewes, De to Cape May, NJ
The kids will love the ferry especially if they see whales and dolphins in Chesapeake Bay. The Bay Bridge and Tunnel is interesting also.
The Ferry requires reservations

15-May-23	11684	3 Miles	76%-90%	Tesla WPB FL TPKE	$0.13 kWh	$1.47
15-May-23	11816	134 Miles	33%-90%	Tesla Rockledge,Fl	$0.36 kWk	$15.48	Parking Lot
15-May-23	11848	167 Miles	76%	Rest Ara
15-May-23	11908	227 Miles	48%-90%	Tesla Palm Coast WaWa	$0.37 kWh	$11.47
15-May-23	11957	276 Miles	71%	Rest Area St John County
15-May-23	11999	318 Miles	53%-90%	Tesla Yulee, Fl	$0.36 kWh 114 kWh No Bathrooms	$10.00
15-May-23	12127	446 Miles	41%-90%	Tesla Hardeeville,SC	$0.31 Very Busy	$11.54
15-May-23	12170	488 Miles	73%	Rest Area SC
15-May-23	12222	540 Miles	51%	Rest Area Santee, SC
15-May-23	12284	603 Miles	23%-90%	Tesla Florence,SC Mall	$0.38 kWh	$20.70
16-May-23	12372	691 Miles	50%	Rest Area Cumberland Co,NC
16-May-23	12407	725 Miles	35%-90%	Tesla Benson,NC	At Hampton Inn	$16.48
16-May-23	12470	788 Miles	63%	Rest Area Dorchester, NC
16-May-23	12496	815 Miles	53%-90%	Tesla Halifax, NC		$10.80
16-May-23	12510	829 Miles	84%	Rest Area Virginia
16-May-23	12552	871 Miles	70%	I 58 East	Food Lion Parking Lot Lunch
16-May-23	12595	914 Miles	55%	Fairfield Inn Chesapeake
16-May-23	12606	925 Miles	50%-90%	Tesla Portssmith,VA WaWa	$0.33 kWh	$9.90
16-May-23	12618	937 Miles	86%	Fairfield Inn Chesapeake	Outback Steak House
17-May-23	12694	1013 Miles	51%-90%	Tesla Exmore,Va	Royal Farms 4 Sta
17-May-23	12720	1039 Miles	80%	Royal Farms pee	7AM
17-May-23	12767	1085 Miles	65%	Valero Pee	8AM
17-May-23	12805	1123 Miles	52%	Lewes, DE Ferry	9:10 AM
17-May-23	12809	1128 Miles	48%	Lobster House Cape May	2:50 PM
17-May-23	12821	1140 Miles	43%-82%	Tesla Cape May Court House	Acme Parking Lot $0.42 kWh	$13.17
17-May-23	12888	1206 Miles	56%	Celiia Cruz Rest Area	MP 76 GSP
17-May-23	12941	1259 Miles	33%	Home EB

 

[vanjwilson]

...We’re in the Southeast so not the best network (from what I’ve heard) and I also have some concerns about charging stations becoming full and having to wait extended periods...

I'm late to this thread, so I'll try not to rehash all these other good replies.

I'll just add that I also, live in North Carolina, have had my Model Y for a little over 2 years, and I have driven more road trip miles with it than I took in my life up until getting it. (I'm in my mid-50s now)

I have been to beach, the mountains, Washington D.C., New York City, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, West Texas, southern Colorado, Los Angeles, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. I have over 60,000 miles on the MY in 2 years.

I quickly learned to heed the advice many have shared above. Namely, on a driving day, try to start close to full, whether you supercharge the night before, or charge at home or your hotel (if possible). Look for superchargers that the car thinks you will arrive at with ~15% battery remaining. Once there, supercharge only until between 60%–70% and move on. Your stops will range between 10–15 minutes this way.

Out West, you may have to charge a little longer, because distance between superchargers are sometimes greater, so figure 20–25 minutes. But east of the Mississippi River, the superchargers are so thick, you will probably only have to stop at every 3rd or 4th one. (Except in Arkansas, which is lagging in superchargers for some reason.)

I just checked the "Superchargers per State" chart at supercharge.info, and NC has 59 superchargers sites, and I know of 4 more under construction, 3 more at permitting stage, and then the two that won owner voting that are listed as "2024" on the Tesla map below, Sylva and Cherokee.

 

[Msicario]

I'm late to this thread, so I'll try not to rehash all these other good replies.

I'll just add that I also, live in North Carolina, have had my Model Y for a little over 2 years, and I have driven more road trip miles with it than I took in my life up until getting it. (I'm in my mid-50s now)

I have been to beach, the mountains, Washington D.C., New York City, Atlanta, Cleveland, Chicago, West Texas, southern Colorado, Los Angeles, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. I have over 60,000 miles on the MY in 2 years.

I quickly learned to heed the advice many have shared above. Namely, on a driving day, try to start close to full, whether you supercharge the night before, or charge at home or your hotel (if possible). Look for superchargers that the car thinks you will arrive at with ~15% battery remaining. Once there, supercharge only until between 60%–70% and move on. Your stops will range between 10–15 minutes this way.

Out West, you may have to charge a little longer, because distance between superchargers are sometimes greater, so figure 20–25 minutes. But east of the Mississippi River, the superchargers are so thick, you will probably only have to stop at every 3rd or 4th one. (Except in Arkansas, which is lagging in superchargers for some reason.)

I just checked the "Superchargers per State" chart at supercharge.info, and NC has 59 superchargers sites, and I know of 4 more under construction, 3 more at permitting stage, and then the two that won owner voting that are listed as "2024" on the Tesla map below, Sylva and Cherokee.


View attachment 958759What size and brand are your tires? How many miles do you get out of them? Being the same size you rotate them often

 

[vanjwilson]

What size and brand are your tires? How many miles do you get out of them? Being the same size you rotate them often

I got over 37,000 miles out of the original tires, I think because a lot of them were road miles. We've had hybrids or electrics for over 15 years, and regen braking seems to really chew through tires. I had them rotated pretty religiously every 7,500 miles.

I replaced them with basically the same tire, Continental Procontact RX, 255 /45 R19. I haven't been as good about rotation with this new set, unfortunately. Thanks for reminding me that they are overdue.

I don't swap out winter tires, because I don't really need them where I live, even when I go up to the North Carolina mountains.