Wiki Trip from Ct. to Fl.

[Wiki]

We're planning to drive our 2014 model s down to Fl. from Ct. this Dec. It's our first road trip with Tessy. If anyone has done it, 95 south all the way. Is there a gap greater than 230 mile on the way down. We're thinking of getting a ChaDaMo adapter just as extra security. Is it necessary? How do you find where they can be charged? How do you pay for the chargers that accept ChaDaMo

Doc0615

 

[shelbri]

I was considering the same trip with my 2014 Model S. Just type in your destination in the Nav and you'll see that it is doable on the Supercharger network. I don't think you'll need a Chademo adapter unless you are planning to go off and explore outside the 95 corridor. You might want to download the Plugshare app as it is helpful when looking for a place to stay with overnight charging facilities.

 

[kort677]

I have made the trip a few times, in an 85 in "normal weather" and staying at the speed limits you shouldn't have any needs for a Chademo. if you aim to make it from charger to charger you don't even need to max charge, give yourself a 20% cushion. your enemies are freezing cold, snow and rain so if you have those conditions plan accordingly. If you need to overnight on a freezing night bring a 12 gauge extension cord and find a 110 outlet to plug in. your biggest hop will be from Savannah GA to St. Augustine FL, until the St. Marys GA SC is finished.

 

[Btrflyl8e]

I drove my 60 from Tampa to Boston in June, using only superchargers. No problems at all!

 

[Discoducky]

try EVTripplanner: https://evtripplanner.com/planner/2-5/

It is very helpful for long trips and integrated supercharger planning as well!

 

[anthony]

We've done it a couple times now, and will be doing so again this year.

 

[ArtInCT]

Are there any Superchargers that are tricky to "find" on this route? For instance hidden inside of a shopping mall or airport parking lot?

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Savannah is on the ground floor of the economy parking garage, St Augustine is behind The Gap at an outlet mall. We didn't really have any trouble finding any along our route up 95...

 

[kort677]

savannah can be tricky to find, it is at the back of the north lot.
one trick it to use your nav in sat. mode zoomed all the way in to be able to locate chargers.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Did that run from CT to FL in February. No problems at all. No Chademos needed. I'm doing it again in March.

Here are the stats from my return trip using LogMySc.com along the way:

 

[Mnlevin]

DO NOT go through DC south after 3pm Massive unreal traffic, 50 miles of bumper to bumper. I would definitely go south through Salisbury to Norfolk then to Rocky Mt. I have done the trip twice and got stuck in the DC-Fredricksburg traffic, never again. Now you have Norfolk I would avoid DC at all costs unless you can get through there before 2pm.

 

[VirtualE]

Resources

Use the tesla NAV. To help you plan the trip.
In addition I suggest to use supercharge.info website to plan your supercharger stops.

After er your trip, you should share your experience and write a blog

 

[Mnlevin]

Are there any Superchargers that are tricky to "find" on this route? For instance hidden inside of a shopping mall or airport parking lot?

Now they have a few on the NJ Turnpike. When I did it in 2014 I went to the one in Edison...Very difficult to get back on the turnpike would avoid that one and it is easy to avoid it now.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Now they have a few on the NJ Turnpike. When I did it in 2014 I went to the one in Edison...Very difficult to get back on the turnpike would avoid that one and it is easy to avoid it now.

Same with Hamilton Marketplace.. although a little easier to get to off the turnpike compared to Edison. Hamilton Marketplace SC must be a ghost town now (except for maybe local owners).

Even still, I recently stopped at Edison because it was on my way to the turnpike from north-central NJ.

The two turnpike SCs are super convenient, but I see them needing more stalls at each location or additional SCs at other NJTP rest stops.

One more thing: If you stop at the Santee, SC supercharger, be sure to stop into the Santee General Store (across the street next to McDonalds.)

 

[ArtInCT]

I was playing around with Supercharge.info and using 195 Mile range.... here is what I came up with....

Start at Milford, Ct SC
Newark, DE
Glen Allen, VA
Rocky Mount, NC (our usual stop using ICE cars at the end of Day 1)
Lumberton, NC
Santee, SC
Savannah, GA
Lake City, FL or Saint Augustine, FL

Then after that it is your choice based on East Coast or West Coast....

I think the inter-SC gaps are very doable... but others with SuperCharger experience would be helpful to comment on those stops.

Also, A while back I ran into a spreadsheet that could be used to estimate your time at a supercharger, based
upon arrival SOC, ending desired SOC, Model S type

I think it was called Tesla Supercharge Time Calculator and a member on TMC crafted it under the username MATTEO....

Ok I just found the link to the Google Spreadsheet.... you can import it into your Mac, PC or iPad...

Here is the link ----> Tesla Supercharge Time Calculator - Google Sheets

 

[HankLloydRight]

Start at Milford, Ct SC

Are you far from Milford? I would suggest just starting with a range charge at your home.

Newark, DE
Glen Allen, VA
Rocky Mount, NC (our usual stop using ICE cars at the end of Day 1)

I've done a bunch of long trips (overnight) and the temptation is to stop at/near a supercharger overnight. This presents two problems. Unless the SC is near the hotel, you need to go SC either when you arrive (and you're tired, it's late, you want to get dinner), or you have to charge in the morning, which will delay you getting back on the road. You might be able to charge during dinner or breakfast, but then you're stuck with what's within walking distance of the SC. Now at Rocky Mount, you're lucky because there is one restaurant (Texas Steakhouse) and a one or two hotels. But that means leaving your car at the SC plugged in, and you have to schedule/time when to start charging to be full when leaving in the AM. I had this problem at Cranberry Twp, PA -- I booked a hotel which I thought was close, but it wasn't nearly as close as I thought. So even though the SC was at a hotel, that hotel was twice as expensive as the one I booked. So I had to sit and charge and wait.

What I've done a few times now heading south is stop overnight between two SCs (for instance, Lumberton, NC between Santee and Rocky Mount) -- there's a hotel and food right off the highway.

Lumberton, NC
Santee, SC
Savannah, GA
Lake City, FL or Saint Augustine, FL

Looks good to me.

Also, A while back I ran into a spreadsheet that could be used to estimate your time at a supercharger, based
upon arrival SOC, ending desired SOC, Model S type I think it was called Tesla Supercharge Time Calculator and a member on TMC crafted it under the username MATTEO.... Ok I just found the link to the Google Spreadsheet.... you can import it into your Mac, PC or iPad... Here is the link ----> Tesla Supercharge Time Calculator - Google Sheets

I got my car in March '14, and my first road trip was from Greenwich to Dayton, OH (before there was a SC there, BTW). Anyway, I spent hours and hours and hours creating such a detailed spreadsheet tracking driving energy usage, SC arrival time, SOC, recharge time, SC departure time, etc.. down to the minute. It was a really great plan taking everything into account (using EVTripplanner mostly for the estimates of each leg). Well, my plan flew out the window about 6 hours into the trip. I'm sure you'll find the same thing. I've done several long trips since then, and it's just a seat of the pants thing now.. I look at how far I have to go to the next SC, multiply that by about 1.25 to get my base SOC needed. Charge to that amount (or likely more) and then get on my way. No planning needed. No fretting about range anxiety. If energy was getting a little low, I'd slow down to bring it back into the "drive as fast as I want" range.

Here's a pic of my first (and only) "planning spreadsheet". I laugh now going back and looking at it! I'm sure you'll do something like this on your first long road trip.. but I'm sure you'll realize that it's not really needed! Just get in the car and go!!!

And side note: It was a spreadsheet just like this I created to track the "actual" which was the inspiration to create SuperCharger Trip Logger so I could just key in a few values at each stop, and let the computer figure out the rest.

 

[ArtInCT]

Hi Hank:
Yup right near the Milford, SC... I chose that as a starting point and when I make the trip I would start from home with a full range charge and not use that SuperCharger.
There are some hotels along the way that are destination hotels with HPWC's...
Probably making use of those facilities would be a great idea if overnighting.
I have not done the due diligence in that regard.

That spreadsheet I set the link to is helpful as MATTEO estimates the amount of time needed to achieve the desired SOC based upon arrival SOC...
Of course that estimate is probably based upon the SuperCharger working at peak output. YMMV

 

[shelbri]

If you type in your destination in your Nav and let it calculate the route, it will also tell you which Superchargers to stop at and the estimated time needed to charge. It really can't be more convenient.

 

[HankLloydRight]

There are some hotels along the way that are destination hotels with HPWC's...
Probably making use of those facilities would be a great idea if overnighting.
I have not done the due diligence in that regard.

If you find any along the I-95 corridor in NC/SC area, please let me know, as I'm making this trip again in March. I did not know of any this past Feb when I did the CT->FL run the first time.

That spreadsheet I set the link to is helpful as MATTEO estimates the amount of time needed to achieve the desired SOC based upon arrival SOC...
Of course that estimate is probably based upon the SuperCharger working at peak output. YMMV

Are you planning on using/updating the spreadsheet during your trip, at each and every SC? Because I know the first time I stopped at Haggerstown, MD SC, I was there A LOT longer than I had planned.. which meant I got nearly a full charge, which meant my estimated SOC at the next SC was way off (higher) from what I had planned it on being (on the spreadsheet), so the spreadsheet estimates from that point forward were useless. Some SC stops are 15 or 20 minutes (I call them "charge and pee" stops), some are 30 minutes ("charge and check email"), some are 45 minutes or more ("charge and eat").

So after doing this a lot, I just plan for around 30 minute SC stops regardless of SOC or distance. Some are shorter, some longer, and it all averages out. And yes, if you are the second in a pair of stalls, your charging is going to take a bit longer (although after a dozen long trips, this hasn't happened to me yet -- but I have been the first and have had other people pull into the other stall not knowing about the pairing problem).

I don't know if it shows, but I really like SC road trips. They definitely take about 25% longer (in total time) to get to the destination, but it's refreshing to stop every 2 hours or so to charge and rest and walk around, meet other Tesla owners, etc. And it's cost free travel.

 

[ArtInCT]

Ok, here are a few that I found which may be interesting. I have not checked their rates....

CARY, NC Amsted Hotel & Spa (kind of west of Rocky Mt)... 1 40A tesla charger

LATTA, SC Abingdon Manor, 1 80A HPWC

CHARLESTON, SC Belmond Charleston Place ... 2 80A HPWC

SAVANNAH, GA Azalea Inn & Villas, 1 80A HPWC

there may be others, I found these on the Tesla Superchargers Map and click on Destination Chargers to reveal their locations.

Charleston and Savannah are pretty nice places to spend a day to break up the trip.
Also I did not look for it but Colonial Williamsburg probably has a destination site and it is pretty interesting also.