Will I make it?

[roblab]

Do any of you people that are telling him to go ahead and use the Tesla drive a P85D? I do, and I'd say he would be crazy to attempt this unless he finds a good charging option some place other than the supercharger. Sure, slowing down will help. He might get stranded with no juice 20 miles from home instead of 40 miles from home.

Is it possible, that with really good conditions, even in winter, he might be able to make the trip in a P85D? Maybe? But a lot could go wrong, and not much would have to, and in fact I don't think anything would have to for him not to make it. This would be his first long trip in the car, with small kids. There's a time to experiment with range, and a time to be safe. This is a time to be safe. Take the ICE!

OK, I have to agree. Get used to the car, know your limitations, find out where to charge in emergencies. But after just a few weeks, your confidence will grow. You won't be sweating this kind of stuff, you will be proud of your car and what you can do without using the ICE. Then in a few more months you will start thinking of selling that other thing in the garage, that smokes, causes wars, endangers your kids.

Do what you think is best. But be prepared. You will grow!

 

[Rheazombi]

And don't just look at PlugShare. Use an RV park directory as well. Just check for 50 amp service (RV parks don't know what a 14-50 is, they only know 30 amp and 50 amp. The Model S can't use the 30 amp, but the 50 amp is a 14-50).

Why can't the model s use the 30 amp? Is it an adapter issue?

 

[Bighorn]

Why can't the model s use the 30 amp? Is it an adapter issue?

Yep...

NEMA 14-50R to TT-30P RV Plug Adapter

 

[Rheazombi]

Good to know.

I recently went off the deep end and ordered literally every plug adapter they sell, and a seriously BEEFY 50A 14-50 30ft extension cord from Amazon. ^^;;

 

[purplewalt]

I think it would be best to take a solo test run in better (warmer) weather to gain an understanding of the dynamics of your new car.

There are a lot of great suggestions here about slowing down, locating a Level 2 charger (14-50 or HPWC), having a back-up plan, etc., but the safety of you family is paramount.
If it were warmer weather and you required a couple of miles for added range, your bigger kids could play outside while you charged for a couple of hours at an RV park.

 

[dsm363]

Agree with everyone here. Unless everyone in the family is on board and you can find a place to charge either at destination or on your way back in an emergency I'd wait to try this trip out on your own. Or at least until Tesla updates the D software to add back that range.

 

[jerry33]

Why can't the model s use the 30 amp? Is it an adapter issue?

The 30 amp plug in an RV park is really 120V. Even with an adapter I believe it's limited to 20 amps (maybe 16 not sure about that), so although it's technically possible, it's not very practical.

- - - Updated - - -

I recently went off the deep end and ordered literally every plug adapter they sell, and a seriously BEEFY 50A 14-50 30ft extension cord from Amazon. ^^;;

I ordered one of those extension cords too. Ended up giving it away to the local electric vehicle club--unopened.

 

[Cosmacelf]

The 30 amp plug in an RV park is really 120V. Even with an adapter I believe it's limited to 20 amps (maybe 16 not sure about that), so although it's technically possible, it's not very practical.

Cars built before January 2014 are limited to 20A at 120V with this adapter, cars built after that seem to be able to draw 24A from it (well, they can draw whatever they want from it, but use the car's charging screen to limit to 24A).

Still not very useful unless you were charging overnight, or all day.

Also, caveat that RV parks are notorious for poorly maintained electrical wiring. Charging at a 50A or 30A plug, you should frequently monitor that the breaker hasn't tripped during the charge.

 

[purplewalt]

Also, caveat that RV parks are notorious for poorly maintained electrical wiring. Charging at a 50A or 30A plug, you should frequently monitor that the breaker hasn't tripped during the charge.

Ditto watching and checking charging @ RV Parks.

Tying in one more bit of RV Park charging info: If you are plugged into a 14-50 outlet during the day, and your mobile connector is in the sun, your car's mobile connector may reduce the 40 A rate down to 30 A.
The [too] warm connector reduces the charge rate drastically, and the slower charge rate then increases your charging time.
This has happened to me twice: once in Utah and once in Southern Kansas.

So, if you are charging during the day in hot weather, locate your car to be under some trees (if they are available).
Or charge during the early morning/evening/night.

 

[jerry33]

Also, caveat that RV parks are notorious for poorly maintained electrical wiring. Charging at a 50A or 30A plug, you should frequently monitor that the breaker hasn't tripped during the charge.

This is certainly true. Set it at 32 or 33 amps rather than 40. It won't make that much time difference and will prevent the breaker from tripping in almost all cases.

 

[Vger]

I hate so say it for those without, but firmer v6.1 makes a HUGE difference in situations like this. The energy predictor is amazingly accurate, but also on the conservative side.

So Fezzik, if you have 6.1, you will find your peace of mind hugely increased. You will be able to monitor things in real-time and judge how much safety factor you do or do not have.

We just did a leg of 201 miles with a full range charge, which we have done many times, and it is always touch and go in the winter. It is net uphill and frequently into a stiff headwind. This time, we could monitor things and slow down and speed up proactively, before we could get into any trouble. Marvellous!

 

[Rheazombi]

The 30 amp plug in an RV park is really 120V. Even with an adapter I believe it's limited to 20 amps (maybe 16 not sure about that), so although it's technically possible, it's not very practical.

- - - Updated - - -



I ordered one of those extension cords too. Ended up giving it away to the local electric vehicle club--unopened.

Yeah, most sane people will probably rarely use it. Already been in 2 situations where it would have helped tho ...holy crap it is huge and heavy though!

Appreciate all the useful RV park info in this thread.

 

[Fezzik]

Ok. Did the trip with the p85d. I told the wife we may have to stop in Milwaukee. So loaded up me, my wife, 6,5,3,1 year old, 3 sleds, food, and winter cloths for each of us and went. The temps were 42 degrees on the trip up and 38 for the trip down

With the trip from pleasant prairie supercharger to sheboygan, i went from 99 percent battery to 54 percent battery. We traveled 89 miles at 70-75mph. No wind and 42 degrees We averaged 375wh/mi Not bad. I plugged into their 120v. I also did 2 launches from 0 to 60 in insane mode at our host request. i ended up using everything i gained by the 120V charger while there, BUT the battery was warm!
I decided to program in the nav the supercharger The energy predictor stated we would have 15 percent battery left by the time we got there. I was like alright. We gotta try it. Esp having 4 kids. I didnt like the notion of stopping for an hour in Milwaukee, but that was the back up plan.
I traveled 75 going back. I then saw the energy predictor go down to 14,13,12. So I lowered the speed down to 70mph. Then the percentage still went down to 11,10,9, 8, 7,6. I drop the speed down to 60-65. The percentage then stabilized. I then traveled through Milwaukee and the speed was reduced to 55. The energy predictor then went up to 8,9,10 We ended up at the supercharger with 20 miles left on the predicted range. I averaged 400wh/mi Stayed there for a few mins and filled up to 70miles and flew home.

The new trip and consumption tabs are very key on helping you decide on your true distance left. It was nice seeing my left over battery drop so I could slow down. It also shows up on your nav screen the battery percentage.
SO 75% of what the range on the dash is what I got.

Thanks all for the ideas and help.

 

[EdA]

Ok. Did the trip with the p85d. I told the wife we may have to stop in Milwaukee. So loaded up me, my wife, 6,5,3,1 year old, 3 sleds, food, and winter cloths for each of us and went. The temps were 42 degrees on the trip up and 38 for the trip down

With the trip from pleasant prairie supercharger to sheboygan, i went from 99 percent battery to 54 percent battery. We traveled 89 miles at 70-75mph. No wind and 42 degrees We averaged 375wh/mi Not bad. I plugged into their 120v. I also did 2 launches from 0 to 60 in insane mode at our host request. i ended up using everything i gained by the 120V charger while there, BUT the battery was warm!
I decided to program in the nav the supercharger The energy predictor stated we would have 15 percent battery left by the time we got there. I was like alright. We gotta try it. Esp having 4 kids. I didnt like the notion of stopping for an hour in Milwaukee, but that was the back up plan.
I traveled 75 going back. I then saw the energy predictor go down to 14,13,12. So I lowered the speed down to 70mph. Then the percentage still went down to 11,10,9, 8, 7,6. I drop the speed down to 60-65. The percentage then stabilized. I then traveled through Milwaukee and the speed was reduced to 55. The energy predictor then went up to 8,9,10 We ended up at the supercharger with 20 miles left on the predicted range. I averaged 400wh/mi Stayed there for a few mins and filled up to 70miles and flew home.

The new trip and consumption tabs are very key on helping you decide on your true distance left. It was nice seeing my left over battery drop so I could slow down. It also shows up on your nav screen the battery percentage.
SO 75% of what the range on the dash is what I got.

Thanks all for the ideas and help.

Glad it worked out!!!

In the future it may be best to start the return trip conservatively and see how you're doing and then increase speed, but this is hard to do

Also, you got really lucky with the warm weather.

 

[invisik]

Excellent! So glad to hear it worked and this warmer weather this weekend surely helped. Ambient temperature can make a big difference.

Thanks for the report!

-m

 

[JohnQ]

Glad you made the trip and glad you it was a non-event. Should increase confidence.

 

[Andyw2100]

Glad you made the trip and glad you it was a non-event. Should increase confidence.

I'm glad it worked out as well, but I'm not sure increasing confidence in this case would be a good thing. If the temperatures were twenty or twenty-five degrees cooler, as they easily could have been, or if it had been snowing, or even a little windy the trip could easily have turned out very differently.

 

[Chipper]

I'm glad it worked out as well, but I'm not sure increasing confidence in this case would be a good thing. If the temperatures were twenty or twenty-five degrees cooler, as they easily could have been, or if it had been snowing, or even a little windy the trip could easily have turned out very differently.

I disagree completely, Andy! Did you notice how he proceeded? He did everything just as he was told by those in the know. He watched his gauges and drove accordingly. I would assume he would have done the same on a colder day and perhaps even adjusted his temps too. His increase in confidence is well deserved.

 

[invisik]

I disagree completely, Andy! Did you notice how he proceeded? He did everything just as he was told by those in the know. He watched his gauges and drove accordingly. I would assume he would have done the same on a colder day and perhaps even adjusted his temps too. His increase in confidence is well deserved.

I have to agree with Andy.. it if was 20-30 degrees colder the consumption is notably higher--I've seen 2x to 2.5x rated miles per physical mile travelled when battery is really trying to heat and stay warm. Outside temperature of around 43F requires battery heating but not nearly as much as compared to 0F or colder.

But I also agree he should have more confidence driving in colder weather! He had a good backup plan. And although driving slower first, then speeding up if you have enough charge is the recommended strategy, he did start to slow down so that was still helpful. (From what I've read the trip screen is based on driving the speed limit (or what it guesses to be the speed limit by the classification of roadway)).

I had a 1 hour trip back from a client's office in below-0F temperatures that I had 70 rated miles to drive 43 physical miles... I made it home with like 12 miles left. And I was charging the car on 120v 15amp for 1.5 hours before leaving (couldn't pre-heat as it would draw more then the 120v could give) trying to get it heated up at all. Now I just plan to have double the physical miles and I figure I'm good.

Like the original poster, I have no desire to be stranded on the side of the road with 2 kids in the back, so I tend to play it safe.

Keep your fingers crossed for warmer weather! (like the 40F today in Minneapolis!)

-m

 

[Andyw2100]

I disagree completely, Andy! Did you notice how he proceeded? He did everything just as he was told by those in the know. He watched his gauges and drove accordingly. I would assume he would have done the same on a colder day and perhaps even adjusted his temps too. His increase in confidence is well deserved.

Unless I missed something he didn't have a backup plan for charging between the supercharger and his destination, or for gaining any real charge around his destination, before heading back to the supercharger. If it had been significantly colder I think the OP would have encountered some real difficulty that he hopefully would have recognized before heading home. If it had been somewhat colder, and then had started to snow while he was headed back to the supercharger, he could have been in real trouble.