First EV road trip

[datechboss101]

This weekend we took the Model Y LR for a trip to Tampa; this was the first time we drove it past the county lines, but regularly we use my Honda for long distance drives (she is currently waiting on a part thats backordered). I was the one that did all the driving for the trip. I noticed first thing was my hands started to get pain (this was the first time I ever complained about this issue, as I regularly go on 500 mile drives), which then correlated to the steering wheel stitching being inconsistent (normal steering wheels with leather wrap has consistent and straight stitching, that goes along the middle of the wheel). I did test drove a Model 3 SR and Model S LR earlier in the week, where both steering wheels (and yoke) was super comfortable. I did stop at the local Tesla store/service center/ delivery center and expressed the issue to see what solutions they had. This stitching started at the middle of the wheel and casually went to the back and then back to the middle, throughout the steering wheel. This was also the replacement steering wheel that Tesla installed since the original one installed at factory failed during Pre-Delivery Inspection. I am not sure if the stitching on the steering wheel is an item that can be replaced under the bumper to bumper factory warranty, as we never had to replace that at all before.

The 2nd item was range issue. I thought if I charge this vehicle at 100% I wouldn’t have to deal with range anxiety; unfortunately by driving the speed limit (55-70 MPH, depending on road, weather and traffic conditions), we lost 100 miles, bringing the remaining charge state to 25% on the drive back home. It had 50% when we reached Tampa, but I charged it at the supercharger the night before our drive back home. Overnight it lost 1% of charge which resulted in a loss of 9 miles of range (I believe having sentry mode on might have caused the 1% loss).

These issues were the only downsides of the vehicle for the entire trip. It fit perfectly fine in the confined compact spaces at the hotel and we were able to load our luggage without issue.

When I did charge at the super chargers, I noticed we were getting an average of 2.5 miles per kWh. This convinced me to get an EV just for my usual MPG (eMPG/MPKW) and distance tests to see if having an EV as the only vehicle is suitable and also as a temporary daily until I take delivery of my Cybertruck.

Something that I found interesting was the price per kWh at two separate Supercharger locations. Both are V3 chargers. The one at Tampa, which is highly used and in a touristy area, during peak time was $0.36/kWh. The one near home which is not part of any tourist attraction was at $0.39/kWh and wasn’t even during peak or high demand time. Still, the price was like ~$20 cheaper than filling up on 87 octane with the state average price of $3.699/gal (I fill up at Costco, which is lower than state average). I did also noted the price at home is $0.16/kWh which we charge during off peak hours. End price between home charging and supercharging is roughly 3x.

I cannot say this will be the last time we will use an EV for long road trips, as I want to give the Cybertruck a try before coming to that conclusion.

 

[SlegMD]

This weekend we took the Model Y LR for a trip to Tampa; this was the first time we drove it past the county lines, but regularly we use my Honda for long distance drives (she is currently waiting on a part thats backordered). I was the one that did all the driving for the trip. I noticed first thing was my hands started to get pain (this was the first time I ever complained about this issue, as I regularly go on 500 mile drives), which then correlated to the steering wheel stitching being inconsistent (normal steering wheels with leather wrap has consistent and straight stitching, that goes along the middle of the wheel). I did test drove a Model 3 SR and Model S LR earlier in the week, where both steering wheels (and yoke) was super comfortable. I did stop at the local Tesla store/service center/ delivery center and expressed the issue to see what solutions they had. This stitching started at the middle of the wheel and casually went to the back and then back to the middle, throughout the steering wheel. This was also the replacement steering wheel that Tesla installed since the original one installed at factory failed during Pre-Delivery Inspection. I am not sure if the stitching on the steering wheel is an item that can be replaced under the bumper to bumper factory warranty, as we never had to replace that at all before.

The 2nd item was range issue. I thought if I charge this vehicle at 100% I wouldn’t have to deal with range anxiety; unfortunately by driving the speed limit (55-70 MPH, depending on road, weather and traffic conditions), we lost 100 miles, bringing the remaining charge state to 25% on the drive back home. It had 50% when we reached Tampa, but I charged it at the supercharger the night before our drive back home. Overnight it lost 1% of charge which resulted in a loss of 9 miles of range (I believe having sentry mode on might have caused the 1% loss).

These issues were the only downsides of the vehicle for the entire trip. It fit perfectly fine in the confined compact spaces at the hotel and we were able to load our luggage without issue.

When I did charge at the super chargers, I noticed we were getting an average of 2.5 miles per kWh. This convinced me to get an EV just for my usual MPG (eMPG/MPKW) and distance tests to see if having an EV as the only vehicle is suitable and also as a temporary daily until I take delivery of my Cybertruck.

Something that I found interesting was the price per kWh at two separate Supercharger locations. Both are V3 chargers. The one at Tampa, which is highly used and in a touristy area, during peak time was $0.36/kWh. The one near home which is not part of any tourist attraction was at $0.39/kWh and wasn’t even during peak or high demand time. Still, the price was like ~$20 cheaper than filling up on 87 octane with the state average price of $3.699/gal (I fill up at Costco, which is lower than state average). I did also noted the price at home is $0.16/kWh which we charge during off peak hours. End price between home charging and supercharging is roughly 3x.

I cannot say this will be the last time we will use an EV for long road trips, as I want to give the Cybertruck a try before coming to that conclusion.

So the critique is the 25% variance between departure and return trips? What was your thoughts overall from the trip? You state the trip was cheaper and within mileage the vehicle could handle, but are still unsure?

 

[datechboss101]

So the critique is the 25% variance between departure and return trips? What was your thoughts overall from the trip? You state the trip was cheaper and within mileage the vehicle could handle, but are still unsure?

I charged before the start of the trip and before return of the trip. Both had different road and weather conditions. But with an ICE vehicle, I would have arrived both to the destination and back home with same amount of fuel in the tank with a fill up prior to the return trip, as I did with the Tesla on this trip. With a loss of additional 25% of battery range and charge, on the way back is concerning. Speeds, roads and driving behaviour was similar on both trips, same with the auxiliary creature items such as air con.

 

[Gurule92]

I charged before the start of the trip and before return of the trip. Both had different road and weather conditions. But with an ICE vehicle, I would have arrived both to the destination and back home with same amount of fuel in the tank with a fill up prior to the return trip, as I did with the Tesla on this trip. With a loss of additional 25% of battery range and charge, on the way back is concerning. Speeds, roads and driving behaviour was similar on both trips, same with the auxiliary creature items such as air con.

I don't think it's true to say that you would have the same on both legs with a gas car. They too are effected by variables like weather and road conditions. Just less obvious.

From my perspective it sounded like a pretty chill road trip. Range anxiety goes away with trust. Just need to get used to it.

Did you use autopilot at all? Makes road trips sooo chill.

Also, when you reached your destination and charged, did you charge to 100% at the supercharger? If so, did you stay there the whole time?

Best practice in EV road trips is to get to a supercharger with very low state of charge and charge enough to get to the next one. Because it's much faster than trying to charge to 100%.

Check out some out of spec motoring vids. Or Bjorn vids

 

[android04]

I'm on vacation in Corpus Christi, Texas right now and drove from northeastern Nebraska in my Model 3. The charging was quick and easy because I used the navigation and the car planned all the charging stops and charging durations along the way. The planning was right on for this 19 hour trip. Drove between 1.5 to 3 hour between charging stops and charged between 15 to 25 minutes each time. Total of 7 charging stops.

Remember that your selected wheel and tire type in the car Service settings affects the calculations and energy consumption. So if your car's navigation ETAs and battery levels are not accurate for shorter trips it will not be accurate for longer trips. On my Model 3, I have aftermarket 18" wheels but I have 20" wheels selected in the settings because those look more similar to my wheels. Turns out that those change the consumption calculations so that they are right on for my more regular 1 to 3 hour drives, and were right on for my 19 hour trip to Texas. If the navigation estimations are off for you, just change the wheel size to something bigger (unless you already have one of the 20" wheel options) in order to make it more accurate.

Also, the navigation planning tries to get around 15-20% arrival state of charge to maximize Supercharging speeds. It will also target 20% SoC at your destination, so if you can't charge there or nearby then charge more at the last supercharger stop to make up for that.

 

[Crissa]

Remember on long trips to mix up how you're holding the steering wheel. Use the other hand. Etc. You can also shift the wheel to be in the most relaxed position for your arms, rather than the instrument cluster. Also use cruise control/autopilot to keep some of the stress off your arm.

Even a smooth wheel will cause repetitive stress injury if you hold your hands in a static position for a long time.

I've injured my rotator cuff doing 12 hour drives where I forgot to mix it up.

-Crissa

 

[WormtownKris]

And when you are SuperCharging, there is a big difference in SC speed when you've programmed the SC into your route ahead of time vs just getting there and plugging in. On a recent trip to Maine we decided en route to make a quick stop and add ~15 minutes of charge on the ride up. The car only had about 10 min to pre-condition the battery, and it was amazingly slower than our usual SC experience. So, if you have a choice, or if you *think* you will be going to the XYZ SuperCharger, put that into Navigation rather than pulling into XYZville, and then going to the SC on the fly. The pre-conditioned battery will charge significantly quicker.