[scottf200]

I just came back recently from a 5,500+ mile road trip (wedding, Glacier National Park, several family home visits, friend visits, etc) in our Tesla Model X.

I drove with AutoPilot for 95% of the trip. It was fantastic for the highway driving. Drove with hand(s) lightly on the wheel with much less cognitive work and allowed me to enjoy the scenery while staying refreshed/alert.

I used Tesla SuperChargers for all (~95% of miles)but northern MT (RV plug at a campground, siblings house welding plug, and siblings cabins electric dryer plug).

Note: Below loop around Lake Michigan was earlier in the month of July with an old co-worker.

Late July beginning of road trip (I80).

Early August end of road trip (I70).

This map includes the more northern route I've taken in the past in my previous X (top I90, mid I80, lower I70). Lot of options with the Tesla SuperCharger network.

Picture taken while out on four-wheelers with the family -- roughly half way between West Glacier and East Glacier -- Glacier National Park area

Picture taken while out on four-wheelers with the family -- roughly half way between West Glacier and East Glacier -- Glacier National Park area

Just before Pendleton OR -- just thought cool hill install : Put this in google maps: 45.6789889,-118.8601417
Article on it (glare) but talks about where it is and who owns it: http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/loc...ndleton-solar-farm-gets-complaints-over-glare

Snake River Canyon - Twin Falls ID -- Evil Kenevil tried to jump this.

Shoshone Falls - Twin Falls ID -- 'Niagra Falls of the West'

Clifton CO : Put this in google maps: 39.1119778,-108.4116889

Just East of Glenwood Springs, CO

Channahon, IL -- I just like the view of the X's windshield in mountains, bridges, cities, etc.

.

 

[Kraven]

Thanks for the road trip stats/info and pics. Looks like a really nice trip, would be cool if each picture was labeled with location as each pic is pretty spectacular (excepting Afton WY which is obvious). 4th scenery pic, wonder what that solar farm serves?

 

[scottf200]

Thanks for the road trip stats/info and pics. Looks like a really nice trip, would be cool if each picture was labeled with location as each pic is pretty spectacular (excepting Afton WY which is obvious). 4th scenery pic, wonder what that solar farm serves?

Thanks for your comments and interest. I added text to each picture. Some have the GPS coordinates which you can just cut-n-past into google maps.

 

[Tacoma]

Very interesting to see this and very informative, thanks for posting it.
What is your typical EV range per charge on your Model X?

I just finished a 900+ mile trip in the Volt (arrived back to today). Was able to charge up at two different locations on the trip, and did some EV commuting at my final destination, so my EV miles were around 150 miles.

 

[jcanoe]

Did you carry a spare tire on this road trip?

 

[Tacoma]

I did carry a spare tire. Only time I won't have it is if for some reason I need the extra space.

 

[Kraven]

Thanks for going back and adding the info/coordinates, much appreciated. I have sat in a Model X in a showroom and did marvel at that windshield. I believe they said it was the largest windshield ever manufactured, didn’t think how amazing it would be on road trips to enhance the view, makes sense.

Thanks for the post, the pics and info, very cool...

 

[jcanoe]

I did carry a spare tire. Only time I won't have it is if for some reason I need the extra space.

Scott F., did you carry a spare time in your Model X for the recent trip?

 

[jbakerjonathan]

We are truly blessed with the beauty of our magnificent country! I never tire making road trips out West. Thanks for posting Scottf200.

 

[scottf200]

Scott F., did you carry a spare time in your Model X for the recent trip?

Good question. I did not but I did have a tire plug kit and a 12v auto tire compressor. Worse than that and I was calling someone. I do have spares in our two Volts which my kid and wife drive. The other kid has not bought one for his Volt yet. He should if his spouse drives it when he gets his Tesla Model 3.

We are truly blessed with the beauty of our magnificent country! I never tire making road trips out West. Thanks for posting Scottf200.

You are most welcome. That is the truth. Thanks. I really need to head out East more. I would particularly like to see the hills/mountains in the NE. I have been to North Carolina and hiked a few times.

Very interesting to see this and very informative, thanks for posting it.
What is your typical EV range per charge on your Model X?


I just finished a 900+ mile trip in the Volt (arrived back to today). Was able to charge up at two different locations on the trip, and did some EV commuting at my final destination, so my EV miles were around 150 miles.

Congrats on your trip and the use of the plug during it. I recall traveling to a GA cabin with my wife. It was up a steep windy set of roads. It was so so much nicer after we got their and I plugged into the kitchen outlet via the window ... so that I could take those hills on the battery power instead of a pretty high reving (and confused) ICE.

I have the 100 kWh Model X. My previous one was a 90 kWh. I can go up to 295 miles in this one BUT I rarely would need to do that on a trip. The concept is to charge up just enough to get to the next SuperCharger then fill up with enough plus a 10% buffer to get to the next one. This tool screenshot exemplifies that.

i.imgur.com/QdlbhSL.jpg

 

[Joeparaski]

Wow what a beautiful road trip!

Joe

 

[Tacoma]

These are charge sessions that moved the SOC by about 50% (an increase of 50 kwhr capacity)?
How long did those charges take you?

 

[scottf200]

I have the 100 kWh Model X. My previous one was a 90 kWh. I can go up to 295 miles in this one BUT I rarely would need to do that on a trip. The concept is to charge up just enough to get to the next SuperCharger then fill up with enough plus a 10% buffer to get to the next one. This tool screenshot exemplifies that.

These are charge sessions that moved the SOC by about 50% (an increase of 50 kwhr capacity)?
How long did those charges take you?

Re: Charge duration for a travel day -- See blue box. Note that I could skip chargers too (green box).
As an example, here is a different tool that you can plan with. https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ . It allows you to change your starting SOC as well as your ending SOC. In this example, I stayed overnight in Salina, KS and just charged when I ate dinner.

Real world example from my https://www.teslafi.com tracking tool shows that I decided to stop in Colby, KS to have a long late lunch and goof around on the wifi (54 min). It was pretty hot that day so I think the charging tapered down earlier than usual to help keep the batteries cooler plus I hardly ever had to charge to 90% at tail of slow charging taper. That just means I charged up more than I needed so my next charging session was shorter. (the max Voltage and Amps are always impressive to me ... my kW charging often starts at 115 kW).

 

[samotlietuvis]

Nice trip, nice pictures. Tesla superchargers are done right. CCS network is a joke.
Cannot wait the day I do not need to be rolling in home with my Spark EV with turn off radio, reduced propulsion, charge soon messages...

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Yes, there are great scenic places in the East. One that I particularly recommend is Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, a place that my then wife and I visited during our NC vacation, 35 years ago. I had a fear of heights but my wife normally did not. Upon attempting to cross the Mile-High Swinging Bridge I overcame my fear but had to walk backwards while holding my wife’s hands, leading her and coaxing her to overcome her fright. Ha, my palms are sweating now, thinking about that.


Other amazing attractions are the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC, the Washington National Cathedral in DC and Riverside Church in NYC. Hey, do you know who is burried in Grant’s Tomb in NYC?

 

[KenC]

Great panoramas! Thanks for the detailed report.

 

[Ladogaboy]

I'm quite jealous. I wish I had time for road trips. As it is, I can usually only budget two days away from work (Saturday and Sunday).

 

[scottf200]

Yes, there are great scenic places in the East. One that I particularly recommend is Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, a place that my then wife and I visited during our NC vacation, 35 years ago. I had a fear of heights but my wife normally did not. Upon attempting to cross the Mile-High Swinging Bridge I overcame my fear but had to walk backwards while holding my wife’s hands, leading her and coaxing her to overcome her fright. Ha, my palms are sweating now, thinking about that....

I do visit NC sometimes but mostly the West side. NC has a quite a few SuperChargers (SC) and it seems most have been added in the past year or so. Grandfather Mtn is only ~50 miles from the Hickory SuprC and ~75 miles from Asheville SuprC. Nice day drives when staying in that general area. Great 360 sphere photos on Google of that bridge. Thanks.

 

[Norton]

Re: Charge duration for a travel day -- See blue box. Note that I could skip chargers too (green box)....

Thanks for these kinds of posts ! It really is a glimps into the EV future!
And it doesn't cost too much for the electrons to drive this way! Too bad you didn't get in on the 'Free Supercharging for Life' dealio...

CCS does not currently compare, at least for current generation EV's and CCS Stations.
BUT, at about half the cost, it is an alternative! And this network is growing all the time!

A while back you talked about how the car gives you a recommended cruise speed between the SC's so the overall trip was the least amount of time (counting drive time and charge time).
I thought it was around 68 MPH for some trips?
Surely you weren't putzin along at 68 MPH in an 80 MPH area.... What cruise speeds did you use on this long trip?

 

[scottf200]

Background aside for some of the below -- Summary of night stays: -- Hotels:3, Campgrounds:5, Friends:3, and Relatives:9 (Campgrounds were all KOAs but one -- showers, stores, wifi, reservable online, etc. HVAC on all night at ~70F).

Thanks for these kinds of posts ! It really is a glimps into the EV future!

You all are welcome. I think there is a strong value in hearing about real-world driving and road trips. i.e. AutoPilot, Supercharger, etc

And it doesn't cost too much for the electrons to drive this way! Too bad you didn't get in on the 'Free Supercharging for Life' dealio...

I don't know what you mean. My SuperCharging is free. My kids Tesla Model 3 will not be but still way cheaper than gas.

A while back you talked about how the car gives you a recommended cruise speed between the SC's so the overall trip was the least amount of time (counting drive time and charge time). I thought it was around 68 MPH for some trips?

When you use the trip planner app within the car it does tell you for each waypoint SuperCharger how many estimated minutes you need to charge. Not sure what speed it uses but it is more than speed as there can be several speed limits on any given stretch (I witnessed that) AND the terrain can be way different long that stretch. I went through a lot of different terrains. Heck it even seemed like when I left Spokane that I went mainly downhill. Haha, no guess required at www.TeslaFI.com has the elevation of me leaving Spokane.

Surely you weren't putzin along at 68 MPH in an 80 MPH area.... What cruise speeds did you use on this long trip?

There were several states that had a mix of 65, 75, and 80 MPH zones. I generally drove the speed limit plus 5 MPH. I didn't always do that in the 80 MPH zones tho. I think some have calculated that around 73-75 is an optimum of time to fill up vs using extra kWhs to overcome the energy usage at higher speeds. Mostly I went with the flow of the traffic ... didn't have to drive it in *any* compromised way at all.

On one stretch where I was ending up at my overnight sleeping campground without a SuperCharger nearby, I did have to go up over a pass at the end of the drive. The car did give me warnings that I was getting out of range of a known charger. I made it to the top of the pass and 'coasted' downhill at regular speed limits. Ended up at the campground with about 20 miles. Totally expected that on that leg and the car really impressed me. Had an RV NEMA 14-50 plug there waiting for me. Plugged in and went for a walk. This is what I saw on my walk on the way to and from the ice cream shop: