Road Trip!

[RoadDukie]

So, my wife and I just got back from a road trip from Colorado to Big Bend National Park.
First day was about 450 miles from Denver area to Amarillo. Gas up, rest up. Second day was around 500 miles from Amarillo to Terlingua, TX near B.B. Each day was driven without stopping for gas. Filling up takes around 8 minutes.
Once near the park, we drove approx 200 miles per day in some of the most remote parts of our country. There is however, a gas station available to us daily.

How can this be done in an electric car? I really don't know. "Can" it be done in a totally electric car? I just can't imagine sitting at one of those charging stations very long.

I'm not trying to bash electric vehicles. Just trying to gain perspective to their use. Thanks.

Duke.

 

[CKN]

There is an APP that Tesla owners use to find the nearest charging station. Being an electric car owner requires a different mentality. You will wait a while to re-charge you vehicle. You would be surprised where charging stations are located. Otherwise gas vehicle owners tend not to notice them.

 

[AlienBug]

Given those very circumstances - 500 miles per day with no ability or willingness to use a Level 3 charger during the day, followed by 200 miles daily driving through a national park with no access to electricity - you wouldn't do it in an electric car. If the EV was your only vehicle you'd rent a car for the trip, similar to what lots of people do when they rent a camper or van for a family vacation.

Also if you need to haul a load of mulch, 4x8 plywood or a sectional sofa, you wouldn't do that with your Bolt either.

But for 95 percent of the people 95 percent of the time when you aren't doing any of those things, the EV is fine.

 

[supton]

It's been a while since I took a road trip. Last time I did it was in my truck, but that was only getting like 300-350 miles per tank and I recall being really bummed one afternoon when I had to stop--was in a great line of traffic, makin' time. Got back on the highway and it felt like starting over again.

Anyhow. Not as young as I used to be. Starting to wonder if it'd be such a big deal to stop every 2-3 hours for 30 minutes, stretch and walk some laps or grab a bite. Probably more healthy too. I recall one roadtrip where I did 5 or 6 hours, then stopped for fuel--boy I felt that one, did not want to get back in for the remaining 5 hours!

Also not sure how bad it'd be to get a rental or fly instead. Might be nice to rent something different for a one-off trip.

Lastly, I suspect for many, having more than one vehicle is a reality already. Get an electric for daily commuting, keep something else for the weekend.

 

[JeffKeryk]

In a nutshell, distance traveling in an EV is gonna be different. There are no 2 ways about it.
Tesla has the best charging network; they built it out early on and continue to add Supercharger stations.
If you had to stop once, it is probably not too bad. Depends on the person.
I am not familiar with other EV charging availability, but I understand it can be expensive. Tesla somewhat considers charging part of the purchase.
Their charging network certainly gives Tesla an advantage.
I have read articles from people with families saying they have to stop for food, diaper changes, etc. They say charging here and there did not add much to their trip. Sounds like a puff story to me.
Another thing. Sometimes you have to wait to get on a charger.

Every EV owner I know has at least 1 more car. Heck, I have several. If I had onlt 1 car, it would probably be an ICE car. FYI, our old Tundra is not a car per se; it is a tool. And if I could not charge at home I doubt we would have bought the Model 3.

As others have said, some people rent a car to go on trips. This is one solution; some people (like me) like to experiment with another car.
Personally, I would rather jump on a Southwest Airlines Jet and leave the driving to them for trips of any length.

EVs as mass produced vehicles are in their infancy. We have a lot to learn. I will tell you this: you won't find a more fun car to drive for the money than a Model 3.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

So, my wife and I just got back from a road trip from Colorado to Big Bend National Park.
First day was about 450 miles from Denver area to Amarillo. Gas up, rest up. Second day was around 500 miles from Amarillo to Terlingua, TX near B.B. Each day was driven without stopping for gas. Filling up takes around 8 minutes.
Once near the park, we drove approx 200 miles per day in some of the most remote parts of our country. There is however, a gas station available to us daily.

How can this be done in an electric car? I really don't know. "Can" it be done in a totally electric car? I just can't imagine sitting at one of those charging stations very long.

I'm not trying to bash electric vehicles. Just trying to gain perspective to their use. Thanks.

Duke.

Did a road trip a few months back and noticed a lot of charging stations are places you would not want to hang out. Baker, CA, truck stops in Arizona and New Mexico etc. Would not make for a pleasant trip.

 

[UncleDave]

So, my wife and I just got back from a road trip from Colorado to Big Bend National Park.
First day was about 450 miles from Denver area to Amarillo. Gas up, rest up. Second day was around 500 miles from Amarillo to Terlingua, TX near B.B. Each day was driven without stopping for gas. Filling up takes around 8 minutes.
Once near the park, we drove approx 200 miles per day in some of the most remote parts of our country. There is however, a gas station available to us daily.

How can this be done in an electric car? I really don't know. "Can" it be done in a totally electric car? I just can't imagine sitting at one of those charging stations very long.

I'm not trying to bash electric vehicles. Just trying to gain perspective to their use. Thanks.

Duke.

To be clear you made no stops for food, or bathroom breaks - just one stop at the end of each day?

 

[RoadDukie]

To be clear you made no stops for food, or bathroom breaks - just one stop at the end of each day?

As mentioned above, no stops for gas.
Out of the four legs down and back from South Texas, I think we stopped 3 times. Rest areas or just pulled over to refill my water. At most, stops were no longer than 3-4 minutes. Neither of us really have much need to stop while on road-trips. We like to keep going. We do however, pour/fall out of the car/truck at the end of the journey.

One other thing I didn't mention in my original post was the fact that in TX, two lane roads are 75mph and interstates are 80mph. That means traffic was typically moving at 80+ and 85-90 respectively. I found out that my Avalanche has a speed limiter that cuts off fuel at 99mph. Not sure what effect that would have on EV range, but I suspect it would be noticeable.

We did see several of the Tesla "Super-chargers"(?) along the way however. (Not so much in the boonies.) Anybody know how long those take to recharge an EV?

Saw several mentions of Fly/Drive in this post. I flew a LOT when I was working. (worst year was 48 weeks leaving on Sunday night, returning home Friday night.) Now that I'm retired, I'll be happy if I never go to an airport again. Since retiring 8 years ago, I've ridden/driven from Seattle to Key West, Canada to Mexico. I'll take the road any day over an airplane.

 

[UncleDave]

You could make that trip pretty easily from what I can tell.
You cannot do it the way you did it though - nope.

Ill run a profile on a couple of tools and see what I get.

Which vehicle did you take?

So far your wife wins the women's bladder capacity prize.

My wife starts asking about the bathroom stop while Im pulling out of the driveway.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I would guess, if you started out in our Model 3 (Mid Range, 280 mile range) with a full charge, you would need to stop in perhaps 200 miles.
Then charge for perhaps a half hour, drive until you needed one more quick charge.

But I have not done that; this is only a guess.

 

[UncleDave]

With a model 3 long range you'd have to stop once on the first leg for about 30 min.

Twice on the second leg about 10 minutes at one, and half an hour at the next driving 10% over the posted limits.

If you combine pee water, and or food you've matched your stops.

 

[UncleDave]

On leg 2 If you got 15 MPG (fuelly average for 60 vehicles is 13.8 ) at 75-85 in your avalanche and ran 30 gallons leaving 1 for "emergency" that gives you 450 miles. 35-43 miles short of your destination depending on who's map you look at and which route

You had to be flying on fumes.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I understand all the National parks will be getting chargers. Currently, ( don’t mind the pun), Yellowstone has several locations. Just a matter of time.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Here are Yellowstone’s locations.

 

[Job]

I think it's called range anxiety. I wouldn't want it either. Life is short and you are out to enjoy yourself. Eventually it may come to pass where range anxiety will vanish with plentiful stations like we have gas stations now. Full ev is still in it;s infancy, whether it becomes maintream only time will tell. I think not soon, based on how people don't even care now about how much gas they are burning,. They just want the easy button and ev is for people willing to do some homework and planning. I think add a little suffering in there too.

 

[UncleDave]

If you've taken a trip in a Tesla they basically do all this work for you.
They UI lays out the stops and tells you what % will be left over when you reach it.
It's accurate.

Between Superchargers and IONITY it's a no brainer.

IF you have Ionity only- its starts to get hard and you need to use tools like plug share, and actually make a plan.

 

[Cujet]

PBI-SAV-PBI, it's a trip I do regularly, non stop each way. Just over 400 miles , 5 hours at 80, each way. Often both legs on the same day. I fill up when I get there.

In a Tesla, it's a 40 minute charge near Daytona and another brief charge in Jacksonville, a top off destination charge, then a charge in Jax and Daytona on the way back. Total charge time, about 3 hours. This makes the 10 hour drive, 13 hours. Not horrible, but the destination charge is a time-waster. As I would have to drop the car off and take Uber to the Hangar or Hotel, 15 mins away.

 

[Job]

If you've taken a trip in a Tesla they basically do all this work for you.
They UI lays out the stops and tells you what % will be left over when you reach it.
It's accurate.

Between Superchargers and IONITY it's a no brainer.

IF you have Ionity only- its starts to get hard and you need to use tools like plug share, and actually make a plan.

That’s really good. They always have been aware of most people’s desire not to be thinking about the car, but instead about the trip.