Full, honest road trip experience with an EV

General
1

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share my road trip experience with my Model 3 Long Range. I’ve had the car for about 4 weeks now and have already put 4000km on it. I’ve done a couple of 200km trips, a 1200km round trip, and just finished a 1600km round trip. Here’s how it went:

For the 1200km trip within Canada, it was pretty smooth sailing. I charged up before leaving, made one stop halfway (on a 550km leg), and had L1 charging at my destination to keep me topped up for my stay. Then, I repeated the same thing for the return trip. I spent about 35 minutes charging and paid $40, which would have been $100+ with my old car. All the chargers were on my route, and the trip was pretty hassle-free.

Now, for the 1600km round trip from Canada to the US… It was a bit more complicated. I left with 95% charge and had to make 3 stops to reach my destination (about 700km away). Unfortunately, there was no charging at my destination, so I had to arrive with around 60% charge. Google said the drive would take 7 hours 30 minutes, but a big part of my route had no chargers, so I had to take a longer way, turning it into a 9-hour drive with charging stops. Some of the charging stations were in rough shape, like one with dented chargers and cables on the ground, and most were in the middle of nowhere near fast food spots or hotels. On the way back, I tried a V4 Supercharger, but 3 of the stalls were down, and the one I used only gave me 150kW. I made 3 stops there and 3 on the way back, spending a total of 1 hour 23 minutes charging and $119.

In the end, the trip was about 15 hours of driving, but with detours and charging, it stretched to over 18 hours. It was kind of a chore, to be honest. I’d do it again, but I wasn’t thrilled with the experience. I mostly relied on Tesla’s navigation, but A Better Route Planner (ABRP) showed similar results. Google Maps showed faster routes, but they weren’t feasible because of the lack of chargers.

For future road trips, I think I’ll check PlugShare for more L2 chargers at malls or grocery stores. This trip was definitely an eye-opener, especially compared to my smoother trips before. I also realized how much better road trips are when you can charge overnight at your destination. The cost savings when relying on superchargers aren’t that big, but the time it adds definitely is.

Any tips for my next road trip? For anyone curious, this was an Ontario to Boston trip and back.

2

Sounds like a typical first EV road trip! I had a similar experience with my Ioniq 5 on a 650-mile trip. It’s a 2022 model with 303 miles EPA range and 34,000 miles on the odometer.

A. Picked up the car from a Ford dealer in Pueblo, CO. I had to top off the charge myself because the dealer didn’t bother. Spent 30 minutes at an EA 130 kW charger to get to 100%.

B. First stop was in Wagon Mound, NM (population 250). I was a bit nervous because if there had been no chargers, I would have needed a tow. Luckily, I found three EA chargers (one broken), and 30 minutes later, I was at 90%.

C. Stayed overnight in Santa Fe, NM, then headed south to Albuquerque the next morning. I charged at a Walmart EA station with a dozen chargers, each offering L2 and 150 kW L3 charging. 20 minutes later, I was at 90% again.

D. Stopped at Elephant Butte, NM, where I found two Francis Energy chargers. I had some issues with one charger, but a tech support person helped me through the process.

Finished the trip with 80 miles of range left when I reached El Paso. Not too bad overall!

3

Honestly, if you’re a two-car family, an EV is a great option. But for a single-car family, it really depends on how often you road trip and how much inconvenience you’re willing to tolerate. My wife doesn’t like delays, especially with two kids in the car, so for a 1600km trip like yours, we probably would’ve taken our gas car.

That said, the EV has been worth it for us. We only do road trips once a year, and for everything else, the EV covers 80%+ of our family’s mileage.

4

@Nathan
Have you thought about dropping the gas car and renting one for road trips? I’ve been considering that myself.

5

Ah, so you did a 1600km trip to the US. We use miles, not kilometers, here. Maybe that’s where things went wrong :joy:

6

Ronald said:
Ah, so you did a 1600km trip to the US. We use miles, not kilometers, here. Maybe that’s where things went wrong :joy:

:joy:

7

Canada and the US are huge countries. It might help if you share the exact location of where you are and where you went.

Also, do you think you could’ve done the 15-hour drive in a gas car without stopping for food or coffee breaks?

8

@jessicah
Totally agree, but my girlfriend wasn’t thrilled with the options around most superchargers. With a gas car, you stop, fill up, and then head to whatever restaurant or coffee shop you want. With an EV, you’re kind of stuck with what’s around the charger. I should’ve picked stations with better amenities, but a lot of them were near a convenience store, a health mart, or a few fast food joints. If I were solo, I’d just grab whatever was there, no problem. But when you’re charging and also trying to find a specific place to eat or grab coffee, it becomes more of a hassle.

9

@jessicah
Depending on how stubborn you are, it’s possible to do 15-hour trips with minimal (5-10 minute) stops, or even no stops at all.

10

My experience on shorter trips, but to more remote areas, has been similar. Way more charging than a hybrid or gas car. If you mostly stay in urban areas, it’s not an issue, but for anyone venturing out, it’s definitely a factor.

11

Do you remember which states gave you trouble? The reality is some states are still lagging behind on EV infrastructure, especially outside of major cities.

The one upside to Elon’s recent controversies is that it might push more states to expand their charging networks.

12

@martin
I mostly drove through Vermont and New Hampshire. My biggest problem was finding chargers on routes that cut through the middle of the state. With a gas car, I would’ve just driven straight from Quebec to Vermont through Fairfax and to Stowe, but there are no chargers on that leg. It’s over 200km without superchargers on what Google shows as the fastest route from Quebec to Stowe, which threw me off. My car should have 500km of range, so next time I’ll just plan better and charge to 80%+ to get through those stretches.

13

@Connie
That’s tough to hear. Vermont is usually ahead of the curve with EVs, but it sounds like they still need more infrastructure beyond the main highways.

Let’s hope things improve as more automakers adopt the NACS standard.

14

You’ve already found the big tip: Make sure your destination has charging.

Another suggestion: Whenever Tesla puts new supercharger locations up for a vote, cast your vote! Or suggest new locations they should look at.

15

I’ve never had issues with Tesla Superchargers.

I’ve been driving my Tesla since 2020, and I’ve taken about 50,000km of road trips. The number of broken superchargers I’ve encountered? Exactly one—and it was literally run over and crushed.

The only times I’ve seen stations down were during city-wide power outages, but that’s not really Tesla’s fault.

16

Curious about your route.

I’ve done road trips with my Model S around Texas and nearby states, and there were a few areas where charging was sparse, but it’s gotten a lot better over the past few years. There are only a couple of places left where it’s still a bit tricky.

And yeah, amenities around Superchargers can vary. Sometimes you’re stuck with truck stop food, and there’s a better restaurant just down the road, but the truck stop is where the charger is.

That said, my road trips have gone pretty smoothly. The delays and annoyances have been minor, and I’m covering the same distances in a day as I did with a gas car.

17

Road trips are definitely slower in an EV compared to a gas car. But for most people, road trips aren’t a regular thing. The time saved by not needing to go to the gas station for daily driving makes up for the longer road trips.

18

@jabali
You must not be in the US. 15k miles is the national average, and in my state, it’s 20k.

19

Mark said:
@jabali
You must not be in the US. 15k miles is the national average, and in my state, it’s 20k.

Now, look up how much of that is for trips over 200 miles. Not many!

20

jabali said:

Mark said:
@jabali
You must not be in the US. 15k miles is the national average, and in my state, it’s 20k.

Now, look up how much of that is for trips over 200 miles. Not many!

Man, I do 200+ miles in a day multiple times a month just to visit family.

In the summer, we do day trips or weekend getaways to the beach at least once a month.