Road Trip Report - Texas to California Round Trip

[DerekS]

I attempted this once before and had to abort due to a health situation with my dog - I'm trying again and plan to leave this Saturday. A few more chargers have appeared since then including one in the middle of the Mojave, so that's cool!

I've done this trip before in my Targa and could always knock it out in two days with Flagstaff as the midpoint.

We'll see how it goes in EV-world! I'm leaving this weekend and will update the thread with each stop, charge stats etc.

Day 1:
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=1151d86a-454d-4187-a62b-5175de061e30

Day 2:
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=d10837b4-75e0-45b0-b21a-d3433ae485f9

This thread will be updated with a lot of detail - more than most people care for but EV enthusiasts might enjoy. Photos of the charge stops, stats on charge speeds etc. Watch this space!

Sponsored

 

[X88]

I attempted this once before and had to abort due to a health situation with my dog - I'm trying again and plan to leave this Saturday. A few more chargers have appeared since then including one in the middle of the Mojave, so that's cool!

I've done this trip before in my Targa and could always knock it out in two days with Flagstaff as the midpoint.

We'll see how it goes in EV-world! I'm leaving this weekend and will update the thread with each stop, charge stats etc.

Day 1:
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=1151d86a-454d-4187-a62b-5175de061e30

Day 2:
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=d10837b4-75e0-45b0-b21a-d3433ae485f9

This thread will be updated with a lot of detail - more than most people care for but EV enthusiasts might enjoy. Photos of the charge stops, stats on charge speeds etc. Watch this space!

That's a pretty long first day drive. Interesting that you're doing as much of your driving as possible at night. Apart from less traffic I guess it's prudently managing the intense daytime temperatures.

All the best and enjoy!

PS: my son did the reverse trip earlier this year, from Santa Cruz to Houston, also stopping for one night only. He was driving a 2010 Lincoln Towncar (that he flew out to buy) and it was in the dead of winter, but he also maximized all night driving. It'll be interesting comparing his trip report and yours. I don't know who you'll have at home waiting on your updates but we were fairly nervous waiting on his !

 

[B61]

Great!
Safe drive & enjoy

 

[Bill33525]

Ambitious driving schedule the first day. The consumption on the RWD looks high compared to my experience. You will probably arrive with more battery than the planner states. My experience with long distance roadtrips in an EV is that the stops take longer than the plan schedules. Therefore the amount of time to travel a certain destiace is a little longer than in an ICE car. Where I might drive 700 miles in an ICE car the EV would rack up 600 miles with the extra stops. Since we are seniors and in no hurry we look forward to the extra stops. Getting out of the car more frequently allows us to feel fresh when completing the driving day. I watch Kyle Conner's hour and a half long roadtrip productions with great interest so don't hold back and interesting details. Best of luck on this trip.

 

[DerekS]

That's a pretty long first day drive. Interesting that you're doing as much of your driving as possible at night. Apart from less traffic I guess it's prudently managing the intense daytime temperatures.

Ah I forgot to set departure time on ABRP. My plan is to hit the road early, 4-5AM if I can, to maximize daylight hours. I don’t like driving at night on long trips; easier to miss a road hazard, etc.

 

[X88]

Ah I forgot to set departure time on ABRP. My plan is to hit the road early, 4-5AM if I can, to maximize daylight hours. I don’t like driving at night on long trips; easier to miss a road hazard, etc.

Ahh ... daylight driving my preference too ... much easier on the eyes and might as well enjoy the view on a long road trip!

 

[vdr]

Very cool, looking forward to the reports. Hope your dog is ok...

 

[DerekS]

Very cool, looking forward to the reports. Hope your dog is ok...

Thanks very much - so far it looks like he is hanging in there, at least stable enough I feel like I can go away for a week.

 

[Elroy]

I attempted this once before and had to abort due to a health situation with my dog - I'm trying again and plan to leave this Saturday. A few more chargers have appeared since then including one in the middle of the Mojave, so that's cool!

I've done this trip before in my Targa and could always knock it out in two days with Flagstaff as the midpoint.

We'll see how it goes in EV-world! I'm leaving this weekend and will update the thread with each stop, charge stats etc.

Day 1:
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=1151d86a-454d-4187-a62b-5175de061e30

Day 2:
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=d10837b4-75e0-45b0-b21a-d3433ae485f9

This thread will be updated with a lot of detail - more than most people care for but EV enthusiasts might enjoy. Photos of the charge stops, stats on charge speeds etc. Watch this space!

Derek,
Thanks so much for posting and good luck on your trip. Will be driving our new GTS (delivery on 6/24/22) from Allen to Monterey in August for Car Week.

 

[Elroy]

Derek,
Thanks so much for posting and good luck on your trip. Will be driving our new GTS (delivery on 6/24/22) from Allen to Monterey in August for Car Week.

 

[DerekS]

Derek,
Thanks so much for posting and good luck on your trip. Will be driving our new GTS (delivery on 6/24/22) from Allen to Monterey in August for Car Week.

If you've never been to Monterey it's amazing - I definitely plan to spend some time there on my trip.

 

[mod72346]

Dropping to 5-6% at each stop could be nerve-wrecking. In my experience, the built-in planner could be wrong by +/- 10% and once SOC drops below 10%, you better be really close to a charging station.

 

[DerekS]

Dropping to 5-6% at each stop could be nerve-wrecking. In my experience, the built-in planner could be wrong by +/- 10% and once SOC drops below 10%, you better be really close to a charging station.

ABRP is to big-picture my route but honestly I will be letting the charging planner dictate route/charger corrections as needed. I'm hoping to come out substantially better than the ABRP route to be honest.

My one long trip so far was slower forcing EA chargers than just letting the planner (non-PIRM) do its thing.

 

[Elroy]

Derek,
Actually grew up in the Bay Area before moving to Texas in 1982. Love the Monterey area. Really looking forward to hearing about your trip. Lets meet up in Frisco/Allen, TX when you return

 

[buruburu]

@DerekS, I'm assuming you already figured this out, but the NAV planning is likely going to have issue is you set the destination to your final stop for the day. What worked for me when I did my PNW to Texas trip was the set my destination for each leg for a destination that's 2-3 stop away, then at each stop set the destination accordingly as well.

Sponsored