Longest Standard Range Road Trip

[TNVolFan]

I am taking a trip across county and back this summer - about 3800 miles total. I've thought about renting a Tesla, but I really want to drive my XLT standard range. I don't really want to put that many miles on my truck, but it would save money and it would be much more comfortaable for me.

I'm curious as to the longest road trip anyone has taken in a standard range and was it worth it knowing I will have to charge more often.

Thanks for any input.

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[Chriseberle]

Drove from Central Oregon to Los Angeles and back about 2000 miles. In fact just got back from a trip to Northern California 300 miles each way. Have no problems will say third party charging will get a huge upgrade when I get my NACS adapter.

 

[RickLightning]

I am taking a trip across county and back this summer - about 3800 miles total. I've thought about renting a Tesla, but I really want to drive my XLT standard range. I don't really want to put that many miles on my truck, but it would save money and it would be much more comfortaable for me.

I'm curious as to the longest road trip anyone has taken in a standard range and was it worth it knowing I will have to charge more often.

Thanks for any input.

ABRP...

 

[Maxx]

A smooth road trip is rarely remembered. One with challenges however will make a great trip report for the forum. Be adventurous and go with Lightning. It may give you the confidence to do more after. Said an SR that has a total of 5 Kwh of public charging on his battery.

Edit: Lightning will eat 1000 Kwh worth of Electrons. M3 will need 576 Kwh. At $0.5, it is $212 difference.

 

[3rdgenfan]

I went from Delaware to central Maine with a few trips to the Maine coast, and back home to DE last August/September and will be doing it again this summer. I forget the total, 1500 miles or something? Had a couple derated chargers and one stop not working, but I gave myself a super conservative buffer which wasn't exactly necessary.

 

[Pod]

Taken trips across Tennessee from Virginia and down to Orlando in my XLT SR, 1600 miles or so. Loved the trips. You just need to plan and you will be fine. So many new chargers popping up. I think the puzzle or charging on trips is fun. Have discovered a few new places to visit as a result. The Lightning is so comfortable for trips.

 

[Maxx]

I went from Delaware to central Maine with a few trips to the Maine coast, and back home to DE last August/September and will be doing it again this summer. I forget the total, 1500 miles or something? Had a couple derated chargers and one stop not working, but I gave myself a super conservative buffer which wasn't exactly necessary.

Got a bunch of questions for you. We do Maine trips from Maryland almost every year but I was not brave enough to do it last year without superchargers. we are usually on the coast and fast charging was not great there.


Did you go up and come back in one day or you had an overnight stay somewhere with charging?
Were you doing public charging throughout the trip?
Any tips?

Tesla has listed two super chargers on the coast available to me but plugshare has listed only one as such:

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

I have driven my SR Pro on six trips of more than 1500 miles, with over 100 billed DCFC sessions on EA alone in eight different states. The Lightning is an extraordinarily comfortable long distance cruiser, a sheer pleasure to drive. I minimize the impact of charging sessions by combining them with rest stops and meal breaks. It also helps to spend the night at lodging that offers L2 charging; I love starting the day with a “full tank“ without the need to visit a gas station (and oftentimes for free). I am not a fan of EA, but if you subscribe to Pass+ you can generally hold your DCFC charging costs to $.36 a kilowatt.

 

[3rdgenfan]

Got a bunch of questions for you. We do Maine trips from Maryland almost every year but I was not brave enough to do it last year without superchargers. we are usually on the coast and fast charging was not great there.


Did you go up and come back in one day or you had an overnight stay somewhere with charging?
Were you doing public charging throughout the trip?
Any tips?

Tesla has listed two super chargers on the coast available to me but plugshare has listed only one as such:

My family has a place in the center of the state, so I charged off of the oven outlet when there.

As for the trip up, surprisingly it was good; initial stop was at an EA in Stratford CT (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//411 Barnum Avenue Cutoff, Stratford, CT, 06614)
Then the first issue I had was an EVgo in Sturbridge MA which was dead, so I re-routed to the Auburn Mall in Auburn, MA (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//385 Southbridge Street, Auburn, Massachusetts, 01501, US)
Then made it to the Kennebunk Service Plaza on the NB side, supposedly they have some 200kW chargepoint units but they were broken when we made the trip so after 10 minutes of using a 62kW unit we re routed to an EVgo in Portland to get some donuts.

Kennebunk: (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Maine Turnpike Kennebunk North Service Plaza, Kennebunk 04043)

Portland: (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//98 High St., Portland, ME 04101, USA)

If Kennebunk wasn't only down to 2 of the 62kW cabinets Portland wouldn't have been necessary.

Afterwards we made it to the Irving in Newport ME which was installed in Dec '22 or Jan '23, and again, this wasn't necessary but we weren't too sure if our oven outlet would work.

Irving Oil, Newport ME: (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//18 Moosehead Trail, Newport, ME)

As for charging when we went out to Acadia, I had planned to use the 10kW L2 charger at the park office but when we got there it was blocked, so wound up going out and using a Subaru dealer in Bangor that had a 62kW ChargePoint unit.

 

[Maxx]

My family has a place in the center of the state, so I charged off of the oven outlet when there.

As for the trip up, surprisingly it was good; initial stop was at an EA in Stratford CT (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//411 Barnum Avenue Cutoff, Stratford, CT, 06614)
Then the first issue I had was an EVgo in Sturbridge MA which was dead, so I re-routed to the Auburn Mall in Auburn, MA (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//385 Southbridge Street, Auburn, Massachusetts, 01501, US)
Then made it to the Kennebunk Service Plaza on the NB side, supposedly they have some 200kW chargepoint units but they were broken when we made the trip so after 10 minutes of using a 62kW unit we re routed to an EVgo in Portland to get some donuts.

Kennebunk: (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Maine Turnpike Kennebunk North Service Plaza, Kennebunk 04043)

Portland: (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//98 High St., Portland, ME 04101, USA)

If Kennebunk wasn't only down to 2 of the 62kW cabinets Portland wouldn't have been necessary.

Afterwards we made it to the Irving in Newport ME which was installed in Dec '22 or Jan '23, and again, this wasn't necessary but we weren't too sure if our oven outlet would work.

Irving Oil, Newport ME: (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//18 Moosehead Trail, Newport, ME)

As for charging when we went out to Acadia, I had planned to use the 10kW L2 charger at the park office but when we got there it was blocked, so wound up going out and using a Subaru dealer in Bangor that had a 62kW ChargePoint unit.

Really appreciate the quick and detailed response. I have adapter and extension cord if the places we stay at have standards washing machines which would make day trips much easier. Switching from the wife’s Subaru with 600 mile range needs some adjustment but I expect it to be much easier with superchargers online.

Thanks again.

 

[3rdgenfan]

Really appreciate the quick and detailed response. I have adapter and extension cord if the places we stay at have standards washing machines which would make day trips much easier. Switching from the wife’s Subaru with 600 mile range needs some adjustment but I expect it to be much easier with superchargers online.

Thanks again.

You're welcome! Apologies for not realizing copying the address from Plugshare..didn't paste the link to the plugshare location itself.

I've got the NACS adapter coming at some point in April, but from what I see it may not be necessary to utilize the Tesla units along the way but I may give it a try as we get closer to our week vacation up there just so I don't have to deal with a derated charger chugging along at 35kW.

I use a 10ft extension made for EVSEs that has some thick gauge wire and a 25ft evse cord length, but I only opted for a 24a mobile charger just to be safe.

 

[biers]

SR Pro with DIY ACC - a must for long road trips.
I’m starting a 3,000 mile trip from Portland OR, down 5 to LA, over to Phoenix for some Soring training and the back via Moab and up through Salt Lake City and Boise.
Willing to bet my A2Z adapter shows up 6-7 hours after I leave

 

[TNVolFan]

Drove from Central Oregon to Los Angeles and back about 2000 miles. In fact just got back from a trip to Northern California 300 miles each way. Have no problems will say third party charging will get a huge upgrade when I get my NACS adapter.

Driving the standard range battery didn't make the trip

SR Pro with DIY ACC - a must for long road trips.
I’m starting a 3,000 mile trip from Portland OR, down 5 to LA, over to Phoenix for some Soring training and the back via Moab and up through Salt Lake City and Boise.
Willing to bet my A2Z adapter shows up 6-7 hours after I leave

I wish my XLT had ACC. I know there is a way to diy, but I watched the video and it seems to be more than I want to dig into.

 

[Maxx]

I wish my XLT had ACC.

What is that?

 

[TNVolFan]

What is that?

Adaptive Cruise Control. Mine just has the normal cruise.

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