Quick Northern NM camping trip--850 miles round trip.

[SpaceEVDriver]

We just got back from an 850 miles round trip camping trip. Started in Northern AZ and went to Bandelier National Monument in Northern NM. It's about 425 miles each way.

The truck performed perfectly.

We left home with 100% charge. Set the BC for 73 moh.

We needed a restroom and leg stretch stop in Gallup so we charged for a few minutes at the EA charger. I don't remember how high we charged, but we didn't wait more than the time it took to use the restroom. Then we hit the road again.

Our next stop was in Albuquerque, for lunch. We stopped at the Supercharger just off I-25 and enjoyed a "doughwich" at a pizza place next to the charger. After lunch, we made a quick run into the nearby Cabela's for a piece of missing camping kit. By the time we got back, the truck was well above what we needed to move on.

We didn't need a charge in Santa Fe, but did need another restroom break, so we decided to charge at the EA Walmart just off the 25. The chargers weren't working well, and we should have just moved on. Instead, I called EA and had them reboot the charger. This wasted some time, especially since we really didn't need the charge. But by the time I decided this was a waste, we had already spent the time to get the charger rebooted, so we charged a bit.

On up to Bandelier National Monument. We spent a couple of days camping in Bandelier. Unfortunately one of our group wasn't feeling well so we cut our trip short and headed home.

We stopped in Albuquerque at the same supercharger and had lunch again. One person who was joining us for lunch was running late, but we weren't in any hurry. The food arrived shortly after our laggard joined us. After lunch we hit the road again. We left with 98% charge (nobody was waiting for us, so I didn't feel the need to disconnect and move the vehicle).

It was tempting to try to make it home without stopping, but the distance was 328 miles and while we could have made that on a flat surface with no wind, we chose to stop in Gallup again. We only charged to 75% because we didn't need more and there were several people waiting. A SOC of 75% would give us 210-220 miles range with the altitude climb and the headwind we were facing. We only needed 180 miles. Well, the wind came up again and we got home with only 10 miles on the range-o-guesser.

Overall, it was a great trip and the Lightning has once again proved its worth as a road tripping star. Will take it out again. And again. And again.

Coming down from Bandelier to Albuquerque, we got 3.1 m/kWh for about 90 miles. Would have been nice to continue that efficiency, but alas. We had to climb back up in elevation.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

We just got back from an 850 miles round trip camping trip. Started in Northern AZ and went to Bandelier National Monument in Northern NM. It's about 425 miles each way.

The truck performed perfectly.

We left home with 100% charge. Set the BC for 73 moh.

We needed a restroom and leg stretch stop in Gallup so we charged for a few minutes at the EA charger. I don't remember how high we charged, but we didn't wait more than the time it took to use the restroom. Then we hit the road again.

Our next stop was in Albuquerque, for lunch. We stopped at the Supercharger just off I-25 and enjoyed a "doughwich" at a pizza place next to the charger. After lunch, we made a quick run into the nearby Cabela's for a piece of missing camping kit. By the time we got back, the truck was well above what we needed to move on.

We didn't need a charge in Santa Fe, but did need another restroom break, so we decided to charge at the EA Walmart just off the 25. The chargers weren't working well, and we should have just moved on. Instead, I called EA and had them reboot the charger. This wasted some time, especially since we really didn't need the charge. But by the time I decided this was a waste, we had already spent the time to get the charger rebooted, so we charged a bit.

On up to Bandelier National Monument. We spent a couple of days camping in Bandelier. Unfortunately one of our group wasn't feeling well so we cut our trip short and headed home.

We stopped in Albuquerque at the same supercharger and had lunch again. One person who was joining us for lunch was running late, but we weren't in any hurry. The food arrived shortly after our laggard joined us. After lunch we hit the road again. We left with 98% charge (nobody was waiting for us, so I didn't feel the need to disconnect and move the vehicle).

It was tempting to try to make it home without stopping, but the distance was 328 miles and while we could have made that on a flat surface with no wind, we chose to stop in Gallup again. We only charged to 75% because we didn't need more and there were several people waiting. A SOC of 75% would give us 210-220 miles range with the altitude climb and the headwind we were facing. We only needed 180 miles. Well, the wind came up again and we got home with only 10 miles on the range-o-guesser.

Overall, it was a great trip and the Lightning has once again proved its worth as a road tripping star. Will take it out again. And again. And again.

Coming down from Bandelier to Albuquerque, we got 3.1 m/kWh for about 90 miles. Would have been nice to continue that efficiency, but alas. We had to climb back up in elevation.

We're so glad you enjoyed your trip! Thanks for sharing

 

[Richie740]

We just got back from an 850 miles round trip camping trip. Started in Northern AZ and went to Bandelier National Monument in Northern NM. It's about 425 miles each way.

The truck performed perfectly.

We left home with 100% charge. Set the BC for 73 moh.

We needed a restroom and leg stretch stop in Gallup so we charged for a few minutes at the EA charger. I don't remember how high we charged, but we didn't wait more than the time it took to use the restroom. Then we hit the road again.

Our next stop was in Albuquerque, for lunch. We stopped at the Supercharger just off I-25 and enjoyed a "doughwich" at a pizza place next to the charger. After lunch, we made a quick run into the nearby Cabela's for a piece of missing camping kit. By the time we got back, the truck was well above what we needed to move on.

We didn't need a charge in Santa Fe, but did need another restroom break, so we decided to charge at the EA Walmart just off the 25. The chargers weren't working well, and we should have just moved on. Instead, I called EA and had them reboot the charger. This wasted some time, especially since we really didn't need the charge. But by the time I decided this was a waste, we had already spent the time to get the charger rebooted, so we charged a bit.

On up to Bandelier National Monument. We spent a couple of days camping in Bandelier. Unfortunately one of our group wasn't feeling well so we cut our trip short and headed home.

We stopped in Albuquerque at the same supercharger and had lunch again. One person who was joining us for lunch was running late, but we weren't in any hurry. The food arrived shortly after our laggard joined us. After lunch we hit the road again. We left with 98% charge (nobody was waiting for us, so I didn't feel the need to disconnect and move the vehicle).

It was tempting to try to make it home without stopping, but the distance was 328 miles and while we could have made that on a flat surface with no wind, we chose to stop in Gallup again. We only charged to 75% because we didn't need more and there were several people waiting. A SOC of 75% would give us 210-220 miles range with the altitude climb and the headwind we were facing. We only needed 180 miles. Well, the wind came up again and we got home with only 10 miles on the range-o-guesser.

Overall, it was a great trip and the Lightning has once again proved its worth as a road tripping star. Will take it out again. And again. And again.

Coming down from Bandelier to Albuquerque, we got 3.1 m/kWh for about 90 miles. Would have been nice to continue that efficiency, but alas. We had to climb back up in elevation.

Great recap! What's the solar panels you installed used for?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Great recap! What's the solar panels you installed used for?

The ICECO refrigerator is running off the panels (and a small LiFePO4 battery overnight).

I know I could use the truck for that, but we're often pushing to the limit of range when we boondock camp and I don't want to accidentally use just a bit more than we need to return to the nearest charger.

Eventually I plan to upgrade from 200 Watts to about 1200 watts of solar and I have two more of the small batteries (enough for about 4.7 kWh of storage). Once I get that set up, I'll plug in a L1 charger to add a few miles to the truck from time-to-time. People will tell you it's not possible to use the solar for charging the truck, but the math works out for more than just a few miles when we're camping in the Southwest of the US for a few days. We get a good 8-12 hours of direct sun in the summer and that's enough to quickly refill the auxillary battery after dumping 80% of it into the truck (and running the fridge on the remaining 20%). A couple days of that will add 7-10 kWh of energy to the truck, which will give me 15 to almost 30 miles depending on where we're camped and the efficiency of driving on the dirt roads. That's enough to give us a buffer when we go to the edges of our range.

 

[Richie740]

The ICECO refrigerator is running off the panels (and a small LiFePO4 battery overnight).

I know I could use the truck for that, but we're often pushing to the limit of range when we boondock camp and I don't want to accidentally use just a bit more than we need to return to the nearest charger.

Eventually I plan to upgrade from 200 Watts to about 1200 watts of solar and I have two more of the small batteries (enough for about 4.7 kWh of storage). Once I get that set up, I'll plug in a L1 charger to add a few miles to the truck from time-to-time. People will tell you it's not possible to use the solar for charging the truck, but the math works out for more than just a few miles when we're camping in the Southwest of the US for a few days. We get a good 8-12 hours of direct sun in the summer and that's enough to quickly refill the auxillary battery after dumping 80% of it into the truck (and running the fridge on the remaining 20%). A couple days of that will add 7-10 kWh of energy to the truck, which will give me 15 to almost 30 miles depending on where we're camped and the efficiency of driving on the dirt roads. That's enough to give us a buffer when we go to the edges of our range.

That's an awesome setup. Congrats!

 

[invertedspear]

People will tell you it's not possible to use the solar for charging the truck, but the math works out for more than just a few miles when we're camping in the Southwest of the US for a few days.

I'm one of those people that usually calls out things like solar bed covers as something to extend range, and also a cost effective thing since the ROI would be terrible. The use case of camping for several days is a totally different story, and it makes sense. a 1.2 kW system + 4 good hours of light and 6 ok hours of light is probably good for adding 12-15 miles of range per day while camping. That's not terrible, especially when the trucks sitting there doing nothing otherwise.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I'm one of those people that usually calls out things like solar bed covers as something to extend range, and also a cost effective thing since the ROI would be terrible. The use case of camping for several days is a totally different story, and it makes sense. a 1.2 kW system + 4 good hours of light and 6 ok hours of light is probably good for adding 12-15 miles of range per day while camping. That's not terrible, especially when the trucks sitting there doing nothing otherwise.

Exactly. And if the panels can be used as a canopy or awning while camping, they'll add another dimension to their utility as well, which I'm always in favor of.

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