B177y
Well-known member
- First Name
- Bill
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2024
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 104
- Reaction score
- 136
- Location
- Olympic Peninsula WA
- Website
- www.ptcoffee.com
- Vehicles
- 2024 Lightning Pro ER Max Tow
- Occupation
- Coffee Roasting
- Thread starter
- #1
The breakdown:
2024 Lightning Pro, extended range battery, max-tow, 9600 watt pro power.
About 3300+ miles round trip. I didn't track it or set a trip odometer. Using GPS and estimates from daily driving.
19 Tesla DCFC for a total of $420.48. I signed up for the membership before leaving and cancelled it on my return to save money.
3 EA DCFC for $78.42. I also signed up for the EA membership for the month and cancelled.
1.4 - 1.8-ish +/- MPK efficiency for the interstate @ 80 MPH. 2.2 MPK for 50-60 MPH on ND country and farm roads. The "calibrated reference consumption" at 65 mph in ABRP is 2.0 MPK and most trip predictions without towing show an avg estimate of 1.8 MPK with interstate driving.
I took my one-month old Lightning on a great adventure. Started with about 2200 miles and ended with 5600. Started in Western WA on the North Olympic Peninsula and went to Spokane for a work conference. Continued from Spokane to go hunting in North Dakota. I really got to see what the Lightning could do! 80 MPH speed limit once out of WA, and up and down mountain passes all along the way. Drove 1-90 and 94 and used mostly Tesla DCFC with my original version A2Z NACS adapter.
Unseasonably warm for the beginning of the trip. Arrived in ND for the first day of hunting a with a high of 80 deg F during the last week of Oct! Return trip Oct 30-31 were normal temps with lots of wind, rain, and a little dust of snow. The bridge decks in MT on the morning of the 31st were completely covered in black ice and we saw a few slide offs and accidents. I had one very sketchy bridge crossing where I knew if I did anything except keep the truck straight, I would have been in trouble. Luckily it tracked straight and true and I got across safely, but I haven't puckered like that in a long time and I don't want to feel that again.
The other fun part of this trip was that the leg from West WA to Spokane was with two other coworkers that I will describe as "EV skeptics". Neither had ever been in any EV, and they had the attitude of "We'll trust you, but you'll never live it down if something goes wrong". One of the two had a different destination after our conference, and the other was continuing the trip with me to hunt. I pretty much stopped at every Tesla charger on 90 and 94 through ID and MT. ABRP with an OBD dongle connection was amazing! It gave very accurate data and helped me confidently plan and drive this trip. I really obsessed over ABRP and Plugshare to make sure that all of the chargers I was going to use were operational and reliable. I thought about bringing my 240 volt 7500 watt generator "just in case," but ultimately went without as I figured that I needed to trust the apps. Most of the charging stops had a backup EA charger, another Tesla, or some other brand generally close enough to keep my mind at ease. I also figured if I ran out of juice in the middle of nowhere, I'd get to see the Ford roadside assistance in action and have the "tow to the nearest charger" service. I set ABRP for charger arrival SOC of 20% to keep a good buffer for unknowns. I charged to 90% in 2 sections between DCFC that were about 150 miles apart to keep the 20% arrival buffer. The rest were 80% or less without issue.
I received the 10.1.1 update and read about the Google Maps integration the day that I started the trip. I tried out the Google Maps for some of the legs of the route, but I didn't like some of the chargers it was trying to route me too. I ultimately used ABRP with the OBD dongle for the majority of the trip because I had planned and saved everything in the app so it was easier to use and only gave me Tesla and EA to stop at. I used CarScanner to see if any combination of the apps would pre-condition the battery. I'll say that the data is still inconclusive for me. The Tesla chargers were all super fast and quickly ramped up to around 180kw or more on every charge, then stayed in the 140-150 range. The battery was warm on arrival, around 70-75 deg F. After a DCFC it would be around 90+ deg and stay there. Going from charger to charger wasn't long enough to cool the battery. Due to having conversations while driving and just laziness, I never tracked the HVB temp close enough to prove or disprove battery conditioning. During a trip with my MME last year, I could easily see the battery warming happen on Carscanner while using the built-in mapping.
Our hotel (Roosevelt Inn and Suites in Watford City, ND) has two level-2 chargers for guests. I confirmed with the hotel that the chargers were operational and reliable before departure. Without that, this trip would not have really worked. I was able to charge every night and we drove about 150 miles each day to different areas for hunting. I mapped out and saved a few of the 50kw DCFC stations around Western ND in case I got myself in trouble, but the hotel L2 was more than sufficient. We drove on lots of dirt roads as well as cut and plowed farm land. My Lightning earned it's "truck" credentials. The other two guys that we met to go hunt with poo-poo'ed my "City-Slicker Truck," but after three days of hunting without any issues, the friendly ribbing subsided.
The Tesla chargers were MUCH more reliable and easier to use than the EA, hence only 3 EA charges. There really is no comparison. All of the Tesla chargers were fast, roomy, consistent, in convenient locations, and all except one worked on the first try*. All three of the EA locations had non-operational chargers or multiple attempts to get a charge started. They were also slower and throttled down faster than any of the Tesla chargers. I shut off P&C to activate the Tesla and EA sessions through their apps to use the membership discount rates.
My takeaways:
I LOVE road tripping in my Lightning! I had a Mach-e California Route 1 that I traded for the Lightning, and I loved road tripping in that too. The Lightning rides nicer and is quieter, but the MME had more creature comforts than my Lightning Pro. I miss the BlueCruise and heated steering wheel of the MME, but I really like the smaller screen, ergonomics, and knobs for controls in the Lightning. The MME had much better efficiency, but the charge stops didn't seem much longer in the Lightning. Pretty much we'd take our rest breaks and get some food/drink, come back to the truck, wait a couple more minutes to shuffle around and then go. My EV skeptic friends were impressed and asked a lot of questions. I don't think they're going to buy one, but I think the reality is different than what they have heard for years. Hopefully if you are someone researching an EV and wondering about road-tripping, this will help convince you that it can work.
*The one Tesla location that I had an issue with was with the last stop before home. The brand spanking new v4 location in North Bend Outlet Mall wouldn't start. I tried a couple of different stands and couldn't get anything to work with my A2Z adapter which had been flawless for all of the other charges. I still had my Ford adapter which had been recalled the day I left, and it worked, though it throttled down to 60kw at about 60% SOC. I assume that is the behavior called out in the (don't call it a) recall. When I finished there, I looked at the NACS end of the Ford vs the A2Z and the v4 NACS. The A2Z plug has NACS pins that have a plastic exterior and a metal socket interior. The Ford adapter pins are metal exterior and interior. The v4 NACS plug is shaped to go over the outside of the charging pins, so the original A2Z wouldn't connect because the plastic insulated it from connecting. The older Tesla NACS chargers connect to the charging pins through the smaller interior sockets of the pins. I called A2Z when I got home and they immediately sent a Typhoon Pro, which has metal exterior pins and is v4 compatible. The day after receiving the Typhoon Pro, I got the recall email for the original Typhoon. The timing worked for me regardless of all of the recalls... The major takeaway is if you still have an original A2Z, trade it in for the Typhoon Pro so you can use it on v4 Tesla chargers. And yes, the Ford adapter doesn't seem to hold the high kw and got too warm, causing the kw to go lower (my assumption based on the witnessed behavior).
EDITS:
11/11: Added some ABRP efficiency stats.
11/15: Added year, trim, and battery size
2024 Lightning Pro, extended range battery, max-tow, 9600 watt pro power.
About 3300+ miles round trip. I didn't track it or set a trip odometer. Using GPS and estimates from daily driving.
19 Tesla DCFC for a total of $420.48. I signed up for the membership before leaving and cancelled it on my return to save money.
3 EA DCFC for $78.42. I also signed up for the EA membership for the month and cancelled.
1.4 - 1.8-ish +/- MPK efficiency for the interstate @ 80 MPH. 2.2 MPK for 50-60 MPH on ND country and farm roads. The "calibrated reference consumption" at 65 mph in ABRP is 2.0 MPK and most trip predictions without towing show an avg estimate of 1.8 MPK with interstate driving.
I took my one-month old Lightning on a great adventure. Started with about 2200 miles and ended with 5600. Started in Western WA on the North Olympic Peninsula and went to Spokane for a work conference. Continued from Spokane to go hunting in North Dakota. I really got to see what the Lightning could do! 80 MPH speed limit once out of WA, and up and down mountain passes all along the way. Drove 1-90 and 94 and used mostly Tesla DCFC with my original version A2Z NACS adapter.
Unseasonably warm for the beginning of the trip. Arrived in ND for the first day of hunting a with a high of 80 deg F during the last week of Oct! Return trip Oct 30-31 were normal temps with lots of wind, rain, and a little dust of snow. The bridge decks in MT on the morning of the 31st were completely covered in black ice and we saw a few slide offs and accidents. I had one very sketchy bridge crossing where I knew if I did anything except keep the truck straight, I would have been in trouble. Luckily it tracked straight and true and I got across safely, but I haven't puckered like that in a long time and I don't want to feel that again.
The other fun part of this trip was that the leg from West WA to Spokane was with two other coworkers that I will describe as "EV skeptics". Neither had ever been in any EV, and they had the attitude of "We'll trust you, but you'll never live it down if something goes wrong". One of the two had a different destination after our conference, and the other was continuing the trip with me to hunt. I pretty much stopped at every Tesla charger on 90 and 94 through ID and MT. ABRP with an OBD dongle connection was amazing! It gave very accurate data and helped me confidently plan and drive this trip. I really obsessed over ABRP and Plugshare to make sure that all of the chargers I was going to use were operational and reliable. I thought about bringing my 240 volt 7500 watt generator "just in case," but ultimately went without as I figured that I needed to trust the apps. Most of the charging stops had a backup EA charger, another Tesla, or some other brand generally close enough to keep my mind at ease. I also figured if I ran out of juice in the middle of nowhere, I'd get to see the Ford roadside assistance in action and have the "tow to the nearest charger" service. I set ABRP for charger arrival SOC of 20% to keep a good buffer for unknowns. I charged to 90% in 2 sections between DCFC that were about 150 miles apart to keep the 20% arrival buffer. The rest were 80% or less without issue.
I received the 10.1.1 update and read about the Google Maps integration the day that I started the trip. I tried out the Google Maps for some of the legs of the route, but I didn't like some of the chargers it was trying to route me too. I ultimately used ABRP with the OBD dongle for the majority of the trip because I had planned and saved everything in the app so it was easier to use and only gave me Tesla and EA to stop at. I used CarScanner to see if any combination of the apps would pre-condition the battery. I'll say that the data is still inconclusive for me. The Tesla chargers were all super fast and quickly ramped up to around 180kw or more on every charge, then stayed in the 140-150 range. The battery was warm on arrival, around 70-75 deg F. After a DCFC it would be around 90+ deg and stay there. Going from charger to charger wasn't long enough to cool the battery. Due to having conversations while driving and just laziness, I never tracked the HVB temp close enough to prove or disprove battery conditioning. During a trip with my MME last year, I could easily see the battery warming happen on Carscanner while using the built-in mapping.
Our hotel (Roosevelt Inn and Suites in Watford City, ND) has two level-2 chargers for guests. I confirmed with the hotel that the chargers were operational and reliable before departure. Without that, this trip would not have really worked. I was able to charge every night and we drove about 150 miles each day to different areas for hunting. I mapped out and saved a few of the 50kw DCFC stations around Western ND in case I got myself in trouble, but the hotel L2 was more than sufficient. We drove on lots of dirt roads as well as cut and plowed farm land. My Lightning earned it's "truck" credentials. The other two guys that we met to go hunt with poo-poo'ed my "City-Slicker Truck," but after three days of hunting without any issues, the friendly ribbing subsided.
The Tesla chargers were MUCH more reliable and easier to use than the EA, hence only 3 EA charges. There really is no comparison. All of the Tesla chargers were fast, roomy, consistent, in convenient locations, and all except one worked on the first try*. All three of the EA locations had non-operational chargers or multiple attempts to get a charge started. They were also slower and throttled down faster than any of the Tesla chargers. I shut off P&C to activate the Tesla and EA sessions through their apps to use the membership discount rates.
My takeaways:
I LOVE road tripping in my Lightning! I had a Mach-e California Route 1 that I traded for the Lightning, and I loved road tripping in that too. The Lightning rides nicer and is quieter, but the MME had more creature comforts than my Lightning Pro. I miss the BlueCruise and heated steering wheel of the MME, but I really like the smaller screen, ergonomics, and knobs for controls in the Lightning. The MME had much better efficiency, but the charge stops didn't seem much longer in the Lightning. Pretty much we'd take our rest breaks and get some food/drink, come back to the truck, wait a couple more minutes to shuffle around and then go. My EV skeptic friends were impressed and asked a lot of questions. I don't think they're going to buy one, but I think the reality is different than what they have heard for years. Hopefully if you are someone researching an EV and wondering about road-tripping, this will help convince you that it can work.
*The one Tesla location that I had an issue with was with the last stop before home. The brand spanking new v4 location in North Bend Outlet Mall wouldn't start. I tried a couple of different stands and couldn't get anything to work with my A2Z adapter which had been flawless for all of the other charges. I still had my Ford adapter which had been recalled the day I left, and it worked, though it throttled down to 60kw at about 60% SOC. I assume that is the behavior called out in the (don't call it a) recall. When I finished there, I looked at the NACS end of the Ford vs the A2Z and the v4 NACS. The A2Z plug has NACS pins that have a plastic exterior and a metal socket interior. The Ford adapter pins are metal exterior and interior. The v4 NACS plug is shaped to go over the outside of the charging pins, so the original A2Z wouldn't connect because the plastic insulated it from connecting. The older Tesla NACS chargers connect to the charging pins through the smaller interior sockets of the pins. I called A2Z when I got home and they immediately sent a Typhoon Pro, which has metal exterior pins and is v4 compatible. The day after receiving the Typhoon Pro, I got the recall email for the original Typhoon. The timing worked for me regardless of all of the recalls... The major takeaway is if you still have an original A2Z, trade it in for the Typhoon Pro so you can use it on v4 Tesla chargers. And yes, the Ford adapter doesn't seem to hold the high kw and got too warm, causing the kw to go lower (my assumption based on the witnessed behavior).
EDITS:
11/11: Added some ABRP efficiency stats.
11/15: Added year, trim, and battery size
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