Road Tripped California: 1K Miles From San Diego to Oakland and back

[hikinbengal]

I did use PlugShare and planned my route meticulously with plan b and c backups, thank you very much. When did you take your road trip? Mine was Veterans Day weekend which was super busy. My wife and I agreed, if time wasn’t a factor, it would have been fine. But we had a narrow timeline and our young children with us. And yes, even those highly rated charging stations were packed with every type of non Tesla sometimes 6 cars deep waiting for a charger. And often running slow. For me, a busy holiday weekend was my only option for travel. And from my experience this last weekend, the network is not ready for how many evs are already out there. If Ego Musk opens up his chargers to the rest of us, it will solve these issues.

Went the middle of October. Drove down on a Sunday, and back up on a Saturday. I camped midway at Carpinteria beach and charged up overnight.

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[Simsonic]

1) The 5 freeway charging is fine for the amount of vehicles on the road. As EV ownership expands, they are going to have to ramp up availability. Hence why home charing is so important for all of us. I haven't tried a trip up the coast yet, so it sounds like your experience was based on that?

2) Am I one of the few that actually likes the ride? The Lightning drives really nice to me. Yes, it's soft, but I am not a 20 year old that likes to feel every bump. I like how it absorbs almost any bump and rolls smoothly and quietly down the road.

 

[hikinbengal]

2) Am I one of the few that actually likes the ride? The Lightning drives really nice to me. Yes, it's soft, but I am not a 20 year old that likes to feel every bump. I like how it absorbs almost any bump and rolls smoothly and quietly down the road.

Nope, I do and so does everyone that has been on a trip with me. I was able to rent an R1T for an extended amount of time and that ride is harsh. The Rivian suspension lets you hung turns but the rest of the time is stiff and jerky.

 

[chillaban]

2) Am I one of the few that actually likes the ride? The Lightning drives really nice to me. Yes, it's soft, but I am not a 20 year old that likes to feel every bump. I like how it absorbs almost any bump and rolls smoothly and quietly down the road.

I do too but even back when I was 18 my high school best friend told me "my grandma doesn't even feel old enough for your dream cars" after I mentioned how much I loved the Lincoln Town Car we rented on vacation.

But no, I think it handles bumps and potholes very gracefully and is the right balance of firmness and shock absorbing for general day to day driving. My only complaint is on certain roads with repeated bumps/grooving it can develop some resonance and rock you back and forth excessively, but those situations are rare.

I'm in my 30's but have a chronic arthritis condition and I hate that 90% of EVs out there care more about "sporty" suspensions that transmit every shock to my spine.

 

[Simsonic]

I do too but even back when I was 18 my high school best friend told me "my grandma doesn't even feel old enough for your dream cars" after I mentioned how much I loved the Lincoln Town Car we rented on vacation.

But no, I think it handles bumps and potholes very gracefully and is the right balance of firmness and shock absorbing for general day to day driving. My only complaint is on certain roads with repeated bumps/grooving it can develop some resonance and rock you back and forth excessively, but those situations are rare.

I'm in my 30's but have a chronic arthritis condition and I hate that 90% of EVs out there care more about "sporty" suspensions that transmit every shock to my spine.

Tell me about it! My first f150 over 20 years ago I lifted and got BFG off road tires. It completely ruined the ride to a brand new truck. Now I know better. Don’t mess with what the designers and engineers are paid to do.

 

[ninjaybot]

1) The 5 freeway charging is fine for the amount of vehicles on the road. As EV ownership expands, they are going to have to ramp up availability. Hence why home charing is so important for all of us. I haven't tried a trip up the coast yet, so it sounds like your experience was based on that?

2) Am I one of the few that actually likes the ride? The Lightning drives really nice to me. Yes, it's soft, but I am not a 20 year old that likes to feel every bump. I like how it absorbs almost any bump and rolls smoothly and quietly down the road.

1)Yes the chargers along the 5 were in better shape and charging faster than what was on the coast.
2) The ride about town is very nice and comfortable. It’s on the freeway when it yo-yos and bottoms out that gets me.

 

[antimatterparticle]

Took my family on a road-trip from San Diego to Oakland and back. About a thousand miles. The family being my wife, 6 year old daughter, and twin 2 year old boys.
The biggest challenge was charging. The charging network in California is garbage. Every station had broken units. Most the chargers, when working, would charge at slow rates. 40ish to 50ish when advertising 150 kilowatts. I did mange 153kw at the Gilroy outlets. Also props to Walmart because their chargers actually work. It was typical to switch multiple chargers before one would work. I’m just blown away by how crappy these chargers are out there. And when they do work, the lines were 6 cars deep. Also don’t believe hotels when they say they have ev charging. It was always 1 charger and either occupied or out of order.
Moving on, what the hell happened with these front shocks during r&d? They are so bad and dangerous IMO. Going freeway speeds hitting dips, the thing will bounce endlessly and bottom out harshly. After this trip, replacing the front shocks is a major priority. Why are they so shitty???
Blue cruise is fun. But it’s far from perfect or usable really. When first activated, the truck will veer to the right line before driving down the middle of the road. And every time it finished any kind of bend in the road, it would swerve back and forth from the left to the right line. Endlessly until deactivated.
I saw at least a dozen Rivians including a couple suvs and basically every other ev available. But somehow did not see another Lightning.
Just wanted to share.
Ps the app still sucks.

I think there may be something wrong with your front end.

My experience with Bluecruise is spotless. I think it is a lot better than my Model Y. In hands free mode I feel like having a driver. If they add auto lane change, I would consider this one of the best systems out there. I never experienced any of the sudden turns you are experiencing. Have it checked.

also the suspension is pretty firm for a truck. Again I do not experience all the bouncing you are talking about. Are you ate correct PSI on the tires? Also have it checked, as this does not seem normal.

I am not saying everything is perfect, but your experience seems outside of the truck dynamics.

 

[hikinbengal]

I think there may be something wrong with your front end.

My experience with Bluecruise is spotless. I think it is a lot better than my Model Y. In hands free mode I feel like having a driver. If they add auto lane change, I would consider this one of the best systems out there. I never experienced any of the sudden turns you are experiencing. Have it checked.

also the suspension is pretty firm for a truck. Again I do not experience all the bouncing you are talking about. Are you ate correct PSI on the tires? Also have it checked, as this does not seem normal.

I am not saying everything is perfect, but your experience seems outside of the truck dynamics.

I too don't experience the bounce from side to side with BC. I was thinking about this yesterday California has narrower lanes than most other places so I feel like it is easier to stay centered with minimal adjustments by the ADAS system. Maybe the issues with bounce that TFL, Out of Spec reviews, etc. see is because their lanes are wider.

Friends of mine that have Tesla FSD beta even commented how my BC is less jerky on the steering wheel and most breaking. The only issues I have a gripe with are the following distance and acceleration to get up to speed is a bit conservative for my taste.

 

[ExCivilian]

I was thinking about this yesterday California has narrower lanes than most other places so I feel like it is easier to stay centered with minimal adjustments by the ADAS system.

The standard lane width for Interstate Highways is 12ft in CA and every other state, including CO where TFL operates.

Rural and urban arterials can use anywhere from 10-12ft lanes but states and counties almost always adopt the latter.

 

[greenne]

I too don't experience the bounce from side to side with BC. I was thinking about this yesterday California has narrower lanes than most other places so I feel like it is easier to stay centered with minimal adjustments by the ADAS system. Maybe the issues with bounce that TFL, Out of Spec reviews, etc. see is because their lanes are wider.

Friends of mine that have Tesla FSD beta even commented how my BC is less jerky on the steering wheel and most breaking. The only issues I have a gripe with are the following distance and acceleration to get up to speed is a bit conservative for my taste.

FWIW I drove the NY Thruway and Mass pike last weekend and used BC about 95% of the time. No sway, no bouncing between the lines. After 15min I was comfortable using it without issue. I am very attentive to take over if needed..but generally impressed. Smooth for me.

 

[CRAIGC540]

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2) Am I one of the few that actually likes the ride? The Lightning drives really nice to me. Yes, it's soft, but I am not a 20 year old that likes to feel every bump. I like how it absorbs almost any bump and rolls smoothly and quietly down the road.
[/QUOTE]

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