Thought on our frigid 1,300 mile trip

[Hammick]

Headed to our place in Montana for Xmas. Looking to hear from Northern Lightning ER owners.

Scheduled to leave the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it's looking nasty cold. Going to head to Fargo and across I-94 for the first time since there is a good selection of V3 superchargers. Route is posted below. Will be leaving Kansas City super early and the longest leg is to Council Bluffs, IA. Truck will be at 100% and in garage overnight with a departure time.

We have some cold weather experience from last year up I-25 into Wyoming but nothing like the temps we will see on this trip. We will be staying in Bismark, ND and the low is forecast for 4 degrees. No destination charger so the battery will be cold soaked the next morning. Will be headed to the SC in Bismark early.

Do any of our trip legs look concerning with driving temps possibly below 10 degrees and almost certainly fighting a headwind? If anyone knows of a hotel or motel in Bismark with a destination charger please let me know. Plugshare shows nothing.

Thanks in advance for any advice.





Home to EA Council Bluffs: 200 miles

EA Council Bluffs to EA Sioux City: 104 miles

EA Sioux City to EA Sioux Falls: 85 miles

EA Sioux Falls to EV Connect Watertown, SD: 97 miles

EV Connect Watertown to SC Sisseton, SD: 58 miles

SC Sisseton to SC Fargo: 89 miles

SC Fargo to SC Jamestown: 90 miles

SC Jamestown to SC Bismark: 102 miles

SC Bismark to SC Dickinson, SD: 97 miles (time zone change)

SC Dickinson to SC Glendive,MT: 96 miles

SC Glendive to SC Miles City, MT: 77 miles

SC Miles City to SC Billings, MT 139 miles

SC Billings to Barn: 76 miles

1,310 miles (133 additional miles vs I-90 route)

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[The Weatherman]

Have you tried ABRP? It’s one of the best charging planners available.

Check for it on your phones App Store. Or search on Google.

 

[Hammick]

Have you tried ABRP? It’s one of the best charging planners available.

Check for it on your phones App Store. Or search on Google.

Yes I have used it and will re-subscribe to premium before the trip. I sync it to my OBDII adapter. I don't find ABRP particularly useful for our trip planning but it might be very useful on this trip calculating the temps, winds and elevation changes. Not sure if the Lightning NAV takes any of that into account at this point. I'll teach my wife/co-pilot how to use it.

I also know how to do the calculations based upon the efficiency reading from the truck.

I realize most of our legs are super short but being overly cautious not to get stranded in the middle of nowhere with little to no backup chargers.

 

[sotek2345]

That all looks fine and leaves you margin almost all of the time. Just don't drive to fast on the first leg. 200 miles is going to be pushing it at higher speeds, especially if you have any significant head or cross winds.

 

[GarageMahal]

I found that driving slower makes a bigger difference in cold weather. It is hard [for me] to do but 65 is much more efficient than 75 so I try to avoid the Interstate highways when range matter.

 

[Hammick]

That all looks fine and leaves you margin almost all of the time. Just don't drive to fast on the first leg. 200 miles is going to be pushing it at higher speeds, especially if you have any significant head or cross winds.

Thanks. I have a 60kw backup charger available on the first leg if needed. I've done the KC to Council Bluffs trip a handful of times and have never needed the backup charger.

The first time we made this trip was across I-90 (in the summer) it was a nightmare. Things have improved tremendously since then. We are actually a little excited about going across I-94. Neither of us have ever seen that area of the Country.

 

[Hammick]

I found that driving slower makes a bigger difference in cold weather. It is hard [for me] to do but 65 is much more efficient than 75 so I try to avoid the Interstate highways when range matter.

Thanks. I imagine our first leg of 200 miles will be at 60 or 65 mph. I'll make up time on the shorter legs if the winds are too bad. But as we all know, if time was the most important factor we wouldn't be driving a BEV.

 

[RickLightning]

Headed to our place in Montana for Xmas. Looking to hear from Northern Lightning ER owners.

Scheduled to leave the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it's looking nasty cold. Going to head to Fargo and across I-94 for the first time since there is a good selection of V3 superchargers. Route is posted below. Will be leaving Kansas City super early and the longest leg is to Council Bluffs, IA. Truck will be at 100% and in garage overnight with a departure time.

We have some cold weather experience from last year up I-25 into Wyoming but nothing like the temps we will see on this trip. We will be staying in Bismark, ND and the low is forecast for 4 degrees. No destination charger so the battery will be cold soaked the next morning. Will be headed to the SC in Bismark early.

Do any of our trip legs look concerning with driving temps possibly below 10 degrees and almost certainly fighting a headwind? If anyone knows of a hotel or motel in Bismark with a destination charger please let me know. Plugshare shows nothing.

Thanks in advance for any advice.





Home to EA Council Bluffs: 200 miles

EA Council Bluffs to EA Sioux City: 104 miles

EA Sioux City to EA Sioux Falls: 85 miles

EA Sioux Falls to EV Connect Watertown, SD: 97 miles

EV Connect Watertown to SC Sisseton, SD: 58 miles

SC Sisseton to SC Fargo: 89 miles

SC Fargo to SC Jamestown: 90 miles

SC Jamestown to SC Bismark: 102 miles

SC Bismark to SC Dickinson, SD: 97 miles (time zone change)

SC Dickinson to SC Glendive,MT: 96 miles

SC Glendive to SC Miles City, MT: 77 miles

SC Miles City to SC Billings, MT 139 miles

SC Billings to Barn: 76 miles

1,310 miles (133 additional miles vs I-90 route)

I use the free ABRP desktop to plan. If you put in your travel date, it brings in the seasonal weather. That is the exact route they plan out.

Your first leg is tight. Departure time, use heated seats, set heat on 65, Auto 1, and keep your speed down. Watch efficiency via Car Scanner and OBD adapter. You should arrive with just under 10%.

Any stop that is taking you above 60%, charge to 80%. The only light charging stop I see is in Watertown because it's so close to Sisseton. In Miles City, you want to charge to 90%, and watch that next leg (which you'll have learning for).

PlugShare shows that the Best Western Roosevelt Place has a J-1772 charger, non-networked. Staff has to turn on breaker, no feedback since July.

Days Inn has 4 Tesla Destination chargers, 22 cents per kWh.

Given there is the SuperCharger there, you could consider going the night prior and charging to say 90% and not staying at a hotel with charging.

There is a free 11kW charger at Lignite Energy Council, you could plug in there the morning of and turn on the heat while it warmed up for a while before leaving.

Don't forget to pay for the Tesla membership the morning of the trip, and immediately downgrade, takes effect 30 days later. Do the math and see if the EA charging is worth the $7 for the 25% discount.

 

[SunMar10]

Have you tried ABRP? It’s one of the best charging planners available.

Check for it on your phones App Store. Or search on Google.

I’ve used ABRP. There are some things about it that bother my use cases.

1. There seems to be no way to totally start over with the actual, current location. Sometimes mid-trip, I just want to start-over from my present location. But ABRP is attached to my location the first time I planned that day (it does seem to reset “My Location” each morning).

2. Waypoints cannot be placed between starting location and destination. So if I want to make a little side venture, or navigate to lodging I have to scrap the Planned Route and start over… from My Location at the start of the driving day which is not my current location. And all charging stops are based on that starting location and based on ABRP charging level targets along the way.

 

[The Weatherman]

I’ve used ABRP. There are some things about it that bother my use cases.

1. There seems to be no way to totally start over with the actual, current location. Sometimes mid-trip, I just want to start-over from my present location. But ABRP is attached to my location the first time I planned that day (it does seem to reset “My Location” each morning).

2. Waypoints cannot be placed between starting location and destination. So if I want to make a little side venture, or navigate to lodging I have to scrap the Planned Route and start over… from My Location at the start of the driving day which is not my current location. And all charging stops are based on that starting location and based on ABRP charging level targets along the way.

I understand your issues. That’s why I use it to evaluate the route and produce charging recommendations.

I use Google Maps for my actual route mapping. I find it a lot more flexible with those things you mentioned.

The value I find in ABRP is its charging locator and recommendations.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Remember to also factor in any elevation (significantly climbing, not "at high elevation") segments as mileage thieves.

 

[Maquis]

Days Inn in Bismarck shows 4 Tesla L2s. It has no reviews or check-ins, so hard to say if they would work with an adapter.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

What filters do you have turned on on Plugshare?

I'm not familiar with the area, but it appears as though the Best Western and the Days Inn in Bismark both have L2 chargers?

 

[InTheCloud]

I use Google Maps for my actual route mapping. I find it a lot more flexible with those things you mentioned.

I noticed Google Maps (on Android Auto) has a feature where it will estimate your charge at your destination.

Also, key advice: have a co-pilot who is familiar with the apps/tech, so the passenger can adjust while you are driving.

 

[TMND]

Days Inn in Bismarck shows 4 Tesla L2s. It has no reviews or check-ins, so hard to say if they would work with an adapter.

Only l3’s work using Tesla adapter in my experience. I made the mistake of thinking I could use an L2 on a trip and ended up having to hit a campsite for a few hours instead. (Thankfully )

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