First roadtrip advice for me?

[aw113sgte]

In a few days, doing a trip of about 800 miles on I-90 and I-74. This is my first EV and first road trip in one.
I have a tesla to j1772 adapter for hotels. A 40ft j1772 extension. 100ft 120v extension cable.
Planning to use electrify America as it looks like the only viable option. Looks like range won't be too much of a concern...unless a single station is down then I'll have to try and find a much slower option.
Does anyone have a more accurate consumption value for ABRP or is it pretty on point?
I have the wife and 2 kids with me so I'm hoping to keep issues to an absolute minimum. Any tips, tricks, advice?

The fridge wouldn't fit so I pulled the spare tire cover off as a solution.

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[dduffey]

Rivian infotainment nav pretty spot on for me regarding expected arrival SOC. I did use ABRP, I feel it was closest to estimates in conserve drive mode.

Make sure to check plugshare app for current state of chargers you will use, my experience was most where broken (Texas).

Learn how to put the R1T into sleep (turn off gear guard and alarm, lock, walk away for ten minutes) in case you hit an EA charger that requires the R1T to be reset.

Maybe left steering wheel + hazard (hold them) hard reset may work as well, but I always did the sleep trick because wasn't sure if I would lose all my settings with hard reset.

Setup charge apps beforehand (EA, EvGo, ChargePoint, etc). Some report enabling an EA station in the app before plugging in helps (it did not for me). Setting up EvGo was a pain and had to use the website to get it setup (app was broken).

120v extension will get you nothing, for hours ... [Edit: deleted suggestion of using 6-50]

Looks like you are set though, let us know how the adventure goes!

 

[bdavis171]

Charging slows significantly as your battery becomes more full. Use the software to determine how much of a charge you need before getting to the next station. Charge no more than needed, otherwise you are wasting time charging at a slower rate.

 

[dduffey]

Regarding hotels, Marriott gives an option for searching hotels that have EV charging but they don't say what or how many.

So I search Marriott and then use plugshare to find details. If it is only a single spot I don't stay there as it is too risky in terms of being down or used.

 

[ajdelange]

Always be aware of your battery status. You should always have an estimate of how much margin you will have at your next charging stop. If that margin is close to 0 or negative you are in trouble, Monitor the the consumption rate. If it increases suddenly (rain or a headwind springing up will do this) you are in potential trouble. Slow down is the first thing to do in such a case.

Consider slower chargers if you get in trouble at the bigger ones. Even 50 kW will get you 50 miles in half an hour.

Check on chargers you plan to use on Plugshare (Checkins). Do this just before departure. As an example of what to look for one Walmart has the chargers fenced off while they resurface the parking lot.

ABRP defaults to 474 Wh/mi which seems high but if you use that number your charging schedule will be conservative and that's a good thing!

 

[Riviot]

Expect less range going net uphill, i.e. into the mountains, and more coming back. We used 1.9 then 2.2 mi/kW on ABRP.

 

[whereismyr1t]

Even though the onboard nav is seriously lacking in features, I have found that it is very accurate and capably of plotting charging stops. In some cases ABRP added extra stops that were not necessary.

 

[dduffey]

When there are long stretches to the next charger I usually try and find a truck or semi that is hauling a flatbed. This allows me to stay in their side view mirrors but get a bit closer to draft.

I know the mythbusters did an episode that showed you have to get really close, but I've done dozens of 1k mile trips in different Tesla models that you don't really need to get that close. I have never had an issue with the driver ahead getting upset (brake checking or speeding up, etc.). The flatbed will give the impression you are further away.

I use this to skip the OKC supercharger which is not convenient for our I-35 route.

I find I drive dynamically where I start off conservatively and as I get 1/2 way to the next charger drive a bit faster and not worry external factors or being conservative (drafting, etc.). You can always then become more conservative again if needed. Also, assuming you can find a 350kw charger, you will charge faster (more mph) the lower the arrival SOC, so I like to punch it

 

[dduffey]

Make sure to select "135 alpha" in ABRP, which is the large battery pack.

 

[moosehead]

…Setup charge apps beforehand (EA, EvGo, ChargePoint, etc). Some report enabling an EA station in the app before plugging in helps (it did not for me). Setting up EvGo was a pain and had to use the website to get it setup (app was broken)…

+1 to all this. I found that attempting to pay via credit card at any charging network was a headache and many just did not work. Setting the network apps up in advance with your credit card registered works best and fastest. Still wondering if this is intentional.

IME, ChargePoint has the most reliable chargers, EA is second and many times one or more would not work but others in the same location were good, and EvGo is horrible. Recognizing this could vary by region and manufacturer.

 

[ajdelange]

120v extension will get you nothing, for hours ... Not worth it in my opinion.

120V charging is, for sure, a desperation measure but if yu want to consider it buy (and not only for this case) a Tesla UMC ($200) and its adapter kit which includes a pigtail for the 5 -20R receptacle (16 A charging rate as opposed to the 12A available from the 5-15 (Rivian) and a 20A extension cord with adapters so it can be plugged into a 5-15 or 5-20.

Think of getting a 6-50 extension and necessary adapters to work with dryer plugs, TT-30, 14-50, etc (if you need to extend that). That said, I've never had to use the 6-50 extension.

I wouldn't know where to get one. The 240V outlet you are most likely to find is the 14-50R so if you are interested in a heavy duty cord get one of those with adapters.

 

[dduffey]

[Edit: Deleted link to 40a 6-50 extension]

But in all my years as 100% EV family (2018) I have never needed it (knock on wood).

But I see OP already has a 40ft J1772 extension so another 6-50 extension is probably not needed. In fact, I may just get a J1772 myself in case someone ICEs a destination chargers (Tesla or otherwise) ... Thanks OP!

 

[ajdelange]

6-50 cable is the lightest and cheapest 240v 50a cable you can get.l, You can find the 6-50 cables pretty easily.

The notation 6-50 looks like a designation for a NEMA plug/outlet designation and there are NEMA plugs/receptacles that are so designated. Extension cords that handle 50A are readily available to connect RV with a 14-50P power inlet to 14-50R receptacles which are common at RV parks. The specs for these indicate that they use 6/3 wires. It is assumed that there is an adequately sized ground in there too (1 piece of No. 8). These extension cords have 14-50P plugs at one end and 14-50P plugs at the other.

Half the weight and cost of 14-50. primarily because it is 3 wire instead of 3 wires.

Not sure what you are trying to say here. The 6/3 plus ground with 14-50 connectors are not light and they are not cheap and they have 4 wires.

But I think you mean 6-50 outlets, and I agree. So I have a 14-50 to 6-50 adapter and 6-50 to 14-50 adapter. So it can be a 14-50 extension cord that is much more manageable and flexible (both senses of the word). Then you get all the regular * to 14-50 adapters (like TT-30 to 14-50 you would want to get anyway) and you are good to go.

Again I can't decode this. 14-50 is a NEMA connector designation as is 6-50. If you had a 6-50R receptacle that you wished to charge from and the vehicle was some distance away you could use the RV extension cord but you would have to make up (or buy - there are several of these) an adapter from 6-50P to 14-50R so you could connect the extension cord to the receptacle. At the other end you would use the 14-50P pigtail from the Rivian or Tesla mobile EVSE.

 

[ajdelange]

Here is the 40ft extension I bought for about $100, make sure to get the 8 gauge wiring in order to pull the full 40a from a 50a plug (80% of 50a).

No, no, no. To remain code compliant you must have No. 6. To send 40A to the vehicle you must connect the EVSE with a 50A circuit.

But in all my years as 100% EV family (2018) I have never needed it (knock on wood).

For all the trouble I have gone to to be able to charge from any source I have never had to use any of that stuff (other than the J1772 and CHAdeMO adapters) either. It's for peace of mind.

 

[ajdelange]

Sorry, typo. A "6-50 extension cord" (i.e. 6-50P and 6-50R ends) has one fewer wire than it's equivalent "14-50 extension cord" (with 14-50R and 14-50P ends).

What you mean to say is that 6/2 cord is more flexible than 6/3. I think most people would agree with that. What will throw them is calling 6/2 cord 6-50 cord.

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