# First road trip, any suggestions



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

I'll be taking my first road trip next week. Will be going from Chicago to Raleigh/Durham with my wife and two children (9&5 year old boys). I take this trip annually and usually head out at around 6pm at night to arrive in NC by the next morning. Ideally it's to leave after traffic has died down and arrive just before traffic picks up and allows my kids to sleep through most of the drive. I always fill up before leaving, drive about 350miles for about 5 hours (I try to stay at 75-80mph). We'll stop when the vehicle has about 50mi of range left (range on a full tank would be about 400mi). The stops are always short though. Kids are usually sleeping so I just head inside for a bio break and grab some coffee/snacks and then get right back on the road. Repeat the process for another 5hrs (the second stop may be longer to get the kids breakfast if they're up) and then finish the trip after a couple hours.

So obviously it's a military drill when using an ICE vehicle. I understand that this will have to change in a Tesla and was wondering if there are any suggestions to completing this trip safely without everyone hating the Tesla for extending the trip after we arrive ;-). My first thought is that I may need to do this during the day as I don't like the idea of being parked for 30+min at a SC in the middle of the night. Thoughts?


----------



## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

Do a trip planner on your Tesla dash. It will tell you where and for how long the SC stops need to be. The time will not be a full charge, but a charge that will get you to the next SC with spare. I recently took a 400km road trip for example and it had me stop 2/3 of the way home to charge for 20 minutes to get me from 27% on the battery to enough to get me home with about 40% or so on the battery.

20 minutes was just enough for a bio break and a milkshake. so it was perfect.

I used the trip planner on the dash for a much longer upcoming trip and it told me that it could not do it on SuperChargers. I know that I could do it on level two J1772 charging, but that would be too painful with my wife and two kids under the age of 8. Trust the trip planner.


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

If you want to plan things out ahead of time, try https://abetterrouteplanner.com/
It lets you tweak things, so you can tell it if you plan a longer stop at a supercharger (in order to eat), or ask it to skip a charger, adjust how low you're willing to let the battery go, adjust your maximum speed, etc.

Inside the car though, use Tesla's navigation. It seems to be a little conservative with the routing, so it won't steer you wrong. It will know if a Supercharging location is out of commission, and not route you there (at least, that happened to me once). And if you're cutting it close, the car will tell you to "stay under X mph in order to reach your destination".


----------



## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

While the overnight trip is indeed an option, I believe that EVs are slightly better suited for daytime trips. Or more specifically, what I'd call a "push-through" trip isn't quite as easy.

Most Superchargers have break and eating facilities near by. This allows for a "two birds with one stone" scenario. You can fill the belly while filling the car. In this scenario, there is no overhead in driving an EV, it fits into normal habits. And when compared to an overnight trip, I believe saved a day, since the drivers are often close to worthless with bad jet-lag on the next day or so.

You do need to think about how much charge that you need to arrive on. Are you going to be able to charge at your destination or do you need to drive around for a little before getting the opportunity to charge? That often makes a difference in whether you need to spend time at that last Supercharger before your destination or not.

Take a look at the map and familiarize yourself where the chargers are at. If going 80, in a LR model, you will probably need to charge at around 150-200 miles. Slow it down and you can hit the 200-250 or more range between charging. But you need to look at the distance between Superchargers to know which ones you have to stop at and which ones you can skip. And no matter what you plan, reality will probably change it, hence the recommendation to know your options. While you don't want to charge at J-1772 locations, make sure that PlugShare is on your phone (the built-in browser can also get to it) because there may be a segment that you think that you can make, not sure, but want a fail-safe plan if you absolutely need it. Also it's great for charging options at your destination.

I just finished a 1100 mile round trip in 40 hours with a 7 and 11 year old. We went to Cape Canaveral to see a Space X launch and immediately back home. We left in the morning and got back the next evening late. It worked well and we maybe spent an hour "having" to charge on the trip.

Also, slowing things down can make things faster. While some previous calculations indicate that driving at 70-75 on a long trip may be the optimal (and I believe that it varies dependent on the car) dropping the speed can make a huge difference. My weekend trip to the parents is 210 miles by Interstate and 190 miles by US Highway. Going the Interstate with a LR 3 is stretching it, especially in the winter. We went US Highway (~55-60mph) and just about had enough to make the *round trip*. With some local trips included, 120V charging was enough to get us home with 80 miles left. We were getting right at 200w/mi, significantly better than the 300 w/mi that you will probably get at 80 mph.

You'll probably be adding over 2.5 hours to the trip charging. (BTW, just ask the car today what it would take) and you'll need to make sure that you have a solution to wake you up when you finish charging. I know that the 3AM stop is going to be hard to stay awake at.

To pass your time while driving, look at the energy graphs. Change your speed by 5 mph for 30 minutes and see what the difference actually is. Go from 80 mph to 65 and see the dramatic difference.

My recommendation, on the way out, stop at a hotel with a J-1772 charger around 11PM. Then complete the trip leaving early the next morning. On the way back, leave early to mid afternoon and get in late at night.

Make sure that you are at 100% when you leave. Also, the chargers that you use going will generally be different than the ones returning. When leaving at 100%, you can go further. On the way home, that segment that worked will at 100% won't work when your last Supercharger took you only to 80%. FYI, don't charge to 100% at Superchargers unless you absolutely positively have to, besides some being limited, 80-100% takes forever and ruins the trip time.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

garsh said:


> If you want to plan things out ahead of time, try https://abetterrouteplanner.com/
> It lets you tweak things, so you can tell it if you plan a longer stop at a supercharger (in order to eat), or ask it to skip a charger, adjust how low you're willing to let the battery go, adjust your maximum speed, etc.
> 
> Inside the car though, use Tesla's navigation. It seems to be a little conservative with the routing, so it won't steer you wrong. It will know if a Supercharging location is out of commission, and not route you there (at least, that happened to me once). And if you're cutting it close, the car will tell you to "stay under X mph in order to reach your destination".


Nice, didn't know it'd tell you an ideal speed while driving, that'd help in an emergency if I wind up being really inefficient. Which I can see happening as I rarely get 240wh/mi.


----------



## Pdjelaj (Dec 4, 2018)

I went from Toronto to Florida straight in the spring.. I found it best to stop more often and charge from 10% to 60-65%.. I had more stops but needed a quick break anyways and I dont think it really added any more time to trip vs ICE. 

The car managed the trip fine between chargers.. it was very easy. 

You will not care eitherway and will be thankfull for AP as your new bour best freind while driving!! 

Good luck!


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Ed Woodrick said:


> While the overnight trip is indeed an option, I believe that EVs are slightly better suited for daytime trips. Or more specifically, what I'd call a "push-through" trip isn't quite as easy.
> 
> Most Superchargers have break and eating facilities near by. This allows for a "two birds with one stone" scenario. You can fill the belly while filling the car. In this scenario, there is no overhead in driving an EV, it fits into normal habits. And when compared to an overnight trip, I believe saved a day, since the drivers are often close to worthless with bad jet-lag on the next day or so.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the detailed response. Great information.

I'm currently planning on leaving in the morning (100% charge @ 4am CT) and plan on arriving late evening (8pm ET). Will be going directly to my brothers house who had a NEMA14-50 outlet installed for me so I should be able to plug in when I arrive and get a full charge by next morning (mobile connector has always been in the trunk along with the NEMA14-50 and J1772 adapters).


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> I'm currently planning on leaving in the morning (100% charge @ 4am CT) and plan on arriving late evening (8pm ET).


Sounds like three supercharging stops if you can work it out - one each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

garsh said:


> Sounds like three supercharging stops if you can work it out - one each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


That betterrouteplanner site is great. Just wish there was a way to set 80% max charge as the standard unless I mark a site as a break site. Obviously don't want to stick around past 80% anywhere, but if we've stopped to eat may as well charge to 100%. Because of that limit, I can't see to tweak a plan below 16 hrs nor one with less than 4 stops.


----------



## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

Worth chiming in: Speed kills efficiency.
at 58mph 100km/h reference efficiency 172wh/km
10% faster 194wh/km 13% more power per km
20% faster 212wh/km 23% more power per km


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Frully said:


> Worth chiming in: Speed kills efficiency.
> at 58mph 100km/h reference efficiency 172wh/km
> 10% faster 194wh/km 13% more power per km
> 20% faster 212wh/km 23% more power per km


I live in the US, we still live in the Stone Age when it comes to units of measurement. If I'm calculating correctly, these are the equivalent numbers:

58mph=277wh/mi
64mph=312wh/mi
70mph=341wh/mi

Seems a bit high. I always thought the standard epa rating of 240wh/mi was based on 55mph. From there assumed it'd have been 260wh/mi at 65mph, and 300wh/mi at 75mph.

I was planning on driving at 75mph, but if I'm doing upwards of 350wh/mi this may impact the route I have configured in ABRP.


----------



## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

shareef777 said:


> I live in the US, we still live in the Stone Age when it comes to units of measurement. If I'm calculating correctly, these are the equivalent numbers:
> 
> 58mph=277wh/mi
> 64mph=312wh/mi
> ...


In my experience. @shareef777 , your numbers are much closer to reality. I drive a p3d, and over many road trip miles my experience is much closer to the numbers you have extrapolated from the [email protected] baseline. Obviously, wind, weather, tire pressure, and relative elevation can greatly effect your numbers. Take comfort in this: After this inaugural road trip, you won't be worried with this detail any longer. Just pay attention to what the car tells you and you'll be fine.


----------



## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

I was working with the numbers from abrp, ymmv, literally, since I chose a random 3 hour route and abrp accounts for lots more than just speed.
I was just chiming in with the 'beware the exponential losses associated with more speed' as you seem to need every joule you can get...double the speed is 4x the energy and whatnot.

The unnecessary yet best explanation I've heard in layman terms I got recently was: 
Higher velocity causes you to:

hit the air harder (a given) and
hit more air per unit time... (less obvious) because you traveled more distance per time
All the viscosity and coefficient of drag numbers get hit twice because of these points, hence velocity squared.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

I definitely see the dropped efficiency when I’m doing 80 vs 60 on local highways so I’m expecting a hit, just hoping it’s not too bad to require an extra SC stop. Right now I’m planning 4 SC stops, Indianapolis IN, Dayton OH, Charleston WV, and Wytheville WV. Indianapolis and Charleston will be my 1hr meal stops and the other two 30min top offs. This is from ABRP based off of 300wh/mi. Will see how it goes next week.


----------



## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> That betterrouteplanner site is great. Just wish there was a way to set 80% max charge as the standard unless I mark a site as a break site. Obviously don't want to stick around past 80% anywhere, but if we've stopped to eat may as well charge to 100%. Because of that limit, I can't see to tweak a plan below 16 hrs nor one with less than 4 stops.


just be aware - it isn't always totally accurate on it's estimates.
I had a day work trip to a location that would not have a Supercharger en route, but one another 20 minutes beyond. The car's navigation said the trip there and back would put me at under 10% to return home (without stopping to charge). It was raining, had a coastal mountain range to cross and it is always windy at the destination. So I assumed if the car was saying 10%, it likely would be well under that given the conditions and elevation climbs/drips both directions. ABRP said I would get home with over 25% range remaining, also without stopping to charge - and that was inputting speeds, weather, etc.
I ended up going to the further out supercharger for 20 minutes or so, and ended up home with around 25% range. If I hadn't, I would have needed to find a J1772 along the way - which this particular route had few options. 
So in this particular case, the car's estimate was much closer than ABRP without it taking into account some of the external factors that ABRP does.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

MelindaV said:


> just be aware - it isn't always totally accurate on it's estimates.
> I had a day work trip to a location that would not have a Supercharger en route, but one another 20 minutes beyond. The car's navigation said the trip there and back would put me at under 10% to return home (without stopping to charge). It was raining, had a coastal mountain range to cross and it is always windy at the destination. So I assumed if the car was saying 10%, it likely would be well under that given the conditions and elevation climbs/drips both directions. ABRP said I would get home with over 25% range remaining, also without stopping to charge - and that was inputting speeds, weather, etc.
> I ended up going to the further out supercharger for 20 minutes or so, and ended up home with around 25% range. If I hadn't, I would have needed to find a J1772 along the way - which this particular route had few options.
> So in this particular case, the car's estimate was much closer than ABRP without it taking into account some of the external factors that ABRP does.


Thanks for the insight. Will keep that in mind. Though I think I'm good as the SC I listed still have others in-between. So while ABRP has me arriving at 10% and I find my in-car Navi saying otherwise, I'll pull off to another SC.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

OMG, the timing couldn’t be any better. This will be tremendous for our upcoming road trip. My kids having a blast.


----------



## rad1027 (May 4, 2019)

Here's some data from a road trip of 700 total miles I did over this weekend on a LR AWD with 19" rims.
*90% on the highway going at about 80-85 mph (average) I achieved about 307wh/mi.
*in the city driving ranging from standstill to about 45-50 mph, 237 wh/mi
*This was done with a total of 4 people in the car (2 adults, 2 children) and about 40-50 lbs of luggage on days of 100 F.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Started the trip this morning at 5am with 100% SOC. Arrived Lafayette IN with 50%. My speed varied anywhere between 65-80 mph, depending on construction limited areas. My efficiency was at 285wh/h. Next leg took me to Dayton OH where I arrived with 31% SOC. I averaged about 75mph with an efficiency rating of 278wh/mi. SC at 150kw is freaking sweet, I can’t imagine how v3 will be. I plugged in and went to the restroom at the local Meijer and back to the car. I was at 65% SOC. Crazy!

Couple experinece notes:

1.) you don’t need to be at 100% SOC when you leave. If anything that limits your time to do much at SC before being billed idle fees.
2.) based off point 1, you really can’t eat while SC. You need an hour to walk over, eat, and back. SC sessions don’t take that long.
3.) AP is a bad driver. Stays in the left/passing lane when there are cars queues behind. Or gets back in the right lane when there’s a truck that’s obviously going too slow so it passes into the right lane for 5 seconds and then right back into the passing lane.


----------



## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

shareef777 said:


> Started the trip this morning at 5am with 100% SOC. Arrived Lafayette IN with 50%. My speed varied anywhere between 65-80 mph, depending on construction limited areas. My efficiency was at 285wh/h. Next leg took me to Dayton OH where I arrived with 31% SOC. I averaged about 75mph with an efficiency rating of 278wh/mi. SC at 150kw is freaking sweet, I can't imagine how v3 will be. I plugged in and went to the restroom at the local Meijer and back to the car. I was at 65% SOC. Crazy!
> 
> Couple experinece notes:
> 
> ...


I completely agree with #3, TACC is very nice on the interstate, but when you add AP, it's bothersome. As to not having enough time at SC to do what you want, override the 80% default charge limit, it's takes forever to charge from 90 to 100%. You're correct however if the SC is quite busy and you'd like to be considerate of others.


----------



## Greg Appelt (Sep 27, 2018)

FRC said:


> I completely agree with #3, TACC is very nice on the interstate, but when you add AP, it's bothersome. As to not having enough time at SC to do what you want, override the 80% default charge limit, it's takes forever to charge from 90 to 100%. You're correct however if the SC is quite busy and you'd like to be considerate of others.


@FRC - I use TACC, AP, and NoAP daily! I will admit that I did change the AP setting so I do confirm lane changes. Many times the suggested lane changes are not into a faster lane or basically puts you into a lane you need to shortly get back out of. I simply scroll by cruise to be close to the traffic ahead of me.
These three things definitely reduce my commute stress to near 0.

BTW: I uber in my M3 and everyone is amazed at what NoAP can do. Second funnest feature. Pffft.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Just got to Charleston WV. Navi stated I’d arrive with 11% and didn’t feel anxiety in the least. We did hit one snag while driving. We couldn’t load music from our phones via BT. Had to do a software reset and then it started working. I also had a USB drive that’s throwing loading errors. Not sure what that’s about.

The Navi also updated and changed the last SC location. Originally I was to head to Wytheville VA, charge for 40min, and then to my destination with 10% left. Now I go to Mt Hope WV for 40min before my final destination. Though that doesn’t add up. Mt Hope to my destination is 260mi. I don’t see me making that so I reloaded the Navi and it’s showing Wytheville again.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

FRC said:


> I completely agree with #3, TACC is very nice on the interstate, but when you add AP, it's bothersome. As to not having enough time at SC to do what you want, override the 80% default charge limit, it's takes forever to charge from 90 to 100%. You're correct however if the SC is quite busy and you'd like to be considerate of others.


I plugged in and it stated 20min. Didn't realize that was just to get to the next SC. Lesson learned.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Boss took over (wife) and I’m thoroughly enjoying the smooth ride and panoramic glass roof as a passenger. I can see a future where I’d opt for an autonomous vehicle to get me to the east coast instead of even flying. There’s a bit of serenity when commuting long distances in a zero pollution car.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Well this sucks. Last SC stop and half the stalls are occupied. Stuck at charging at a lower rate. Having to wait 1hr 20min really killed this road trip. Tesla can’t roll out v3 fast enough


----------



## AutopilotFan (Oct 6, 2018)

shareef777 said:


> 2.) based off point 1, you really can't eat while SC. You need an hour to walk over, eat, and back. SC sessions don't take that long.


If the food options aren't close enough to the chargers, you could go get takeout then drive over to the Supercharger and eat in the car. We have very comfortable cars.


----------



## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

shareef777 said:


> Well this sucks. Last SC stop and half the stalls are occupied. Stuck at charging at a lower rate. Having to wait 1hr 20min really killed this road trip. Tesla can't roll out v3 fast enough


it is the start of summer, so outside of a holiday weekend know for heavy travel traffic, this is likely one of the busiest road trip times of year.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Lucked out. Originally needed 1hr 20min of charge (@35kw) to make it to my final destination. Went to a local restaurant to start killing time, sat down, and about 20min later got a prompt saying car is ready. Seems that the car I was sharing the stall with left shortly after I stepped away and jumped the charge to 109kw. Which was verified by the Stats app (best part of owning a Tesla imo). So was able to leave after just 30min and get to my destination with 30% left. Means I could of left after 20min and arrived with 10%.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

And thanks to my brother for the NEMA14-50 outlet I was able to top off from 30% to 90% in about 7hrs.


----------



## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

sounds like you had a great road trip experience!


----------



## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

shareef777 said:


> Well this sucks. Last SC stop and half the stalls are occupied. Stuck at charging at a lower rate. Having to wait 1hr 20min really killed this road trip. Tesla can't roll out v3 fast enough


Speculation -- would be nice if there was a visual indicator of which of the stalls is at higher power capacity based on v2 neighbor charge... "pick this one, the twin is almost done and you'll have more juice". Perhaps even in the nav - if you route to SC then it says '2b is waiting for you'.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

lance.bailey said:


> sounds like you had a great road trip experience!


Wouldn't quiet say that. We found the SC stalls too far from everything at every stop, especially when dragging 9 and 5yo boys. We also didn't like any of the restaurants available. For example, my original plan was to have breakfast at our first planned long charge (~9am). When we arrived it was either Chipotle and/or ModPizza or across a very busy street (with the boys) to a McDonalds. None very appetizing for breakfast. Also the last SC stop gave us a bit of a fit as it initially stated 1hr20min which we didn't plan for. Luckily the adjacent vehicle wind up leaving but it's definitely giving me anxiety for our return trip. Especially since we'll also have my 13yo daughter as well (she flew in earlier but will drive back with us).


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Frully said:


> Speculation -- would be nice if there was a visual indicator of which of the stalls is at higher power capacity based on v2 neighbor charge... "pick this one, the twin is almost done and you'll have more juice". Perhaps even in the nav - if you route to SC then it says '2b is waiting for you'.


That'd of been great. Though with the independent stalls of v3, not sure there would be a point in developing that feature now.


----------



## Frully (Aug 30, 2018)

shareef777 said:


> That'd of been great. Though with the independent stalls of v3, not sure there would be a point in developing that feature now.


Fair point, although there are thousands of stations that won't be retrofitted until end of life surely...which in theory is years away and in my guesstimate...decade scale event.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Currently on my return trip. The last SC I hit last time (that was more then half full), is now my first stop and is completely empty. Plugged in, played a couple rounds of BeachBuggy and got right back on the road. Second stop was at Charleston WV. 40min charge needed and we walked over to a local mall. It’s a bit of a walk and we likely won’t be back before it’s done. The SC station is empty, do idle fees apply when less than 50%?


----------



## Gordon87 (Mar 5, 2019)

I believe so, from what I read. When you get notice on the app that you are close to being done, just increase the limit a little to give you a time cushion to get back to your car.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Gordon87 said:


> I believe so, from what I read. When you get notice on the app that you are close to being done, just increase the limit a little to give you a time cushion to get back to your car.


I keep my limit at 100% while on a road trip. No point in stopping a charge if I'll be driving immediately. Forgot that the 40min it listed was just to get me to the next SC, not to 100%. After 40min the SOC was at 92% and it needed another 15min to get to 100%. Got back and found it at 99%.

Just pulled up to our second to last SC in Dayton OH. Grabbed the last unoccupied stall pair. Need a 30min charge so hoping no one else grabs the one next to me.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

shareef777 said:


> I keep my limit at 100% while on a road trip. No point in stopping a charge if I'll be driving immediately. Forgot that the 40min it listed was just to get me to the next SC, not to 100%. After 40min the SOC was at 92% and it needed another 15min to get to 100%. Got back and found it at 99%.
> 
> Just pulled up to our second to last SC in Dayton OH. Grabbed the last unoccupied stall pair. Need a 30min charge so hoping no one else grabs the one next to me.


And we're back on the road (wife took over). I really can't wait for v3. Aimlessly walking around to kill 30min at Meijer sucks. What sucks even more is loading all your groceries on a belt and having to put them back in your cart cause the cashier is "unavailable". After the 3rd time I just left the stuff in the cart and walked out. I woulda rather played beach buggy for 30min straight.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Forgot to mention I was rear ended at a Starbucks drive thru in Charleston. Poor lady had three young children in her car and she turned around to tend to them and accidentally slipped her foot off the brake (hold feature like in our Teslas would of came in handy). Her vehicle crept forward and gave me a good thud. It was her license plate frame that made contact, but the jolt was enough to bang my head against my headrest. We stepped out and took a look at our vehicles and I simply couldn’t find anything on my vehicle. She was crying and was looking for her drivers license/insurance, but I told her to not worry about it. Couldn’t believe not even a mark was made.


----------



## Bokonon (Apr 13, 2017)

shareef777 said:


> Forgot to mention I was rear ended at a Starbucks drive thru in Charleston. Poor lady had three young children in her car and she turned around to tend to them and accidentally slipped her foot off the brake (hold feature like in our Teslas would of came in handy). Her vehicle crept forward and gave me a good thud. It was her license plate frame that made contact, but the jolt was enough to bang my head against my headrest. We stepped out and took a look at our vehicles and I simply couldn't find anything on my vehicle. She was crying and was looking for her drivers license/insurance, but I told her to not worry about it. Couldn't believe not even a mark was made.


Yikes! Sorry to hear that happened. I'm equally amazed at the condition of your bumper, though! Wow.

Out of curiosity, have you shifted into reverse since the incident? Just to double-check that the bump didn't mess up the ultrasonics or knock anything else loose.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Bokonon said:


> Yikes! Sorry to hear that happened. I'm equally amazed at the condition of your bumper, though! Wow.
> 
> Out of curiosity, have you shifted into reverse since the incident? Just to double-check that the bump didn't mess up the ultrasonics or knock anything else loose.


Yeah, everything works. We've since put in another 350mi of driving and all is good. And being the vehicle that hit me was a large SUV (Toyota Highlander), I'm still in shock that there's nothing. I immediately saved the dash cam footage Will see what it shows after I get home.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

So I just plugged into my final SC before getting home. Didn’t even bother checking to see if it started charging and started walking to the nearest restaurant. Launched the app to check the stats and keep getting server error messages (Stats app won’t connect either). No clue if vehicle is charging (or if I’d be notified when it’s full)


----------



## FRC (Aug 4, 2018)

shareef777 said:


> So I just plugged into my final SC before getting home. Didn't even bother checking to see if it started charging and started walking to the nearest restaurant. Launched the app to check the stats and keep getting server error messages (Stats app won't connect either). No clue if vehicle is charging (or if I'd be notified when it's full)


Little late now, but to the best of my knowledge, Idle fees are still charged if the SCer is 50% or more occupied. I think the rate is $0.50 per minute for the first 30 minutes idle and $1.00 per minute thereafter. Even if you plug in to an empty SCer, idle fees apply if it fills to 50% before you unplug.


----------



## Gordon87 (Mar 5, 2019)

shareef777 said:


> I keep my limit at 100% while on a road trip. No point in stopping a charge if I'll be driving immediately. Forgot that the 40min it listed was just to get me to the next SC, not to 100%. After 40min the SOC was at 92% and it needed another 15min to get to 100%. Got back and found it at 99%.
> 
> Just pulled up to our second to last SC in Dayton OH. Grabbed the last unoccupied stall pair. Need a 30min charge so hoping no one else grabs the one next to me.


Very helpful information. On your trip, did you just rely on the car's navigation to get you from SC to SC? I have only taken one road trip and it was short enough that I haven't needed a SC stop. I just recharged at our friend's 110 outlet in the garage before heading home at the end of the weekend. However, from that trip I found the car amazing on the highway.


----------



## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

Gordon87 said:


> Very helpful information. On your trip, did you just rely on the car's navigation to get you from SC to SC? I have only taken one road trip and it was short enough that I haven't needed a SC stop. I just recharged at our friend's 110 outlet in the garage before heading home at the end of the weekend. However, from that trip I found the car amazing on the highway.


Yeah, 100% reliance on the built in navigation. The drive was silky smooth, and the Navi was great. Time and % estimates were very precise. The Navi re-routed us at one point on the way to NC, and I didn't realize till now that it was likely due to a full SC. I completely rely and trust it.


----------

