# Trip report: Huntsville AL; Coffeyville KS; Richardson TX, and; home



## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

My limited mobility wife, her long-hair chihuahua, and I are taking a trip to visit my Mom in Coffeyville and best friend in Richardson (aka. Dallas area). These are our lesson's learned.

*Huntsville to Coffeyville*

We didn't leave on Monday for minor medical reasons. So Tuesday, I folded down the rear seats and put a three, foam cushion, inside a single bed mattress cover. Clothes were packed in a suitcase in the rear storage area and I loaded my wife, her dog, and folding wheel chair. With a full, trip charge, we drove to the Memphis SuperCharger.

Having been there before, my wife selected "5 Guys" for hamburgers and restroom break. Putting the handicap hanger, we parked near the door and I said, "I gotta go but will come back to help you out." When I returned, she got in the wheelchair and I helped her go to the bathroom. Then I said, "I've got to walk the Itty Bitty dog" and drove to the SuperCharger and walked the dog back.

When she got out of the bathroom, she ordered a loaded hamburger and fries, I got a loaded hot dog, and the dog got their smallest, Kosher hotdog. The dog did not take after her hot dog so I bit a piece off and she devoured it. So bite, spit, and feed, everyone got something to eat. So I said, "I need to get the car." Well lit and with the Itty Bitty dog, I knew my wife was safe and others came over to visit her and pet the dog while I fetched the car, now with enough charge to reach Little Rock.

Little Rock SuperCharger is in the middle of a parking lot for a shopping mall that was closed. However, there was a combination Tavern and Movie House so I drove there. "Wait a minute as I've got to go pee." They were closing but managed to get inside. One of their staff said there was a "Loves" truck stop down the street so I drove there and helped my wife go in before driving the car back to the SuperCharger. The 1/4 mile walk did me and the Itty Bitty dog a lot of good.

My wife had gotten confused and left her wheelchair in the bathroom. But the courteous staff had her sitting on a chair and we soon got it sorted out. Bottled water and a root beer with a package of jerky and we were set. So I checked the radar: severe weather on the Arkansas/Missouri border, the route to the Springfield SuperCharger and less bad to Fort Smith where there is no SuperCharger. But I had a plan.

The truck stop at Ozark AR had ShorePower stations used by truckers so they don't have to run their diesel engines. The 30A, NEMA 14-50 plug would work perfect to get enough charge to reach the Tulsa SuperCharger. Then I noticed the Tesla NEMA 14-50 has three straight blades but the ShorePower needed two straight and 90 degree blade (NEMA 14-30?.) I tried the 120 VAC plug but no power. I asked the clerk and found "They are turned off because we weren't selling enough." By now it was 2AM and I knew there were RV parks around but the rain started. The clerk told me about a live 120 VAC outlet I could use so we plugged in and spent a couple of hours getting breakfast and bathroom break. Adding 10 miles to my reserve was enough to reach an RV park previously reported well on PlugShare.

Driving to Fort Smith, the rain got intense with sheets but the dynamic cruise control and autosteer worked great . . . as good or better than my old man eyes. We made it to the RV park about 5:30 AM; filled out the registration and check; plugged-in; rested my wife's wheel chair over the frunk (i.e., front trunk) with the lid covering, and; discovered you don't get on the mattress by the trunk.

There is very little room and the 3" gap can lead to getting stuck half-in and half-out. My wife bitterly complained and when I tried it, no luck. So she rested on the passenger seat and I tried a different approach. Go in on the side door, head first and pull your legs in. Rotate so you can extend your legs in the 'metal sleeping bag' and close the door. The rain was no problem with occasional, brilliant sheets of lightning overhead.

With the dawn, the care taker came by and was not used to seeing a car plugged in with two people sleeping. I pointed out I'd filled out the registration and paid a check. Somewhat unhappy with this strange sight, he left. He came back about 10 minutes later and said, "I see you know what you're doing" and handed me the registration and check to tear up. All the while it was raining with a lot of puddles.

I got the wife in the wheel chair and we slogged through the water to the dry, heated bathroom with shower and then back to the car. The seat warmers and keeping her side warm worked. By 10 AM, we had enough charge to reach the Tulsa SuperCharger and we were off. Reaching the Oklahoma border, the weather cleared up and other than tolls, reached Tulsa about noon. This time the SuperChargers were in the middle of a Cherokee casino parking lot so we stayed there.

As we were headed to Coffeyville, my wife announced it was lunch and bathroom break time. We stopped at a Baskin Robins and I helped her in the unisex bathroom including some dry clothes. She got an ice cream cup and we sat outside in the warm Oklahoma breezes. I stopped at a BBQ place and we were finally on the way to Coffeyville. We got there a little after 2 PM and Mom gave us a bedroom to nap and change. Needless to stay, sleep was on my mind but Holly and Mom had a great time.

With Mom's house keeper, we ran some errands and he drove the Tesla. Then he led the way to the RV park that has 50A service; paid $20, and; left the car to charge overnight. This avoided trying to put a heavy electrical load on a 1926 house. The next day, the car was charged to 80% for around town errands. I visited Walmart to get wind breakers and rain jackets for us and parked the car by the curb.

About 10 AM, some of my Mom's friends saw the car and I got to do a static show for him and pointed out we'd driven 720 mi using 158 kWh which costs $15.80 (home rates are $0.09/kWh in Kansas and SuperCharger rates are running about $0.20/kWh.) He was impressed but with his wife in their SUV, we didn't have time for a test drive so he invited us to the Baptist Church, Saturday morning breakfast where I'll bring the car . . . now much less road weary.

To Be Continued.

Bob Wilson


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

*2 of 3*

My wife ran a fever Saturday with a sensitive, swollen right hand. In the ER: IV antibiotics and morphine . . . She is getting better. But we'll head back via the Northern, SuperCharger route after discharge.

There was no evidence of a bite site, skin break, or bruises. Sometimes sh*t happens. The labs showed elevated white cell count so normally this indicates an infection and it responds to IV antibiotics.

Holly is sitting up for breakfast this morning. We're just waiting for the doctor. She still has a swollen and sensitive hand but fever and BP are normal.









I've updated PlugShare.com:

Fort Smith RV park - updated fee and description.
Heritage RV park - added with fees and photos.
Coffeyville Regional Medical Hospital - added NEMA 5-20 location for a 5 mi/hr trickle charge.
I've been living in my wife's hospital room since Saturday evening.

Now I see:

FastDC charging - what separates a full function EV from a 'demo'. The density of these chargers is critical.
L2 charging - at best, the EV spare tire for ONE missing FastDC charger. It is unsustainable for cross-country driving. However, it works for shopping where there is a 30-60 min activity in parallel.
L1 charging - desperation or when sleeping. It is the 'flat' donut spare of an EV network.
This is helping me model EV performance. I am so happy with our Model 3.

With some down time, here are the SuperCharger bills, Little Rock listed twice:

















We left with $5.50 of battery stored electricity. I don't remember how much was in the battery when we arrived but it was over 120 miles, ~$2.25.

To add perspective, it costs ~$26 to drive 140 mi to Nashville in our BMW i3-REx using Electrify America and EVgo. It is only $6 in gas to return on the 112 mi direct route.

_Tier 1 applies while cars are charging at or below 60 kW and tier 2 applies while cars are charging above 60 kW. Tier 1 is half the cost of tier 2._
_Tier 1 also applies anytime your vehicle is sharing Supercharger power with another car._
Speculation, the Fort Smith RV park was pretty damp with a lot of mosquitoes. It is possible that one of them infected the back of my wife's hand. It would be undetectable once the infection took hold.









This is what our Model 3 showed when we arrived.

Sad to say, the Ozark AR to Tulsa OK segment was free. It is 156 mi on that segment: 720 - 156 = 564 mi SuperCharger mi on road.

We also had about 120 mi saved in battery on arrival. Hold that thought.

It costs ~$16.50 in SuperCharger costs giving: $16.50 / (564 +120) ~= $0.024 per mile.

So 220 Wh/mi: 220 / $0.024 ~= 8.8 kW/$ ... $0.114/kW.

That '1,200 mi' cost in our old Prius Prime:

2 * 11 gal = 22 gal
$2.50 * 22 = $55
Our Teslas cost ~1/2 that of an efficient Prius. That makes our Teslas 4-5x cheaper than the USA 25 MPG average.

Bob Wilson


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

*Part 3 of 3*











GPS - Google Map distances City to City, does not include meal and bathroom breaks
battery reserve - gross measured at EVSE into car
Trip meter total:










Total miles including meals and bathroom breaks
*Lessons Learned*

Reserve miles 20-30 miles - using the trip planner, I would charge the battery to expected distance plus 20-30 miles. During the drive if the reserve miles dropped to ~10 miles, reduce speed.


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

*Basic Autopilot*

In a rush, I left my electric razor and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine at home. In a world of disposables, the razor was easily fixed (Barbasol still tastes crappy) but a CPAP is not an off the shelf item. Used to treat sleep apnea, it ensures my sleep is not interrupted by short airway blockages. Then my wife spent seven days in the hospital.

Easily confused by strangers, my presence anchors her in a safer reality to avoid more aggressive restraints. But her 24 hour care requires my sleeping in that abomination called a 'reclining chair.' It has two positions, seat parallel to floor or raised ~20 degree back. There is an extendable leg lift but the seat-to-back angle is fixed. Reclined, it is like sleeping in a bucket with the legs and knees above the rim. To mitigate, I filled the seat-to-back hole with spare sheets, blankets, and a pillow filler so I can 'cat nap' and be available to help the staff. My wife was discharged after IV antibiotics reduced the hand swelling and pain. So I took a nap at my Mom's home, packed the car, and we were off to home in Huntsville.

'Micro sleep' is a thing that my narcoleptic wife (and late aunt) suffered. Involuntarily, the victim goes to sleep for 2-5 seconds with no warning and the most effective treatment is uninterrupted sleep. After seven days cat napping in a bucket chair and one post release nap, I was primed.

Tesla's Autopilot has dynamic cruise control and automatic emergency braking to avoid running into things. The optical and ultrasonic sensor based, lane steering keeps the car from darting into a ditch or into on-coming traffic. It was on the leg to Decatur there were at least five micro sleep events that I was aware of and Autopilot kept us safe. I stopped in Decatur for a pee, stretch, and coffee break before driving the last 20 miles home.

Micro sleeps are involuntary and detected only when the individual recognizes having woken up. When driving, it becomes either a head-on collision or single car accident. Autopilot gives them a chance to survive.

Home again, I have my CPAP sleeping aid, my wife has her dogs, and me in familiar settings. Life has returned to what passes for normal ... but it is life thanks to Tesla's Autopilot.

Bob Wilson


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

The Springfield SuperCharger station was exceptional:








My wine loving wife throughly enjoyed it.









Hummmm, if we can just get the next version of AutoPilot. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson


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