Totals for the trip:
miles driven: 4542.72
States visited: 12
Countries visited: 2
kwh used: 1130 (4.02 miles per kwh)
cost of electricity $102.02
cost of gas: $543.20
cost of an oil change (trip length would have required one at some point): ~$30 at a cheap place
total savings: $468.26
Range lost due to running climate control, defrosters, seat heaters, having bad weather, having too much fun with the accelerator, etc.: 3%
Total trip efficiency: 97%
(that's a loss of 9.3 miles per full charge using the Tesla number of 310 miles per charge, or actually getting an avg of 300.7 miles per charge for those of you on summer break like me & not wanting to do math. LOL)
This is amazing just for the fact that most of the trip was done at highways speeds of 70-80 mph depending of course on what the legal speed limit was for the roads. AND I still got close to the tesla rated 4.1 miles per kwh too!
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Overall I would say this is one of the best road trips I have ever gone on. I spent $ on hotels and food which I would have anyway, slept in the car a few nights which I really enjoyed, got to see a bunch of old friends I haven't seen in ages, met a ton of new people & got to share about EV's along the way, saved a ton of $ on fuel, got to play with wolves & see baby peacocks (not at the same time), and had a great time. A few minor concerns along the way, but really not a big deal in the grand scheme (and the hotel issue would have happened even in an ICE car). The trip was low stress and the car handled great in all situations. I couldn't be happier with the trip!
Here is a map of the trip from start to finish (some stretches were doubled b/c I hit the same road both ways). I know I could have done this online, but I was at the hotel with no wifi so I went old school. LOL
The facts, the good, and the bad:
Facts....
Stops: overnight (1-3 nights) to visit friends unless it says it was just a charge stop
KCMO area (started at home), St Louis charge, Evansville IN charge (unsuccessful so continued on), Jasper IN charge (car camp destination charge), Blue Ash OH charge, Akron OH, Erie PA charge, Buffalo NY, Syracuse NY charge, Lee MA charge, Old Orchard Beach ME, Brewer ME charge, border (got searched), Ganong Nature Park charge (car camp destination charge), Moncton New Brunswick Canada, St Stephen charge, Brewer ME charge, Kennebunk ME charge, Boston MA, Auburn MA charge, White Plains NY, Plainfield NJ charge, Dunellen NJ (lunch only w/ a friend, not overnight), Bloomsburg PA charge, Falls Creek PA charge, Streetsboro OH, Angola IN charge, Fort Wayne IN (charge & afternoon with a friend, no overnight), Indianapolis IN, Brookeville IN (no charge, just play with wolves then back to Indy), Indianapolis IN, Effingham IL charge (safety stop, probably could have made it without this one), St Charles MO, KCMO (ended back at home).
Charge types: public free chargers, an adapter for a 10-30 wall outlet (220 volt), Tesla destination chargers, a Ford dealership charger, Tesla superchargers, a 14-50 wall outlet (220 volt), 110 volt wall outlets
# of car related issues over the course of the 18 days on the road: 3, all easily resolved, see below
Average time on the road during "drive days": 9-10 hrs a day, a few were actually 12
Starting with the bad, ending with the good here....
The bad: (all of these were easily fixable & not REALLY issues, just inconveniences)
*First public charger on the trip didn't work. See the post "have a back up plan" for the experience
*The Indy supercharger only had a few stalls working. There WERE stalls working though so it was fine.
*Pay attention to your speed- it goes VERY fast Very fast! LOL (fun, not actually bad if you pay attention that you are not speeding)
*wiper on drivers side stopped clearing bugs, Tesla sent a mobile unit to install a new wiper blade at my hotel the next day for free though. Would have done it the same day if it hadn't been a Sunday.
*St Louis hotel was terrible (had nothing to do with the EV so doesn't count- it would have sucked even in a gas car). See the post "destination #6."
The good/awesome:
*4542.72 miles with ZERO emissions. NOT killing the environment!
*Instant torque/speed, it goes VERY fast VERY fast (see what I did there? LOL)
*Hugs the road in all situations
*AP handles like a dream! It made harrowing parts of the drive like bad weather and bad traffic no big deal.
*Only added a few hours to the trip (remember that is over the course of 18 days) and only if you don't eat/pee when you charge.
*Didn't stop any more times for electricity than I would have for fuel (a few times had to stop for the bathroom without actually needing to charge).
*Charge stations are available pretty much everywhere. Some may not be free, but they are there. (even at the first stop where I had the issue. check the edit at the bottom of that entry. LOL)
*The ride is SOOOO much smoother & quieter in an EV than a traditional gas-powered car!
*Spent 18 days getting to know my car & loved it!
*The ability to set the climate control from the app means the car is always a comfortable temp when you get in, even in extreme weather.
*Can anyone say car camping? It was super comfortable for me to do in the Model 3 & I loved the all glass roof- I was sleeping under the stars but still fully protected. (and no tent to set up/take down).
*Climate control all night when sleeping in the car! You can't do that in an ICE car without worrying about carbon monoxide poisoning or freezing/sweating to death or rolling down the windows to get attacked by bugs or rained on. Climate control can be left on all night in an EV without the car trying to kill you!
*Had a blast getting to see old friends.
*Enjoyed meeting all kinds of new people. Literally over 100 of you guys stopped me to chat & I loved talking with each and every one of you!
*Was able to take my electric car to the middle of nowhere to play with wolves with no range anxiety!
*Got to play with wolves! Come on, you know that deserves the second shout out. LOL
*I was able to make it all the way to Moncton, New Brunswick Canada with an EV! You know that rocks!
*This car gets better over time due to over-the-air updates!
*8 year/120k mile warranty on the battery! no kidding! (this will be different with different cars or different versions of this car) There is also the standard 4 year warranty on everything else.
*The only fluid I need to mess with is the WASHER fluid for the windshield wipers!
*I need my tires rotated due to the length of the trip (I now have 6300ish miles on the car, Tesla recommends a rotation at 6250 miles) but it is only $50 for that at the service center. That's less than my G6 was.
*Tesla roadside assistance # is fabulous, open 24 hrs/day, friendly, helpful, & patient, even when you just call for reassurance. LOL
*Chargepoint help # is open 24 hours/day, helpful & friendly.
*Tesla mobile units come to you FAST for minor fixes (thanks for the wiper blade!)
*Photos, stares, & waves from strangers on the road are entertaining on a long drive
*Saved $438.34 on fuel!!!!!! Take that gas & oil companies (sorry to my friends who are involved in them in one way or another. OK not really but I do still love you!)
*It was a great feeling to be able to drive right by the gas stations, especially when the prices were over $3.00 a gallon. Even better in Canada where it was over $4 a gallon (after converting it over from liters- that's how they fool you). :-)
I will admit that, while I never really had range anxiety (just a little nervousness that first night), I was more aware of my electric range than I ever was about my gas, but that is not a bad thing. There were multiple times that I "pushed it" getting to a gas station on my ICE car road trips (I even ran out of gas one day in my hometown when I was a block away from the gas station) so the one night of "range anxiety" is no different. In fact, if I had known the car a little better when it happened I would have NOT stressed about it at all. The more I drove, the more I realized this car is really good at predicting range and adjusting for conditions during the drive. Had I owned the car long enough to know I could trust this I would have not had any anxiety at all.
I can honestly say that after having made dozens of road trips with an ICE car before this and now having done this massive road trip with the EV, that I don't ever want to go back to an ICE car!
PS: the cat it seems is over it, but this little guy hasn't left my side since I got home. lol
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