Just took a 450 intersate road trip in a standard range lightning. Never again

[PreservedSwine]

This truck should come with a disclaimer
*not meant for interstate use.

Driving at normal interstate speeds, going from 80% SOC to 20 % SOC took all of ~115 miles.
Stated average of 1.7 kWh, pencil came to about 1.55

Love it around town, average between 2.7 and 2.9. but this interstate travel is bananas. Contemplated driving 65 but would have still had to make 3 stops to charge, so went around 75mph.
Stopping every 2 hours for another 30-40 minutes is a big ask, added about 50% more time to the trip 6 hours vs 9 hours. Had to charge to 90% on the final charge- didn’t want to arrive dead.

Anyway, I suspected it would be a challenge, but didn’t expect it to be like this.

I may have opted for the extended range had Intaken a trip before purchase.
Again, love the truck and it fits my needs, was just a bit shocked how 240 mile range is actually about 115 miles when keeping it between 80% and 20% interstate driving.

On the plus side, had great luck with Electrify America charging stations.

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[PA Lightning]

I just took a 480 mile trip today, in my wife's ICE vehicle. I left the SR Pro at home just for the reasons you stated.
Great local vehicle, but not an interstate warrior IMO.

 

[jetfixr1]

Thats why I decided to go ER. Its my one and only vehicle, which means all roadtrips are in the Lightning. I dont roadtrip often but when I do, I am doing around 750 miles one way. In my old ice F150, I would normally stop around 3 or 4 times for gas, food, walk the dogs, etc. With the Lightning, I am still looking at 4 stops for the same route, just a tad longer. I dont personally mind the stops being 20 mins vs 40 mins. If I need to go somewhere urgently I will just fly. Fortunately, with Superchargers in our future, some stops will be a Buccees, which I still spend 45 mins at anyways

 

[ThomasNC]

What were temps like? I can easily do 450 miles on 2 stops on I-95 if it is above freezing. Usually run around 70mph. This is assuming the stops are spaced well which they usually aren't and I usually don't get the speed I'm supposed to when I stop to charge. I think this is why Tesla chargers will be a big deal. Well placed reliable charges make what we can theoretically do much closer to reality. I have thought that if I needed to take a trip that was going to be more than 2 stops one way I would take the wife's Clarity because after 2 stops I think you really start to delay the trip. Even with the best chargers EV road trips aren't for those in a hurry.

 

[artificial_airspeed]

Same Lightning SR, I agree with your points. However I’ve just learned to take things slower in general. I’m tired of being in a hurry all of the time. Weather (precip), wind, temperature, elevation, etc. can all affect your performance and range. I could easily do 185-200 miles of interstate in my SR depending on wind during warmer/fair days.

 

[BhamDCam]

I get this. Even in my ER, while I’ve never experienced range anxiety, I have experienced time anxiety.

 

[jetfixr1]

I get this. Even in my ER, while I’ve never experienced range anxiety, I have experienced time anxiety.

Well stated. The truck is teaching me to enjoy the ride.

 

[Maxx]

After a year of ownership, I still have 250 EA DCFC credit. All super long distance trips has been in Wife’s ICE (600 mile range). I do more driving with my SR in warm weather and keep it around 64 mph when range is a concern. I am planning to take it a bit farther after Tesla superchargers come online.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Driving at normal interstate speeds, going from 80% SOC to 20 % SOC took all of ~115 miles.
Stated average of 1.7 kWh, pencil came to about 1.55

The truck is pessimistic to ensure you don't get stuck, it seems based on the numbers, you used 60% of capacity of the 98 KWH or 59 KWH to go 115 miles or 1.95 MPK.

At these rates, if you started the trip with 100%, you might have got another ~38 miles down the road for the initial leg, after that you're stuck in the 80->20 loop until the trip's finished.

How was the weather, 50-60's??

 

[PreservedSwine]

The weather was great, high 50’s to mid 60’s throughout.
The spacing of the chargers wasn’t perfect, but was pretty close to realistically ideal. Had hoped to make the first leg about 160 miles and only 2 charging stops (started at 96% SOC) but quickly changed plans to 3 charging stops once the realization sunk in that it was going to be very, very close to arriving empty the first leg. Having never used any other charging station than my own home, just wasn’t confident in charging stations I’d never visited or used, and opted to play it safe. I didn’t want to be one of the negative stories you might hear about, so plan B was quickly created.
Ended up going from the original 96% SOC to 39% with the new plan, which happened to be about 100 miles, and then charged to 80%. The first charger wouldn’t charge, but the second worked great. This was the only charger that didn’t work for me on the trip. I was pleasantly surprised by the ease and speed of the charger, just enough time to walk to Starbucks and back.

The second leg was about 95 miles, starting at 80% ending at 26%. We drove a bit faster on this leg, because we could. We simply had to charge here as there were no other options anywhere near along the route, and driving slower wouldn’t have saved any time. We charged from 26% here to 82%, visited Wal-Mart (the charger was in the parking lot) and contemplated buying Legos for nephews. Ultimately put them back on the shelf. (Plenty of gifts already in the truck)

The charger, again, worked great.

We then drove about 125 miles to the next charger, and drove as economically and efficiently as possible. We went from 82% to 22% on this leg. I just don’t see how anyone can comfortably travel 200 miles on a single charge of interstate driving in the SR. Maybe if you’re extremely confident and familiar with the chargers and route…. I would have to go from about 100% to 0 % to achieve this. I’m not comfortable doing that to my truck, and don’t even want to consider the consequences if a charger is down. That being said, this charger was, again, terrific. We walked the dog, and then practiced pickleball drills in a parking lot while waiting for the charge to complete. I went to 90% this time, which took a bit longer as the charging throttles back at 80%, and throttled a little more as we inched towards 90%. This charge was 43 minutes, but would’ve been considerably less had we just gone to 80%.

The last leg was just under 130 miles, but was 1/2 interstate, and the rest city/county where I could travel more efficiently.

My wife drove separately in our Jag f-pace with her mother, I drove with my 18yr old high school son (about to go to college).

I brought the truck because my brother-in-law was very excited to check it out. He loves his model y, but he’s a truck guy. And, I was just generally curious what road-tripping in this would be like.

It wasn’t something that I would normally do, but happy to have the opportunity to see what it’s really like. I enjoyed the time with my son. But 9 hours is still 9 hours, that could have been slightly less than 6. It was pleasant, just a long day.

One thing worth mentioning. At two of the three stops, I took the last charging station. Had just one… just a single other ev… needed a charge when I did, it could’ve added precious minutes, maybe even hours, to the journey.

If we don’t get more chargers soon (Thank you Elon!) this is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[MichaelCA]

I can get ~2.2 miles kwh at 75mph freeway. 60s-70s Fahrenheit. If I try 85-90mph, I dip down to 1.7miles kwh. I wonder how fast you were goin?

 

[TaxmanHog]

The weather was great, high 50’s to mid 60’s throughout.

Thanks for the extra details, those numbers indicate 1.8 to 2.1 MPK's on the various legs, the ER pack would have given you a better cushion for sure.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

I just finished my SIXTH 1500+ mile trip of the year in my 2023 Pro SR. Almost all of those miles were on interstate highways. Except for my interactions with Electrify America charging stations - which are next to worthless and are becoming rip-offs - I’ve loved every quiet, smooth and sure-footed mile.

Let me apologize in advance if this comment is snide and dismissive, but I really don’t understand the mindset and driving method of the OP. The way he approaches long trips deliberately sets up the Lightning SR for failure (or at least disappointment).

I usually drive 130 to 165 mile legs on long trips because I don’t want to sit for more than 2 or 2.5 hours without a break. I find that range is EASILY achievable by assuming a usable SOC of 10% to 85%. I keep my speed between 67 and 72 mph unless there are favorable factors such as a downhill, tailwind or high altitude (6500+ feet). When I make a stop, I immediately put the truck on the charger, then use the restroom, get coffee or other drink, and sometimes a bite to eat. Add in the inevitable conversation with either another EV owner or a curious ICE driver, and it is time to unplug and get back on the road.

Since my trips are not short 400 or 500 mile hops, I also take advantage of hotels that offer overnight and often free L2 charging. I’ll usually let the Lightning go to 100% so I have some extra range to start the day. Pro Tip: get yourself an 80 amp Tesla to J1772 adapter; it will significantly increase the number of properties where you can charge (and Tesla destination chargers are often faster than the usual 6.6 kW L2s).

Look, if you’re going to treat every highway trip as a Cannonball Run, you’re just setting yourself and the truck up for failure. Traveling long distances in an EV today becomes a vastly more pleasant experience if you adapt your driving style to the realities of both the vehicle and the charging landscape.

 

[Scott Libre]

I have done extensive traveling in my SR Mach e, but have not traveled in our SR Lightning, yet. I have always loved traveling on the road. I don't worry about frequent stops. Like a previous post, I will fly if I am in a hurry.

 

[DennisM1]

We have put 26000 miles on our Extended Range Lariat with a camper on the back. We are averaging 2.0 miles per kWH lifetime with many long trips. Spped makes a big difference as does a headwind and we have seen as low as 1.5 miles per kWH with below freezing, a 30 mph headwind and interstate travel. You have to be willing to slow things down at times as well as run with just the heated seats and steering wheel in a very rural area of the west with very scattered charging opportunities but we like ot more than our previous F150 PowerBoost Hybrid for many reasons. We’ve driven to Southern Itah from the Olympic Peninsula and back, to San Diego and back and down to the Oregon Coast and mountains and back. You have to adapt to the strengths and weaknesses of an EV but we would never go back to ICE.

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