Charging data from a 1568 mile trip in the West

[On the Road with Ralph]

At least twice a year, I travel between a home in Southern California and a log house in the Ozark Mountains. Typically, it’s a little more than 1500 miles. Since January 2023, I’ve been making the trip in my SR Lightning Pro. I just completed my 9th one-way journey, and this time, I kept a record of all my charging stops. A summary:

Not including the charging at my destination to restore the battery level to 100% for the purposes of calculating total cost (I didn’t actually charge to 100% - I estimated the kW/hours needed to do so), I stopped 13 times in 1568 miles, an average of about 121 miles. If that seems high, well… it includes charging done at convenience stops and two overnight hotel stays. Also, my 70-year-old bladder. The average charge was 61.5 kW/h (about 63% in my SR).

For context, I averaged 2.0 miles/kWh (I think I’d managed 2.1 if not for headwinds on the last 250+ miles) driving at speeds between 65 and 75 mph. I varied my speed based on situation - for example, on long downhill stretches, I sped up. I didn’t do much drafting.

Here is the interesting part: Because of free charging opportunities along the way, including one of the hotel nights (the other involved a $10 charge), my average cost per kilowatt/hour was only 25¢, for a total cost (including restoring 100% at the end) of $197.10 for the trip - or 13¢ a mile.

As someone who is sensitive to the cost of charging on the road (as compared to home charging), I’m actually pretty pleased with this number. Typically, an Electrify America station charges me 42¢/kW (I’m Pass+), and there are lots of stations at 60¢ or more (literally, highway robbery).

This was the first long trip that I made use of Tesla Superchargers - four stops out of 13. The most I paid was 44¢, and least was 23¢ (I have a Tesla subscription). Overall, the experience was OK, though parking close enough for the cable to reach was always a little unnerving. I also found the chargers to be a bit fussy about the plug in order - adapter first, then NACS cable, then initiate charge in the app. I appreciated the flexibility the Tesla stations gave me with respect to convenience stops, and in a couple cases, the opportunity to avoid awful EA locations.

Side note: Both hotel stays involved Tesla destination chargers. Having both the CCS and J1772 adapters is a long distance travel necessity. Also, Tesla destination chargers always seem to be slightly faster than the J1772 units that hotels deploy.

A final comparison: Had I made the trip in an ICE F-150 4x4, I would have likely burned about 85 gallons of gasoline for a total cost (based on an average of $2.85 a gallon) of $242. So, even on the road, I saved money compared to an ICE truck.

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[SpaceEVDriver]

That's very similar to our 3300 mile road trip mostly up the I-5 spine of CA. We didn't get free charging at the hotels we stayed in, but we did get some free charging at a relative's house and "free" at a rental house. We paid $459.45 on our trip and averaged $0.32/kWh, including our restoration recharge at home. We got a similar $0.138/mile. Gasbuddy suggested we would have paid significantly more if we'd driven an ICE F-150 4x4.

[Edited to add:] We stopped to charge 24 times, not counting re-connecting at the places where we stayed overnight, some of which were multi-day stops.

We didn't do any price comparisons before choosing a charging stop, we just chose what made the most sense for when we wanted to stop. I think we could have saved another $0.10 per kWh if we'd been more judicious in picking hotels (paid $0.35/kWh at both hotels) and in price shopping while on the road.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

We didn't get free charging at the hotels we stayed in..,

I made it a point to choose hotels that either offered free EV charging or a low fixed cost. I really don’t understand the mentality of hotels pricing EV charging at market rates. They ought to be using that amenity to attract customers, just like they do pools and free breakfast at many locations. I was also careful to identify hotels that have more than one charger - that reduces the chances of not being able to charge, either because of other users or equipment failure.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I made it a point to choose hotels that either offered free EV charging or a low fixed cost. I really don’t understand the mentality of hotels pricing EV charging at market rates. They ought to be using that amenity to attract customers, just like they do pools and free breakfast at many locations. I was also careful to identify hotels that have more than one charger - that reduces the chances of not being able to charge, either because of other users or equipment failure.

We usually plan more carefully, but had some sudden changes that required us to change things up last minute.

 

[RickLightning]

20 miles per kWh? Don't think so.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Nice trip report, fixed the obvious typo on the MPK references.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

Nice trip report, fixed the obvious typo on the MPK references

Thanks - it was a long trip and I guess my eyes saw decimal points where there were none, but should have been.

 

[ScottC]

That's very similar to our 3300 mile road trip mostly up the I-5 spine of CA. We didn't get free charging at the hotels we stayed in, but we did get some free charging at a relative's house and "free" at a rental house. We paid $459.45 on our trip and averaged $0.32/kWh, including our restoration recharge at home. We got a similar $0.138/mile. Gasbuddy suggested we would have paid significantly more if we'd driven an ICE F-150 4x4.

[Edited to add:] We stopped to charge 24 times, not counting re-connecting at the places where we stayed overnight, some of which were multi-day stops.

We didn't do any price comparisons before choosing a charging stop, we just chose what made the most sense for when we wanted to stop. I think we could have saved another $0.10 per kWh if we'd been more judicious in picking hotels (paid $0.35/kWh at both hotels) and in price shopping while on the road.

@On the Road with Ralph / @SpaceEVDriver either if you made the trip from SF Bay Area (or SoCal) to Vegas in F150? Have a work trip in a couple months and want to drive and use my pro power for work in Vegas.

I suppose Tesla must have this covered but not sure if the SC stations are Lightning approved. Thanks for info.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

@On the Road with Ralph / @SpaceEVDriver either if you made the trip from SF Bay Area (or SoCal) to Vegas in F150? Have a work trip in a couple months and want to drive and use my pro power for work in Vegas.

I suppose Tesla must have this covered but not sure if the SC stations are Lightning approved. Thanks for info.

Travel from Southern California to Las Vegas via the I-15 corridor is a piece of cake. The EA stations tend to be jammed (especially Barstow), but the Tesla Superchargers always have lots of open dispensers (there are over 200 Tesla charging spaces in the Barstow area.). Oddly, the Tesla Baker station is not open to NACS compatible vehicles despite having v4 dispensers.

San Francisco to Las Vegas is a bit more complicated. There is really no direct route, unless you’re flying. If it were me, I’d probably go down I-5 to the vicinity of Bakersfield, then take 58 over to Barstow. From Barstow, it’s just I-15 up to Las Vegas.

I spend a lot of time in Vegas on business. The chargers on all the networks tend to be busy. However, there are a couple of Tesla sites in the metro area that have relatively low rates late at night and in the early morning when the demand is lower.

Hope this helps.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

@On the Road with Ralph / @SpaceEVDriver either if you made the trip from SF Bay Area (or SoCal) to Vegas in F150? Have a work trip in a couple months and want to drive and use my pro power for work in Vegas.

I suppose Tesla must have this covered but not sure if the SC stations are Lightning approved. Thanks for info.

Which route would you prefer to do? The (longer) drive over the Sierra Nevadas east of Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe then through Death Valley to Las Vegas is one I'm going to do sometime soon but haven't done in the Lightning.

The route down the 5 to Barstow to the 15 up to Vegas is easy. It can be done with almost whatever combination of stations you want. Lots of easy stations all the way along the way. Some can be busy, so check them on their respective apps before you arrive.

If your Pro is SR, the I-5 to Barstow to Vegas will be much easier.

 

[ScottC]

Which route would you prefer to do? The (longer) drive over the Sierra Nevadas east of Sacramento to South Lake Tahoe then through Death Valley to Las Vegas is one I'm going to do sometime soon but haven't done in the Lightning.

The route down the 5 to Barstow to the 15 up to Vegas is easy. It can be done with almost whatever combination of stations you want. Lots of easy stations all the way along the way. Some can be busy, so check them on their respective apps before you arrive.

If your Pro is SR, the I-5 to Barstow to Vegas will be much easier.

good info thanks. I have a 24 Flash w ER. Rated at 270 at 100% based on my driving.

 

[davehu]

At least twice a year, I travel between a home in Southern California and a log house in the Ozark Mountains. Typically, it’s a little more than 1500 miles. Since January 2023, I’ve been making the trip in my SR Lightning Pro. I just completed my 9th one-way journey, and this time, I kept a record of all my charging stops. A summary:

Not including the charging at my destination to restore the battery level to 100% for the purposes of calculating total cost (I didn’t actually charge to 100% - I estimated the kW/hours needed to do so), I stopped 13 times in 1568 miles, an average of about 121 miles. If that seems high, well… it includes charging done at convenience stops and two overnight hotel stays. Also, my 70-year-old bladder. The average charge was 61.5 kW/h (about 63% in my SR).

For context, I averaged 2.0 miles/kWh (I think I’d managed 2.1 if not for headwinds on the last 250+ miles) driving at speeds between 65 and 75 mph. I varied my speed based on situation - for example, on long downhill stretches, I sped up. I didn’t do much drafting.

Here is the interesting part: Because of free charging opportunities along the way, including one of the hotel nights (the other involved a $10 charge), my average cost per kilowatt/hour was only 25¢, for a total cost (including restoring 100% at the end) of $197.10 for the trip - or 13¢ a mile.
....

Thanks for posting. I have only made a few single day road trips 200-300 miles but are thinking about heading to Michigan this summer. We live in Hot Springs, AR.... not quite to the ozarks , but the Ouchita Mountains are beautiful here.

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