The Pacific Ocean to Great Falls - 1800 miles trip

[Jseis]

I’ve done the RT from the ocean to Great Falls a half dozen times. ~1600-1800 miles round trip initially with a Mach E but now the Lightning. ~17 hour stretch each way. I use ABRP for route planning. No winter runs, all late spring-summer-early fall. Over and back is 1600 miles and I typically add another 200 local miles.

Overall… good weather (pleasantly warm high 70’s low 80’s), no headwinds, though frequent & spotty construction in Idaho to eastern Montana was on & off slower…and very mild winds all played a factor ... plus 3 Mtn passes (twice): Snoqualmie, Lookout, and Roger’s. Some beautiful country particularly east of Roger’s Pass (MT 200). Burned 879.5 kWh traveling 1800 miles and averaged 2.06 mi/kwh overall. I’d hoped for better but speed and Cascade & Rockie mountains played their part.

I paid little attention to mi/kWh gauge, just drove station to station with an initial 100% starting charge then left stations in slightly under 80% window and all good.

Non-operable station? (Tesla in Missoula) so switch to EA at Walmart. ABRP goes whacky (iphone or Autoplay glitch then… I later discovered I had two F150’s in my ABRP “vehicles”… my bad) in George, no matter. EA or Tesla in North Bend is my next and final charge west.

Range anxiety.. nope. So different than ‘21 as a EV newbie in the MME. Truck ran good. Rolled at 65 w/85 occasionally depending… Tires at 44 psi cold and 47-48 psi rolling. Weather in the high 80’s pushed tire pressure to 49 psi.

No serious headwinds as mentioned … road construction in Clark Fork & well into eastern Idaho… then the perpetual construction 🦺 on SR 18 in WA. Construction zone speeds in the 35-50 mph range. So speeds were moderate though I tend to cruise at an average of ~65 mph. Occasionally 75-85 but that’s somewhat rare for me.. Once clear of Clark Fork construction on I90 east bound I rolled at 85 for an hour into Missoula. I drove MT 200 at 70 & kept a sharp lookout for deer.

Ah… Bluecruise. I keep trying it but I’m just sensitive to the trucks left-right correction inputs on straights, can’t imagine those Clark Forks curves ! Just does not have the human touch for me and it’s not at all suitable for our western WA two lane curvy roads.

Need coffee… time that with a rest area stop… pull out the canister stove & brew hot water & Starbucks instant... then on the road again. Typically 4 charging stops each way, each at about 30 charging minutes for “optimum “ time & distance. Average charge 70-80 KWh. Topped off to 90% at near to hotel Tesla site.

Favorite chargers? I like the remote ones like Tesla at George & EA at Ritzville. North Bend Mall (EA & Tesla) OK as is Ellensburg Tesla (easier for truck to park than EA Taco Bell). The Liberty Lake Tesla service center has chargers with dual cables so they’ll take back in Teslas, RIvians or drive in F150’s as well. Nice bathrooms and pod coffee.

Most charging stations have bathroom(s)-restaurant/fast food/quick mart within easy walking distance. Ritzville (Cow Creek EA site) has a pot shop (to keep the passenger stoners happy). if you want to save $$$ costs drive off-peak hours 8pm to 6 am, otherwise $.45-.55/kWh. Those rates compare unfavorably with our home $.064/kWh… but it is a “service” though some of those eastern Wa county rates are 10X local industrial rates of $.04/kWh off of public built mainstream Columbia River hydro dams.

The truck is such an interstate cruiser; quiet, no drama, smooth. My ‘99 SD 7.3 diesel left me deaf & dumb on such a cruise. Any one of my various ‘Stang GT’s left me scheduling a chiropractor. 60’s bugs and micro buses slow…, maybe Dad’s 80’s Accord came close.

I can’t claim I came home refreshed after rolling into the home drive but I wasn’t quivering like a tweaker ~17 hours later.

Always pick the end charger! Cybertruck peeking there.

Coffee break

Tesla Service Center at Liberty Lake.

Confluence of Marias & Missouri near Loma.

Old train bridge at Fort Benton.

The Highwood 40 miles in the distance. Wheat greening up & looks like Eastern WA.

Movie boat!

The beautiful Missouri

Suspension bridge at Ryan Dam

Not so Great Falls at Ryan Dam

The Blues Bros 2 stopped by…It's got a cop motor. It's got cop tires, cop suspension. LOL. Now that’s an interstate sleeper! Probably a 4.6 2V “police duty” … read bigger oil cooler(s). A Whipple would wake it up! No 440 though.

Three Lightnings at Eburg Tesla chargers!

Can’t drive 65!

Faithful Collie Shep waited at the Fort Benton train station for a decade plus, long after his master died.

Ah real wiggly bridge! Walk out of cadence!!

Powerhouse at Ryan Dam

Charging at Tesla near hotel.

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[21st Century Truck]

I’ve done the RT from the ocean to Great Falls a half dozen times. ~1600-1800 miles round trip initially with a Mach E but now the Lightning. ~17hour stretch each way. I use ABRP for route planning. No winter runs, all late spring-summer-early fall. Over and back is 1600
miles and I typically add another 200 local miles.

Overall… good weather (pleasantly warm high 70’s low 80’s), no headwinds, though frequent & spotty construction in Idaho to eastern Montana was on & off slower…and very mild winds all played a factor ... plus 3 MTn passes (twice): Snoqualmie, Lookout, and Roger’s. Some beautiful country particularly east of Roger’s Pass (MT 200). Burned 879.5 kWh traveling 1800 miles and averaged 2.06 mi/kwh overall. I’d hoped for better but speed and Cascade & Rockies mountains played their part.

I paid little attention to mi/kWh gauge, just drove station to station with an initial 100% starting charge then left stations in slightly under 80% window and all good.

Non-operable station? (Tesla in Missoula) so switch to EA at Walmart. ABRP goes whacky (iphone or Autoplay glitch then… I later discovered I had two F150’s in my ABRP “vehicles”… my bad) in George, no matter. EA or Tesla in North Bend is my next and final charge west.

Range anxiety.. nope. So different than ‘21 as a EV newbie in the MME. Truck ran good. Rolled at 65 w/85 occasionally depending… Tires at 44 psi cold and 47-48 psi rolling. Weather in the high 80’s pushed tire pressure to 49 psi.

No serious headwinds as mentioned … road construction in Clark Fork & well into eastern Idaho… then the perpetual construction 🦺 on SR 18 in WA. Construction zone speeds in the 35-50 mph range. So speeds were moderate though I tend to cruise at an average of ~65 mph. Occasionally 75-85 but that’s somewhat rare for me.. Once clear of Clark Fork construction on I90 east bound I rolled at 85 for an hour into Missoula. I drove MT 200 at 70 & kept a sharp lookout for deer.

Ah… Bluecruise. I keep trying it but I’m just sensitive to the trucks left-right correction inputs on straights, can’t imagine those Clark Forks curves ! Just does not have the human touch for me and it’s not at all suitable for our western WA two lane curvy roads.

Need coffee… time that with a rest area stop… pull out the canister stove & brew hot water & Starbucks instant... then on the road again. Typically 4 charging stops each way, each at about 30 charging minutes for “optimum “ time & distance. Average charge 70-80 KWh. Topped off to 90% at near to hotel Tesla site.

Favorite chargers? I like the remote ones like Tesla at George & EA at Ritzville. North Bend Mall (EA & Tesla) OK as is Ellensburg Tesla (easier for truck to park than EA Taco Bell). The Liberty Lake Tesla service center has chargers with dual cables so they’ll take back in Teslas, RIvians or drive in F150’s as well. Nice bathrooms and pod coffee.

Most charging stations have bathroom(s)-restaurant/fast food/quick mart within easy walking distance. Ritzville (Cow Creek EA site) has a pot shop (to keep the passenger stoners happy).I f you want to save $$$ costs drive off peak hours 8pm to 6 am, otherwise $.45-.55/kWh. Those rates compare unfavorably with our home $.064/kWh… but it is a “service” though some of those eastern Wa countries rates are 10X local industrial rates of $.04/kWh off of public built mainstream Columbia River hydro dams.

The truck is such an interstate cruiser; quiet, no drama, smooth. My ‘99 SD 7.3 diesel left me deaf & dumb on such a cruise. Any one of my various ‘Stang GT’s left me scheduling a chiropractor. 60’s bugs and micro buses slow…, maybe Dad’s 80’s Accord came close.

I can’t claim I came home refreshed after rolling into the home drive but I wasn’t quivering like a tweaker ~17 hours later.


Three Lightnings at Eburg Tesla chargers!

Always pick the end charger! Cybertruck peeking there.

View attachment 116243
Can’t drive 65!

Coffee break

Tesla Service Center at Liberty Lake.

Confluence of Marias & Missouri near Loma.

Old train bridge at Fort Benton.

The Highwood 40 miles in the distance. Wheat greening up & looks like Eastern WA.

Movie boat!

The beautiful Missouri

Suspension bridge at Ryan Dam

Not so Great Falls at Ryan Dam


View attachment 116237
Charging at Tesla near hotel.

The Blues Bros 2 stopped by…It's got a cop motor. It's got cop tires, cop suspension. LOL. Now that’s an interstate sleeper! Probably a 4.6 2V “police duty” … read bigger oil cooler(s). A Whipple would wake it up! No 440 though.

Faithful Collie Shep waited at the Fort Benton train station for a decade plus, long after his master died.

Ah real wiggly bridge! Walk out of cadence!!

Powerhouse at Ryan Dam

View attachment 116238

I really love that part of our country. Motorcycled through the region several times, back in the day...

 

[Ted23Lightning]

I’ve done the RT from the ocean to Great Falls a half dozen times. ~1600-1800 miles round trip initially with a Mach E but now the Lightning. ~17hour stretch each way. I use ABRP for route planning. No winter runs, all late spring-summer-early fall. Over and back is 1600
miles and I typically add another 200 local miles.

Overall… good weather (pleasantly warm high 70’s low 80’s), no headwinds, though frequent & spotty construction in Idaho to eastern Montana was on & off slower…and very mild winds all played a factor ... plus 3 MTn passes (twice): Snoqualmie, Lookout, and Roger’s. Some beautiful country particularly east of Roger’s Pass (MT 200). Burned 879.5 kWh traveling 1800 miles and averaged 2.06 mi/kwh overall. I’d hoped for better but speed and Cascade & Rockies mountains played their part.

I paid little attention to mi/kWh gauge, just drove station to station with an initial 100% starting charge then left stations in slightly under 80% window and all good.

Non-operable station? (Tesla in Missoula) so switch to EA at Walmart. ABRP goes whacky (iphone or Autoplay glitch then… I later discovered I had two F150’s in my ABRP “vehicles”… my bad) in George, no matter. EA or Tesla in North Bend is my next and final charge west.

Range anxiety.. nope. So different than ‘21 as a EV newbie in the MME. Truck ran good. Rolled at 65 w/85 occasionally depending… Tires at 44 psi cold and 47-48 psi rolling. Weather in the high 80’s pushed tire pressure to 49 psi.

No serious headwinds as mentioned … road construction in Clark Fork & well into eastern Idaho… then the perpetual construction 🦺 on SR 18 in WA. Construction zone speeds in the 35-50 mph range. So speeds were moderate though I tend to cruise at an average of ~65 mph. Occasionally 75-85 but that’s somewhat rare for me.. Once clear of Clark Fork construction on I90 east bound I rolled at 85 for an hour into Missoula. I drove MT 200 at 70 & kept a sharp lookout for deer.

Ah… Bluecruise. I keep trying it but I’m just sensitive to the trucks left-right correction inputs on straights, can’t imagine those Clark Forks curves ! Just does not have the human touch for me and it’s not at all suitable for our western WA two lane curvy roads.

Need coffee… time that with a rest area stop… pull out the canister stove & brew hot water & Starbucks instant... then on the road again. Typically 4 charging stops each way, each at about 30 charging minutes for “optimum “ time & distance. Average charge 70-80 KWh. Topped off to 90% at near to hotel Tesla site.

Favorite chargers? I like the remote ones like Tesla at George & EA at Ritzville. North Bend Mall (EA & Tesla) OK as is Ellensburg Tesla (easier for truck to park than EA Taco Bell). The Liberty Lake Tesla service center has chargers with dual cables so they’ll take back in Teslas, RIvians or drive in F150’s as well. Nice bathrooms and pod coffee.

Most charging stations have bathroom(s)-restaurant/fast food/quick mart within easy walking distance. Ritzville (Cow Creek EA site) has a pot shop (to keep the passenger stoners happy).I f you want to save $$$ costs drive off peak hours 8pm to 6 am, otherwise $.45-.55/kWh. Those rates compare unfavorably with our home $.064/kWh… but it is a “service” though some of those eastern Wa countries rates are 10X local industrial rates of $.04/kWh off of public built mainstream Columbia River hydro dams.

The truck is such an interstate cruiser; quiet, no drama, smooth. My ‘99 SD 7.3 diesel left me deaf & dumb on such a cruise. Any one of my various ‘Stang GT’s left me scheduling a chiropractor. 60’s bugs and micro buses slow…, maybe Dad’s 80’s Accord came close.

I can’t claim I came home refreshed after rolling into the home drive but I wasn’t quivering like a tweaker ~17 hours later.

Always pick the end charger! Cybertruck peeking there.

Coffee break

Tesla Service Center at Liberty Lake.

Confluence of Marias & Missouri near Loma.

Old train bridge at Fort Benton.

The Highwood 40 miles in the distance. Wheat greening up & looks like Eastern WA.

Movie boat!

The beautiful Missouri

Suspension bridge at Ryan Dam

Not so Great Falls at Ryan Dam

The Blues Bros 2 stopped by…It's got a cop motor. It's got cop tires, cop suspension. LOL. Now that’s an interstate sleeper! Probably a 4.6 2V “police duty” … read bigger oil cooler(s). A Whipple would wake it up! No 440 though.

Three Lightnings at Eburg Tesla chargers!

Can’t drive 65!

Faithful Collie Shep waited at the Fort Benton train station for a decade plus, long after his master died.

Ah real wiggly bridge! Walk out of cadence!!

Powerhouse at Ryan Dam

Charging at Tesla near hotel.

Loved the Blues Brothers

 

[Mal106]

The "out of cadence" comment brought back memories. "ROUTE STEP, mARCH" thanks.

 

[DerMot]

I’ve done the RT from the ocean to Great Falls a half dozen times. ~1600-1800 miles round trip initially with a Mach E but now the Lightning. ~17hour stretch each way. I use ABRP for route planning. No winter runs, all late spring-summer-early fall. Over and back is 1600
miles and I typically add another 200 local miles.

Overall… good weather (pleasantly warm high 70’s low 80’s), no headwinds, though frequent & spotty construction in Idaho to eastern Montana was on & off slower…and very mild winds all played a factor ... plus 3 MTn passes (twice): Snoqualmie, Lookout, and Roger’s. Some beautiful country particularly east of Roger’s Pass (MT 200). Burned 879.5 kWh traveling 1800 miles and averaged 2.06 mi/kwh overall. I’d hoped for better but speed and Cascade & Rockies mountains played their part.

I paid little attention to mi/kWh gauge, just drove station to station with an initial 100% starting charge then left stations in slightly under 80% window and all good.

Non-operable station? (Tesla in Missoula) so switch to EA at Walmart. ABRP goes whacky (iphone or Autoplay glitch then… I later discovered I had two F150’s in my ABRP “vehicles”… my bad) in George, no matter. EA or Tesla in North Bend is my next and final charge west.

Range anxiety.. nope. So different than ‘21 as a EV newbie in the MME. Truck ran good. Rolled at 65 w/85 occasionally depending… Tires at 44 psi cold and 47-48 psi rolling. Weather in the high 80’s pushed tire pressure to 49 psi.

No serious headwinds as mentioned … road construction in Clark Fork & well into eastern Idaho… then the perpetual construction 🦺 on SR 18 in WA. Construction zone speeds in the 35-50 mph range. So speeds were moderate though I tend to cruise at an average of ~65 mph. Occasionally 75-85 but that’s somewhat rare for me.. Once clear of Clark Fork construction on I90 east bound I rolled at 85 for an hour into Missoula. I drove MT 200 at 70 & kept a sharp lookout for deer.

Ah… Bluecruise. I keep trying it but I’m just sensitive to the trucks left-right correction inputs on straights, can’t imagine those Clark Forks curves ! Just does not have the human touch for me and it’s not at all suitable for our western WA two lane curvy roads.

Need coffee… time that with a rest area stop… pull out the canister stove & brew hot water & Starbucks instant... then on the road again. Typically 4 charging stops each way, each at about 30 charging minutes for “optimum “ time & distance. Average charge 70-80 KWh. Topped off to 90% at near to hotel Tesla site.

Favorite chargers? I like the remote ones like Tesla at George & EA at Ritzville. North Bend Mall (EA & Tesla) OK as is Ellensburg Tesla (easier for truck to park than EA Taco Bell). The Liberty Lake Tesla service center has chargers with dual cables so they’ll take back in Teslas, RIvians or drive in F150’s as well. Nice bathrooms and pod coffee.

Most charging stations have bathroom(s)-restaurant/fast food/quick mart within easy walking distance. Ritzville (Cow Creek EA site) has a pot shop (to keep the passenger stoners happy).I f you want to save $$$ costs drive off peak hours 8pm to 6 am, otherwise $.45-.55/kWh. Those rates compare unfavorably with our home $.064/kWh… but it is a “service” though some of those eastern Wa countries rates are 10X local industrial rates of $.04/kWh off of public built mainstream Columbia River hydro dams.

The truck is such an interstate cruiser; quiet, no drama, smooth. My ‘99 SD 7.3 diesel left me deaf & dumb on such a cruise. Any one of my various ‘Stang GT’s left me scheduling a chiropractor. 60’s bugs and micro buses slow…, maybe Dad’s 80’s Accord came close.

I can’t claim I came home refreshed after rolling into the home drive but I wasn’t quivering like a tweaker ~17 hours later.

Always pick the end charger! Cybertruck peeking there.

Coffee break

Tesla Service Center at Liberty Lake.

Confluence of Marias & Missouri near Loma.

Old train bridge at Fort Benton.

The Highwood 40 miles in the distance. Wheat greening up & looks like Eastern WA.

Movie boat!

The beautiful Missouri

Suspension bridge at Ryan Dam

Not so Great Falls at Ryan Dam

The Blues Bros 2 stopped by…It's got a cop motor. It's got cop tires, cop suspension. LOL. Now that’s an interstate sleeper! Probably a 4.6 2V “police duty” … read bigger oil cooler(s). A Whipple would wake it up! No 440 though.

Three Lightnings at Eburg Tesla chargers!

Can’t drive 65!

Faithful Collie Shep waited at the Fort Benton train station for a decade plus, long after his master died.

Ah real wiggly bridge! Walk out of cadence!!

Powerhouse at Ryan Dam

Charging at Tesla near hotel.

GREAT trip log -- love all the pictures. One reminded me of this right away!

 

[TechnoSwiss]

Wait, you were getting 2.5 mi/kWh doing 82MPH!? Was this down-hill, tail-wind, somebody giving you a push from behind?

 

[Jseis]

2.06 mi/kwh.

82-85 mph for about an hour out of say 15 hours drive time. 70 mph for an hour for similar on MT200. Most at 65 mph or less includes 200 local miles at 25-35-55.

Warm weather but I never use AC.

Takes me 120 miles just to get to a freeway so a significant portion of rural road miles and most of that is less than 60mph. And I-5 Olympia to Tacoma-Federal Way then SR18 to I-90 Is typical urban freeway slow downs.

So ultimately, 1800 miles is dominated by less than wide open space speed. I’ve had headwinds from Missoula west that dropped mileage to 1.7 miles/kWh at 70 mph.

FWIW, tires at ~47 psi warmed up.

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