Top 5 Mistakes When Traveling in a Tesla!

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If it is wintertime and you get to your motel with a charge needed, but you are tired, and want to hit the bed and charge in the morning, don’t do it. The battery will be cold, and not accept full supercharger rate and you’ll get a message that says supercharger will take 2 or more hours. So charge the night before, and you’re ready to hit the highway.

Great tips Andy! Here are some of my own: 1. Stopping is unavoidable, so make them count. - If getting food, pickup food before charging and eat while you charge (I don't recommend the other way around or eating while driving to avoid the need for a bathroom on the road) - Go to the bathroom a few minutes before leaving the charger 2. Adding to Andy's "route planning" it helps to know what kind of charger you are going to. - 150kWh chargers share power with the stall next to them (with the same number) park separate in these kinds of chargers whenever possible. Also be a good neighbor and invite people to charge next to you if you know you are almost done. - 250kWh chargers DO NOT share power and you can go anywhere without worry. 3. If you're car has autopilot (early models did not include this feature) do not use in heavy urban highways. - Quick reactions are required in heavy traffic. Edit: Tip 4. Don't be afraid to charge a bit longer than normal. Your car routes you to the next charger typically with 15-20% charge at arrival but this can be inaccurate. Charging a bit longer gives you a better chance of arriving at a safe state of charge. *Not tested when traveling with young children.

All excellent tips. I only have two adds. 1 - Maintain correct tire pressure, 2 - Aim to reach the next supercharger in a state of charge between 1-10% to take advantage of the supercharger's maxium output. This reduces the time spent charging.

Just came back from a 900+ mile road trip to the Carolinas from Florida fleeing the hurricane in my Model Y and can say all these tips are spot on. Great video!

Here's a big one (cheap) that will save you if you're using 110 at your destination. Get a (Klein Tools RT110 Outlet Tester) to make sure there grounding is good at the outlet you're using. At my parent's house in Oklahoma the grounding was bad and I ended up frying my mobile charger. Trust me, you don't want that stress when there are no Superchargers nearby. The tester is about $10 and can be carried in the mobile charger bag.

700 miles 🤦🏻‍♂️😁 Just got back from our latest trip in our MY, 13 states, 6600 miles, with a stay in HOLLAND, Michigan 😃👍🏼 We stayed at the state park, camped in the Tesla and plugged in on site! It was awesome! … great content, keep it coming! 🇺🇸 Ps. Spent $440 in charging, crazy cheap!

One more tip. As mentioned in other videos, if there are plenty of empty supercharger stalls then don’t park next to an occupied stall. Sometimes the power going to 2 stalls is shared and will slow down the charge rate for both you and the stall next to you. You can usually determine if the power is shared with a designated letter (ie. 1A and 1B vs 2A and 2B).

With our Model Y, my wife and I drove from LA California to Omaha Nebraska (1600 miles one way), and back without issue. We used the Tesla navigation system, and supercharger network. It worked flawlessly. If you go the speed limit, your good to go. We used autopilot which made the trip a breeze.

Thanks, Andy! I did not know about the end chargers. Tip 1. When the day's motel stop doesn't have a charger, use ABRP to plan it as a waypoint to the next Supercharger so you'll have enough charge to get to that Supercharger the next day. Tip 2. ABRP lets you adjust for shorter trip legs (more stops) or longer legs (fewer stops). (Personally, I prefer to take more breaks, walk around, and get coffee or food.) It's a very handy app although its UI needs work. Tip 3. Reserve capacity on each leg of the trip in case there's a detour, storm, or other unexpected change. Tip 4. Bring window cleaner, towels, a tire pressure gauge, and a tire pump.

Another tip: At the end of a day's driving, if you are staying near a supercharger then juice up BEFORE you retire for the night. The battery will be warm and ready to accept faster charging speeds. If you wait until morning to recharge, especially if it's going to be cold overnight, then the car will charge much more slowly.

We just returned from a 1 month long 6000 mile road trip, round trip from southern AZ to NY with a week long stop in Kansas City on the way. We were in our 1 month old Model Y long range. Not one issue ever. Loved plugging into my moms outdoor garage outlet while we slept for convenient charging. The only thing we would do different in the future is carry less weight, as previously stated. We always pack too much stuff, Lol!

Thanks Andy, for nice tips, appreciate that unlike some of the YouTubers you talk in a nice clear voice and don't repeat and waste time.

RE: the the end stalls. I find that some of the newer Super Chargers have cables so short that I cannot get near enough to use when I have my hitch mounted bike rack on and loaded. I know that the end stalls are intended for someone pulling a trailer, but I end up using these in that situation.

In August I drove my M-3 from Chicago to Jackson, Wy and back again (2,800 mi round trip). Never had a problem. Drove 800 miles a day comfortably. If your route is mainly on the Interstate Highways it's a piece of cake. You don't need to start with a full battery, worry about your speed, ect. The car will get you there.

1. I never charge to 100%, even on trips. Charging to 90% is fine and I’ve discovered that’s not needed. Route planning & supercharge availability means you never have to charge to 100%. 2. I generally don’t charge to above 80% during long trips. I generally stick to the recommendations by Tesla or ABRP. Charging to 80% or more on every stop adds more time than needed to your trips. I road tip between GA,VA & FL. Roughly 4 times a year. No issues ever. 3 year old model 3 Tesla, in the top 93% of battery life/health compared to other Teslas in my class.

The 110 adapter can be very useful on trips! We went to Orange Beach and was planning on taking the car to a few public chargers to get us by down there, but the parking garage had outlets in it and over the course of the week, we were able to get enough for our daily driving and still fill up enough to get to the first supercharger on the way back home.

Absolutely first-rate documentary. The narrator conveys of lot of information quickly, but not annoyingly fast. He's got a great voice: he would be good on radio;. So many well meaning You Tube narrators have very unpleasant voices.The video is of uniformly high quality. And the length of the piece is perfect for the subject. Keep it up, Andy! This is really terrific!

I think the number #1 tip should be your #3 tip and that is to get Tesla adapters. On a road trip I find that either the super chargers are not convenient to my road trip and are often much more expensive to fill up. Having an adapter so you are not limited to Tesla stations you can find so many more charging stations with many of those stations free or just more convenient.

All excellent tips! Sentry Mode was your best tip of all, Andy. I hate turning it off, but it’s amazing how much power the car needs when it can’t sleep.