2000 mile road trip completed: Portland to Yosemite @ 2.58m/Kwh average efficiency

Just finished a 2000 mile road trip and it was great. Portland to Yosemite via Lincoln CA. Averaged 2.58m/Kwh mostly in conserve mode. We drove down I-5 and back up the east side. Going down was no problem as Charge America has chargers all the way. Coming up the east side was a little more difficult as there were few Charge America chargers. We had to rely on Charge Point in many areas. Charge point is a far cry from being up to Charge America standards. The most powerful one that I found was only 64kw. Not enough for a fast charge. In most places they are low power and there is rarely more than one charger and they charge for parking time. In one place where I had to leave it overnight to get a full charge they charged $40.00 for the charge and $10.00 for parking. Outrageous. But I was glad to have them going up the east side since they were the only option. I did find that the mileage prediction on the nav. system to be very accurate.

Did you take 120 over to 395 and up through NV and Norcal back home? That’s a really beautiful drive. Way better than I5 if you’re weird like me and would prefer to take twice as long but make it pretty.

Also (apologies for being pedantic) - did you mean Electrify America?

Yes I did mean Electrify America. They are far and away the best charging network out there.
We drove across Tioga pass which was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever made. Then up to South Lake Tahoe through Reno to Klamath Falls. Took a detour through Lava beds national park on that leg.

Great to read about your efficiency on a longer road trip. It's nice to see folks are consistently getting similar numbers on the freeway.

I know your screenshot says 44mph average speed, but what speeds were you typically doing on the highway? I'd love that context as well to add a "if I do this speed I'll roughly get this efficiency" to my mental database.

Thanks for sharing your trip data!

Congrats on the great looking truck and equally amazing road trip! I’ve done 120 (Tioga), Ebbits (4), and Sonora (108). Very special area.

Thank you for the write-up. Sounds like a wonderful and beautiful journey. We will be taking a similar, but slightly different drive from Lincoln City, OR to Zephyr Cove, NV starting this coming weekend.

We will intersect with I-5 S at Salem, then down to Mt Shasta for the night. Depending on what kind of charge we can get charging overnight on a Tesla Destination Charger will determine whether we head SE on 89 through Susanville, or take a alternate route to get to Reno/Sparks. We have already asked about this at our overnight destination and they just ask you to leave your room and phone #.

Anyone here charged overnight at a Tesla Destination Charger? I have the adapter and have already tested it locally, so I know it works. Just curious how much charge I can expect over 8 full hours?

What was your average range in between charges?

There is a Walmart that has an Electrify America Station (Tacoma, on Union Ave.) that I always check out. I do not have an EV yet, but I am always curious, so I walk towards them every time I'm there.
90% of the time, at least one of the three has an Error screen stating "Not Available". Is this pretty common? The reason I ask is because in a year or two (max) we'll be buying a 3rd vehicle (very likely a Rivian Truck) and I worry that as demand increases, all of these "unavailable" stations might be a problem.

eemri said:

Great to read about your efficiency on a longer road trip. It's nice to see folks are consistently getting similar numbers on the freeway.

I know your screenshot says 44mph average speed, but what speeds were you typically doing on the highway? I'd love that context as well to add a "if I do this speed I'll roughly get this efficiency" to my mental database.

Thanks for sharing your trip data!

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On the interstate I ran at 75 and 65 on the secondary highways. Basically as fast as I thought I could get away with. The slow average speed was from our time spent driving in Yosemite.

Acoustic71 said:

Thank you for the write-up. Sounds like a wonderful and beautiful journey. We will be taking a similar, but slightly different drive from Lincoln City, OR to Zephyr Cove, NV starting this coming weekend.

We will intersect with I-5 S at Salem, then down to Mt Shasta for the night. Depending on what kind of charge we can get charging overnight on a Tesla Destination Charger will determine whether we head SE on 89 through Susanville, or take a alternate route to get to Reno/Sparks. We have already asked about this at our overnight destination and they just ask you to leave your room and phone #.

Anyone here charged overnight at a Tesla Destination Charger? I have the adapter and have already tested it locally, so I know it works. Just curious how much charge I can expect over 8 full hours?

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Mt Shasta has a whole batch of high speed chargers at the Best Western and across the street.
Are you saying that you can charge a Rivian on a Tesla charger?

Birdowin said:

Mt Shasta has a whole batch of high speed chargers at the Best Western and across the street.
Are you saying that you can charge a Rivian on a Tesla charger?

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Ah, the Best Western Tree House? Thank you. that's awesome!

And yes, with this adapter you can connect to the Tesla Destination Chargers, which is what I thought I was going to need to do.

Tesla to J1772 Charging Adapter

If the link does not work, you can search for this on Amazon:
Lectron [Only for J1772 EVs Tesla to J1772 Charging Adapter, Max 48 Amp & 250V - Compatible with Tesla High Powered Connectors, Destination Chargers, and Mobile Connectors (Black)

Acoustic71 said:

Ah, the Best Western Tree House? Thank you. that's awesome!

And yes, with this adapter you can connect to the Tesla Destination Chargers, which is what I thought I was going to need to do.

Tesla to J1772 Charging Adapter

If the link does not work, you can search for this on Amazon:
Lectron [Only for J1772 EVs Tesla to J1772 Charging Adapter, Max 48 Amp & 250V - Compatible with Tesla High Powered Connectors, Destination Chargers, and Mobile Connectors (Black)

Click to expand...

I believe that the Best Western Chargers are all superchargers and that adapter is not rated for use with those. It's possible that they have a destination charger but I have never seen one. You may have to use the lone Charge point charger across the street. That is the one that dinged me $10.00 for "parking".

Acoustic71 said:

Thank you for the write-up. Sounds like a wonderful and beautiful journey. We will be taking a similar, but slightly different drive from Lincoln City, OR to Zephyr Cove, NV starting this coming weekend.

We will intersect with I-5 S at Salem, then down to Mt Shasta for the night. Depending on what kind of charge we can get charging overnight on a Tesla Destination Charger will determine whether we head SE on 89 through Susanville, or take a alternate route to get to Reno/Sparks. We have already asked about this at our overnight destination and they just ask you to leave your room and phone #.

Anyone here charged overnight at a Tesla Destination Charger? I have the adapter and have already tested it locally, so I know it works. Just curious how much charge I can expect over 8 full hours?

Click to expand...

If you can swing it, the drive down 89, through Truckee, and around Tahoe via Incline Village is definitely the way to go. If you go through Reno, go up Mt Rose Highway through Incline Village and around the lake, just to get in the extra views. Otherwise, through Reno, down 395 and go around Carson City, then up 50 to the lake.

I used to have a place in South Lake Tahoe, and would fly out of the Reno airport pretty much weekly. Going home up 50 was always magical when you’d hit the summit and get that spectacular (but brief) view of the lake.

You probably know this already, but charging is pretty sparse in Nevada. There are several fast chargers in South Lake that are pretty reliable (per PlugShare) though.

mikehmb said:

If you can swing it, the drive down 89, through Truckee, and around Tahoe via Incline Village is definitely the way to go. If you go through Reno, go up Mt Rose Highway through Incline Village and around the lake, just to get in the extra views. Otherwise, through Reno, down 395 and go around Carson City, then up 50 to the lake.

I used to have a place in South Lake Tahoe, and would fly out of the Reno airport pretty much weekly. Going home up 50 was always magical when you’d hit the summit and get that spectacular (but brief) view of the lake.

You probably know this already, but charging is pretty sparse in Nevada. There are several fast chargers in South Lake that are pretty reliable (per PlugShare) though.

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I lived on the North Shore for 9 1/2 years. First in Tahoe Vista, then Kings Beach, and finally Incline Village from ‘93 to ‘03. It was a very magical time in my life.

I am VERY familiar with Hwy 431 and can’t wait to show the wife all the beauty of the area and views. I just hope she doesn’t lose her lunch going either way on that insane road.

FUN FACT: I was in Reno one evening when a full-blown snow storm hit. I jumped into my VW Sirocco project car and headed home to the lake. It was “white out” and blowing hard by the time time I hit the turnoff to Mt Rose Highway. I blew right by the Nevada State Troopers setting up the road block and I guess they figured if I was dumb enough to try it, they weren’t going to risk their lives to stop me.

By all rights I should not have made it and would have more than likely gotten stuck and died. In the middle of the run my windshield wipers stopped working from the weight of the snow and I had to pull a Ace Ventura move and stick my head out the driver’s window to see where I was going, driving by watching the “snow poles” on either side of the highway to keep on the road. Only when I drove past St Francis of Assisi church did I figure I had made it. I got home, poured and stiff drink and then went to bed.

The next day was Saturday and I was rudely awoken by someone pounding on my front door. It was one of the NSP Troopers I had blown by the night before. He read me the riot act for about ten minutes. He told me over and over again what a damn fool I was, and also how lucky I was to be alive.

When I told him I couldn’t agree more he relaxed a bit. I also told him that once I got halfway up the mountain there was no turning back. On that he accepted my apology for nearly hitting him and his partner the night before.

We stayed in touch for years after that incident.

Birdowin said:

I believe that the Best Western Chargers are all superchargers and that adapter is not rated for use with those. It's possible that they have a destination charger but I have never seen one. You may have to use the lone Charge point charger across the street. That is the one that dinged me $10.00 for "parking".

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You are correct. The large amount of chargers at Best Western are Tesla Superchargers, and thanks to forum members I was aware of the limitations on the adapter. I’m actually sitting in my R1T right now checking the charge rate on a Tesla Destination Charger near my home in Lincoln City. It allowed me to pull 24mi/hr of charge, which will be fine for the Mt Shasta to Susanville, CA part of my trip if I need to “top off” overnight.

I may try to use the ChargePoint charger in the parking lot of the shopping center there, but the area can get a bit sketchy at night. If I do use it while having dinner nearby I will be making very frequent checks on my R1T.