330 miles...on Christmas morning...NJ to Western NY...in single-digit temps?

[jbronkoR1T]

Take the car why ruin family time because of charging. What you trying to prove anyways?

well, keep in mind I will be by myself. so it's really sleep time as I'd likely just get up an hour earlier. and then when I get there, yes it's family time, but more accurately it's "in-law family time". So there's that.

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[moosehead]

The Donner Party were pretty adventurous.

Don't eat yourself up over it.

 

[NY_Rob]

325 each way. I would def have to charge similarly on the way back but can arrive back home with minimal range, so that's good.

Well, the 20"s are good for 280mi under ideal conditions. It's going to be mid teens Sunday morning.. so figure 180mi range max.

 

[jbronkoR1T]

Well, the 20"s are good for 280mi under ideal conditions. It's going to be mid teens Sunday morning.. so figure 180mi range.

So is that true? I thought once you get going in the cold temps, it doesn't affect it much beyond what you do with HVAC. That sounds like it would be a pretty big range hit.
If that's the case, that sounds like it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Tahoe Man]

well, keep in mind I will be by myself. so it's really sleep time as I'd likely just get up an hour earlier. and then when I get there, yes it's family time, but more accurately it's "in-law family time". So there's that.

I would still just take the gas car and still enjoy the trip.

 

[NY_Rob]

So is that true? I thought once you get going in the cold temps, it doesn't affect it much beyond what you do with HVAC. That sounds like it would be a pretty big range hit.
If that's the case, that sounds like it wouldn't be worth it.

I've had one EV or another since 2012 and have gone through NY winters in all of them. I wish I had my R1T so I could give you a more accurate estimate. But with temps in the teens and high limited access highway speeds.. I feel comfortable saying 180mi max range.

Eventually it's up to you.... but keep in mind that if you do run out of juice ... it's not like it's a pleasent sunny 80deg summer afternoon, it's going to be low teens and fairly nasty outside.

 

[jbronkoR1T]

@Tahoe Man is probably right. What is also a factor is sitting in the cold car during charging since a lot of things will be closed on Christmas. Hell, even walking into the Walmart from the charger wouldn't be fun. Prob not the time to be a hero.

this guy on another thread had some good points too.

Honestly.....I would recommend you take an ICE vehicle instead. Rent one if needed. Yes, you can totally make it and range anxiety really isn't a thing after you have gotten used to your EV. What is real is "charger anxiety" and that is much more difficult to plan for.

I am currently on my 4th EV and 2nd BEV. The R1T will be my 3rd when it arrives. My existing car gets 300 miles of range on local freeways (68-70 mph average speeds). On road trips at 75 mph it drops to 260 miles max. Add in precipitation like rain or snow and the range drops to around 220 miles max. And that is without the heater running.

Then factor in that DCFC is really only useful to 80% and then you should get on your way to the next station....that puts your actual range between charges around 175 miles if there is any weather.

Electrify America stations are very unreliable and you might spend a couple hours trying to get a reasonable charge. If it was summertime then I would say to give it a try but I would not recommend a new EVer take a long road trip like that during the winter. Especially in the northern states.

EVs are great for very many things. Road trips aren't one of those things unless you drive a Tesla, and they are MUCH more efficient than the Rivian. If I am not mistaken, they go about twice as far on the same energy so DCFCing on a road trip is much less anxiety because those machines usually work pretty.

The CCS system that we have available to us at the moment is not really that great. It is improving but not there yet IMO.

 

[SolartoEV]

I'm in Hornell. The Bath station just worked well for me yesterday. You can also hit The Binghamton EA and also the old truck stop at the Belmont exit just reopened as a "Quicklee's" gas station and they installed a charge point 125 shared that works great and is hardly used. I just drove to the ADKs last weekend in 20° and in real world conditions I averaged 2 kWh with 3 passengers and the heat set to 71°. The trip is easily do-able with planning. Let me know if you need any help

 

[RivianDeac]

Agree this is probably not the best time to push it.

In general, I recommend investing in a thick gauge extension cord for traveling, with an assortment of adapters. I have a 50 ft 6 awg cord that was about $250. If your hosts are amenable, you can get a nice chuck of electrons overnight from an existing 240v commonly found for dryers, ranges, hot water tanks, or outdoor hottubs (the best). Of course it can handle a trickle charger too.

I also keep a few $20 gift cards to give to the homeowners just to ward off any bad feelings.

 

[OverZealous]

Back when I first got my Tesla, someone recommended this extension cord, which I now carry with me on every trip.

The 50' has made the difference between charging and not charging several times when we were staying in an AirBnB (R.I.P. to those experiences). It's heavy, but not excessive, and doesn't take up too much room.

I definitely would not want to rely on a generic outdoor cable, since the lower gauge could lead to heating up the wire and causing voltage issues.

 

[PVguy]

Back when I first got my Tesla, someone recommended this extension cord, which I now carry with me on every trip.

The 50' has made the difference between charging and not charging several times when we were staying in an AirBnB (R.I.P. to those experiences). It's heavy, but not excessive, and doesn't take up too much room.

I definitely would not want to rely on a generic outdoor cable, since the lower gauge could lead to heating up the wire and causing voltage issues.

Nice 10 gauge cord. The critical factor is voltage drop. In the PV industry, 2% or less is the typical factor. There are online calculators to figure this. I am guessing that a 10 gauge, 50’ cord would be good for ~30 amps or more.

 

[jjswan33]

@Tahoe Man is probably right. What is also a factor is sitting in the cold car during charging since a lot of things will be closed on Christmas. Hell, even walking into the Walmart from the charger wouldn't be fun. Prob not the time to be a hero.

this guy on another thread had some good points too.

Honestly.....I would recommend you take an ICE vehicle instead. Rent one if needed. Yes, you can totally make it and range anxiety really isn't a thing after you have gotten used to your EV. What is real is "charger anxiety" and that is much more difficult to plan for.

I am currently on my 4th EV and 2nd BEV. The R1T will be my 3rd when it arrives. My existing car gets 300 miles of range on local freeways (68-70 mph average speeds). On road trips at 75 mph it drops to 260 miles max. Add in precipitation like rain or snow and the range drops to around 220 miles max. And that is without the heater running.

Then factor in that DCFC is really only useful to 80% and then you should get on your way to the next station....that puts your actual range between charges around 175 miles if there is any weather.

Electrify America stations are very unreliable and you might spend a couple hours trying to get a reasonable charge. If it was summertime then I would say to give it a try but I would not recommend a new EVer take a long road trip like that during the winter. Especially in the northern states.

EVs are great for very many things. Road trips aren't one of those things unless you drive a Tesla, and they are MUCH more efficient than the Rivian. If I am not mistaken, they go about twice as far on the same energy so DCFCing on a road trip is much less anxiety because those machines usually work pretty.

The CCS system that we have available to us at the moment is not really that great. It is improving but not there yet IMO.

I would do this drive any day of the year, without hesitation. Plenty of charging infrastructure both on route and near your destination. I also have no issues/hesitation driving my truck up the mountain (Mt Hood) with snow/ice covered roads in the 20s, truck has performed great but everyone’s comfort driving in snow is different. You also didn’t mention what the alternative car is, if it’s not AWD at least that is also a factor.

 

[Redmond Chad]

I haven't had a gas car since 2009, so all of our road trips (we have been cross-country multiple times) have been in EVs. So I'd encourage you to take the EV - I really prefer driving them.

However, cold weather does make a difference. Your range will definitely drop - air is denser, the battery will release less energy (unless it heats itself - which takes energy), and HVAC can use quite a bit of energy as well. I'd still make the trip in the EV; I'd just make sure that charging stops (at least backup spots) aren't too far apart.

While I agree that 3 days on 120V (with a high-quality extension cord) can work well in good weather, you might find it not helping at all in cold weather. My Rivian Max Pack isn't here yet, but other EVs I've had warm their batteries up before charging them. With a large battery in very cold temperatures, all of the available power on a 120V 15A circuit may be used to warm the battery, with very little or even nothing left to charge it. I'd plug in while there, but not count on getting extra range that way.

 

[sillygoose]

Bath is an EvolveNY station, there is another in Salamanca just 20 miles west of Olean at the casino.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/426993

Bad news is the reviews haven’t been good recently. But there are some L2 chargers in Olean you could leave for the day.

 

[jbronkoR1T]

Some great thoughts. I'm probably going to do it and will just leave very early to be able to make it with a couple of charging stops. After I get there, my wife said there is an outdoor 120v outlet at the house that might be able to reach without an extension cord which should keep me flat in the cold weather, but in any case I bought this extension cord in case it doesn't reach. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A3I3GA?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp
I don't know if they have a 220v or 240v but I guess I would need an adapter if they do for that extension cord.
Thanks for all the help, will let you all know how it turns out.

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