Public and hotel charging advice for a newbie attempting first trip - New York to Chicago WITH TRAILER!

[IRun]

Thank you! Charging before the stop is an excellent idea.

That is the area I’m scouting, but finding few hotels with charging. I was thinking of stopping a little shorter around Cleveland, but may just charge up at the Blue Heron Service Plaza.

Check out plug share for some of the lesser known chargers.
There are a few random hotels in the area if you want something slower for overnight.

Another thought, if you do charge fully and then park overnight, gear guard is quite the battery drain.

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[Turnipsaregreat]

Did this happen yet? Just wondering how everything went.

 

[Hopper]

Did this happen yet? Just wondering how everything went.

Thanks for asking! The first leg was today. Lesson learned? Expect the unexpected. A little bit of everything today including a bridge/road closed for a jumper! So far I have not unhooked the trailer to charge. Although there have not been any pull-through charging stations, no one else has been present. Tomorrow will be the longest day of the trek and I’m feeling good about things despite the extremely limited range hauling U-Haul‘s largest box trailer. I must charge to 85% at several stops just to make my next planned charge with 15 to 20 miles of margin. Tonight‘s hotel has only a Tesla destination charger and my adapter has not yet arrived, so no charging overnight.

I’m an old guy, but I still love and adventure!

 

[Jafresh]

Best to you on your trip. Sounds like we live nearby each other! I have the same R1T but a few weeks longer. I will keep my eye out for you. I just got my hitch connected and plan to pull a big trailer soon. Thanks for being the trailer trail blazer.

 

[IRun]

How did the rest of this adventure go?
Range estimates of 50% loss accurate for you?

 

[Hopper]

The trip was great. Yes, it’s a pain using public chargers with a trailer. I somehow managed not to have to drop the trailer, but I did get some nasty looks. ;-) The 50% range hit is what the truck is going to give you when you hook-up and it goes to tow mode. I found that I could beat its estimated range by about 20% if I drove conservatively, so the total hit to range may be more like 40% if you are careful and traveling in favorable conditions.

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