I know you guys don’t typically get into politics, which is great, but I love that you touched on the fact that these cars have become so politicized. I’ve struggled with this a great deal with my own siblings. I’ve had to explain multiple times that I’m allowed to be into electric vehicles, purely out of admiration for the technology and it doesn’t have to be about anything else and guess what? My daily driver is a diesel, F450!

@nevco8774

10 ай бұрын

In politics the message is wrong: using domestic electricity or even some bought from Canada is a security providing issue vs using gasoline which might be sourced from hostile regimes to the USA like Russia, Saudi Arabia or Venezuela. Nobody is prohibiting use of oil since oil is absolutely needed to build homes, car parts, making shoes, clothes, medications, appliances, phones and computers. Besides using less oil in cars saves it to be used as jet fuel allowing the price of air tickets not to skyrocket when one has to fly instead of driving. People promoting oil drilling have to realize that oil rich places are left at the bottom of the ocean explaining why the price of fuel becomes more expensive with time since it is increasingly more difficult to get it.

@Dive-Bar-Casanova

10 ай бұрын

Same party that claims they invented the internet wants to take credit for EV's It's why Musk doesn't get invited to the White House but Ford and GM and a few other MFGs do.

@1970351C2V

10 ай бұрын

Just yesterday I was debating the use cases for the Godzilla vs. Powerstroke for the F250. Someone overheard us and quipped " I'm guessing it's safe to say you two are the last people on earth who will buy an EV." There's a Mach-E GT sitting in my driveway. :) It really sucks that EV's have become so politicized. To be fair, I can understand why someone in the midwest driving a 20yo truck would be upset about subsidizing a yuppie's $75k SUV with his tax dollars.

@aussie2uGA

10 ай бұрын

True, it used to be tree huggers vs performance junkies - one yelled "buy it to save the planet" while the other said "damn, 1100hp and instant torque!". Now it's turning into "Did you see Elon's tweet?"

@xiaoka

10 ай бұрын

@@nevco8774 spot on. ICE cars = bring beholden to the global oil market. Meaning Russia, Saudis, etc can all screw us all. Unfortunately these people also don’t understand what “energy independence” actually means.

The road trip limitations are overstated. Unless you drive long trips every week, the convenience of charging at home more than makes up for any additional time you may spend (if any) on the road trips. I'm old enough to need the bio breaks every couple hours though 😂

@user-tb7rn1il3q

9 ай бұрын

I go to Florida from Virginia with one stop in a gas car. I do have to watch speed and of course fluid intake. You can drive like a manic and you will never make up that second fuel stop. BEVs are terrible road trip cars right now, but that will change with new battery tech coming in the next decade.

@thomasbihn

9 ай бұрын

@user-tb7rn1il3q battery tech is a ways away from that. Toyota has been advertising the same breakthrough being in cars in two years since 2016. I used to go between Ohio and Groton, CT when I was younger with one stop. Part of it depends on your bladder haha. I'm to a point where I take a bathroom break about every two or so hours and it breaks things up so I don't get so drowsy.

@user-tb7rn1il3q

9 ай бұрын

@@thomasbihn EV range is almost an order of magnitude better than it was in the 1990s. EV range is actually better than gas cars in city traffic. Eventually EV range will be better on the highway as well. The changes are incremental so people don’t notice.

@JarredSutherland

8 ай бұрын

@@user-tb7rn1il3q We just did 2400 miles on a model 3 and love it. It really depends on what you "require", I can't sit for more than 2 hours at a time without feeling like garbage. So for us, they are perfect road trip cars.

@themuskrat5776

6 ай бұрын

This isn't about daily commuting, this is about road tripping which involves long drives.

A disaster because there was no bathroom at the charger-LOL! I would consider it a disaster if the chargers weren't working and I couldn't make it to the next. Guess we have a different definition of disaster. I've done multiple cross country trips, by myself, and have not only had no problems but enjoyed it. I actually appreciate the stops to stretch my legs, use the restroom, shop, eat, or whatever.

@thisorthat4195

5 ай бұрын

Pee on the charging station while you wait. That’s what I do.

@alleyoop5185

4 күн бұрын

Pay your fair share in road tax and you’ll feel better!

Road-tripping can be cheaper if you stay at hotels that provide free L2 charging. Just need to arrive at a low state of charge and leave in the morning with a full charge. I just did a 1300-mile trip from Vancouver to Calgary and back, which cost me $64CA.

@alleyoop5185

4 күн бұрын

They aren’t free, that’s why hotel cost is going through the roof,,

I did a 6K mile road-tripping and my experience wasn’t as bad as this one. All I did was to aim for 3 bolts chargers, use hotel chargers if available and make sure I added the ones that I wanted along the way (using the + symbol when looking at SC if that’s what I wanted to change) - no issues , quick 20 minutes stops enough for a pee break and stretch my legs. Only charged to 90 % once because I was in the middle of nowhere and the leg to the next charger was very far 3 1/2 hrs away.

@raywalker4656

5 ай бұрын

Look, if you enjoy this type of lifestyle, more power to you! Would not work for me, as when we go o long trips its with the family, and we need cost effective hotels and good healthy family restaurants. So that would increase the charging times, and with additional meal stop locations, as WAWA is not the best of food choices! Don't have this problem with a Hybrid, and can focus on navigating via historical locations to share history with the kids. Not much fun at charging stations for families!

I know you miss having a screen in the charging station, but you have a giant screen on the car that also displays active charge data, with no sub glare. If you're at the charger you're at the car. Those screens at other charge operators also break all the time because they have to withstand the elements leading to a poor user experience. Reliable factor

@ken-mb5cp

7 ай бұрын

Just carry a pee jar. This guys a bit of a whiner.

My biggest takeaway from this is that when you need to go across country as fast as possible, don't do what Roman did. Flying is the way to go in that scenario (You go Tommy). It seems to me that most cross-country road trip are made for leisure, usually with more than one person in the car and not done in a hurry. In that case, an electric car would be great.

@1519Spring

10 ай бұрын

I believe Roman did not set out to make EVs look bad, but his unrealistic expectations (not for him, but for most people 😉) had that effect. As you say, if Roman really wanted to leave Marco Island, FL, and be in Boulder the next evening, he should have flown.

@MrKlawUK

10 ай бұрын

yep this is a big takeaway for me - fast tracking a long trip with one driver you’re always going to be tired at the end of a 13-14h drive regardless what you’re driving. Arguably dangerous to not get some rest for such a long drive too. I agree if you’re doing that for leisure its likely more relaxed and/or you have a copilot

@bsaxman2012

10 ай бұрын

You nailed it.

@vinumcopia9850

10 ай бұрын

@@1519Spring Totally agree! Roman has done other long EV road trips before, such as the Cannonball run and Alaska. He had other people in the car with him, and was much more relaxed in those trips.

@myxalplyx

10 ай бұрын

@@MrKlawUK FSD FTW!

I’ve done many 1850-2k miles road trips. If you are serious about doing it in two days, you don’t wait until after 10am to start. You start by around 5-7am to maximize that first day. And that’s with a gas car.

@neutrino78x

5 ай бұрын

or...you just fly....and get there in like four hours...

@brendykes1202

5 ай бұрын

@@neutrino78x that never happens. My last work trip took about 11 hours to fly 1900 miles. I like to control when & what I eat, when I go to the bathroom & not be locked in a metal tube. I also like to bring my dogs. I can’t see ever forcing them to get locked up in the luggage compartment.

@HeyItsAvi90

Ай бұрын

@@neutrino78x but consider the drive to the aiport, check in, waiting for the plane, any delays, getting an uber or car rental place etc

@neutrino78x

Ай бұрын

@@HeyItsAvi90 "but consider the drive to the aiport, " On a 2000 mile distance all that is trivial. I take public transit to the airport, have CLEAR, security is five minutes with that. Quick and convenient.

@HeyItsAvi90

Ай бұрын

@@neutrino78x oh my bad. I was thinking of sfo to vegas which is like 8 hrs where driving isnt too bad.

Thank you for pulling the EV discussion out of the political arguments and back into the realm of the technology/ease of use arguments.

@WW-wf8tu

10 ай бұрын

But did he really? If he did not even broach the topic of being "political" it would have been straight up the argument of ICE vs EV. Good or bad. You decide for yourselves. But because he is the boss, alone in the car and making the videos, he has every right to go in any direction he feels. Meanwhile telling us not to discuss it because TFL does not do politics. lol Double standards are a funny thing. I think he and I could sit down for hours discussing a variety of matters and rarely see eye to eye. I respect him. And there are rare times I see his points as valid. And might even adhere to his wisdom if I see any. lol But we do share some things in common when it comes to our passion for vehicles and our likes.

He summed it up perfectly. Stopping 30 minutes for every 2 hours driving, is why you don't do long trips in EVs.

If you're not canonballing the drive and you can plan ahead a bit, there's only about 15 to 30 minutes of additional time per day to cover the same distance in a good EV like a Model 3 versus a gas powered car. First, because you're planning ahead, make sure you spend the night somewhere that you can easily charge the car up to 90% or so overnight. Also, plan long supercharger stops to coincide with meal stops. Doing this, I've typically found 2 15 minute stops, plus two 30 to 45 minute meal stops will cover a whole day's driving with the same distance covered as in an ICE car. Assuming that you'd stop for two meals and at least one other pit stop in your gas powered car, the result is that you're only adding 15 to 30 minutes to your whole day of driving in an EV versus a gas engined vehicle. Now, if you do want to cannonball the drive, eat while driving, and stop for the minimum time for pitstops to refuel and eliminate, a gas powered car will knock about an hour and a half off your travel time each day.

@ryansheard8092

10 ай бұрын

I'd be open to putting that theory to the test. Take a Tesla Model 3 and a Honda Accord together on a cross country road trip and see what happens. Start in FL together and see who arrives in Denver when but limit all driving to 8 hrs per day.

@gregdavis3723

10 ай бұрын

@@ryansheard8092 I haven't done FL to CO, but I've done Denver to Los Angeles and back twice in my Model 3 and probably 8 to 10 times in gas powered vehicles. My experience is what I related above. The biggest negative to road tripping an EV today is that you really do have to plan it out if you want to be quick and efficient. If charging stations were as ubiquitous as gas stations, this wouldn't be as necessary, although you'd still want to coordinate long charging stops with stops to eat.

@ryansheard8092

10 ай бұрын

@Greg Davis as I said in my post, I have nothing against EVs but if we both set out from Denver for LA there's zero chance you arrive within 30 minutes of me. If I took my F150 it would be an even greater disparity as I get about 600 miles per tank. It's all good, but EVs are just limiting for movement whenever/wherever.

@thelongdaysofwheeling124

10 ай бұрын

@@ryansheard8092 so you're saying you have a 600 mile bladder? No stops for 600 miles? I call BS on that one. 8.5 hours at 70 mph and you don't stop for a coffee, bathroom or just a break from the road to rest your eyes and stretch your legs? Roman has no idea how to road trip an EV..... SHould be charging 5% -60%...and using the bathroom, walking a few minutes to stretch and grab a coffee..and then be off again.

@ryansheard8092

10 ай бұрын

@The Long Days of Wheeling my 13 year old and I drove Houston to Talladega, 750 miles, with 2 stops about 5 weeks ago. Took us 11 hours and 15 minutes. I know of no one that stops every 2.5 hours on a road trip to eat....they'd be fatter than hell!

I’m a conservative motörhead and occasional track rat, but also appreciate our model 3’s acceleration and unique handling. Just like the house, our garage is gas and electric…works out fine. Great video and insight, thank you.

Imagine how easy it was if there were 10+ chargers at every off ramp like there are pumps. You wouldn’t even have to think or plan. You’d just pull over.

@carlrodd8510

10 ай бұрын

doesn't make the process any faster

@TheAndrwwJohnson

10 ай бұрын

Tesla did the plan for him, no thinking. He still messed it up because boomer.

@user-tb7rn1il3q

9 ай бұрын

@@carlrodd8510Embedded road chargers could if it ever comes to fruition.

@neutrino78x

5 ай бұрын

@@user-tb7rn1il3q "Embedded road chargers could if it ever comes to fruition." That defeats the purpose. That would be like hanging a wire....(more expensive, in fact, because you're having to dig up the highway and repave it)....there's simply too much road for it to be worth the expense

@neutrino78x

5 ай бұрын

@@carlrodd8510 "doesn't make the process any faster" It would mean that if one is messed up, another is not far away. Chevron and BP are both rolling out electric chargers at their gas stations across the country. Chevron's uses a tech where the charger can give you high energy charge from normal household current (no special circuit/wire needed). It charges its internal battery over time, then it uses that to recharge the battery in your car. If you hook up to it in between charges, it will still work, just go slower.

Agree with you on the 3 points. That being said, not sure why you didn't select the three lightning bolt option in the navigation and insist on stopping for quick 15 minute charging bursts. There was a much better way to do this and I'm surprised you didn't figure that out. Obviously a lot to learn. Great video.

@Jeddin

10 ай бұрын

What was frustrating is his son told him to do exactly that. Spend no more then 15 mins at each site. But he proceeded to ignore that advice and charge to 80%. Should have only been charging to 50-60%. 60-80 is not as bad as 80+ but still fairly slow

@WW-wf8tu

10 ай бұрын

@@Jeddin 1 word. Arrogant. Roman is Roman. He is used to being the boss and doing things how he wants, regardless of the advice being sound or not. If it is not his idea, it is wrong. I don't hate him, but it would be nice if, as an on air personality, he exhibited the ability to take good advice. Demonstrating a good example of how to utilize knowledge wisely. Off camera, by all means, be stubborn and gruff all he wants. lol World needs those personality types too. But on camera, be a leader that people can respect for the ability to take good sound advice and follow it. And that is my 2 cents worth.

@jeffreyjoseph559

10 ай бұрын

That’s what his son was trying to explain but I think it’s hard to absorb that with one quick talk. After your first trip with a Tesla you understand Charger hoping is the best way to go.

@slyguyaction

10 ай бұрын

@@jeffreyjoseph559, Absolutely. Minimum time at a SuperCharger to make it with less than 10% battery at the next charging stop.

@davva360

10 ай бұрын

@@WW-wf8tu I agree. If he watched one out of spec video he would understand I hope but he thinks because he has owned 12 cars he knows better. He is also the one that keeps bringing up politics, nobody else does. I am conservative in many ways, don’t think EVs are much better for the climate overall, but I would still love to own one. Just not having to go to the gas station would be great for a daily driver. I still think there are some limitations for road tripping for sure but I don’t do that very often. We also have more than one vehicle in the family so could use something else to road trip if I wanted to.

Another thing they don't tell you about the Tesla is you have to spend $20 a month after 8 years if you want an internet connection for the car. And I think if you have a long commute you would also want to spend a $20 now so you can get traffic on The navigation map. Although traffic doesn't waste your battery like on a regular car, It's still something you might want to consider when you're running out of power and looking for a station.

@raywalker4656

5 ай бұрын

@valueofnothing2487 I guess I'm fortunate, I get internet through my phone so I don't need additional internet service for navigation as my navigation system will connect to me phone.

@valueofnothing2487

5 ай бұрын

@@raywalker4656 The car can use your phone as a hotspot? Good to know.

This channel never falls, in highlighting situations that affect .08% of the driving population.

Roman: So what you are saying is.... Tommy: No, that is what you are saying. Anyway, back to what I was saying.(got other things to do than re-explain what I just said)Way to stay focussed Tommy. Roman: So it is so much cheaper to do it in an EV than a gas power vehicle. Tommy: Um, no dad. It is not significantly better. Roman: But it is safer than them scary gas stations. Tommy: Um, no dad, the computer has no idea if there are bad people stalking charging stations. Could be just as scary as a gas station. More so in the sense that there may not be cameras monitoring the chargers like there are at gas stations. Because often they are not up close to a building but in the outskirts of a parking lot. There are no "safe" places to refuel/recharge. Only better monitored areas. Once you are out in the open, you are a sitting duck.

Definitely a conservative here. But, I’m also big into tech (digital investigator) and understand that you can actually make your own energy off grid at your home and have an indefinite amount of energy as long as the sun shines. That is incredibly self sufficient that you cannot do with gas vehicle locally and crazy to ignore. I own a Bronco Badlands and an F-150 Lightning with a camper on it.

After owning an enjoying Tesla for over nine years now, I know it adds roughly about 1hr per 400 miles or 8hr of driving in a typical day over a similar trip in a ICE vehicle. I have done many cross country trips. My longest was a 7,500 mile trip from Atlanta to Yosemite and back. My nephew got a summer job as a park range there in 2014. Keep in mind the supercharger network at that time was barely completely across country. THe first day we drove about 900 miles (very long day)….Just no big deal anymore…

@LafemmebearMusic

10 ай бұрын

8 additional hours? Nope, but thank u for being an early adopter, it will get better hopefully 😅

@amusicthang

10 ай бұрын

@@LafemmebearMusiche meant it adds one hour to an 8 hour trip

@legostud

10 ай бұрын

I didn’t experience much difference from Boston to DC and back in a M3 long range. Sounds like you may have an older Model S. What’s your max charge rate?

@MrDW72

10 ай бұрын

@@legostud dont forget about randome traffic jam that add on more hours, then additional charge is a cherry on top. it adds up. Will be a lot better in 5-10 year

@legostud

10 ай бұрын

@@MrDW72 - that traffic jam would’ve happened if I was in an EV or not and the charging happened while I was using the bathroom and eating food so no extra time added.

You referenced having to do everything through an app on your phone to charge a Tesla. You don’t. Once it’s set up, you only need to plug in. You can leave your phone at home and monitor on your screen in the car

Your charging times are way too long. Just went NC to Vegas and back, 8k miles. Only had one 30 min charge (from OKC to Arkansas). This was in a LFP with slower charging and shorter range. Your experience is a good example of level novice for tesla road tripping.

@kingofrivia1248

6 ай бұрын

Yeahhhh nah i will gladly take these realistic times here. Life doesnt always go like planned.

@HeyItsAvi90

Ай бұрын

What do you mean one 30 min charge? how long do you charge on diff chargers?

@Robert-pm6bm

Ай бұрын

@@HeyItsAvi90 my charging stops are usually 10-15 mins. That stretch I mentioned is an anomaly

@HeyItsAvi90

Ай бұрын

@@Robert-pm6bm oh ok, bc i wasnt sure if i go on a long road trip if its better to charge at longer distance from 20% charge till 80% or do multiple stops of 15 min charges.

@Robert-pm6bm

Ай бұрын

@@HeyItsAvi90 there are so many Tesla superchargers now, you can choose what fits you best. Charger shorter but more often, or charge longer less often. Only a few areas in the country that require longer charges to stretch the distance.

One thing I learned going cross country is, when needing to stop overnight near a large town, always go through the town and stop on the outgoing side of the town, with a "full tank" if possible.

Traveling long distance the price using EA vs gasoline is pretty close. To do a 3000 mile round trip in our ionic 5 it would be within $50 of a gas crossover if you do the math. It would be a bit cheaper to use a fuel sipping hybrid than to use most EVs. Charging at home is where EV ownership is cheap day to day, definitely not road tripping at this point.

@mjsabie8517

9 ай бұрын

The biggest possible advantage for road tripping is if you stop at a hotel with free EV charging. Saves time and money

@victormdp

8 ай бұрын

@@mjsabie8517 but spend time in the hotel, specially because those ones with charger are normally more expensive than "regulars"

@mjsabie8517

8 ай бұрын

@@victormdp not true at all. Tru but Hilton are not expensive at all and usually have chargers

You don’t need a phone to supercharge. All the info is on the screen of the car. Why would the stall need a screen?

I’m a conservative and I love EV‘s for the three main reasons you mentioned and including the brilliant acceleration and the one pedal driving

If your hand position allows, you can roll either scroll wheel instead of torquing the wheel to pass the auto pilot attention check.

@gbw28

10 ай бұрын

Good to know, thanks.

FYI. You can go into the app and have it precondition for a specific time in the morning.

At 1:05:51, you plugged in with a 66% charge. As Tommy said, you need to leverage the car's charging curve and stay at low SOCs. With that said, I completely agree the car's navigation system should have a shortest time, but frequent stop option like ABRP does so you don't have to figure it out yourself. It's a huge oversight.

@gregpetrites4182

10 ай бұрын

I completely missed that the first time around. 66% is a reasonable SoC to leave a charger to continue to trip, but not for stopping to charge. The only time I'd plug in at the SoC is if I realy needed to use the restroom and there was a charger nearby. Or if I was driving across North Dakota where superchargers are rare and CCS nonexistent. I've never had tesla or abrp recommend plugging in while at 66%. That's just as crazy as strong for petrol while sitting at 3/4 tank. That's just....crazy.

@hoffmantnt

10 ай бұрын

Rivian is really smart and they bought ABRP. ABRP is a fantastic app. Tesla rarely needs to look outside themselves to come up with the best ideas but it seems they have room for improvement in their route planning.

@robertshunter

10 ай бұрын

​@@hoffmantnt I don't believe we should be blaming Tesla for Roman's failings.

@MrKlawUK

10 ай бұрын

if you’re min-maxing a cannonball run, sure. But if you’re stopping anyway just plug in. Most of my longer trips I’ve stopped when conveninent and charged, trying not to let the car dictate that pace. Coincide stops with lunch/hotel stops and mid morning/afternoon breaks etc.

@gregpetrites4182

10 ай бұрын

@@MrKlawUK sure, if you are stopping anyways and it's convenient to plug in, do it, even if it's at 66% of higher. But that's not what happened there as Roman was itching to get back on the road. Min-max isn't just for cannonballs. It's realy just good practices to follow anytime you are traveling long distances in am EV. Stop to charge when 10-20% (cannonballers will do even less). Stop charging somewhere north of 50-60% unless convenient to go higher. But never charge above 80-90% unless you are okay with waiting a long time. Cannonballers just take it to the extreme. If someone is unpracticed in EV road trips, following what the car says will get you from point A to B in a pretty decent time. If your want to enjoy the journey and feel comfortable managing your time, do your own thing. But Roman really was trying to cannonball (get home as quickly as possible) and wasn't doing a good job at it.

Your mistake in Nashville was not using the Tesla Nav to find a hotel with a level 2 charger. In the SuperCharger nav window, Superchargers are ⚡️⚡️⚡️ , destination are ⚡️⚡️. Your entire day would have gone better - and maybe made it home.

Cool that you filmed this ride and kept your personal frustrations in. But this also proves that education is key. You definitely overthought the whole charging and preconditioning thing. The car will precondition when you navigate to any SC station. So you could have gone to bed and navigated to a SC and the car will pre condition again. Also the car has a pretty beefy buffer (between 3 and 5%) so arriving at a station with 0% is really not a big deal at all. Last note is about FSD/Autopilot. Autopilot is great on road trips, FSD beta on the other hand is next level on road trips. Latest version is pretty spectacular! Drove 600 miles and only actually did anything for maybe 10 miles out of the whole trip.

@1519Spring

10 ай бұрын

Great points!

Normally love the TFL videos from all the presenters. This isn’t the best effort. Road tripping with a Tesla isn’t perfect but it’s not nearly as awful as Roman makes it out to be either. He was too grumpy, at least for the first half. It ain’t that hard. And finding a hotel with a destination charger in Nashville? C’mon man…. They’re out there. Doing 1200 miles in a gas car is a massive day. It’s nearly impossible in an EV. So I think expectations need to be changed slightly. Just my $.02

@mcrkon

10 ай бұрын

Exactly. Roman got more grumpy and whiney as he got more tired. I assume most people don’t do road trips for the sake of road trip or EV charging. Personally, I only stay at hotels that offer EV charging.

A Better Route Planner is a good way to study and plan a long road trip.

@caseyk2366

10 ай бұрын

Yeah with ABRP you can tell it how much SOC you want to have when you arrive and it is easy to note chargers you don't want to go to.

@alfazulu6515

10 ай бұрын

You must be a good student, mate. A teacher’s pet, perhaps? Study well, mate

@mluu510

10 ай бұрын

It's not really necessary. I roadtrip from SF to Houston 2x already. Just hop in the car and follow the navi

At least you don't have to worry about getting the charge started, Everytime you plugged in , it started, that's like half the battle lol

I got a Tesla three months ago and I’m already convinced that I will never go back.

@dingdong6005

20 күн бұрын

Yo .. how you liking your Tesla ??? 😂😂❤

@ddmarsh21

20 күн бұрын

Still loving it! Best car I ever owned!

Can you imagine what this trip would look like with two teenagers, two toddlers and a wife? Road trips are hell on wheels with diapers and small bladders, I can only imagine how awful it would be with the lack of chargers and time to charge as well as no bathrooms or food near by. I don't see any electric road trips in my near future.

I don’t want to make my comment into a gun rights discussion but one of the reasons why I have a concealed carry permit is so I don’t have to live in fear while charging my vehicle in isolated locations with sketchy people/vehicles nearby.

I just did a long road trip - we drove over 5,700 miles - starting in Orlando, through Alabama, to St Louis, Kansas, through rural Nebraska, western Iowa, South Dakota (Badlands and Black Hills), through eastern Wyoming (Devil's Tower), to Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, up and down Mount Evans, Colorado Springs and back to Orlando. Some things I learned along the way: 1. The Tesla nav system _sometimes_ takes odd routes to the destination or chargers. For example, for a charger in Wheatland, WY - it had me pass the exit next to the charger to go to the next exit then drive through town to reach the charging location basically 500 feet from the previous exit. Makes no sense. I recommend double checking the route to make sure it makes sense - sometimes it does (road work/traffic) but often times it does not. 2. Tesla nav will sometimes pick a v2 charger even when a v3 is nearby. Always double check the area for other chargers the difference between v2 and v3 is huge. Of course, if the v3 is full then the v2 makes sense but often times it just picks the nearest charger. 3. Tesla is a bit conservative with estimating charging stops - I sometimes will cancel the route and have it recalculate to see if it gives me other charging locations - or - sometimes I will manually add the charging stop. 4. When traveling with a family, the vast majority of the time, I was waiting on family to finish their bathroom break or getting snacks rather than the car. Even so, there were a few times when we had to stop for a long charge. But, overall, I thought I would be waiting on the car a lot more after 400 miles each day. 5. Use an app (example: Expedia) to find hotels that offer EV charging. Waking up with a full charge is huge. Many moderate-range hotels offer EV charging, much less common with budget options. Even South Dakota has hotels with EV charging - the world is changing. 6. Mt Rushmore offers EV/Tesla charging in lot 2. This was a pleasant surprise - even the parking attendant was aware of this fact and directed me to lot 2. 7. My wife has mastered packing the Model Y. We carried 5 people with luggage the entire trip. 8. We need more/higher speed chargers in the middle of the country. My longest stretch was between Gillette and Wheatland in Wyoming (180 miles) - I left at 95% and arrived with 14% - averaging 80+ mph - I may have passed a truck at 110mph going up hill. 9. Instant torque is an awesome superpower - and it more useful than off-the-line drag racing. 10. Replacing the full set of tires cost me $1300 at Discount Tire in Colorado Springs (same tires as stock). I had 22k miles on my original set. 11. Autopilot and even adaptive cruise have phantom breaking issues at high speed (above 80mph). I had less issues at lower speeds. Apparently South Dakota roads and Autopilot don't mix well, go figure. 12. Sometimes charging is too fast - I had to move my vehicle a few times while trying to eat a meal (dine-in). 13. Superchargers are not always directly off the interstate - especially in them middle of the country. The furthest I had to drive was about 2-3 miles off my main route. 14. Home charging is key to using EVs. We stayed an a VRBO rental that did not have charging available, so I would have to stop and charge a few times while in Colorado Springs. 15. Tesla needs to add an option to customize/tweak tow mode to provide better estimates. For part of the trip, we used a hitch-mounted cargo carrier for part of the trip and the estimates were way off (too conservative while in tow mode and too aggressive with it turned off). Overall, I have no problems road tripping in my Tesla Model Y - but I also understand the quirks/limitations/issues of doing so and I'm ok with this (and so is my family). EVs are the perfect local errands/commuter cars but I think we are still in early adopter phase for road tripping. I'm hoping the rapid adoption of NACS as the charging standard will help with this.

Thanks for the video. I feel like you did a good job of showing the state of long-distance driving in a Tesla. When I first bought our Tesla I had many of the concerns others had but like a lot of families we are a 2 car household. Over the 5 years I have found that not going to the gas station every week, not needing oil changes or going to the dealership has more than made up the extra time on long distance drives for us. It is a shame you couldn't find hotels with chargers as I find them extremely helpful. I look forward to more superchargers and more hotels with lvl 2 charging.

@geraldkoth654

10 ай бұрын

Why on earth would anyone go to a dealer? I have had my truck for 14 years and went to a dealer only once when I bought it used to get a duplicate key. Not once since then.

@kare9875

10 ай бұрын

​@@geraldkoth654warranty.

@loading...7583

9 ай бұрын

when you buy a tesla you already paid up front all those oil changes and fuel. if you know how to do math youll realize that buying an EV sounds like a no brainer but down in the numbers is not a good deal

@MakeAMark1755

9 ай бұрын

​@loading...7583 the model 3 is lower then the average priced vehicle upfront. So that argument is invalid.

@loading...7583

9 ай бұрын

@@MakeAMark1755 the cost of a tesla model 3 is $41,880 dollars. how the hell is that average price when you can get a Toyota camry or even a corolla on the hight 20k and under 30k?? are you drunk?

I've planned my road trips in a gas car too including where I'll get gas. I love planning.

As I can see on this great video or many others EV videos, finding a SAFE location chargers can be a problem late at night. The costs of snacking and hotels stay can be expensive. Again, life safety is rather important on my list.

I think VERY few people would want to do 2000 miles in 2 days. Your drive in this video was a lot closer to a solo EV "cannonball" than it was a "road trip home from FL." If you'd set out to road trip the way "average" drivers do (perhaps 400-600 miles per day) Tesla is a lot more of a "dream" vehicle.

@LafemmebearMusic

10 ай бұрын

400 miles a day is bad road trip planning that’s gonna take you a longgggg time yikes

@tarfeef101

10 ай бұрын

​@@LafemmebearMusicI don't think so. I think a road trip is supposed to be about the drive and stops on the way This is more "getting from point a to point b, by car". Where one cares most about just getting to the destination. At least that's my 2¢. And fwiw I don't road trip but I drive long distances all the time

@Renegade040

6 ай бұрын

Agree, a very unrealistic Tesla long road trip, wanted it to fail.

If you are in a hurry, as it appears that you were, road-tripping an EV can be frustrating.

@wolfgangpreier9160

10 ай бұрын

Yes, Totally. Nothing is better than your good old carbureted V8 with 300 miles range! 👌

@marsstarlink3235

10 ай бұрын

Faster charging, 1/3 more range should address this.

Hey neighbor! I am a long time dinosaur burner and still own a Gen 3 Raptor 37 and a built JKU Hard Rock. I recently accepted a new position that will necessitate significantly longer commutes from Palmer Lake up to the Fed Center. I just wanted to say how much I appreciated the non politically driven perspective of a "car guy". I recently sold my Gen 1 Raptor to make room for the new Model Y Performance that we have owned about 6 weeks now. As a motorsports guy and a consumer, I have ZERO regrets. The EV has a use case and I will capitalize on it. I really didn't expect to enjoy the Tesla as much as I do. I have been watching the TFL channels since right after we bought our 2014 Raptor and about 3 years before we moved to CO from the east coast. Keep up the great work!

I just took a trip from SC to Disney in Fl in a rented Tesla model Y. We stopped at all the recommended charging locations and charged to 80-90% each time. We spent a total of $46 for charging costs. We would never have been able to drive that distance in a gas car for the same money.

I have done many cross country trips in various Model 3s and Model Ys over the years. Its a different kind of road tripping. As many have pointed out, its different than a balls-to-the-wall blast with only splash and dash stops. For the experienced and educated long haul EV driver, none of this is new or unexpected. When you plan for an EV trip, you do it differently and it makes life much easier. Roman's experience is, whether intentional or not, indicative of a lot of novice EV drivers despite his broad automotive knowledge and experience. And, frankly, his experience is likely even more spot on for the older generation just stepping into EVs for the first time. Out of Spec Dave has a much different perspective but he's much more focused on and experienced with pur EVs. I'm not meaning this in any insulting way, but for those of us who are 30+, this is the experience our parents would have on an EV road trip with all the same fears and frustrations. I'm not sure that was the intent of this video but it definitely painted an accurate picture for that experience for specific groups of people.

@TedKidd

10 ай бұрын

Roman is a fairly narrow thinker.

@melvinholland9656

10 ай бұрын

Your first paragraph is spot on. I'm 76, own two EVs and find Roman's comments sad. Road trips do take a different mindset as you stated but it's easy with just a bit of planning. Some just adapt slower.

@perpelle

10 ай бұрын

Because people don't want to plan where to fill up in order to get somewhere? Are the chargers working? Several apps to compare. Several apps in order to charge. Not enough chargers out there. Takes a long time to charge. That's something you never ever have to think about in an ICE. And noone is forcing you to drive balls to the walls in an ICE either.

@AClosedMind

10 ай бұрын

@@perpelle Not debating ICE vs EV. Simply pointing out the differences. People tend to get very emotionally involved in that argument. I couldn't care less what people choose to drive or how they do their road trips

@kennordsfan1494

10 ай бұрын

@@TedKidd How is that?? This proves his point that there are 2 different groups that say one idea is better than the other. We can tell what side you are on lol. The other point theat needs addressing is how electric cars are going to pay their share of roads taxes? This is coming and you will see sharing be close to gas with the collection of road tax included. Just like death and taxes governments always find a way to get their hands on new forms of taxes.

That was an enjoyable and informative video. I just bought a Tesla model 3. My first EV. I use to drive tractor trailers on long trips and understand that road trips are always challenging. Clearly EV's are not ideal for 2000 mile road trips, but unless you like to take long trips in a car, most of us will not be doing trips that long very often.

@Jeddin

10 ай бұрын

The road trip is the American mythos. Few will ever do it but we judge a car by its ability to do it. The statistics are pretty clear that almost everyone flies any trip that would be more than a three hour car ride.

@NyashaM

10 ай бұрын

there is a 500 mile EV from Lucid. He would need just 4 charging stops

@americanrambler4972

10 ай бұрын

Romans cranky old man grumping and griping is par for the course. He knew what he was getting into before he got into the car. In my opinion, the fact that he could easily just get in the car, drive and get to Denver from Florida and find places to charge all the way along the route with little range anxiety limitations is a huge step up from a couple of years ago. It seems to me grumpy is over selling the ease of access for gas/diesel powered vehicles. Roman was always stretching the range and gripping because he had to spend 45 minutes to a little over an hour. What about if he just drove for 2 hours, plugged in for 15 to 20 minutes and drove for another 2~hours. Probably would have been a much more pleasant trip. Instead of trying to make a 33 hour trip in 26 hours with minimal charging stops.

@samuelweiner5382

10 ай бұрын

@@americanrambler4972 hi, I don’t disagree with what you are saying. He came at it expecting it to be aggravating. It shows in the title of the video. I did watch the entire video thinking it was his honest expression of his experience. I just bought my EV and take your point on his charging strategy being the cause of a lot of his mounting frustration.. Thanks for your reply it helped me in understanding on how to road trip in an EV.

@lachlanB323

10 ай бұрын

@@Jeddin And if you do it then it isn't about the destination but the journey in which case an ev is 10x better. If you care about the destination then take a plane lmao.

For a daily driver to work and home i think electric is great. The one think I would like about road tripping is the quiet. Sometimes I feel like all the noise of prolonged driving wears me out. As far as the app not working I have to cut off my VPN Sometimes for my apps to recalibrate and or restart my phone

To be honest this is the worst case for any ev, Typically driving less than 200 miles per day you never need to visit a super charger, But some good points being raised here, there needs to be way more super chargers, and destination chargers for overnight charging,

@Jeddin

10 ай бұрын

No excuse for the hotels not to add level 2 charges. cost them around $1000 for the hook up should just be a cost of doing business. Perhaps customers should leave feedback with the hotel staff when leaving instead of just complaining to a camera or each other

@wolfgangpreier9160

10 ай бұрын

@@Jeddin Here in Europe i select the Hotel and vacation destinations whether they let me charge my cars.

@daviidfm923

10 ай бұрын

@@Jeddin Me personally don't agree. I think if we just added more dc fast chargers it would solve this problem. I don't think a Hotel should be required to pay for electricity. Now if they are installing lets say charge point stations that allow them to charge money then I would agree.

@Jeddin

10 ай бұрын

@@daviidfm923 but it doesn’t have to be free electricity. Plenty of hotels already charge for parking. If they want to charge $20 to park in the EV charger space then I’m ok with that and other customers who have EV can consider it for themselves and make the decision.

Hello Roman, I had the same issue with my Tesla and the Hard reset does fix the issue. It’s not with your phone and the Car needs the reset and the software engineers at Tesla have a few years advantage over GM and I do recall the Hummer Issues you had.

I enjoyed this video, great realistic take! I agree a touch of planning would have made this a lot more enjoyable. Just prebooking hotels with level 2 chargers would have likely saved a couple hours by charging overnight. As for locations, not every Supercharger is in a perfect location, but neither are gas stations. Again, a touch of planning and you can stop at a Supercharger that has good options around it. I have actually found many good restaurants that I may not have otherwise stopped at because it was near a Supercharger. In my (limited) experience, many of these best locations with options around have 150kw chargers, not the newer 250kw, because they were some of the first Supercharger locations.

@raven4k998

9 ай бұрын

life can be wild

I think what I’ve learned from this video is that while cross country travel is possible and more convenient than in recent years, it’s still a bit of a pain because you have to make considerations you just don’t have to make in an ICE car/truck. I still think the ideal electric car experience at the moment is if you can charge at home and your family owns another (ICE) car for longer trips. I have a Pathfinder with a V6 that I’m very happy with but would consider an EV to replace our CX-5 that my wife commutes in when the time comes.

@raven4k998

9 ай бұрын

show's how many people love white cars🤣

@thomasbihn

9 ай бұрын

It also depends on you bladder capacity haha. I get uncomfortable if I go more than two hours between bathroom breaks and to plug in, walk to the bathroom and come back out and go makes road tripping a complete nonfactor. If I ever buy a gas car again though, I'm definitely looking for it to have a lane centering feature because it makes driving long distance less fatiguing somehow. I don't know why, but I have a lot more energy after driving three or more hours in my Tesla 3 compared to my Mom's Rogue, which is a great car in its own right.

@Agg1E91

9 ай бұрын

I think the main issue in the short (maybe 2024-2028 or so) run will be a pretty steep increase in EV sales and EVs which can drive in that 260-300 mile per "tank" range. The resulting demand for road based charges will be greater than the supply. Especially with Tesla opening up the Supers "For All". Yes, there will be places to super charge, but an increasing likelihood of a 15-20 min wait to charge, and THEN the 15-20 wait while charging. It will just be a little less convenient for awhile, until someone other than Tesla can start adding a large number of reliable 200+ KW chargers that all current EVs will be able to use.

@raven4k998

9 ай бұрын

@@Agg1E91 if you think supper chargers will be saturated think about regular ccs chargers which are fewer then the supper chargers in density already those thing will be at maximum capacity and still have a line up behind those people🤣🤣🤣

@Agg1E91

9 ай бұрын

@@raven4k998 Yep. Guaranteed short term pain, public recharge-wise. Will there be longer term gain, as both the end-user and backend supplies ramp up? I suppose we’ll know in 4-5 years.

I generally agree with you. I rarely go from point A to point B; I often end up taking unplanned side trips just because I saw a sign on the side of the road. Sometimes this is not the thing to do in an EV. Even planned side trips ad stays off the beaten path often require lengthy drives to a DCFC.

I admire Tommy for telling the truth. Ev isn't cheaper unless you charge at home. And for those who don't own a home, you're paying on par with or more than petrol car, and you're left with inconvenience.

Charger hoping is the way to go, just charge long enough to get to the next 250 kw supercharger. You should only deep charge if you are about to face crazy headwinds or elevation.

@cazu2479

10 ай бұрын

Exactly

@kevinw7319

9 ай бұрын

Isn’t there a way to set Tesla to charge from say 10% to 70% ? And it plans your stops around those parameters?

1) Your software settings probably are set to encourage fewer stops as opposed to fastest time. 2) You should do a cross country cannonball with the Model Y, the Ram TRX, and some average sedan. See the time difference.

your guys presentation of evs has improving dramatically. still remember tommy called 6kw lvl 2 fast.....

Thank you for letting us know about your experience and frustrations. I don’t mind seeing you rant because it shows how you feel about it, is a reality that everyone will go through in a road trip on this kind of mileage ! Good to see what’s involved in this situation. The 1,000 mile Aptera is looking great for this type of adventure .

@raywalker4656

5 ай бұрын

@arecibo1974 the Aptera is hardly a family vehicle, and while an interesting idea, I would not want to be involved in an accident in one with a conventional vehicle, and certainly not a tesla!

Don't be afraid of a hard reset in a Tesla. I've done 2 because the screen locked up. It took about 30 seconds and everything was fine after that.

@LoganJonesJ

10 ай бұрын

Yeah this was kinda weird. Tommy should've just told him to "reboot the screen" instead of describing it as resetting the car. Know your audience and all lol

Don't put your entire trip in the map, just charger hop and it will be more accurate and the charger information tells you what is happening at each stop - each stop you should be planning your next charger...

So, my recap: 1) Roman sets off on a road trip and doesn't remember to reset the trip meter, 2) Roman complains about the lack of superchargers, while finding plenty along his route (so many he is perplexed by the number of options), 3) Roman complains about the planner trying to make him charge above 80% while he has his system limit set at 100%, 4)Roman complains that driving/charging an EV is way different, and harder, than an ICE after formerly calling anyone who suggested such heresy a dinosaur who didn't want to protect the planet and embrace the future, 5) Roman argues with Tommy on the podcast when Tommy suggests EV networks are in the Model-T stages of development despite Roman using this same argument repeatedly in the past, 6) Roman whining about a well lit supercharger parking lot that was only 150Kw and had a car parked suspiciously in it and an evil pickup truck (right beside what looked to be a load of lumber) only to go to a Walmart parking lot with several cars parked in it to go all the way up to 173Kw, 7) and every charging station should have a playground and amusement park next door, just like Europe! Just a few of the highlights. Honestly, content with Roman is nearly unwatchable/listenable anymore, at least in my opinion. His ridiculous rant on the podcast about going into the gas station bathrooms WHILE the hose was in his car pumping gas was insane. I've never seen anyone do that and if Roman looked at pretty much ANY gas pump, he would see the warnings about remaining with the vehicle AT ALL TIMES while pumping flammable liquids into it. Regardless, this is such a common sense thing, my wife and I were shocked he was going on about that. More Tommy, Andre and some of the younger guys. Leave Roman, and Nathan to a large degree, in the office, please.

@TFLEV

10 ай бұрын

Wow, Roman says you did more whining and complaining in this comment than he did traveling 2000 miles over three days. Perhaps you are the one who needs to stay at the office and leaving the commenting to the younger and less grumpy folk.

@johnbronco8678

10 ай бұрын

@@TFLEV Wow, great retort from Roman. About what was expected. Any actual response to points raised?

I think people have to be a little more patient because this electric revolution is basically just started. And also as far as charger stations being in weird places, It's my guess that some locations, some business owners may not have wanted those there for some reason or another. Maybe you could talk to someone at tesla and find out why they're put where they are and then there would be a better understanding of what's going on here instead of just criticizing the whole system. And you can use the right button to follow closer to the car in front of you.

Would be nice if Tesla let you customize the nav settings where you could allow arrive SOC to be as low as 5%, and a max SOC of 60%. Charging stops would be much quicker and it would be nice if you could rely on the system to calculate your stops based on your personal preferences. I stop when at 5% and can add about 120 miles in 10 minutes.

@daviidfm923

10 ай бұрын

This 100 percent. When I roadtrip my tesla I use like to plan my own stops rather then listen to the Nav. I have cut off hours on road trips because of it. Tesla likes to plan for you to arrive higher then 20 percent because its better for the battery.

@Carguytct

10 ай бұрын

It all depends on where you're going and where the chargers are.

@marcjampolsky5280

10 ай бұрын

​@@daviidfm923 it's also better to have battery in reserve for safety....

@yolanda4731

10 ай бұрын

I wish Tesla allowed settings - maybe 3 - for how comfortable you are arriving on low SOC at next SC. 1 for 10-20% arrival - cautious, newbie setting - 2 for average - and 3 for 3-5% arrival - name this setting the Kyle. For out of spec 😊

@bleeder228

10 ай бұрын

Essentially you are stopping to charge every 90 minutes then. The actual charge time isn't all there is to stopping to charge. The extra time it takes to drive to the charger and drive back to the highway is something to consider as well. It's exactly the same thing with a gas or diesel vehicle. The more stops you have to make, the more time you lose. I wonder if you are saving the amount of time that you think you are saving.

I appreciate the honest take. Personally, I wouldn’t road trip an ICE or an EV for longer than about an 8-9 hour drive. I’m just at an age where it holds zero interest for me. I’d rather fly if I have long distances to cover. For my use, just an around town vehicle with a very occasional 8 hour drive thrown in, an EV works great.

Realistically though, anyone traveling half way across the US is doing it for the experiences along the way. Stopping at sites; taking their time. If you weren't fetching a car, you'd have flown.

I plan my trips which I do every weekend. I put all of my stops, including Supercharger stops, into Google Calendar which is automatically synced to the car via the Tesla app. I pick my Supercharger stops based on their amenities or convenience. Usually we do 15 minute stops which is the time it takes us to go to the bathroom. The exception is if we want to have lunch, in that case we will pick the stop based on food choices. For example there is a Supercharger in Tilton NH that has an excellent Thai restaurant, we call ahead and order takeout and when we get there we plug in, get the takeout and eat our lunch. Eating takes longer than a full charge. Another example is our Maine trips. There are a couple of excellent Dim Sum restaurants in Portland that are about a mile from the Supercharger. We order takeout, pick it up, go to the Supercharger and eat and then use the bathroom in the supermarket. Last Saturday I ended up charging to almost 100%, which is a bad idea, but we had a lot of food and I didn't want to get out of the car to unplug and I didn't need to because the Supercharger was mostly empty.

@TFLEV

10 ай бұрын

That’s so cool but most people are not you 😉

@joshuarosen465

10 ай бұрын

@@TFLEV That's where we are right now. There are enough Superchargers to get you where you want to go but not enough to do it without thinking about it. Tesla's in car routing is good enough to get you there reliably but it's priorities aren't your priorities, they are Tesla's. The biggest failing of Tesla's navigation is it's lack of options. It loves highways, I hate highways and love rural roads. You can't tell Tesla's nav to avoid highways the way you can with Google maps. Tesla's charge planner prefers fewer stops, ABRP gives you a slide bar which allows you to pick fewer stops with longer charging vs more stops with shorter charging. The workaround is to plan your trip and put it into Google Calendar and then select your destinations from the cars event screen, Teslas automatically select the next event on your calendar as your destination. If it doesn't, because it doesn't think you need to leave yet, you can select the destination from the events screen. In the future when there are ten times as many charging locations then we have today you'll be able to roadtrip without having to think about it but for the near term roadtrips are much more pleasurable and much less stressful if you plan. Google reviews and ABRP are your friends.

@bwilson4web

10 ай бұрын

@@TFLEV EV driving is different and means learning new skills.

@rubbinsracin6953

10 ай бұрын

Sure is nice to hop in my vehicle and go and even add 400 miles of range in less than 5 min. The best part? I don’t have to think about it lol

@aussie2uGA

10 ай бұрын

I think they call this method of preplanning "retirement?"

If you traveled with your son, he would have gotten you home in 2 days, with all the time saved being from optimizing charging stops, and planning your overnight stop for the far side of whatever city you were near to avoid morning rush hour traffic. Also if you plan your overnight stop ahead of time you can select a hotel with L2 charging.

@Renegade040

6 ай бұрын

Agree, this test was going to fail from the start. This is a typical EV test, put in unreasonable time frame, no route planning, what did he expect.

@keithmcdonnell4485

6 ай бұрын

@@Renegade040 Yup. I am trying to plan a trip now in December. Wife gave short notice that a Family friend 2200 miles away is getting married in December. If I take 2 vacation days I can make the trip in an ICE rental car, but to do the trip in our Model Y I will need 4 vacation days. I could do the trip in the model Y with proper planning if everything went perfect using 2 vacation days... but over 2,200 miles (4,400 mile round trip) we are sure to have at least some bad weather, one or two traffic jams, etc. and that would make a marginally do-able trip into a disaster worthy of an anti-EV video / rant. The question is, do I burn the extra two vacation days in order to take the Tesla? Or spend a whole bunch more money to rent a car and pay for gas? BTW, yes we could fly, but I hate airports and enjoy road trips.

@Renegade040

6 ай бұрын

@@keithmcdonnell4485 I do drive long trips where I live in Australia, but to even try to do 2200 miles or 3540km in 2 days in an ICE car, then back again, is crazy. I know airports can be a pain in the backside, but with these distances and this time frame, only way to travel. I do love doing long road trips, but this type is to just get there and get home, a lot less stress involved with flying, but I know some just hate flying, but for me, it's the only way to do this trip.

@keithmcdonnell4485

6 ай бұрын

@Renegade040 I love flying, but I hate airports, renting a car at my destination, and all the associated hassle. For me 1000 miles in a day in my Tesla model Y is not a struggle, but doing that for 4 days in the span of less than a week might be too much.

@Renegade040

6 ай бұрын

@@keithmcdonnell4485 agree, no one likes airports, but in a situation like you have here, I still think flying is the best option you have. My second option would be, take the extra 2 days leave and enjoy the time off and driving your Tesla.

The realities of the charging infrastructure (or lack thereof). The lack of security at the charging sites (or at least the feeling of security) is a big turn off for people. How did the autopilot work in the rain storm?

Your 3 points missed three points. The better car turns my two day road trip into 3 days each way. So I lose 2 days pay, two motels, 2 days of hash houses. If there are two of us in the car, that EV may add $400-500 in room and board, and 32 hours of wages or vacation days, which could be another $500-$600. Making the trip in an ICE car could save the two of us a thousand dollars. I checked Tesla's planner for a trip, 26 hours versus 21 for AAA's ICE planner. Two long days becomes three. Asuming no charging delays. Range and recharging, that's the roadblock. 500+ miles range in a 5 minute fill, like my ICE car gets. And charging stations every 30-40 miles across the whole country. That's all it lacks.

You’d be better off unplugging at a lower soc and ride the curve to maximize higher charging speeds at lower soc.

Tips for road tripping in an EV: Prebook your hotel/motels and ensure they have onsite charging so you leave with a full charge each morning; plan for about 600 miles/day. If you prebook the hotels you have a target destination for the route planning software and an ETA for the end point of each day's drive. Skip breakfast at the hotel, drive for a few hours and have breakfast, while you charge; ditto for lunch and supper (Always try to combine meals with charging and if you have a CCS1 to NACS adapter you'll have more options when in a Tesla) and if the hotel doesn't have charging combine your supper with charging prior to bedding down for the night. With planning, you should be able to drive 600 miles in 10-11 hours. BTW the difference in charging time between a 150 and a 250kw charger is negligible because of the ramp down on the charging curve. A Better Route Planner (ABRP) tends to be better than the Tesla route planner, if you want to arrive at chargers with a low SOC and you can tell it that you can use CCS1 chargers, if you have the needed adapter. You can add ABRP to the car's web browser, along with Plugshare.

@yolanda4731

10 ай бұрын

Problem- there’s no guarantee the L2 charger is open at the hotel. I have arrived on low SOC road-tripping and been in a panic because the chargers were taken or blocked 😢

@yolanda4731

10 ай бұрын

Disagree with 150 vs 250 - if you are splitting power with full station you will get much less on 150

@dmunro9076

10 ай бұрын

@@yolanda4731 Yeah, that can happen so it's good practise to ensure that there's a nearby DCFC and that you arrive with enough charge to make it to the DCFC. The ideal is when the hotel is within walking distance of a DCFC. Even 50kw is OK if you are having a meal at the same time.

I live in MN and have taken my Model 3 LR to Yellowstone, Lake of the Ozarks, Chicago, Sturgis, and next week to Kentucky. It was really no problem. I was marginally slower in terms of travel time compared to gas vehicles. Every time I stopped to charge, other people travelling with me needed to stop anyway and I was done or near done charging by the time everyone used the bathroom, food, etc. Plus when I was tired, being forced to stop every ~2.5 hrs kept me awake. The middle of Wyoming was a bit rough, I had to slow charge for an hour to get to Jackson, but it was a nice stop so I wasn't really bothered. My alternative was to go all the way around on the freeway that was 2 hours longer. So charging that hour saved me an hour total. I've found supercharging cost is also close to ~$2.50/gal in terms of cost/mile. It's fine for road trips.

Your son tried to give you the best advice before your trip, and you did not heed it. Now you (should) know that more frequent stop for shorter charge times is much better than stretching out the legs of each stop.

Great education video & good tips! re altering charge stop plans, eg @8:56 : you CAN tap a supercharger , and "add stop" to the route... or Edit route, and add stop (then find charger)... this should update the planner. Or, as noted, you can just keep driving :) and do your own thing, and it will auto-replan. Agreed unsure why it sends you to slower 150kw V2 chargers (especially if they are full and you split to 72kw), vs nearby V3... sometimes those are more full... sometimes deep / long charges are good, eg when you are eating... normally food stops are closer to 45mins at least anyway, 20mins is barely enough time to grab something plus potty break, let alone eat it...

Two things - you can adjust the distance to the vehicle in front using the right hand scroll wheel pushing left or right. And you are supposed to drive with your hands at the junction of the horizontal arms where they are supposed to be for safety (near the buttons), there's more lateral torque on the steering wheel because of gravity. When I learnt to drive it was 10 to 2 but if you watch a professional driver they always have their hands just above the 9 and 3 position.

@murda2999

9 ай бұрын

Agree on both points. Frustrating to seem him complain about something that can be changed to his liking

Ok, I have a M3 Long Range. I just drove over 3,100 miles starting from San Diego, stopping through Denver Colorado, and then all the way to Jacksonville Florida. I don't agree with what is said in this video. When I charged I always charged for longer than what it wanted me to and many of the times I spent the extra time eating and charging back up to 90-95%. This saved me a few times by letting me drive longer and the system was able to have me drive further to a less busy supercharger rather than waiting during peak times in some of the cities I stopped in. Also, if you are driving at 70 mph or above, you will not get good efficiency and your range will be worse. We can't change physics people. So charging a little longer will help account for the fact that most of us drive above 70 mph. Another thing, stop treating road trips in a Tesla the same as you would a gas car. Take advantage of the charging stops and enjoy the break. It's not good to power through hours and hours of continuous driving. If you want to take a trip fast, just fly. Lastly, there's a buffer beyond 0 but I never got below 10% during my entire 3,100 mile trip. If you run out of battery that is on you. Stop blaming the car... unless it's not a Tesla. In that case it's still your fault for buying a subpar EV. Safe travels!

My son bought a Rear wheel drive Tesla model 3 and it doesn't seem to make much difference on the 150kw or 250kw , because its limited to 172kw and it quickly drops to 150 anyhow. My driving habits would probably add 30 minutes on a long road trip . Considering , we only take road trips about 1% of the time , its almost a non factor. The vehicles that start at 250kw also quickly drop and only save a few minutes.

@1519Spring

10 ай бұрын

Huge point that the VAST majority of driving for most drivers is NOT road trip driving.

@aussie2uGA

10 ай бұрын

Yes the smaller the battery pack, the smaller the benefit of fast charging. Think of it like adding water to a glass. When the glass is empty, you can dump the water in. As it begins to get about half way, you have to start backing off and slow down. When close to the top, you're barley dribbling it in.

@jasavak

10 ай бұрын

@@1519Spring After finishing the entire video , I really don't understand why anyone would want to drive 2,000 for no particularly good reason . We drive a destination sales route of 1300 miles , but I take three days or about 7 hours per day. Most people would fly 2000 miles if its not a leisure trip.

Electric cars are like sports cars and pickup trucks, they a great for certain task, but not every task (although few if any cars are) They certainly have their place moving forward.

@wolfgangpreier9160

10 ай бұрын

I would not try to transport an elephant with my Model Y, just as i would not transport my groceries with a Tatra 812 8x8. But it would be fun!

@ronvanr5359

10 ай бұрын

@@wolfgangpreier9160 I had to look up and see what a Tatra is. If there was a trace of bad weather in the air I would use that as a reason to collect groceries with a Tatra. 😄

@wolfgangpreier9160

10 ай бұрын

@@ronvanr5359 👍👍👍Mr. Ledvinka who worked for Tatra was the inventor of the aerodynmic design. And the designer of the predecessors of the "KdF Wagen" "Kraft durch Freude" "Power through happiness" also known as VW Beetle in later years - after WWII of course. Nobody would have thought that looking at this behemoth. In Czech republic they use these things for snow plowing. Fun!

Great point Roman! We must go through growing pains when it comes to electric infrastructure.

@jat3956

9 ай бұрын

Infrastructure of businesses will get more onboard as the demand picks up. I really see way BETTER stops to charge up with better accommodations. Tech is here to stay over ICE cars. A person/family will just have to add in maybe an hour or two in total time. But I hope the thought of the impact on the environment will be at the forefront.

As a second car for someone who has a garage with 230 v 50 amp power the electric makes a lot of sense for commuting and grocery getting, however, until electric cars get standardized and chargers get standardized, I don't think the electric is ideal for someone who lives in an apartment or for long distant travel.

@thedopplereffect00

7 ай бұрын

Very few people will need a 50A outlet. 20-30 amps should be sufficient. I get 60 miles a night just on a 120V outlet.

People keep getting the Ford and GM deal incorrect. Tesla is only opening up HALF of its chargers to them. Also Ford and GM currently do not have enough electric cars to be a strain on Tesla supercharger locations

You could have skipped Marietta GA and went to Acworth for a better charger. Same for Monteagle as Kimball was 20 miles further north with a faster charger and hotels, but best of all, a Cracker Barrel for breakfast! Just drove my Y from north Atlanta to Nashville so experience of where the best chargers are and other accommodations is something that gets refined the more you do it or take a few minutes to research.

@1519Spring

10 ай бұрын

Good points. Many road trips (especially moderate distance ones) are repeated, and one learns where to stop along the way, where the police hide, where and when traffic is bad, etc. Knowledge is power!

@tflev Doesn't want to stop at a creepy gas station to fill up with gas yet you would have to sit in an empty parking lot for 30 to 60 minutes.

@aussie2uGA

10 ай бұрын

One thing I do disagree with on current EV designs? The car is immobilized the moment you plug in. With gas, if you see "impending doom" heading your way, you can still drive off and just rip the gas pump hose off. In the EV, you must flee on foot.

FYI this car’s charging peaks at 250 kW. When you see 251 to 253 kW that extra 1-3 kW is for HVAC and other non-battery components. Tesla, unlike some other vehicle manufacturers does not divert charging from the battery to power AC but will instead give the battery all the power it needs and pull extra from the charger for AC.

Last week, I completed a 3300 mile road trip in my Tesla Model Y LR. I traveled round trip from Oklahoma City to the Canadian border (near Shelby, Montana). It cost me $362 in supercharge fees. Overall, the trip was a blast except for the following: (1) I experienced phantom braking, which was unnerving on several occasions; (2) I continued to have my wipers activate when there was no rain, especially when auto pilot was engaged; and (3) some of the supercharge locations were in less than ideal places, especially when you arrive at midnight or beyond to charge, i.e. Wichita, Kansas for example. I should note that the navigation system was spot on.

How many people actually do this??? I drove from southern Ontario, Canada, to Florida twice in my life. I am sure there are some people that Road trip frequently but how far and how often are these trips?

@Charlesbjtown

10 ай бұрын

Truth is, most don't road trip. I feel like most that do road trips, are those who have evs...... and they only do it, for the novelty of charging/refueling. I own an ID4 and bolt, and tbh, the only reason we plan to do a road trip here soon is, the free charging. If it weren't for that, we'd be on a plane.

@mowcowbell

10 ай бұрын

Because driving around town and charging at home with an EV would make for a boring video and fewer views.

@ERIKM-ed9ef

10 ай бұрын

@@Charlesbjtown This is true. The whole "road trip" scenario is a Troll Scenario. Normal people don't waste 3-5 vacation days driving. They fly. If it's really a road trip then the pace is leisurely and you're stopping to look at attractions along the way. Time doesn't matter.

It doesnt much matter electric vs gas, I need to stop every 2-3 hours anyway and typically take 25-35 mins, as i hate ot eat while drivinb, and it isnt safe anyway . I usually do 600-700 miles a day now, but in my 30s would have done the 1000 miles a day, but arrived exhausted and reallty wannt safe anyway

@BillB33525

10 ай бұрын

We are seniors now and can't wait to get out of the car every 150-200 miles. Most cars charge so slow after 80% it doesn't make sense to do a 100% charge.

@1519Spring

10 ай бұрын

Watching this video it was clear Roman was fatigue-impaired by the end of each marathon driving day (like saying at 1:13:30 Hays Alaska when he meant Kansas).

@daguzify

10 ай бұрын

Depends on the person. EV everyday and hybrid for road-trips for me. I don’t stop ever 2 or 3 hours…… I drive 18+ hours to Orlando and stop for Gas and already have food with me.

@ari_young

10 ай бұрын

I’ve made 3 cross country drives in an ICE vehicle and planned my route and stops in advance (is that weird). I also recently drove from Broomfield, CO to Atlanta, GA and it took 4 days. I just can’t spend more than 7 hours in a car. I make frequent stops for food and bathroom breaks and will stop for any interesting sights so I guess this drive wouldn’t be much different for me in an EV.

@freedomisnotnegotiable

10 ай бұрын

Stopping for food every 2-3 hours is pretty expensive and unhealthy

My 22 Honda Insight gets typically 48 mpg. Ill stick with that. Oh and i can buy like 3 insights for the price of a Tesla and change the oil for the life of the cars.

When I first bought my Model S a few months ago, and I posted the purchase on Facebook, the first thing I stated was that it wasn’t for political reasons. My reasoning was because of the technology behind them. Also, after being retired and not really driving too much, it just simply made more sense to own a car that doesn’t cost me gas or oil changes or any other kind of maintenance that an ICE vehicle requires. My Chrysler had 180,000 miles on it when I sold it to my stepson who is completely happy with it and my wife loves her Cadillac and so for me making the switch was a no-brainer. I love it that I don’t even have to charge the car to a high percentage on some days and that when I get home, I simply plug it in and forget about it.

@ianwheat1577

10 ай бұрын

The fact is you love em or hate em for me it's all about tracking you have no privacy.then they will start bringing out pay per mile ths is there end game They government makes lots of money from ice fuel cost where do you think money is going to come from if everyone has EV

@thedopplereffect00

7 ай бұрын

​@@ianwheat1577you realize all the new gas cars have that "tracking stuff" built in too?

Would love to see you make this trip or do the d2d in the new Prius as a time, experience and cost comparison.

@daviidfm923

10 ай бұрын

Honestly I would bet the Prius is cheaper and the time would be faster but how much faster would really depend on the type of road tripper you are.

@jasavak

10 ай бұрын

@@daviidfm923 The Prius uses about $7.00 per 100 miles. The Tesla uses $2.80 when fueled at home , $4.40 - $8.80 when super charging . However , it has double the horse power and triple the torque . For me , It would add about 40 minutes per 700 miles of driving or about 2 hours in this 2000 mile trip. However , I would never drive 2000 miles in 3 days . A gasoline car would still require 6 stops of 10 minutes each to make this journey.

@LafemmebearMusic

10 ай бұрын

@@jasavak why would you never drive 2k in 3 days?

@jasavak

10 ай бұрын

@@LafemmebearMusic I'm not a truck driver in a team. I've flown to Miami , NY , Cancun , Mexico City , GTO . All these places are less than 2,000 miles. We drive 1300 miles in 3 days to pickup up cargo on the border and deliver it , but 2,000 miles without a real reason is not for me.

@scottklarquist9514

6 ай бұрын

I drove 850 miles from NYC to Atlanta in a Prius last year. Took 19 hours total (due to lots of traffic on I-95 between Baltimore & Richmond, as well as stopping to eat a few times). Cost was about $80 for gas. Could never get this done in 1 day in an EV.

As an ev owner I try to let people know that owning an ev isn’t a compromise, there are a lot of benefits. There is a lot of misinformation out there in ev’s. So I appreciate this video. Good job Roman

@LafemmebearMusic

10 ай бұрын

For now it is a compromise it will get less so over time.

@LafemmebearMusic

10 ай бұрын

As a previous ev owner I’m speaking from experience for over 2 years

People don't road trip everyday. They typically drive about 40 miles. An electric car makes sense for the majority of the population. Even on road trips people are generally not driving across the country. I have taken my Tesla on road trips without issue. You are also overstating the need to precondition the battery. You can charge, it will be slower but you don't have to wait. You are right, it's not as fast as ICE but it's still early and I'll take the road trip downside for the daily upside. 7-11, shell, love's, circle k are all adding chargers already so it will make it easier. You can adjust following distance with the right wheel control.

What would have been the aprox cost difference between the Tesla an the ICE you normally drive?

At first I was thiunking the same saying that the charging suck but after experieding it for a few times I actually grew to appreciate it. With the Gas car I feel obligated to go from A to B non-stop so I would get tired putting myself and others at risk....I know I am not alone on that but the Tesla is like a passenger whom has to go to the rest room every few hours forcing you to step out of your car to streatch, rest, take a breather for a bit and I find that after arriving at the destination I am more relaxed compared to high on caffeine so its quite nice IMO. Yes it does add additonal time to your travels but its a relaxing travel, less stress and more importantly you are more alert given you are not stress from feeling rushed.

Great initial point. I will say after taken many road trips including a 1500 mile one, you sometimes do just need to leave the station for another one. Get below 150 kw spore, move on. You typically charge 15 mins drive 1.5-2 hrs then another 15 mins. Easy peasy.

@reggievonramstein

10 ай бұрын

His own kid told him to do that, but grampa’s too stubborn.

I didn’t even know that this has been a political debate. I’m a heterosexual, conservative, constitutional country (ranchero), capitalist man that Loves this country. 1-For my wife that does 6 trips to school a day, + runs errands a Tesla just makes sense. She doesn’t like to gas up at the stations(small kids) we were spending close to $200 in a school week of gas. 2-I travel a lot because of work it gives me a piece of mind and a Tesla it’s literally maintenance free. 3-For the city a Tesla definitely makes sense 4-For road trips my V-8 6.2L with the extra space and the capability makes sense for our family. Yeah everything is politics now which is BS, but I like my hard earned money too I’ll give my family a trip here and there with the money saved and the piece of mind which has no price value. I always liked your real world reviews. Y’all need to get into mods installations, I’ll watch that. Thank you

Compare energy and other costs: Tommy, doing the math with my Tesla Model 3 experience: For the past 29,901 miles I’ve used a total of 7,830 kWh of energy, or averaged 262 Wh/mile. Using $0.43 ave Supercharger cost per kWh that’s $0.1126 per mile. Compare to gas where the US National average today for regular is $3.65 (down 25.6% from last year) you would need to get a trip average of 32.43 miles per gallon of gas to break even. My Tesla Model 3 has actually averaged 129 MPGe (Miles per gallon equivalent) over the past 29,901 miles (using the standard 33.7 kWh of energy in a gallon of gas). Over the 61,628 miles I have driven my ONLY maintenance costs have been one new set of tires, windshield wipers, washer fluid, and car washes. I recently did a battery health check and degradation is 11%. Of that 11%, approximately 10% of it happened in the first 20k miles. This is consistent with what I’ve read on line from other Tesla owners. That’s in line with a projected / reported 30% degradation over 300k miles. We’ll see…

In my opinion I wonder if most people buy a Tesla because of its own charging network 🤔 now that Tesla is opening the charging network up to other manufacturers will it now upset current Tesla owners for having to wait for a charger because there is a Ford lightning taking up the last space available.

@foellerd

10 ай бұрын

Ooof, plot twist, plug in hybrid. 😂 that’s gotta be so irritating for Tesla owners.

@gregc9220

10 ай бұрын

@@foellerd wow yeah I didn't even think about that! 😂

@wandring0spirit

10 ай бұрын

Having a single standard for the plug-in could a very good thing . Imagine if you had to find a GM gas station or Honda gas station to fill your ICE car because each model had a different gas tank socket! The GM/FORD decision to adapt NACS should encourage greater investment in charging capabilities.

@robinsonmac

10 ай бұрын

They're not going to stop adding supercharger locations. And they don't have access to all the superchargers.

@LaJuanHughes

10 ай бұрын

​@@robinsonmacI also think more people will buy Tesla's since they won't be limited. Even though others are adding the Tesla cord to charger doesn't mean they will still be reliable.

Roadtrips are fun and all but an airplane wins every time. A boeing 737 can cover that distance in a few hours.

@mowcowbell

10 ай бұрын

The FAA approves this message.

Just took delivery of my 2023 Model Y recently and noticed the weird bug with the app “Last Seen” not updating. To fix it, I just did a reset by holding the 2 scroll wheels down on the steering wheel until the screen goes black then let it go, once it boots back up the app started working and updating. 👍💪

Latest I heard is that the model Y from Austin charges very slow. Don’t understand why anyone would want to have to spend that time charging at almost the price of gas. Seems like traveling in gas car saves a lot of time.