Road Trips

[dgpcolorado]

Nice photos. None of the grizzlies looking for a long pig breakfast?

Since the mods saw fit to create a "Road Trips" thread it seems appropriate to include an actual road trip:

Few topics are created by Moderators, as any registered member can do it.

While I am aware of how to create a thread, but almost never have done so, this thread was split off from the Model 3 thread as part of an off-topic discussion (not that there aren't hordes of off-topic discussions in that and other threads).

[dgpcolorado]

Great adventure! I am guessing the other guy did 650 stations at less locations? Didn't think there was that many SCs in North America

That road warrior just nabbed his 700th different Supercharger Station yesterday, Del Mar Heights Rd in San Diego.

The main resource for monitoring the Supercharger network, besides Tesla's own map, is supercharge.info. According to that database, there are currently 726 open Supercharger Stations in North America, with lots more in permitting and construction, of course. There are 649 in the USA, which is 42% of the worldwide total.

It is possible to do the "century club" just in California nowadays. There are century club members in Europe as well.

[paulgipe]

Great trip report--and you did all that in an S60! That shows the utility of the Supercharger network. Musk got that right.

I remember early June in Yellowstone in '68. I was hitchhiking and had to sleep in one of those heated restrooms as we didn't have the gear for snow.

Paul

[jlv]

^ This was my 100th different Supercharger Station, making me the 58th member of the "century club" at TMC. I ended up with 110. That's a far cry from the game leader, who has 695 last I checked!

Congratulations! Those are great pictures.

[GRA]

Great trip report--and you did all that in an S60! That shows the utility of the Supercharger network. Musk got that right.

I remember early June in Yellowstone in '68. I was hitchhiking and had to sleep in one of those heated restrooms as we didn't have the gear for snow.

Paul

Hah! Back when I was a scoutmaster I had my entire troop sleep in the restroom at Grover Hot Springs S.P. in Markleeville sometime in the '80s. It was supposed to be a ski camping trip, but it rained all the way over Carson Pass and down to Markleeville. We were still hoping the temps would drop overnight and it would be safe to take them out to ski and camp, so slept in the bathroom to keep everyone from starting out with wet, heavy tents and gear the next day. Temps stayed in the high 30s or low forties the next day while it continued to rain/sleet with an occasional snow flurry, so we bagged the skiing, spent the morning soaking in the hot spring, and then drove over to Sorensen's resort and got a cabin for the rest of the weekend. Probably a good thing, as the senior scout responsible for the food planning had decided he was going to try and make fondue (on a backpacking stove), which would have been an ordeal by itself if done in a tent vestibule. The fondue was quite good, though!

Oh, and nice photos of DGP's trip. I've only been to Yellowstone once around '90, with a friend who'd worked there for a summer or two in the '70s or '80s, as he also wanted to see how the place was recovering from the '88 fires. Were the usual tourist idiots ignoring the risks and trying to pose themselves/their kids next to/on buffalo, or did the weather keep them away?

Can't say Yellowstone is really my kind of place, as I prefer to be above timberline so I can see long distances (we'd been backpacking in the Wind Rivers, and then spent a couple of days in the Tetons before Yellowstone), although I expect I'd like it a lot more in winter. , At least I would if they banned snowmobiles. They've apparently toned things down a bit since the bad old days:

https://www.npr.org/2013/10/22/23970561 ... ellowstone

[SalisburySam]

“Road Trip.” Interesting concept with varying definitions. Until I bought my LEAF, a road trip was a highway excursion to something new or to distant relatives or vacations to places we liked. That was with all of my many ICE vehicles over the years, and today also in my Model 3. When I got the LEAF back in early 2012 however, a road trip was anywhere I could go within 35 miles of my home charging station. At the time there were almost no L2 stations anywhere near me and absolutely zero L3 stations within several states. Today, even with many many more L2 and L3 charging stations, my LEAF road trip is anywhere I can go within 17 miles of my home charging station. So yeah, without changing the definition of “road trip,” the LEAF is def not road-trippable.

[goldbrick]

Well...there was the guy who drove the entire length of Africa in a Leaf. Now THAT was a road-trip!

But yeah, I agree in most part. My Leaf is my commuter and errand car. I take an ICE car for trans-continental journeys or honestly - most often these days - I will fly and borrow or rent at car at my destination.

On the other hand, I don't drive that much. I've put 5k miles on my ICE car in the last 2 years. A bunch of that is just because it needs to be driven periodically since it sits so much, so I try to take it on an errand every week or so. In that period, I've put 13k miles on my Leaf.

[powersurge]

I have done 200+ mile "road trips" in one day on the Leaf... However, the purpose was not to reach a particular destination. If you need to get somewhere, your trip is insanely long on a standard Leaf. Since most chargers are only Level II, then you need to wait one hour of charging for every 30 miles of driving. Slow.

The trips were made were as an exercise in petroleum independence. And the excitement of the experience was to feel the Leaf cruising around in far away places. The fun was from leapfrogging and finding charger to charger in unknown places. I guess the fun was like a person having fun leapfrogging around the world in a small sailboat.... It cannot go long distances, but can make short hops..

[DougWantsALeaf]

Step up to a Leaf+ . In my SV, I have done back to back 350 mile days for some college visits with son (another set of back to back 250 mile days). I passed 242 miles on a charge on this last trip all freeway (you do need to watch your efficiency when traveling over 210-220 miles on a charge).

[WetEV]

I have done 200+ mile "road trips" in one day on the Leaf... However, the purpose was not to reach a particular destination. If you need to get somewhere, your trip is insanely long on a standard Leaf. Since most chargers are only Level II, then you need to wait one hour of charging for every 30 miles of driving. Slow.

The trips were made were as an exercise in petroleum independence. And the excitement of the experience was to feel the Leaf cruising around in far away places. The fun was from leapfrogging and finding charger to charger in unknown places. I guess the fun was like a person having fun leapfrogging around the world in a small sailboat.... It cannot go long distances, but can make short hops..

I get your point, but is a bad analogy.

A small sailboat can travel around the world, non-stop. Several have. Smallest I'm aware of was 21 feet, 6.5 meters.

https://www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/ela ... ecord-8064

Food is the limiting factor, and a sizable fraction of what you need can be caught while you sail. Someone getting ready to try for the record smallest boat round the world non-stop.

http://www.yrvind.com/