Tin Poodle

Total round trip   6118 miles Pulling trailer  Miles               2924 kWh                1466 wH/mile           489 *  **  *** Range X90D      167 * ** *** More stats Longest leg     132 miles  (Goodland KS to Ellis KS) Longest time   3 hours 26 mins (Torrey UT to Green River UT) Most kWh        61 kWh (74%)  Goodland KS to Ellis KS Best "MPG"     369 wH/mile (East side of continental divide) Worst "MPG"   574 wH/mile (Richfield UT to Torrey Utah) Closest to empty (a.k.a "Hope Nancy's not looking") 9%    - 16 miles to empty (Harrisburg, PA to Home) 14%  - 24 miles to empty (Triadelphia, WV to Somerset, PA) 14%  - 24 miles to empty (Kansas City, MO to Columbia, MO) 15% -  26 miles to empty (Topeka, ...

Three words...downhill, flat, and wind. Sometimes tailwinds...or headwinds...or crosswinds. Actual miles 912 Actual kWh used 446 Average Wh/mi 489 Totals to date Actual miles 1891 Actual kWh used 914 Average Wh/mi 483 Estimated range with MX90D and Bowlus 170 miles (based on 81.8 kWh usable)

Earlier I mentioned about the planning involved in making a cross country trip...with a Tesla...pulling a trailer...for the first time.  Since this was our first trip with the trailer much of the planning relied on educated guesses as to whether we could make it to the next destination pulling the trailer. For most of these segments I was pretty confident we would get there. Except for one segment that stood out from all the others...crossing the Continental Divide.  With 94 miles between Superchargers the distance wasn't the problem.  On flat terrain the range with the trailer is 170+ miles.  It was the elevation change.  Almost 5000 feet gain in between the start and Vail Pass.  Then another 15 miles downhill to the next Supercharger. Elevation profile Grade and elevation changes Elevation gain of this magnitude consumes energy rapidly and decreases range just as rapidly.  For example on flat ground the Model X consumes the a...

Elevation map Henderson, NV to Rifle, CO Approximately 75% interstate, 25% state roads Rolling mountain terrain and high deserts Weather mostly clear.  Light tail winds.  Rain on one day. Average speed on highway 55 Actual miles 763 Rated miles 1134 Actual kWh used 367 Average Wh/mi 481 Estimated range with MX90D and Bowlus 171 miles (based on 81.8 kWh usable)

Official statistician tldr; We haven't "run out of gas" Model X90D pulling trailer 485Wh/mi (early estimate for flat and 55mph) Estimated range pulling trailer 170 miles Long version We haven't "run out of gas"...yet When taking a trip in an electric vehicle, or any vehicle for that matter, it's important to know you can make it to the next gas station (or charging opportunity in our case).  I've been driving electric for almost ten years.  From short trips around town to long trips as far as Maine and North Carolina.  I've never "run out of gas".  What's different with this trip is pulling a trailer decreases "gas mileage" and range between charges.  How much of a range hit we'll take traveling back is the big unknown. There are not a lot of people pulling trailers with electric vehicles.  Different trailers affect range differently.  Weather, speed, and elevation changes all affect range. There are ...

East side of continental divide Driving stats for days 3-5 Day 3 Long day, easy driving conditions,  average efficiency Day 4 Horrible driving into headwinds and elevation gain, subsequent poor efficiency Day 5 (crossing the continental divide) Short day driving, great efficiency due to lots of downhill most of the way West side of continental divide

...more on that at the end of this post. First two days in the books.  No more dog excitement.  Hardest part is finding good food on the road.   We were lucky on  both days finding good local eateries with the help of Yelp. Of course there's always reviews like this tho the Jr High cafeteria  :-) Stats (courtesy of TeslaFi ).  Notice that we ended up using more rated miles (512 vs 430) and were 17% less efficient (worse "gas" mileage) on day 2.  This was the result of colder temps and stiff headwinds. Day 1 Total Miles Driven 412.65 Rated Miles Used 430.31 Efficiency 95.9 % Time Driven 6 Hours 37 Minutes kWh Used 139.08 kWh Wh/Mile 337 Wh Weather overcast rainy Average Temp 52.93 F Charging      time    43 mins Stops        2        Day 2 Total Miles Driven 403.2 Rated Miles Used 512.57 Efficiency 78.66 % Time Driven 6 Hours 10 Minut...