With newly acquired confidence, borne of a COVID-19 vaccine, it was time to escape our pandemic “quarantine” in Madison. Doing so in an electric car made our trip out West more complex but also qualitatively better.
We hopped in our 2019 Tesla Model 3 sedan and hit the road after work on April 29, destined for southern Arizona. No airports, airplanes or dense crowds for us, despite disbelief from my neighbor who said we were crazy to drive so far when direct flights out of Madison are available.
Traveling cross-country in an all-electric car is not crazy. It’s fun, inexpensive and different than doing so in a traditional gas vehicle. It does require more planning, battery monitoring and a sense of adventure. Importantly, the vast, often sweltering wilderness of the West can put you in a precarious or possibly dangerous situation if the car fails, your battery runs out or if extreme weather conditions put you in jeopardy.
Before you leave
Proper planning will help ease one’s nerves when traveling depends on battery power. Unlike gas stations, Tesla “superchargers” are much less common so you have to know where they are on your route before you toss your luggage in the trunk and head out. Thankfully, there are apps that make this easy, as does the car’s navigation system. We used A Better Route Planner, which listed all the supercharger locations along the way, the amount of charging time required at each stop, the driving time duration between charging stations and the electricity cost. It varies by location.
For this trip, the total charging cost was about $170 and included 36 stops. Yes, you’re charging every 90 minutes or so when you’re going 75 MPH, which is the typical speed limit through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
The next step was to find hotels near where the superchargers are located so you can easily charge as you get into town or before you leave the next morning. Tesla positioned these chargers near hotels, restaurants and gas stations off of the interstate system or highways.
Fast charging but…
When it comes to quickly charging an electric car, Tesla rules the road. Superchargers are incredibly fast. The longest charge took about 40 minutes, with other stops taking as little as 15-20 minutes to get enough battery range to reach the next supercharger. Use the bathroom, get a drink, have lunch, walk the dog, etc., and you’re on your way again with a full battery. Doing this is a major back saver, and you don’t get as fatigued while driving.
In a previous trip to Iowa, I was in a rural community that had a much slower charging system in place. I’d have had to charge 8 hours to get to my next destination! Ultimately, I survived that situation by consulting a savvy friend who came up with an unintuitive solution to my problem. I charged just enough at the slow charger to get to a supercharger that was located about an hour away—in the wrong direction! Once there, I was able to quickly charge and complete that trip without a problem. I paid the price in travel time for poor e-car planning. You have to know what you are doing before you leave. On this trip West, I had learned my lesson and my spouse actually did most of the planning.
We knew where all the superchargers were on our route so there were no surprises. Each one typically has about 6-8 charging stalls that look similar to a gas pump. The nozzle at the end of a “hose” fits into the car’s charging port and starts as soon as it is inserted. No credit card required. Tesla automatically charges your account, typically $5-$7 per charge.
We were able to charge immediately upon arrival at each charging location, with one exception. When we arrived in Albuquerque, every slot was filled with mostly Model Y and Model S cars, all of which were white. [Other colors cost $1,000-$2,000 extra.] While waiting about 15 minutes for a charging station to open up, I chatted with an owner who marveled at his smooth and blazing-fast acceleration. His wife chimed in that he passed a truck at 109 MPH! She was not kidding. You can easily go from 75 to 95 in 2 seconds. This I know. It may take another second or so to reach 109.
A different mode of travel
Motoring by electricity, speedy as it can be, means accepting compromises. There are tradeoffs for the performance and the much lower cost of energy. Unlike gas cars, you cannot drive an e-car for 4-5 hours straight without stopping. Electric car batteries are getting better, topping 400 miles on a full charge but they still do not have the range of a gas car. One of my friends said he would not buy an electric car until he could go all the way to Detroit without stopping! While his bladder control must be impressive, that’s simply an unrealistic standard now.
On our Arizona adventure, stopping every one and half to two hours was actually a good pace. Plus, we needed to let the dog out. An e-car makes pet travel easier. Having Tesla’s “dog mode” allowed us to leave our Shih Tzu, Booty, safely in her kennel while we went mountain biking along the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque. You can leave an e-car “running,” so to speak, keeping the temperature cool inside for the dog. On the car’s big LED screen, a huge message tells passersby that the dog is fine and the temperature inside is 75 degrees.
While biking, we checked the app on our phones to confirm the temperature. Had it been too high, we could have called the bike rental outfit, had them run out to the car and rescue the dog while we unlocked it remotely.
Conversations while charging
The side benefit of stopping so frequently is that you meet fellow e-car travelers who are also killing time while “filling up.” One gentleman from Los Angeles recounted his exceptional experience with his Model S, proclaiming that it will be the last car he ever buys. With his deal, he got free supercharging for life. His confidence may not be an exaggeration. Tesla CEO Elon Musk estimates its electric motors will last up to 1 million miles!
We also chatted with a Southerner who was traveling with his spouse and 2 little kids. They drove all over the West during a 6-month trek in their Model Y SUV. Model Y is a new vehicle with a 325-mile battery range. Ours tops out at 228.
“Yeah, but you don’t get all of that when you’re going 75 miles per hour,” the Y owner told me. Excellent point. The faster you go, the more energy you use. Still, that’s a lot of buffer to counter any battery range anxiety you might have.
Range anxiety
To be an e-car owner, you must accept the limitations and, in some cases, risks. As we approached our Arizona destination, we were traveling through vast desolation in very warm temperatures. There is absolutely nothing, save for a few grazing cows, for miles and miles, and in some stretches, barely any vegetation, making dust storms possible.
In fact, we soon saw flashing lights on the interstate, warning us about a possible dust storm that could mean 0 visibility. If it happens, you’re supposed to pull over and turn off your car and all lights. The reason to go dark is that visibility can get so bad in a dust storm, that other cars or trucks might think your tail lights are in the middle of the road when you’re actually on the shoulder! Pile-ups in these parts do happen, much like those chain car accidents in fog or snowy conditions in Wisconsin.
We did see what appeared to be a cloud of material off in the distance but we never actually encountered it. Thankfully, there was low traffic volume and perfect visibility all the way through until we reached civilization.
A more immediate concern was our battery power. It was quite windy with the desert sun bearing down, meaning the car had to use more energy to keep us going and comfortable. You can monitor your battery depletion and adjust some factors accordingly if necessary so you are less likely to run out of juice. Out of caution, we reduced our speed from 75 MPH to 65 MPH, and increased the cabin temperature to 78 from 73. When we arrived at the next supercharger, we had only 14% battery left, which is low. Typically, it’s best not to go below 20%.
The other issue is that many new cars, e cars and gas alike, no longer come with a spare tire. Such is the case with ours. I had daymares of getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, with limited water in very harsh and hot conditions. We have AAA but how long would it take for the cavalry to rescue us? Luckily, no such emergency occurred.
But that doesn’t mean the trip was tension-free. We took another route home by going through Santa Fe, taking the historic Santa Fe Trail for hundreds of miles. It was established 200 years ago for trade between Mexico and the U.S. and for Pony Express mail delivery. The 2-lane highway is in excellent condition but it cuts through barren lands with almost no traffic, villages or any sign of life. I dreaded the thought of breaking down here or getting a flat tire. In some parts, there was no cell service! That was unnerving and I’d never do it again without at least having a spare tire.
Being an ambassador
Other than these concerns, driving an electric car is a real pleasure, especially since it makes you an ambassador for the technology. It’s actually fun to field questions from curious people. We became comfortable with it because a friend shared his vast experience with all things electric and solar. Now it’s our turn to do the same for others. And there’s plenty of opportunity for that. Electric cars draw attention, as they are distinctive and rather Jetsonian.
While charging in New Mexico, a retired guy wearing a cowboy hat called out from his hay-filled pickup. “Is that one of those electric cars?” That turned into a 15-minute conversation about how they work and a chance to interact with an interesting local. We soon heard about bears, bobcats and big horn sheep found in the area.
While exiting a gas station that had chargers, a woman passing in another car called out of her window, “What is that?”
“It’s a Tesla--all electric,” my wife replied.
“Cool,” she says. “I thought it was something like that.”
Destination
Once we arrived at our in-laws’ home in southern Arizona, we plugged into their electrical outlet designed for charging their motor home and its appliances, etc. But it took about 20 hours to reach an 80% charge! Since they live in a mountainous area without supercharger access, my wife’s parents took over driving for all of our activities. In bigger cities, charging is easy and fast, and with our home system set up by an electrician for $500, it takes only 4-5 hours to fully charge our car. We typically do that over night when electricity costs the least.
Having our black car sit idle in the Arizona sun convinced us to lower the windows to promote airflow. But it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. Tesla offers free downloaded upgrades via WIFI and one of those updates instructs the car to automatically raise the windows upon exit. Nice feature, normally. I called Tesla regarding how to disengage that but 2 reps were unable to figure it out. That’s why it’s wise to belong to the Tesla Owners Facebook group. I posted my dilemma and within a short time a fellow owner showed me exactly how to find the toggle on our monitor to switch off that feature.
These are rolling computers, so it’s no different than learning a new feature on your desktop or laptop.
Aside from matters peculiar to e-cars, traveling during a pandemic was not so unusual. Restaurants were open, but we dined indoors only a couple of times, as the weather was ideal. Stores welcomed shoppers. Hotels received guests. We encountered masked people almost everywhere we went so travelers and residents alike generally were taking the pandemic seriously. In the Old Town section of Albuquerque, replete with shops, almost everybody milling around outside wore masks.
Staying with vaccinated relatives also gave us a measure of confidence as we re-engaged with the world after a long hiatus at home in Madison. Our electric car led us out of the doldrums.
E-cars are the future but they’re also the present. They are clean, reliable and require almost no maintenance. They are available right now. Best of all, they’re getting more affordable with longer battery range.
If you’re like most, once you make the electronic transition, you’ll never buy another gas car. Our trip West sealed the deal for us.
