5 Tips for Planning a Long-Distance Drive in Your Tesla
A long-distance trip in your Tesla is bound to be a little different from a trip in a gas car. The world hasn't fully made the transition just yet, which means you have to plan a bit. The following are five tips to help make this long-distance trip as good as it should be.
1.Know Your Car
The first thing you want to do is learn more about your car. If you've been mostly driving around your community, you probably haven't looked into your limitations all that much. It's important to know how long your Tesla can drive before it needs to be powered up again. You need to know the exact miles it can go with each charge. You should also find out if there are any other limitations you need to worry about. Read your owner's manual carefully to find this out and whatever else you need to know.
2.Charging Up
The next thing you need to worry about is charging your vehicle. You have to make sure there's a place to charge your Tesla at each stop you make. On a regular long-distance trip, you don't have to plan out your stops so strategically. Your knowledge about your car's range should help ensure you stop in a place where you can recharge your vehicle. You'll be surprised how many of these stations are out there, including in National Parks.
3.Try to Drive Efficiently
You need to work on driving as efficiently as possible, and that means avoiding stops. Red lights and traffic could force you to sit idly in traffic in cities with notorious road congestion. This is not a good thing because it means you're burning energy without even driving towards your destination. What you want to do is find lonely highways, or try to drive in the carpool lane if you're driving with other people. The good thing is some areas allow you to drive in this lane even when you are alone because you're driving an electric vehicle. Find out beforehand so that you know when you can use the lane.
4.Download a Helpful App
Some apps help you find charging stations. If you plan things out well, you probably won't need this app, but you should still have it just in case. What if you hit traffic and your battery drains a little before your planned stop? In essence, you can do all the planning you want, but you can't predict the future. You'll want to have this app to help you out if you're in a bind. Try to read some reviews to make sure you're getting the best app possible. Test it out in your town or city for a bit before you go on your trip to see how accurate the app is.
5.Avoiding Additional Stress
If you put more pressure on your EV, then the battery won't last much as you might imagine. Sure, EV vehicles can do anything you need them to do, but hills or hauling heavy cargo can make them lose charge faster than normal. You may think this issue only affects EV cars, but that's not true. Even gas cars use up more gasoline to go up hills or when they're carrying heavy cargo. If you want to get the most out of this trip, be sure to avoid hills, travel light, and don't accelerate too often. Lastly, follow basic EV etiquette to avoid making other EV drivers’ lives more stressful than necessary.o these tips, and you should be able to get to your destination without hitting any obstacles. By the time it's done, you'll feel good because traveling in an EV is so much cheaper.