Range extender how useful is it really?? cost vs time savings..... Definitely not worth it to most

[KrennPowerSports]

I started thinking about just getting the extender. I use the truck as a daily driver 100 miles per day. I can plug in at work and home so that's not an issue. The issue is, I take long trips about 5-6/yr that are usually 1000-1200 miles each way. I was looking at the charging for a model 3 and charging times/locations for a trip i normally take. It takes about an extra 4hrs of time vs a gas car. I LIKE stopping every 100-120 miles on a road trip... AND i'll be towing a low profile trailer that's not more than 2500lbs loaded (jetskis). So, I will have to stop every 100-120 miles anyway to charge. This is where I was thinking the extender could come in handy, but How useful would only 40 more miles be? and it would seriously only be useful on the very first leg of the trip or over-night.... The truck will only charge so fast so the extender will take even even more time now per stop, but less stops.. So when I break it down, the extender would cost me $670 for every hour I save charging on trips over a 5 year period... I'll gladly pay myself $670/hr to wait.... My math is based on it being useful at 1/3 of its capacity because of the trailer, and only the first leg of the trip each way. Doesn't seem worth it unless you are in a area where you can't get to a charger, or you want it just for peace of mind.... just my 2 cents...

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[Treynor]

So, you share Two Cents of info with us but pay yourself $670 per hr? Ha! Dad joke observation.

Seriously, I thought about getting the range extender only because I would be towing a little more weight than your JetSki’s.

I would rather get to my construction project with all of my tools in one trip, even if I am passing a supercharger.

But I guess whenever it comes time for me to actually write that check, I might be in the same situation you are.

I may just stop at the supercharger if needed while another crew guy, or two are on the clock.

I guess the same rules apply to hauling a heavy RV camper.

 

[Fleetwood75]

When it comes to towing think about the availability of pull-through chargers. If you have to unhook your trailer to use a back-in stall then stopping to charge every 120 miles (2 hours?) is going to get old real quick...

 

[Woodrick]

I started thinking about just getting the extender. I use the truck as a daily driver 100 miles per day. I can plug in at work and home so that's not an issue. The issue is, I take long trips about 5-6/yr that are usually 1000-1200 miles each way. I was looking at the charging for a model 3 and charging times/locations for a trip i normally take. It takes about an extra 4hrs of time vs a gas car. I LIKE stopping every 100-120 miles on a road trip... AND i'll be towing a low profile trailer that's not more than 2500lbs loaded (jetskis). So, I will have to stop every 100-120 miles anyway to charge. This is where I was thinking the extender could come in handy, but How useful would only 40 more miles be? and it would seriously only be useful on the very first leg of the trip or over-night.... The truck will only charge so fast so the extender will take even even more time now per stop, but less stops.. So when I break it down, the extender would cost me $670 for every hour I save charging on trips over a 5 year period... I'll gladly pay myself $670/hr to wait.... My math is based on it being useful at 1/3 of its capacity because of the trailer, and only the first leg of the trip each way. Doesn't seem worth it unless you are in a area where you can't get to a charger, or you want it just for peace of mind.... just my 2 cents...

The trailer is the great unknown. but assuming that the trailer is not made of solid materials that block the wind flow, it shouldn't make a huge impact.

There's definitely ways to make the charging take less than 4 additional hours, and there's numerous ways to make it to minimally impact your trip. We just finished 2500 miles in December and there was very little time that we spent just charging.

The first hint is to combine charging with stretch breaks, bio breaks, and meals. In many instance, it will take you longer to eat than charge. With idle charges, you may have to take a brake to move the car off of the charger!

The biggest secret to charging is to stay on the good side of the battery, and it may take learning to trust the car and the Tesla Supercharger network as you optimize the practice.

Basically, the more charge that the battery has, the slower it charges. Charging from 80%-100% takes about as long as 0% to 80% So suggest that you ask yourself, "why would I want to charge that high?"

And 0%-20% only takes about 5 minutes. 20%-50% is more like 15 minutes and 50-80% about 20 minutes. (Note, these are number for the Tesla vehicles with ~75kWh batteries, the Cybertruck is going to be a little slower with 123kWh)

So, the lower you come into charge, the faster you can charge. I generally use about 150 miles between Supercharger stops, and try to arrive with as low of a battery as I feel comfortable with and then adding enough to get me to the next Supercharger with the amount of buffer that I feel comfortable with.

So my Supercharging is about every 100 miles and I only stop for about 20 minutes. That's right at every 2 hours and time to take a break. So that "stop" is one that I would be taking anyway, so that I'm not stopping to charge, I'm taking a break.

And when travelling, I'm going about 77 on the Interstates. and have plenty of range. Except for towing, there is little need for the battery extender.

I towed my boat to Florida a year ago with my Model Y. I ended up getting a range of about 75 miles. I just stopped at the Superchargers every 50 miles and while a little slower trip, it was easily done.

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

A big factor is where you live; how cold it gets and how many superchargers there are. It gets cold where I am, and there are no superchargers between my house and my parents. Thus, to get rid of my gas car I pretty much need a vehicle with 400+ miles of range. If winter wasn't much of an issue and there were about 5 more superchargers in my region, I could get away with less range.

 

[stangfish]

I will definitely get it. There are very few superchargers on the shortest path where I regularly travel so I either spend an extra 5 hours taking the long way around in my Model Y or borrow an ice vehicle. The shortest path is also much more enjoyable as it has zero traffic.

For me there is a big bonus. I had 50 power outages in 2023 (not a misprint) and one of them lasted an entire week. The two Powerwalls I have lasted barely two days and there was no sun to recharge from the solar panels. Long outages like that happen at least once a year in the mountains where I live. So for me the biggest reason to own a Cybertruck is the Powershare capability. I wouldn't have bought it if not for that.

 

[Woodrick]

A big factor is where you live; how cold it gets and how many superchargers there are. It gets cold where I am, and there are no superchargers between my house and my parents. Thus, to get rid of my gas car I pretty much need a vehicle with 400+ miles of range. If winter wasn't much of an issue and there were about 5 more superchargers in my region, I could get away with less range.

No CCS chargers along the way? (or CHAdeMO for the Model 3)?

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

No CCS chargers along the way? (or CHAdeMO for the Model 3)?

Very few, slow, and broken about 50% of the time without warning. Tesla has two spots on their supercharging voting along the highway and I'm sure both will be built eventually but so far no progress. One was supposed to be built a year or two ago but then nothing, and back in the voting queue.

 

[Woodrick]

Very few, slow, and broken about 50% of the time without warning. Tesla has two spots on their supercharging voting along the highway and I'm sure both will be built eventually but so far no progress. One was supposed to be built a year or two ago but then nothing, and back in the voting queue.

In Canada, many rely on the CCS chargers. They seem to be better built out than Superchargers. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

I will definitely get it. There are very few superchargers on the shortest path where I regularly travel so I either spend an extra 5 hours taking the long way around in my Model Y or borrow an ice vehicle. The shortest path is also much more enjoyable as it has zero traffic.

For me there is a big bonus. I had 50 power outages in 2023 (not a misprint) and one of them lasted an entire week. The two Powerwalls I have lasted barely two days and there was no sun to recharge from the solar panels. Long outages like that happen at least once a year in the mountains where I live. So for me the biggest reason to own a Cybertruck is the Powershare capability. I wouldn't have bought it if not for that.

Big for me too. I was planning on getting 4 powerwalls to power my home and business but now one $16k Range Extender will save 10s of thousands. Probably just get one for the home to cover blips in the grid

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

In Canada, many rely on the CCS chargers. They seem to be better built out than Superchargers. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

I don't know anyone with a Tesla that uses the CCS chargers. They are far, far inferior in quality and dependability.

 

[Woodrick]

I don't know anyone with a Tesla that uses the CCS chargers. They are far, far inferior in quality and dependability.

Then you don't know many Tesla owners. In some other forums there's commonly a thread about PEI and some of the other nearby "island" that don't have Superchargers, only CCS.
I'm in an area where my nearest Supercharger was 30 miles south and I had a couple of CCS closer to me (I now have a Supercharger as of last month)

It's not common, but there are areas in which CCS can help get you there.

 

[RayzorBEV]

To each their own. All I can say is that it's great Tesla offers this option for those that needs it. I am just happy to have a Cyberbeast ?

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

Then you don't know many Tesla owners. In some other forums there's commonly a thread about PEI and some of the other nearby "island" that don't have Superchargers, only CCS.
I'm in an area where my nearest Supercharger was 30 miles south and I had a couple of CCS closer to me (I now have a Supercharger as of last month)

It's not common, but there are areas in which CCS can help get you there.

Sorry, but you don't know what you're talking about. PEI has the best Supercharger in my region. V3.

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