A 'can of gas' in the bed of the CT (or the kW equivalent)...

[Kyril]

Had my Beast for only a month and already ran very low on juice two times. I'm a older baby-boomer that's ignorant of all things electical (but hey I'm good at other things!). Anyway, I'm nervous about taking a trip cross country. I'm trying to 'buy some insurance' in case I don't quite make it to a charging station. Looks like the Eco-Flow may be it? https://www.ecoflow.com/us/delta-pro-3-portable-power-station

Even if I never bought the solar panels, it looks like I can fill one up at a supercharger and take it with me as my emergency 'can of gas'. What say you?

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[MetalBonsai]

Congrats on the Beast!

I haven't gone cross country yet, but I've done a few long trips (between 3 and 8 hours). Tesla does a great job of telling you when and where you need to stop at super chargers on long trips and the US is full of them. I've been driving EVs for about 2.5 years and have never felt the need to carry a backup battery for long trips, for what is worth. I'd drive from Seattle to New York with confidence, but I'm sure you'll hear from others who have actually done cross country.

You can use this site to help plan your trip around charging.
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

I've also never had to worry about charging while doing daily driving around town as I'm set up with a wall charger at home. Always be charging to 80!

 

[CyberGus]

Had my Beast for only a month and already ran very low on juice two times. I'm a older baby-boomer that's ignorant of all things electical (but hey I'm good at other things!). Anyway, I'm nervous about taking a trip cross country. I'm trying to 'buy some insurance' in case I don't quite make it to a charging station. Looks like the Eco-Flow may be it? https://www.ecoflow.com/us/delta-pro-3-portable-power-station

Even if I never bought the solar panels, it looks like I can fill one up at a supercharger and take it with me as my emergency 'can of gas'. What say you?

If you’re flirting with 0% then the 4kWh unit will get you ~10 miles, enough to get you stranded somewhere nicer lol. It will also take an hour to get that charge, and you can’t drive while charging.

I would absolutely get something like the Ecoflow for boondocking, but for most journeys there are ample charge opportunities.

 

[Kyril]

Congrats on the Beast!

I haven't gone cross country yet, but I've done a few long trips (between 3 and 8 hours). Tesla does a great job of telling you when and where you need to stop at super chargers on long trips and the US is full of them. I've been driving EVs for about 2.5 years and have never felt the need to carry a backup battery for long trips, for what is worth. I'd drive from Seattle to New York with confidence, but I'm sure you'll hear from others who have actually done cross country.

You can use this site to help plan your trip around charging.
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

I've also never had to worry about charging while doing daily driving around town as I'm set up with a wall charger at home. Always be charging to 80!

Thanks man! great to hear. I understand we should only charge to 80%, but isn't it ok to go to 100% a few times a year when on long trips?

 

[VAF84]

I don't have a CT, but I had an extended range Lightning with "320" miles of range. The CT is more efficient, has better range even though both have the same advertised amount, and has the best charging infrastructure access by having the option to double the charging Tesla charging stations than the other manufacturers. You will be fine as long as you plan, and carry an adapter to use non-Tesla chargers as a backup. I had my Lightning before Tesla charger access and drove in across rural areas and survived. Again, with proper planning you will be fine in most cases.

 

[Kyril]

If you’re flirting with 0% then the 4kWh unit will get you ~10 miles, enough to get you stranded somewhere nicer lol. It will also take an hour to get that charge, and you can’t drive while charging.

I would absolutely get something like the Ecoflow for boondocking, but for most journeys there are ample charge opportunities.

thanks man!

 

[Kyril]

If you’re flirting with 0% then the 4kWh unit will get you ~10 miles, enough to get you stranded somewhere nicer lol. It will also take an hour to get that charge, and you can’t drive while charging.

I would absolutely get something like the Ecoflow for boondocking, but for most journeys there are ample charge opportunities.

Thanks for that man!

 

[VAF84]

Thanks man! great to hear. I understand we should only charge to 80%, but isn't it ok to go to 100% a few times a year when on long trips?

You can definitely charge to 100 as much as you need to. However, it usually doesn't make sense to do so after the first charge on a road trip due to the charging curve. You'd be wasting a lot of time. It's not recommend to do so full time if it's not necessary; you just don't want to do it every night when you're home.

 

[Kyril]

I don't have a CT, but I had an extended range Lightning with "320" miles of range. The CT is more efficient, has better range even though both have the same advertised amount, and has the best charging infrastructure access by having the option to double the charging Tesla charging stations than the other manufacturers. You will be fine as long as you plan, and carry an adapter to use non-Tesla chargers as a backup. I had my Lightning before Tesla charger access and drove in across rural areas and survived. Again, with proper planning you will be fine in most cases.

hey thanks for that!

 

[MetalBonsai]

Thanks man! great to hear. I understand we should only charge to 80%, but isn't it ok to go to 100% a few times a year when on long trips?

Oh yes totally. Planning a long trip, start off by charging to 100%. But you don't need to charge to 100% at every stop along the way. Depending on the vehicle and charger, going from 80% to 100% can take longer than going from 0 - 80% due to the falloff of the charging curve (insert science reason here). Only charge to 100% if you have spare time, like when you stop to eat, shop, hotel, camping.

 

[cardad]

Had my Beast for only a month and already ran very low on juice two times. I'm a older baby-boomer that's ignorant of all things electical (but hey I'm good at other things!). Anyway, I'm nervous about taking a trip cross country. I'm trying to 'buy some insurance' in case I don't quite make it to a charging station. Looks like the Eco-Flow may be it? https://www.ecoflow.com/us/delta-pro-3-portable-power-station

Even if I never bought the solar panels, it looks like I can fill one up at a supercharger and take it with me as my emergency 'can of gas'. What say you?

I’ve done a lot of cross country driving and seen the boomer at charging station phenomenon and you’re not alone ? and it’s not just boomers. I once saw a gen Z guy in a Harvard sweatshirt (and his wife or gf) with a rental EV very cluelessly trying to figure out whether to charge at a level 2 or level 3, downloading the app etc.

You’re better off seeking advice here before you head out into the wild blue yonder of charging but luckily with Tesla it’s pretty straightforward. You punch in your destination and get told what your arrival range will be and where and how long you need to charge along the way . No need to worry about charging above 80% as the main issue is optimizing for charge time and you will very rarely want to go above 80 because it is super slow once you hit about 70%. They call this the charge curve and when you’re out on the road you want to be charging from below 20% to about 70ish to optimize your time spent charging. Too much time charging above 70 will just lead to wasted time unless you aren’t in a hurry.

The navigation is pretty bad at optimizing and if you’re savvy you can skip a charge or get the timing down better. This is certainly not for amateurs ? but once you have a sense of the numbers game with EVs you’ll probably want to play around to save yourself time and maybe push the limits a bit. It’s totally different compared to gas because you can reliably go to less than 10 miles of range and not have the vehicle crap out unexpectedly.

in general the method I use to manually estimate range is (SOC expressed as percentage ie 0.50 x 123 (bat size) to get kWh remaining and then multiply that by some estimated efficiency (like 2.1 mi/kwh) to get my projected range. This works well if you know the route and your efficiency along the route which apps like Tessie and TezLab are useful for cataloging. I can then compare that to the distance to where I need to go to get a sense of whether it’s worth the risk to force the system to a different set of charging stops.

For longer trips I might charge to 97% (basically never to 100 since Tesla has no buffer that I know of) by the time I need to leave. Other manufacturers prevent you from charging to the actual 100% to prevent the damage that can occur when you leave the vehicle at a high state of charge. You can optimize for this by scheduling the charge to start at a certain time and also avoiding high state of charge on hot (>85+ F)) days.

Another key tool is the energy app in the vehicle. Taking a look at this during a drive will give you a sense of how the wind, weather, elevation, or driving style are affecting your projected range and you can see the live projection for your next destination.

Carrying around backup energy is pretty futile because charging from a portable battery is generally slow (>30 min or more if it’s a 120 V plug) and you get very little range. Lugging around 50 lb of energy that would only get you maybe 6 miles down the road generally isn’t worth the space that it takes up and the high cost unless you’re already using it for your camp setup or whatever. In general you’d be better off calling a tow truck. I have a few of these generators for camping with my gas off roaders and even if I had one I’m not sure it would help me get to the next charger faster than calling AAA.

Be sure to also check with the plugshare app as there are “bad” superchargers and when taking longer trips you may need to look ahead to avoid certain stations if they are slow, busy, broken, etc. There are also routes where superchargers do not exist so it helps to compare routes with a mapping app so you realize when the optimal route requires either an adapter or some added planning.

 

[Hunky Dory]

Your portable power station may work for your needs but here are some additional considerations.

For some trips a CCS adapter can be a great way to get through a no supercharger area. The Chargepoint, Plugshare and Electrify America apps can help find CCS fast charging stations along the way. The Tesla CCS adapter that is currently available is not compatible with the Cybertruck. I found and tested another brand that does work for me.

Another way to buy insurance is to get additional plugs and adapters for your mobile charger, if you have one. They come with the foundation series. I don't know if the non foundation cybertrucks come with a mobile charger. If you don't have one I would highly recommend getting one. It should come with NEMA 14-50 and 5-20 adapters. I also added 6-50, 10-50, 10-30, 14-30, L14-30 and TT-30 adapters. You can either buy the adapters for the mobile charger or, for instance a 6-50 to 14-50 adapter that the mobil charger will plug into the 14-50 side of. Those are cheaper than the Tesla branded adapters.

You can find RV parks, motels and other business on the above mentioned apps that will let you plug in for a fee or maybe even free. AC level 1 and 2 charging is not as fast as supercharging or CCS fast charging but it will get you on your way in a few hours.

Another way to carry your extra can of gas or propane literally, is a gas or dual fuel generator. You will need to test these solutions before you need them. I have two generators both dual fuel. one is a 4500 watt. It has a bonded neutral ground and works great with the mobil charger and the L14-30 plug adapter. I can get 10 amps at 240V or about 4 miles of range per hour.

My other generator is a 7500 watt. The Cybertruck gave me an "insufficient ground " message when I tried to charge from it. I hope to get about 20 amps at 240v once i get it working. That generator has a floating neutral so I am researching the best way to modify that. Options are a modification to the generator grounding or a neutral bonding plug or adapter. If you are not familiar with grounding and neutral bonding I would highly recommend hiring an electrician if you go this route.

I hope that helps.

 

[Kyril]

Oh yes totally. Planning a long trip, start off by charging to 100%. But you don't need to charge to 100% at every stop along the way. Depending on the vehicle and charger, going from 80% to 100% can take longer than going from 0 - 80% due to the falloff of the charging curve (insert science reason here). Only charge to 100% if you have spare time, like when you stop to eat, shop, hotel, camping.

Man, thats good news! I was told that charging to 100% was actually bad for the battery life overall. I have solar panels on my house, so I pretty much can charg for free, so why wouldn't I keep it at 100% if I want to? thanks again!

 

[Kyril]

I’ve done a lot of cross country driving and seen the boomer at charging station phenomenon and you’re not alone ? and it’s not just boomers. I once saw a gen Z guy in a Harvard sweatshirt (and his wife or gf) with a rental EV very cluelessly trying to figure out whether to charge at a level 2 or level 3, downloading the app etc.

You’re better off seeking advice here before you head out into the wild blue yonder of charging but luckily with Tesla it’s pretty straightforward. You punch in your destination and get told what your arrival range will be and where and how long you need to charge along the way . No need to worry about charging above 80% as the main issue is optimizing for charge time and you will very rarely want to go above 80 because it is super slow once you hit about 70%. They call this the charge curve and when you’re out on the road you want to be charging from below 20% to about 70ish to optimize your time spent charging. Too much time charging above 70 will just lead to wasted time unless you aren’t in a hurry.

The navigation is pretty bad at optimizing and if you’re savvy you can skip a charge or get the timing down better. This is certainly not for amateurs ? but once you have a sense of the numbers game with EVs you’ll probably want to play around to save yourself time and maybe push the limits a bit. It’s totally different compared to gas because you can reliably go to less than 10 miles of range and not have the vehicle crap out unexpectedly.

in general the method I use to manually estimate range is (SOC expressed as percentage ie 0.50 x 123 (bat size) to get kWh remaining and then multiply that by some estimated efficiency (like 2.1 mi/kwh) to get my projected range. This works well if you know the route and your efficiency along the route which apps like Tessie and TezLab are useful for cataloging. I can then compare that to the distance to where I need to go to get a sense of whether it’s worth the risk to force the system to a different set of charging stops.

For longer trips I might charge to 97% (basically never to 100 since Tesla has no buffer that I know of) by the time I need to leave. Other manufacturers prevent you from charging to the actual 100% to prevent the damage that can occur when you leave the vehicle at a high state of charge. You can optimize for this by scheduling the charge to start at a certain time and also avoiding high state of charge on hot (>85+ F)) days.

Another key tool is the energy app in the vehicle. Taking a look at this during a drive will give you a sense of how the wind, weather, elevation, or driving style are affecting your projected range and you can see the live projection for your next destination.

Carrying around backup energy is pretty futile because charging from a portable battery is generally slow (>30 min or more if it’s a 120 V plug) and you get very little range. Lugging around 50 lb of energy that would only get you maybe 6 miles down the road generally isn’t worth the space that it takes up and the high cost unless you’re already using it for your camp setup or whatever. In general you’d be better off calling a tow truck. I have a few of these generators for camping with my gas off roaders and even if I had one I’m not sure it would help me get to the next charger faster than calling AAA.

Be sure to also check with the plugshare app as there are “bad” superchargers and when taking longer trips you may need to look ahead to avoid certain stations if they are slow, busy, broken, etc. There are also routes where superchargers do not exist so it helps to compare routes with a mapping app so you realize when the optimal route requires either an adapter or some added planning.

WOW... I very much appreciate this! You should write a 'top ten' list of charging does and don'ts for electric newbies like me.

 

[Kyril]

Your portable power station may work for your needs but here are some additional considerations.

For some trips a CCS adapter can be a great way to get through a no supercharger area. The Chargepoint, Plugshare and Electrify America apps can help find CCS fast charging stations along the way. The Tesla CCS adapter that is currently available is not compatible with the Cybertruck. I found and tested another brand that does work for me.

Another way to buy insurance is to get additional plugs and adapters for your mobile charger, if you have one. They come with the foundation series. I don't know if the non foundation cybertrucks come with a mobile charger. If you don't have one I would highly recommend getting one. It should come with NEMA 14-50 and 5-20 adapters. I also added 6-50, 10-50, 10-30, 14-30, L14-30 and TT-30 adapters. You can either buy the adapters for the mobile charger or, for instance a 6-50 to 14-50 adapter that the mobil charger will plug into the 14-50 side of. Those are cheaper than the Tesla branded adapters.

You can find RV parks, motels and other business on the above mentioned apps that will let you plug in for a fee or maybe even free. AC level 1 and 2 charging is not as fast as supercharging or CCS fast charging but it will get you on your way in a few hours.

Another way to carry your extra can of gas or propane literally, is a gas or dual fuel generator. You will need to test these solutions before you need them. I have two generators both dual fuel. one is a 4500 watt. It has a bonded neutral ground and works great with the mobil charger and the L14-30 plug adapter. I can get 10 amps at 240V or about 4 miles of range per hour.

My other generator is a 7500 watt. The Cybertruck gave me an "insufficient ground " message when I tried to charge from it. I hope to get about 20 amps at 240v once i get it working. That generator has a floating neutral so I am researching the best way to modify that. Options are a modification to the generator grounding or a neutral bonding plug or adapter. If you are not familiar with grounding and neutral bonding I would highly recommend hiring an electrician if you go this route.

I hope that helps.

Yes it does, thanks for the great help!

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