Best ways to prepare for a week in the heat?

[scottyah]

I've tried searching the forums, and mostly came up blank so let me know if you remember a good thread.

Basically, I'm going to go to Lake Powell in late August, and want to bring the CT. I'm worried about parking it in the heat for a week. I'm not really able to do any hot weather tests in San Diego so I'm hoping for some advice from my hot weather friends here.

1. Does anyone have experience with how much battery gets drained in 100+ degree heat per day (with Sentry off)?
2. How much does an external, whole-body cover (OEM or other) help?
3. How much does that AND covering inside of the windows with sunshades help?
4. Any tips for Page, AZ in general, other than pumping up to 100% in town before parking?
5. Has anyone else done this?

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[CT_AZ_4x4]

I've tried searching the forums, and mostly came up blank so let me know if you remember a good thread.

Basically, I'm going to go to Lake Powell in late August, and want to bring the CT. I'm worried about parking it in the heat for a week. I'm not really able to do any hot weather tests in San Diego so I'm hoping for some advice from my hot weather friends here.

1. Does anyone have experience with how much battery gets drained in 100+ degree heat per day (with Sentry off)?
2. How much does an external, whole-body cover (OEM or other) help?
3. How much does that AND covering inside of the windows with sunshades help?
4. Any tips for Page, AZ in general, other than pumping up to 100% in town before parking?
5. Has anyone else done this?

Hey, Scotty;

The Phoenix Valley where I live and work is typically 20-30 degrees hotter than Page in the summer. I drive my truck everyday in the heat and park it with climate control on in an uncovered lot in downtown Phoenix from about 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. This week I’ve been leaving my Cybergearco fridge running by leaving the front accessory feed running.

Because of climate control and sentry mode I (anecdotally) drop about 7 kilowatt hours from 7:30 to 3:30.

But I’ll take precise readings tomorrow and the rest of the week with sentry mode off.

Questions about an external cover might be answered by Hemiarch, another local forum member. I’ll ask him to get back to you on that.

I have the upper sun shields on the front windshield and even though they only cover a portion of the windshield I can notice a difference using them.

Page is awesome! People are friendly. The Marriot where the Supercharger is located is a nicer hotel. There are grocery stores in Page, and a Walmart.

Lake Powell has more shoreline than the entire western U.S. If you have a houseboat, make sure the CO2 monitors have good batteries and are operating. Consider buying one or two at the Walmart. Don’t just drop a metal anchor at night: try to tie off to a substantial rock or outcropping. The lake can get great big swells. There are floating toilets dispersed throughout the lake.

Be careful and have a great time! It will be AWESOME!

 

[hemiarch]

Yes. A cover makes a significant difference. Important to make sure the vent is well positioned over the mouth of the car so airflow isn’t impeded.
I have an aftermarket wrap that makes the car look a little like a big angular baked potato which I bought before Tesla offered one and it works well, but I have the Tesla cover for our model x and it’s a very high quality piece so I’d probably go oem if I had the choice again. You generally get what you pay for with these.

Then there is the question of cabin overheat protection. Intuitively you’d think this would be a primary driver of consumption in a hot climate and because of this I have repeatedly tried running it off, at 100F at 95F and at 90F but been unable to prove this affects drain AT ALL. I still don’t believe it because the physics don’t make sense but take that for what it’s worth. For now, my gut tells me not to recommend this to you but my practice is, it stays on. At 100F because I still trust my scientific reasoning more than my measurement methodology.

other advice, use common sense. Obviously turn sentry off. Leave the car as full as you can. Don’t turn your nose up at ANY available plug even if it’s just 120v trickle. See a spot just north of a tree, park there (remember why you point solar panels south) .
most importantly, don’t f$&k with the car remotely. I could be wrong but I think the reason sentry is so hungry is waking up the car and/or keeping it awake. Your goal is sleep mode for as much time as possible. I believe it wakes up when you start messing with it via app so just don’t.

 

[hemiarch]

Of course, I’m not even bringing the solar can of worms up because there are many great threads on that already

 

[Bobo_LaDouche]

I live in the desert. I keep sentry off, climate control off, and leave the windows cracked open. Put a sign on each door window that says "Smile, you are on camera."

 

[CT_AZ_4x4]

Of course, I’m not even bringing the solar can of worms up because there are many great threads on that already

Hahahaha

 

[scottyah]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. The ~"7 kilowatt hours from 7:30 to 3:30" kinda worries me so I'll do some sentry mode battery usage testing. So far it sounds douable with: an external cover, internal sunshades, no sentry mode, not opening the app to check (not much service on the lake anyway), and charging to 100% at the closest charger might get me through the week.

For peace of mind, I'll see if I can get the marina to let my plug in to 110, or if they offer covered parking. I might try to hit up the boat workshop near Antelope Point and slip 'em a $100 to store it in a corner of their workshop with a 110 trickle

 

[hemiarch]

Absolutely sounds like a solid plan to me. Food for thought, if you are going to use the external cover there is no point in carrying the internal shades unless you’re going to use those partially during the day.

 

[scottyah]

Absolutely sounds like a solid plan to me. Food for thought, if you are going to use the external cover there is no point in carrying the internal shades unless you’re going to use those partially during the day.

Do you think the external cover is enough to block all the UV (and other parts of the spectrum) enough that it's not worth it at all? I have no experience with a car cover so I was picturing some kind of fabric that would do a decent but not great job.

There's no 'partially during the day' here, it'll be sitting alone for a week and I won't be able to check back on it unless there's some emergency.

 

[hemiarch]

Do you think the external cover is enough to block all the UV (and other parts of the spectrum) enough that it's not worth it at all? I have no experience with a car cover so I was picturing some kind of fabric that would do a decent but not great job.

There's no 'partially during the day' here, it'll be sitting alone for a week and I won't be able to check back on it unless there's some emergency.

It’s pitch black inside my car if I have a quality cover on. I infer from this that it blocks out at least all visible frequencies. My tint probably takes care of the rest.?‍

 

[scottyah]

It’s pitch black inside my car if I have a quality cover on. I infer from this that it blocks out at least all visible frequencies. My tint probably takes care of the rest.?‍

oh awesome!

 

[Outdoors]

Put a big Yeti and all the stuff ya need in a walk in freezer for a day or so. Use that for 10 day raft trips in the west and in south america.

 

[CT_AZ_4x4]

Do you think the external cover is enough to block all the UV (and other parts of the spectrum) enough that it's not worth it at all? I have no experience with a car cover so I was picturing some kind of fabric that would do a decent but not great job.

There's no 'partially during the day' here, it'll be sitting alone for a week and I won't be able to check back on it unless there's some emergency.

Downtown Phoenix today I parked uncovered turned off sentry mode and turned off the 48 volt accessory feed and left climate control running at 100 degrees, and in almost 4 hours I dropped 12 miles of range. So that would calculate to about 4 kilowatt hours of energy in about 4 hours.

If you could leave climate control off, and vent your windows, that would improve the electron drain.

If there is no access to a 110 volt plug you might think of putting a solar generator in your truck’s bed and drop your truck’s charging amps down to 5 amps. You could then chain some portable solar panels to the top of your truck’s roof and tonneau cover and plug those into your solar generator.

Then plug your mobile connector into your truck.

I’m interested to know how you go about this. Have a great trip! Page is wonderful.

 

[scottyah]

Downtown Phoenix today I parked uncovered turned off sentry mode and turned off the 48 volt accessory feed and left climate control running at 100 degrees, and in almost 4 hours I dropped 12 miles of range. So that would calculate to about 4 kilowatt hours of energy in about 4 hours.

If you could leave climate control off, and vent your windows, that would improve the electron drain.

If there is no access to a 110 volt plug you might think of putting a solar generator in your truck’s bed and drop your truck’s charging amps down to 5 amps. You could then chain some portable solar panels to the top of your truck’s roof and tonneau cover and plug those into your solar generator.

Then plug your mobile connector into your truck.

I’m interested to know how you go about this. Have a great trip! Page is wonderful.

Thank you for running that test for me.

I am getting more interested in some sort of solar setup, but I figure by the time I get something it will have been cheaper to pay for an RV site nearby and plug in for the week . But where's the fun in that?

 

[hemiarch]

Ecoflow delta 2 max and two allpowers 600w panels is my Goldilocks spot after lots
of buying and experimenting but have a good time in that rabbit hole. Byeee….

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