Seattle to Dallas

[AliRafiee]

I’m thinking of taking a short drive from Seattle WA to Dallas TX via Butte MT, Salt Lake City, Denver.

But I’m having second thoughts.
Change my mind.

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[silverelan]

In July? Sounds like fun! In January? Sounds stressful!

 

[Colorado MME GT]

The charging infrastructure is out there, but you do have to do some serious pre-planning in some areas in the west, especially in Montana. and western Texas. The drive from SLC to Denver is long, but it is well supported by chargers, both on the I-80 to I-25 route or I-15 to HWY 6 to I-70. 22 stops seems like overkill. What were your parameters for minimum charge and average speed or miles/kWh? Which charging networks did you program in? Map it out in ABRP and play with the parameters.

If you're not comfortable with the trip logistics, then you probably shouldn't drive. I like an adventure, so I've gone on several long-distance drives with no issues. My only adaptation is that charging adds about 10-15% to the driving day, so don't push for a 12-hour day; it turns into a 14-hour day quickly.

 

[dan_meh]

Leave now before the atmospheric rivers get you.

 

[PapaMache]

I’m thinking of taking a short drive from Seattle WA to Dallas TX via Butte MT, Salt Lake City, Denver.

But I’m having second thoughts.
Change my mind.

I did Albany to Austin! If you aren’t in a hurry it’s not bad at all.

 

[AliRafiee]

The charging infrastructure is out there, but you do have to do some serious pre-planning in some areas in the west, especially in Montana. and western Texas. The drive from SLC to Denver is long, but it is well supported by chargers, both on the I-80 to I-25 route or I-15 to HWY 6 to I-70. 22 stops seems like overkill. What were your parameters for minimum charge and average speed or miles/kWh? Which charging networks did you program in? Map it out in ABRP and play with the parameters.

If you're not comfortable with the trip logistics, then you probably shouldn't drive. I like an adventure, so I've gone on several long-distance drives with no issues. My only adaptation is that charging adds about 10-15% to the driving day, so don't push for a 12-hour day; it turns into a 14-hour day quickly.

I just put it Apple Maps to get an idea.
I hope 20 stops is overkill, that will be a stop every 100 miles on avg.
It seemed that a 2 day drive will go closer to 4 days.
I love road trips, and I told my brother not to expect me on a specific day since I’ll likely get distracted sight seeing.

But I’m wondering how tired I’ll be after day 2. And then thinking about doing the same drive in the opposite direction a week later. Maybe I can go the south route and stop over in Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco.

The reason I’m thinking about driving rather than flying is to unplug for a bit.

 

[Colorado MME GT]

It's all workable. Download some podcasts (cell coverage can still be sketchy in some locations), set up some cool playlists, and/or program in something fun on SiriusXM. If you don't have BlueCruise, consider subscribing for the duration of the trip. It helps a lot with driving fatigue.

 

[AliRafiee]

It's all workable. Download some podcasts (cell coverage can still be sketchy in some locations), set up some cool playlists, and/or program in something fun on SiriusXM. If you don't have BlueCruise, consider subscribing for the duration of the trip. It helps a lot with driving fatigue.

I’m hooked on blue cruise. Can’t live without it.

 

[AliRafiee]

@Colorado MME GT
ABRP says the same thing.

Fastest

Least stops

 

[Ahlarict]

I just put it Apple Maps to get an idea.
I hope 20 stops is overkill, that will be a stop every 100 miles on avg.
It seemed that a 2 day drive will go closer to 4 days.
I love road trips, and I told my brother not to expect me on a specific day since I’ll likely get distracted sight seeing.

But I’m wondering how tired I’ll be after day 2. And then thinking about doing the same drive in the opposite direction a week later. Maybe I can go the south route and stop over in Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco.

The reason I’m thinking about driving rather than flying is to unplug for a bit.

A friend of mine has made three trips coast to coast in his Rivian (with one of those routes being pretty close to a circumnavigation of the USA). He's looking for an excuse to take his fourth. I'd say go for it!

 

[Colorado MME GT]

@Colorado MME GT
ABRP says the same thing.

Fastest

Least stops

Download the route in either app to see how long each charge time is. I suspect that there are a couple of stops that are "10 minutes - add 20%" just to be safe. Good for pee breaks. This inflates the number. Google Maps shows a different route going to Yakima and Boise, then to SLC, but it seems to be a lot shorter in drive time. I would avoid Montana due to its lack of chargers. For me, the route is usually dependent on where I can stay in driving blocks of 8-10 hours each. Where are the decent hotels and interesting restaurants.

 

[Tampamike]

Sounds like fun. I’m sure you can find some things along the way that you haven't seen before.

 

[AliRafiee]

Download the route in either app to see how long each charge time is. I suspect that there are a couple of stops that are "10 minutes - add 20%" just to be safe. Good for pee breaks. This inflates the number. Google Maps shows a different route going to Yakima and Boise, then to SLC, but it seems to be a lot shorter in drive time. I would avoid Montana due to its lack of chargers. For me, the route is usually dependent on where I can stay in driving blocks of 8-10 hours each. Where are the decent hotels and interesting restaurants.

I added Montana just to avoid too much boring desert driving. The Yakima and Boise route isn’t that much shorter. I have to look closer at the available chargers in ID and MT.

 

[Colorado MME GT]

I hear ya. Going east from Denver means lots of eastern Colorado, followed by a choice of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma or the Texas panhandle. Makes me wish we had Tesla FSD so I could nap.

Have a good trip!

 

[RobbH]

When I did my first cross-country trip in mid 2022 (NM->NC) I was a bit worried so I brought my Ford EVSE and even bought a Tesla tap for hotels. I didn’t need any of them but knowing that at the very least I could hit an RV park and charge level 2 was worth the peace of mind. The infrastructure has improved two to three fold since then. West Texas does look pretty sparse compared to other states but with a bit of pre-planning it is very doable.

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