LA to San Jose on a single charge

Aggie-EVrookie

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Lucid Air GT
Planning a trip from LA to the Bay Area in a GT with 20 inch wheels. What kind of range should I expect in a new car(1500 miles)? Has anyone been able to get all the way to Gilroy without having to charge in between? Any recommendations on charging stops.
 
You can do it if you set your speed to 70. But I drive 82 and charge once in kettleman while eating tacos, so win win.
 
Is Kettleman fairly reliable?
Has been Everytime I've gone there.

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We had great burritos at Mi Ranchito Taqueria, a hole-in-the-wall market a bit down the side road from Chalio's:
 
Planning a trip from LA to the Bay Area in a GT with 20 inch wheels. What kind of range should I expect in a new car(1500 miles)? Has anyone been able to get all the way to Gilroy without having to charge in between? Any recommendations on charging stops.
Like everyone said, why bother with non stop. You still need to take a bio break and stretch your leg.

We went from Tri-valley Bay Area down to Highland in November. We made a 30 minutes stop at Kettleman City for a quick charge and for lunch. EA at Kettleman City is fairly reliable and it has 10 stalls.
 
I have heard the Kettelman EA station can get very, very congested. This picture was from a few weeks ago. (I didn't take the picture.)

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Yes, it you have to travel at peak times, then drive slower and do it so you don't have to charge. I'm the crazy guy who leaves at 6 am so I roll into the station at 9am and there are 6 stalls open.
 
Planning a trip from LA to the Bay Area in a GT with 20 inch wheels. What kind of range should I expect in a new car(1500 miles)? Has anyone been able to get all the way to Gilroy without having to charge in between? Any recommendations on charging stops.
I have taken that route (OC to SJ) few times over the past 2 years. You will need 2 stops, IF you want to have some juice left over to drive around when you get to SJ.
 
I have heard the Kettelman EA station can get very, very congested. This picture was from a few weeks ago. (I didn't take the picture.)
It came from:


30 cars were waiting for the 10-stall EA station, but 3 were down after Thanksgiving on Saturday, 11/25/2023.

CCS chargers need to size up for holidays. 7 working CCS chargers are not adequate.
 
Like everyone said, why bother with non stop. You still need to take a bio break and stretch your leg.
In 2014, I was able to make the trip with two stops, one at Harris Ranch and one at Tejon Ranch. Tesla had spaced the chargers about 1/3 and 2/3 along that route, making it impossible to charge at one and have enough range for the rest of the trip. However, stopping to eat at Harris Ranch, leaving when I finished eating, and charging while taking a rest stop at Tejon Ranch meant getting the message "you have enough range to continue your trip" before my wife got back from the restroom. But it meant arriving with a relatively low state of charge, meaning needing a full charge if I wanted to make the return trip as fast.

With my wife's Model 3, stopping at Kettleman City meant getting the "you have enough range..." message by the time I was handed a menu in a restaurant. The trip itself wasn't any faster because it took as long to eat and use the restroom, but I arrived with more range.

I planned to take that trip in the Lucid but ending up doing it in the Model 3 because my daughter's car got totaled so I drove down there to give her the Model 3. Had I taken the Lucid, I would have been interested in whether I could have done it nonstop, but not because I would have done it nonstop. I still need to eat, and eating after the trip does not change the total driving plus eating time. It's an illusion if you think it's quicker, unless the goal of the trip is to have a meal at a specific place at the end of the trip. But if the Lucid can do it nonstop, it would mean being able to eat anywhere I want whether it's near a charging station or not. I'd still stop for a rest stop, and the advantage there is that I'm less picky about what restroom I use than I am about where I eat, so finding one where I can make a 15 minute stop should be fine. But if I have to use a restroom where there's no charging, a broken charger, a long wait, etc. I'd still like to know whether or not I could make it.

Ideally, I'd like to be able to make the trip without needing a charge, go to a hotel with L2 charging, and not have to worry about charging on the road at all, but charge if it's convenient. That would give me the most flexibility. And I'd prefer to spend a bit more time taking 101 than 5, since the latter is a more boring drive. But 101 has surprisingly few good choices for charging, while It's pretty good for finding Tesla Superchargers.

I think that it's great advice to tell people to stop no matter what. I've made that trip nonstop before when I was younger, arrived tired and with a headache, and still ended up spending enough time in a restaurant when I got there that by the time I finished eating it was just as late as it would have been had I stopped for a meal on the way. But I'd also like to focus on the initial question and know about real life experiences on a single charge, not exceeding the speed limit by more than 5 mph. I have a GT with 19 inch wheels.
 
I was in such line on Thanksgiving weekend at Kettleman City EA.
It came from:


30 cars were waiting for the 10-stall EA station, but 3 were down after Thanksgiving on Saturday, 11/25/2023.

CCS chargers need to size up for holidays. 7 working CCS chargers are not adequate.

It's definitely going to be a problem on holiday weekends unless companies step up their games. Around 2016 or 2017, Tesla had the same issue at Tejon Ranch with six chargers and a line that lasted for hours. Now they have 95 chargers at Kettleman City and 100 at Tejon Ranch. In each case it's split between two nearby locations. Unfortunately, Tesla won't be of any help unless they start rolling out V4 chargers. Which is another reason why I'd want to be able to make that trip without having to charge on the road.
 
It's definitely going to be a problem on holiday weekends unless companies step up their games. Around 2016 or 2017, Tesla had the same issue at Tejon Ranch with six chargers and a line that lasted for hours. Now they have 95 chargers at Kettleman City and 100 at Tejon Ranch. In each case it's split between two nearby locations. Unfortunately, Tesla won't be of any help unless they start rolling out V4 chargers. Which is another reason why I'd want to be able to make that trip without having to charge on the road.
Yeah holidays are going to remain a problem for a while. I’m going to have to treat longer holiday road trips like I do holiday air travel: No effin’ way.

My family has gotten used to me missing basically every major holiday and just coming in at random spring and fall intervals. Makes everyone’s life easier.
 
There are multiple EA locations to stop for a charge on 101. You know about the Gilroy Outlets. When I go South I usually stop in Paso Robles (lots of good eating within a short walk), or the Pismo Outlets if Paso Robles is full (check the EA App). Ventura Mall is also good. And there is a station in Oxnard. There are others but those are the ones I usually stop at and I don't go any further South.
 
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