Tesla Model Y 1000 Mile Blizzard Beast Mode Road Trip - The Long Way... (Colorado to Iowa)

[@Deetroiter]

Growing up in the Great Lakes region, I LOVE going out driving in blizzards, heavy rains, etc. There's just something adventurous and thrilling about going out for a slow speed drive with nobody around, just experiencing raw nature within the confines of the warmth and safety of a modern vehicle.

[@iowatesla]

Wow. I'm pretty sure you are in the minority on that topic. Thanks for watching!

[@sheabrown]

I'm with you. I feel the same way about driving in storms

[@chowner]

It's fun when you are close to home. Not when you have to travel distances

[@trex2092]

Yea, it's fun till it AIN"t. Have fun digging it out or calling a wrecker and make someone else join your little party.

[@WestFortJacoby]

Same! I love driving in storms. The urgency of it keeps me in the moment and I find that comforting.

[@tjjensen173]

Just a note for future trips. If you’re charging in Limon, all the empty chargers across from where you charged are V3. The ones you plugged into closest to the Arby’s building are V2.

[@iowatesla]

Yea. I got lots of feedback on X during the trip. Given the snow, that wasn't apparent. Also, my battery temp and state of charge wouldn't let me take advantage of the V3 anyway. Thanks!

[@austina4189]

​@@iowateslathin cable means v3. The thicker cable is v2. Once you notice the difference once, you'll be able to spot it as you drive up to stall. Also, the tesla nav will show 250kW or 150kW when navigating there. 250kW is v3

[@Geckogold]

@@iowatesla An easier way to tell a V3 from a V2/V1 is that aside from the thinner cable, the V1/V2 have silver rings around the connector.

[@kenhiett5266]

I love terrible weather and challenging road conditions. Even as a kid, I used to love running into a nasty storm in our boat. Especially when we go to this huge lake in a desolate area of our state. There's something about mixing adrenaline and adventure that's addicting. It's why I can relate to the people who risk it all during 2 month expeditions in the Karakoram and mountains like K2.

[@iowatesla]

Oh wow! This would have been a trip for you then.

[@yay-3012]

Me too. When it snows here in NY. I pack warm cloths extra gas and I go out and drive. Just me and the snow plows. I love snow. When I retire I want to live where it snows a lot. I wish Tesla had a small gas motor for emergencies

[@DblOSmith]

Same here! First big roadtrip in my MYP was up the East coast in Winter 2022 during a blizzard. Loved it!

[@mostnamesaretaken959]

same

[@pillington1338]

Driving through Kansas is punishment enough, but having to stop that many times in it, that’s brutal.

[@iowatesla]

Agreed.

[@andrewzhu1632]

so true lol

[@lennyl6856]

I had not planned to stop anywhere in Kansas during a cross country road trip (aside from gas/meals/bathroom) when I saw a big billboard for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene. I’m not kidding when I say that was one of most memorable stops of the entire trip. So much history on display. The same can be said of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Check them out if you can!

[@timdorr4005]

Well Jim, I've been from KC to Denver and back on I-70 many a time in my Tesla Model Y, but never in the conditions you found yourself. And I've been to all the stops you made along the way. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks for watching!

[@infringinator]

I drove from PA to CO and when I had to pump gas in kansas it was COLD! Also I don't know why I had to pay a toll in kansas when the other 2000 miles were toll free.

[@CateraMV6]

Wow I just realized you guys would drive about an hour give or take and then stop for 20-30min to charge, and you can’t just go anywhere you like you have to bunny hop from supercharger to supercharger. I drove a good old German Diesel Audi and on my last tank I travelled 810mi. It’s expensive sure it was about 90$ for that tank but comparing to these EVs I think I’ll have to wait longer before I make the switch.

[@bobhancox3660]

fuel costs aren't worth stressing over on a long trip

[@georgepelton5645]

Driving a Model Y in the same conditions as you get 810 miles from your Diesel Audi allows 2-3 hours of driving in-between 10-20 minute stops to charge. Maybe still a problem for you, but not for me since I stop that much anyway. Below zero F weather, snow, and wind can double charging times, so not as convenient, but acceptable IMO for the rare trip in such weather.

[@infringinator]

forget the fuel the insurance wants triple what I pay now. An extra $25,000 in ten years just in insurance payments? By the way the quote was for a 2014 Tesla 10 year old car!

[@kidamere2408]

@@infringinator your getting robbed look elsewhere brand new model 3 same exact price as my 24 maverick

[@toddashton9696]

Would have appreciated a summary. Like how many stops, how long to charge ave watt hour per mile, vs your normal, etc. It seemed like you had to stop almost every hour, or 2.

[@isettech]

I'm so used to driving over a mountain to my folks place and back on one tank of gas as gas is cheaper at one end of the trip. Round trip is just under 400 miles. It would be nuts to have 4 mandatory fuel stops for that trip. Thanks for the real world range anxiety inducing trip information. Will consider that if I decide to buy an EV for city commute. Won't get rid of my road car as so far the EV is not up to the trip.

[@Quaid7123]

OMG, that last leg you had to actually drive your car and pay attention to the road. You were so brave. Thoughts and prayers.

[@crystalclarity6766]

With all respect, this is an example of why I recently chose to buy a Toyota RAV4 hybrid and not a pure EV. The battery and charging technologies needed to conduct long-distance, poor weather travel in reasonable timeframes using a commercially available EV just doesn’t exist yet. With that said, I think early adopters of new and sometimes unproven tech are to be respected because someone needs to buy early version EVs so that companies are able to obtain the needed capitol to improve their products and create an economy of scale. For now though, I’ll stick with a highly reliable and proven hybrid vehicle. Thanks for posting your vid.

[@michaelthompson7217]

i think EVs will always be a luxury and toyota is probably right that hybrid/gas and a hybrid/hydrogen car will be the future. i say this as im going to pick up a model 3 in a few weeks, but it is for fun and for tech. came from a toyota family

[@Chainyanker007]

@@michaelthompson7217 - What many don’t know is that EVs are very efficient. From fueleconomy government website: For example the MPGe equivalent of the Tesla model 3 is 132 miles combined city/highway, city is 138, highway 126. No ICE comes close. 25 kWh/100 miles, do the math. No oil changes, no tuneups, very seldom brake jobs if ever, thanks to regen braking. Check fueleconomy ^ gov site and compare your car with that of any Tesla or other EV. I have my own home, have solar panels, TOU rates and net metering also lots of sunny weather, so cheap to charge up if I want to charge at home. My Tesla came with free life-of-ownership Supercharging so I just charge at a year old SC station 0.3 miles away, got lucky, prior closest was 5.5 miles away. Costs me nothing to drive around, sure beats pumping gas. ymmv.

[@xDUnPr3diCtabl3]

RAV4 Bad repair score

[@kelviskelvis7140]

@crystalclarity6766 There are twice as many components on the drive train alone to break and need major repairs while road tripping using an unreliable and questionable hybrid implementation is the very reason to switch over to a BEV. Electric propulsion has been around as long as ICE propulsion vehicles there is nothing unproven about EVs. A bio break matches a charging break while road tripping. From now on I will always stick with an EV over any hybrid or ICE vehicle because I do not like taking chances with my wallet.

[@crystalclarity6766]

@@kelviskelvis7140 Your point regarding the number of components in a hybrid drivetrain is valid, especially when compared to the component count of a modern BEV drivetrain. My only serious EV complaint, and it’s of real concern to me, is the current state of traction battery technology advancement, which has certainly improved past the infancy stage, but, in my opinion, is solidly still in the juvenile state of technological advancement. The present travails of long-distance EV travel in sub-zero temperature conditions tells me everything I need to make a vehicle drivetrain judgement call. Therefore, I stand by my earlier statement that proven decades-long hybrid propulsion solutions are for the moment, better overall drivetrains with the fewest major downsides. I’m an older driver but my next car may well be a BEV, IF AND ONLY IF 1) the existing battery limitations are overcome, and 2) IF U.S. charging station infrastructure grows to be on par with existing petroleum filling stations. I love the idea of all electric vehicles. I just don’t believe that battery tech has matured enough to allow EVs to match or even outperform proven hybrid technology. Best wishes to you and your loved ones!

[@Branman345]

As much as people don't like to hear it I still think I would take the petrol vehicle over the electric vehicle when It comes to weather like this. Ive seen my fair share of blizzards and the last thing I would want is to get stuck without a charge. I have family that live in Canada and those cars don't do to well up there. You run into charging issues because it is too cold. That isn't optimal when you are traveling not to mention safe. I couldn't do all those stops that would drive me nuts. Glad you made it safe keep up the great work.

[@iowatesla]

I still would choose an EV. You just need to be smart about it and make good decisions. Thank for watching!

[@cousinjohncarstuff4568]

Same here. Even in the cold, I can go over 300 miles before having to refill. I would like to know how much longer the trip took vs a gas vehicle?

[@wiboater4]

Depends on where you are going. With Tesla's there are enough superchargers around now especially on major highways. So even though you use more battery in cold weather you just make a few more charging stops. In an emergency you could charge on a 110 outlet at a gas station if you had to but it would be slow. Best thing is avoid travel in bad weather if possible anyway.

[@FarhoodEnsan]

Tesla road tripper here and I agree. These stops are nice for a single driver on a long day of driving to keep yourself refreshed but if there are 2 drivers and they can switch, then a gas car and switching drivers is more convenient. The amount of extra time needed at chargers in cold is insane. Even though the car only gets about 20-30% less efficient, the charging times go up by 50-75% because the deep charges require much longer charging time.

[@wiboater4]

@@FarhoodEnsan you only have to charge to 80% because there are enough Tesla superchargers and there are going to soon be a lot more. so your car should be set to automatically precondition the battery so when you get to the supercharger it won't take a long time to charge. Even having 2 drivers your both stuck riding and could both use a break. For most people those long trips are not very often anyway.

[@fotocircle]

Thanks for making the video, despite the arduous journey. Just today was contemplating a January trip from Seattle to Florida as I've made a bunch of long road trips since my 2018 conversion to Teslas. The chance of hitting weather like that certainly increases in Colorado in January ! So thanks again for the wakeup call. I think I'll fly.

[@bluedog9935]

Nice work and great video! I like the music you put to the drive - especially how well it mixes with the winter storm portion of the trip. Made me a little anxious watching it with that soundtrack. We’ve made that trip many times from KC to Denver on I70 and you can expect storms or at least high winds to wreck your wh/m. Thanks for taking us on the ride back!

[@iowatesla]

Glad you liked the music. I worked a lot on trying to use the music to set the mood. Thanks for watching!

[@ginasutton8063]

Just watched your video, we have a model X and frequently make the drive from Wichita to Denver, we saw you stopped in Limon to charge and it was super slow. The Limon chargers actually have 150 and 250 V3 chargers, it appeared you were charging at the 150 V2. The 250 chargers are on the opposite side. We love your videos

[@iowatesla]

You are correct. The snow didn’t make that obvious at the time. It didn’t really matter as the cold battery would have prevented a faster charge rate anyway. Thanks for watching!

[@edwcory]

Glad you made it home safe. Model Y is one of the best EVs for winter road tripping, but we’re biased. 😉

[@iowatesla]

Totally agree!

[@stevegranshaw]

Thank you for posting this video. I canceled my Tesla because the video showed that it never reached over 100 miles, even though Tesla claims it can go 330 miles. The video was honest and showed the entire trip, breakdown, and results. I would rather have a gas-powered car considering the time wasted between charges. Thank you.

[@kirkdogg007]

Only problem is they are mandating ev's and it's only a matter of time before that's all u will be able to buy America seems to be the only place where RVs are horrible in the winter but some a country like Norway which is way ahead on the EV side don't seem to be complaining like Americans. We will see who wins 10 years from now.

[@777Outrigger]

Last Jan I did a 233 mile road trip out-and-back in my Model Y Dual Motor Long Range, no Supercharging, completely on home electricity. The temp got down to 12F. My consumption was about 305 Wh/mile. Speeds were slower than on your trip because there was no interstate, and an occasional few miles through a small town, down to 45 MPH. 19" snow tires.

[@iowatesla]

Speed makes a big difference. Thanks!

[@iowa_don]

Wow, quite the winter trip. Thanks for sharing.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks for watching!

[@swingbag12]

I want a Tesla but just can’t do it. Living in Canada it’s just not feasible for me. As you know winter is a thing here. Oh well I’ll keep my tdi. 1000km to a tank all year round

[@robertsnyder6982]

Thanks, I've watched many videos on FSD and Tesla in general and this is the first one that I have viewed which shares just how bad the range is in cold weather. We are considering purchasing a Tesla because we love them but that range is bad. I travel that route to and from Denver twice per year and was pleased to realize that there are indeed charging stations along the way. Again, thanks for posting.

[@iowatesla]

Don't be discouraged. This is by far a worst case scenario and I made it fine. When the weather is better, it is smooth sailing. There is no better way to road trip IMO.

[@mgraham1964]

@mgraham1964 • 37s ago If I understand your situation correctly, you are saying that a Tesla is appealing for more than 97% of the year? If so, and these are not emergency runs to Denver, buy the Tesla. Worst case scenario is rent a fossil car for the two trips.

[@mgraham1964]

I’ve driven 140k electric miles since 2017. The joy from those miles has been more than offset by the inconvenience arranging other transportation here and there.

[@robertsnyder6982]

@@mgraham1964 Thanks for your thoughts and I would not disagree except that the Denver trips are only a tiny portion of our travel around the county. We need a something as big as a Sienna in order to take our product to shows.

[@darrylwalker2728]

WOW…Glad you made it home safely. I think my wife would have said…Stop at the next Holiday Inn Express or Marriott when you hit 400 miles. Safe travels and great video! All of those stops were awesome…thanks to Tesla for setting up some great Super Charging stations!!

[@iowatesla]

We probably would have waited if we didn’t have obligations the next day back in Iowa.

[@darrylwalker2728]

@@iowatesla I fully understand. We love our model Y and 3.

[@bee_lovin]

As an Iowan who also own(ed) a Tesla MY, they are made in California FOR California. I love everything about Tesla, but man up here in the cold they are quite a liability.

[@tkusterb]

"Limon" is pronounced "LY-mun" (rhymes with "Simon"). I live in Denver and that was not a "blizzard". That little storm left MAYBE 2 inches of snow. This is the deal when you get an electric vehicle: cold weather is not your friend (I'm a non-Tesla EV owner). Glad you were able to make it!

[@iowatesla]

I would agree from a total accumulation point of view that this wasn't a blizzard. However, from a road condition point of view, it was in my book. Thanks for the correct pronunciation on Limon! Thanks for watching!

[@mikesevgarage]

Quite the journey! Glad you made it home safe. I enjoy watching the production value of your videos improve 😊. Keep up the great work!

[@iowatesla]

Thanks! I really appreciate it! Just sub’d to your channel.

[@briangoldner4095]

Have you tallied up the supercharging cost for that trip? Curious to see how that decreased efficiency hits the pocketbook

[@extremeboatdockingmedia]

He probably has free supercharging

[@iowatesla]

I do thankfully. No way for me to know the cost.

[@LordTimelord]

Using a rough estimate average of $0.40/kWh for Supercharger prices. At 19:20 his screen says the car used 485kWh for the trip. 485 x $0.40 = $194.00 charging cost. So just ballparking it at about $200.00 for that trip.

[@DDL-n2u]

@@LordTimelordWhich is insane because in a 13 mpg gas hog SUV it would be like $230 for fuel

[@M_dot202]

​@@DDL-n2u💯 But you're saving the planet. 😄

[@richardtorres6261]

Great Video. I love the dramatic music. Thank you and drive safe.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks for noticing. Worked on the music for longer than I want to admit.

[@markroath98]

I recently completed a 3,300 mile round trip from Yukon, Oklahoma to Shelby, Montana and back in four days. The final day, I drove my Model Y 22 hours from Sheridan, Wyoming to Yukon, Oklahoma, and it was challenging--mainly, because of constant rain and arriving at a supercharging station in Wichita, Kansas after 1:00 a.m. or so. That supercharging station is not in the best location. Otherwise, Tesla was fantastic in guiding me to EV stations with the exception that some stations were lower in KW than closer by stations.

[@iowatesla]

I wouldn’t road trip any other way! Thanks for watching!

[@simsnqta]

Glad I swappes my EV for a diesel SUV. 700 miles of range, diesel heater for the winter, quattro, would not notice this "bad" weather at all. I just slow down a bit 😂😂😂

[@JayDKBGames]

Great video great data sadly it confirms that Im not an EV customer at this point. Thats a very long trip made longer by the charging and deficiency in EVs when driving in extreme weather. You got to have amazing patience to own an EV going on long trips

[@bobhancox3660]

yes, a diesel any day for me

[@Cinder-g2o]

this video is quite old so maybe you know this already by now... but just incase you dont. You can tell the difference between a V2 and V3 chargers by the cable and plug. On the V2 there is a silver collar at the base of the handle, on the V3 collar is black. Hope that helps as an easy visual reference when youre pulling up to a line of chargers

[@KeepingItFishy]

“It’s up to a swimsuit weather of 24 degrees” 😂😂😂

[@scott_cp5902]

Great Video! and it hits close to home for me. I am planning a trip to Florida from Ottawa, Canada in Feb with a 2021 M3 LR. I was figuring on 200 mile charging interval for the first day but i am now considering if I should be scaling that back to 150 mile max. Winter is a killer on these cars.

[@iowatesla]

The nav will figure everything out after the first stop. The nav has gotten much better for predicting range in the cold compared to a couple years ago.

[@tristanbased-af2159]

9:09 hhah that sticker on the charger is hilarious

[@iowatesla]

I never noticed! 😂😂

[@davidthomas4489]

That's what is nice about owning a Tesla. Chargers are EVERYWHERE!!

[@iowatesla]

💯 Only way to road trip.

[@stannous2T]

Thanks for sharing your experience with a great video.

[@tonyjipechala88]

I’ve been considering this car for a while, but your video convinced me it has not yet evolved into the winter beast we need here in Minnesota. Needs more range, and room for a spare tire. I’ll tune in next year.

[@kingzorb]

My wife and I drove back from Wyoming to Minnesota in the same storm. Our route had us mostly driving in Wyoming and South Dakota. It wasn't as much snow for us, but our car looked similar with ice packed every where ice could fit on the outside of the car. It really didn't get melted off our car until we got it in our garage at home.

[@iowatesla]

Yea. It was a bad one.

[@ab_ab_c]

Wow! Stopping every 100ish miles for a recharge on a long road trip would be a major drag & cost in time. I can drive my Honda 350 miles before it needs a fill up. Based on your figures, it looks like your Model Y is equipped with a 60 kWh battery, so that means at a max charge rate of 20 kW, if your battery had 15% remaining charge & you wanted to fully recharge it to 60 kWh, it would take ~2.55 hrs ((60-(60*.15))/20). Talk about adding major time to your trip--and that is only 1 recharge! Denver to Cedar Rapid is ~923 miles (according to Google Maps) for the route that you appear to have taken. You started at 10:14 pm & arrived 1:30 am, so your trip was ~27 hrs & 16 minutes. That is an average speed of ~33.9 miles per hour. I don't recall if you rented a hotel or not, but you could have driven the same distance straight through with a Honda in ~15 hours or at an average speed of ~61.5 mph. That' means your average trip time was ~81.5% times longer with a Tesla than if you would have driven a ICE car like a Honda.

[@chocolatewheelchair]

devastating numbers

[@ab_ab_c]

@@chocolatewheelchair I wouldn't say devastating, but all choices have consequences, so if you want to go greener, then you can expect to pay for it in a number of ways, unfortunately. One other negative, imo is having to replace the battery (or vehicle) every 10 yrs or so with current battery technology. I'm not even sure that a person could affordably replace a battery in a Model Y. If not, that definitely drives up your total cost of ownership & most electricity in the US that Tesla's recharge with is fossil fuel produced electricity, so it is less green on average than many people realize.

[@dsat1908]

You are a patient man. I am retired and there’s no way I put up with that Tesla garbage going from charger to charger wondering if I’m gonna get there. Absolutely ridiculous.

[@bobhancox3660]

totally agree. short trips, fine. long ones, get a diesel

[@packetattack7437]

Agreed, this is absolutely insane, driving only

[@martindecosta3016]

Not for retirees. Stick with KIAs and Hyundais lol

[@Clearanceman2]

I have an old honda accord and the 1998 to 2002 4 cylinder can go over 400 miles on a tank of gas. Very nice. Probably 430 to 450. @@bobhancox3660

[@johnphillips7894]

Wow I had no idea it was THIS bad to drive an EV in winter/blizzard conditions. I don't worry at all about any of that in my hybrid and my usual 550 miles per fill is still something like 450 so no range anxiety either. Not bragging, just making observations as a potential future Tesla customer.

[@happydrinker1]

Holy Sh**T THAT WAS THE REAL DEAL !

[@rext0n_0]

Gees. Thanks for showing me not to buy a Tesla due to the time spent on charging. :)

[@StormAutoAdventures]

I love my 2023 Tesla Model 3 Performance! Coming from a very nice Infiniti Q50, there's just no comparison in almost every category... My Q50 had a 20 gallon fuel tank, and I'd average about 33 mpg in eco mode in 7th gear at 70 mph with my cruise control on mostly level highways. I was able to get over 620 miles per tank on the h8ghway before the one gallon reserve light would come on... But it took premium fuel, and around town, I'd average under 20 mpg's, taking it easy.

[@ChuongNguyen-up9fy]

Thank you for a true honest video!

[@iowatesla]

Glad it was helpful!

[@EnthusiastCarHangar]

I love my Model Y in the snow. 19” wheels and this year I added a lift kid. Snow tires in as well. Let the winter come haha Btw I will make a video soon about the extremely high tire prices.

[@iowatesla]

💪 Thanks for watching!

[@user-wf6cn6zv1j]

you do backup straight onto the charger. thats why the cable connecting point is also to the left of the vehicle.

[@Fx_Avatar_Scott]

I wanted to give a tip for colder times in a tesla. I noticed on some of your drive you and the wife had the temp set differently, sometimes as little as 1 degree. I have found when the temp is set differently, it shoots up my energy consumption. If you are going to be going a long trek between charging locations, unify the temp setting.

[@Jeddin]

Easiest way to tell V2 versus V3 is to look at the handle. V2 handle has a silver ring at the base of the handle where your hand would be while V3 handles are all black

[@iowatesla]

Good to know. Never noticed. Thanks!

[@keithshayle7027]

Living in the UK such distances seem almost inconceivable! Although having visited the U.S and travelled a fair bit, you almost get usedcto them over there. By way of some comparison albeit much shorter distances, last week i travelled from where i live in NW London to Paris via the Channel Tunnel which was some 300 miles each way in also cold (-2 deg Celsius) and in northern France some snow and noticed the considerable drop in range from the same journey in tye summer. I have a Genesis Electrified G80 (87.7 kWh battery with 82 usable) which is a 5 metre executive saloon comparable with a Mercedes EQE, and using the calculations we use over here i averaged 3.5 miles per kwh in the summer compared to 2.5 last week. So from 100% to ab9ut 15% i gotc280 miles range in the summer down to about200 in the winter. Fortunately the HDA2 which is the equivalent to Tesla autopilot didnt go wrong ! Although in the snow if it couldn't see the white lines the lane assist struggled! Great video though ...

[@mjmdo07]

In his book Centennial, Michener said Colorado has 3 seasons, July, August and winter!

[@iowatesla]

Funny. In Iowa we have summer and winter and no spring or fall.

[@Chainyanker007]

@@iowatesla - In SCal we only have summer with occasional heat waves in Feb.

[@williamwoo866]

Wow. you got skills and to trust your Tesla is comforting to me knowing I can depend on My Model 3

[@John_Duh_Vader]

Would love to see starting miles, miles driven and miles used… including charging times (start/end %).

[@iowatesla]

There is a charging overlay that shows the starting and ending state of charge as well as the total charge time. I cover the miles and usage too. What am I missing?

[@bobuk5722]

Hi, yikes! It's been a long time since we had snow like that over here. 1962/3 was by far the worst with 20 foot drifts. Dad took us out in it! A polite suggestion, maybe turn down the music volume a little, may just be me but I find it rather overpowering and it is louder than the interesting vocal sections. Anyway, very useful to see how you managed. Stats are very helpful, thanks for taking the trouble to display them. You have some really good supercharger centres, they are just getting set up better here. They are a BIG Tesla advantage, no need for a plethora of apps etc. One thing about driving in such conditions - not many charger stalls are in use! Best wishes.

[@wrzl1675]

Blizzard? Where? That’s a few inches of snow with 1 plus mile visibility. Western Maryland blizzards are many feet of snow and 10-12 ft visibility. Bring your Tesla here.

[@WilliamHearnTOEFL_Tutor]

Wow!! Thanks for the ride! Incredible. I've made that journey about a dozen times in my ICE vehicles. Nine hundred miles is just over 2 tanks of gas for my 2015 Limited Edition, Toyota Sienna van, That means I would have had a warm and toasty drive with 1 major fill-up along the way, which takes about 5 minutes, and maybe fill it up again just before getting home for convenience. Why not? It only takes 5 minutes, and I'm already there. Total cost of fuel would have been around $90. The drive would be worry free, comfortable, and relaxing. I've even got heated leather seats to warm my buns after standing in the cold for that 5 minutes, and I don't have to worry about needing to have my car towed to the next charger for using them. I guess that with a Tesla, for a trip like yours, the first thing you do when you get home is kiss the ground? Don't get me wrong, I love Tesla cars, but they are a grossly expensive, fair-weather, short-range, perfect road conditions, environmentally UNFRIENDLY toy. I'm truly glad you made it home safe!!!!!

[@TheChampionluva]

Well said. I wanted to give these EV a chance but for long road trips it just doesn't cut it. So much wasted time and just as expensive as ICE if not more. Maybe I'd consider an EV that can go a 1500 miles on a single charge if that ever happens but until then, ICE is the way to go!

[@intargc]

I own a Tesla and agree, I would not take it on a road trip of this magnitude in the Winter. However, 95% of my driving is around where I live. It costs me $7 to charge (at a Supercharger, $2 at home) and I only have to charge 2 times a week. For my usual road trips I only do about 300-ish miles and have to charge once each leg of the trip. The EV is ideal for these situations, imo. Long road trips over snowy and bitter cold conditions? I’m gonna pass for now. I’ll rent a nice ICE car for those rarer situations. I do have high hopes and technology is rapidly changing, so in 5-10 years, this will be a completely different story. Right tool for the job. EVs will get better, but it’s going to take a little more time.

[@WilliamHearnTOEFL_Tutor]

@@intargc Thank you for commenting, and I'm glad that you are enjoying your Tesla. I like them too for scooting around town on fair-weather days between 65 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit. And, I agree that the technology has come a long ways, but I doubt they are cars of the future to replace ICE vehicles. They are incredibly unfriendly to the environment and in no way reduce the use of fissile fuels. In a way, they are the CFL's of the day. Big promises that turned out to be not only not true, but out-in-out lies.

[@Chainyanker007]

@@WilliamHearnTOEFL_Tutor - California is mandated to be 100% renewable electricity by 2045, already at about 30+%, must be 60% by 2035. No new ICE sales after 2035 like many countries. Check out the S Curve of EVs, it is just now hitting the steep portion, no stopping it now. Battery tech is improving rapidly, in 10 yrs time it will be over for most ICE.

[@WilliamHearnTOEFL_Tutor]

@@Chainyanker007 Wishful thinking or blind ignorance? This is certainly the thinking of an entitled, uninformed (or misinformed) Californian who wants to save the planet but, instead, falls for the newest shiny gadget they are being sold. Let me break it down and give you 10 reasons why EV's will go the way of the CFL light-bulb, another ecological disaster touted to "save the planet." 1. The planet does NOT have the resources to continue making batteries for all the EV's necessary to replace ICE vehicles. (Not to mention the ecological destruction of the planet in mining those minerals.) 2. The majority of the vehicle is still made of petroleum, so you aren't getting away from using "fossil fuels." BTW - petroleum is NOT a fossil fuel, but that is another discussion. 3. We still use petroleum to charge the batteries. What? Solar and wind will replace the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity? What do you think we use to make solar cells and windmills? Also, they both have a VERY limited life span and then become toxic waste products. Speaking of limited life and becoming a toxic waste product - 4. In 7 - 10 years, the batteries become a toxic waste product when they no longer take or hold a charge.5. The weight of the vehicles makes them wear out breaks and tires (a petroleum product) MUCH faster than ICE vehicles, adding to the problem of waste. 6. It takes more energy to produce the vehicles than they might save, even in theory (Same problem with CFL's). 7. The minerals to make the batteries are being mined using slave labor to keep the price "low." (You can think about that too when using your iPhone.) 8. EV's still have not overcome the problems of extreme temperatures, and likely won't. So, great for southern California, but not so great for the rest of the world. 9. The body of the vehicles themselves have a lifespan of 7 - 10 years and become a non-recyclable, waste product. Compare that to 75 year old ICE vehicles that are still on the road. 10. The cost of ownership is prohibitive for 99% of the people on the planet. There are sooo many more detriments to EV's, but you get the picture? I love EV's, but they are merely a rich-man's toy. They pacify your need to feel important in "saving the planet," but they are actually adding to the destruction of it.

[@mele2259]

Did you have that major repair after this trip ? Do you recommend me to buy the extended warranty? Just bought a ‘23 MY

[@jesdadotcom]

Great video. Not a fan of the significantly reduced range.

[@rogershark9223]

Easy way to tell if it's a v3 is the thickness of the cable. V3 is always really thin cable

[@iowatesla]

Agreed. The cold threw me off. It was a challenge to be out in that cold and wind for very long.

[@nelauren]

An easier way is the metal band on the handle. The absence of a metal band means it’s a V3 charger.

[@JohnathansWorld]

The Oakley,Kansas V3 supercharger, you can back directly behind the charger and the cord can reach around without any issue and the cord is not stretched in anyway. When I cross country road trip, there are many charger locations where the stalls are positioned directly behind your tesla. Just FYI.

[@borislavn.4844]

The existents of this videos actually show that making a long trip with EV is a big deal. Imagine a video like this with a gas engine car. What actually will show. A driver relaxing and listen to music all the time?

[@iowatesla]

I hope there is a day where my videos are not needed. However, there is a lot of FUD out there about EV's and I think these video help educate the reality of EV's - good and not so good. Thanks for watching anyway!

[@corpnupe85]

Limon, CO is a nice city. The Hospital there was one of my clients. The CEO of the Hospital was very nice and professional. The people in the city were very friendly.

[@pcmasterracetechgod5660]

It doesn't really matter since it was empty, but the lines looked fine in the Oakley station, you were parked on the line and seemed to be stretching the cord very far to the left.

[@sherrilltechnology]

Bro I live in Fort Morgan and the snow here can be crazy!!

[@waynesbeenthere9681]

Do you think the experience would have been different if starting out the first morning with the Y on a charger in a 45 - 55 F garage so the car was not iced over and the battery warmed up?

[@Robert-pm6bm]

Next time you go to the Limon supercharger, use the ones on the other side (farther from the arbys). You plugged into the 150kW stalls. The other ones are 250kW

[@rhuynh]

So looks like temp wreaks havoc on range. I also noticed windy conditions, how did driving into wind affect range?

[@iowatesla]

Cold temps affect all cars - including gas cars. Wind is also a factor or can be - again, same with gas cars. The difference is that you have many, many more gas station options to choose from so you just don't need to worry about it.

[@Steelwheelsdutch]

The cruise control didn't work anymore was that pure because the weather or just a kind of fail?

[@colingoldthorpe5918]

Heck in my F150 2.7 eco boost I can go 600 miles to a tank 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ so I’d have to stop twice. Waiting for the model 2 myself. Need a smaller car for town and city work. Will keep the truck for the long hauls and pulling my motorcycle.

[@Michael-ts9yp]

Excellent information, I just increased my AAA membership to "Plus" so that I'm covered for up to 100 miles of towing which would be more than enough to the closest Tesla service center.

[@iowatesla]

Good plan. I had to go Premium as my service center is 120 miles. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks for watching!

[@vijayrk7329]

man! the number of stops you did - makes me never wanna buy a tesla/ electrics.. you only motto while driving would be looking for superchargers all the time. charging every 80 to 100 miles- how crazy can this get! What comes as a corollary is the the other compromises you have to make- like eating at crappy restaurants close to superchargers. I'm so happy with my CRV hybrid after giving Telsa a serious though.. CRV gives me a range of over 500 miles for a full tank.

[@kevinbarker1693]

I drive from port aransas Texas to Minnesota in a model 3, when I got to Missouri it started to snow until I got to Minnesota and the car did amazing. Evs are better than you think.

[@exotichotshot7221]

Hey, first I just want to say great job on the video. Music, editing on point 👌. I just stumbled on your video. I’m thinking of getting a Tesla X since I don’t use my diesel Ram for work anymore. I just don’t get all the stopping, is it because you took advantage of all the fast chargers vs like charging at home and getting a deeper charge? Sorry I’m new to this lol. How long did that whole leg of the trip take from Denver to KC? In comparison I have a new gen Ram 3500 diesel with 2 fuel tanks and modified slightly and made it to Arkansas from North of Denver in less than a day, 1001 miles, no fueling up.

[@thefish5861]

V3's have the skinnier cables. Plus your nav system tells you which chargers are at each stop.

[@iowatesla]

Yea. Rookie move. The weather conditions threw me off my EV game.

[@thefish5861]

@@iowatesla I've taken my Model Y from Des Moines to Phoenix with a cargo box on the roof in the dead of winter three times now. Believe me, I know all about range degradation! But, I still wouldn’t travel in any other car.

[@JeffJakusz]

Any initial thoughts on the Michelin CC2? This may be another video. Probably difficult to tell on this trip but curious how range and road noise compares to OEM.

[@iowatesla]

These tires are awesome for grip. I think they impact range but hard to tell as things get colder.

[@MechayaAlta]

What pressure do you run these tires at in these conditions?

[@tonyfrese6903]

Little scary seeing just how bad that range is in cold weather, wow…

[@danapeck5382]

Thanks, really helpful, all the best

[@user-rx2gw9rg5f]

Thank you for the video very nice indeed ❤

[@Karlkn]

That's a lot of stops for charging, I may have to rethink my Model Y purchase!!

[@Chainyanker007]

Only if you do lots of winter driving in freezing weather. Otherwise it is much cheaper to drive an EV such as a Tesla for your daily commute, esp. if you own your home and can charge there at night while you're sleeping, much cheaper than gasoline, also no oil changes, tune ups or seldom if any brake jobs thanks to regen braking. Tesla model 3 RWD has a combined MPGe of 132 miles combined city/hiway, 138 city, 126 hiway, no ICE comes close. 25 kWh/100 miles, do the math.

[@mallikarjun8217]

Great video. Thanks for sharing

[@350ZEASZE]

OMG you poor babies made it!!!!! Yay. So proud of you. Sigh.

[@josephraffurty9293]

Liberty, MO! Near my neck of the woods! Hope you enjoyed your stop in the KC area! And great stop in Liberty! Love that pizza place!

[@jamfoxs]

I would honestly just get a hybrid or something for long trips like this. A prius prime will give you 600-700 miles for a full tank. The amount of time you fill up on a hybrid for the entire trip takes roughly the same time as being in one of those supercharge stations.. Thats roughly 3 hours that you can never get back..

[@john9663]

Very interesting and thank you for doing this. I noticed that your high consumption at the beginning of the trip occurred despite mostly downhill terrain. Any thoughts as to the WH "penalty" for using winter heat and heated seats? Quite disappointing that with a ~300-mile range car you do it in 100 segments due to the weather and riding the low SOC charging curve. I would be curious to see a comparison of your trip out vs. the return for miles, WH consumed, time spent charging, etc. I understand the return trip was a longer and different route due to the weather, but it would be interesting nonetheless. I think you nailed it with another interesting post. I am glad I drive my "Y" in the Carolinas though, but spent many years in the Northeast so I feel your winter pain.

[@iowatesla]

Take a look at my channel. The trip out is the video right before this one. It was better but not great. The car does perform much better when it is warmer - like over 80. When it get cold, range degrades quickly. Just something you have to deal with in the winter. Gas mileage in ICE cars do the same thing but people just don't think about it much as there is a gas station on every corner. Thanks for watching!

[@lucidf8]

Thanks for the video on a tough road trip. Well done on the editting, and music. It’s good to know what a Model Y will do in bad conditions. I think of my Model Y LR as a capable medium hop trip vehicle in mild conditions. I don’t mind a little bad weather (rain), but it’s good to know the Y can do the winter trips too. Did the camera recover finally, or did you replace it?

[@paulgriffith1282]

@@iowatesla How much do you think all of the ice/snow/junk which was clinging to your vehicle impacted the range? Is a heated car wash an option in this kind of weather, making improved aerodynamics possible? I know the trouble is mainly with batteries in cold weather, but I couldn't help thinking about the role of increased wind resistance. If a car wash is possible in this sort of cold, it might be interesting to measure. (I lived in Florida at the time, but had a car wash in Indianapolis a few years back in very cold weather. I was thinking more about visibility along with salt on the undercarriage at the time, but I'm sure the reduction in wind drag was also noticeable.) Thanks for the video!

[@ballistichoneybadger5763]

What an incredible video for pressure testing cold EV driving! Truly appreciate the experience and data here, I’m a subscriber for sure. My only question - during your drives, the metadata you present on the video of your IN TRIP/ OVERALL data was collected by…? I’d love to collect and run those datapoints on my drive.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks. It was collected by an app called TezLab. Great app and the people behind it are top notch.

[@ballistichoneybadger5763]

@@iowatesla What incredible response time, thank you for sharing that!! Do you ever run live Q&A/ live donation lines for your page? Also, do you have Patreon pages for support? Your channel is very well put together and chock full of great data related to Tesla, absolutely love it.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks. Happy to help. You can download the raw TezLab data in the video description. As for lives or Q/A’s I haven’t done much. Would like to do more. I don’t have a Patreon but I’m trying to add membership joins to my channel. Those are in review. Probably the best thing you can do to help is to tell your other Tesla friends about my channel.

[@mikehawk120]

How much time was spent charging?

[@darrellkovecsi5205]

You made it 😮😮😮😮 So many didn't 😢😢😢😢😢

[@timz7548]

I was very surprised by your Wh/Mile being so high, but I don't know how much worse it is at normal conditions for a Y vs a 3. Your camera probably just got some salt water into the connection from the winter driving road sludge. You can probably get to this connection inside the fenderwell pretty easily if desired to add something to repel future water. Thanks for sharing your trip.

[@iowatesla]

My typical average in the summer is about 310 wh/mi. This was really high for me. You also may be right on the camera.

[@shabo857]

Silly question. When I made almost this exact trip in MY, I was able to go 150-200 miles in the winter between stops. Why did you stop so frequently?

[@ChannelNG1]

You stopped every ~100 miles to charge🙄 , am i missing something ?

[@lilpeppa117G]

These drivers be rolling with these cars 😂during snow storms

[@pppscooby]

Can’t help noticing you leave quite a big buffer on most charging stops, nearly 20%, is that because you don’t feel comfortable going any lower, or because you won’t make it to the next supercharger.

[@iowatesla]

I tend to keep a little larger buffer on roads I’m not familiar with and when there is bad weather. I typically target 10% when conditions are ideal.

[@evdave528]

Nice wok on in the trip and awesome video work.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks Dave! I appreciate it!

[@jonathanjurena]

Great editing, how did you do the map tracking with the red arrow following the route? That is Tav production edits right there😁

[@iowatesla]

I used Keynote and some trickery to get it done.

[@denveroilers9458]

This is a honest EV driving experience ,just wish people would post the cost of the charging sessions

[@iowatesla]

I would if I could. I have free Supercharging and it won’t tell you what the cost would have been.

[@charleskavoukjian3441]

@@iowateslaAs a Minnesotan our winters are on a whole other level. I’ve asked a few tesla owners and they said their “losses” in range was between 7-12% when they were in cold temperatures/ normal winter. They haven’t been in an environment like Minnesota where it can be in the negative 20’s for days and Im curious to know how that would effect the battery. Wondering how that would impact charging times, range, or overall use. Great video.

[@extremeboatdockingmedia]

It’s usually around $0.42 per kWh. So charging 60kw is around $25

[@pointreyes4272]

@ 42¢ per KWH gasoline is way cheaper, that is if you drive an efficient car like a Prius. Prius 52 mpg with gas $2.50 per gallon = 5¢ per mile. tesla @ 42¢ kwh will be 11¢ mile

[@extremeboatdockingmedia]

@@pointreyes4272 it’s worth it not to have to drive a Prius

[@dabike]

Your production content keeps getting better. Have used those charging stations in Topeka & Liberty before. But need to find the pizza place next time. I need to improve my understanding of the charging stats to better manage my usage. I just plug it in almost every night while at home and stop when it tells me on long trips.

[@iowatesla]

Thanks. I appreciate it. Mod Pizza is worth the stop. Very fast and good for road trips.

[@logicflakes8911]

Just stumbled across your channel! Greetings from a Mason City Cybertruck reservation holder!

[@iowatesla]

Greetings! Thanks for finding me. Let me know when you get your Cybertruck.

[@relaxationsounds6981]

Loved your video and was curious did the repeater camera start working once again? This way your autopilot would work once again?

[@iowatesla]

It did. Turned back on the next day after a deep sleep. Tesla still says I should pay $350 to fix it. I haven’t decided yet.

[@berthogendoorn2133]

Strange, two weeks ago we drove from Vancouver, bc to Calgary, from Golden, BC to Field, BC temp was -10 Deg. C. Then dropped to -18 Deg C (-.4 F) to Calgary. Our efficiency was 350watt per mile. We had no charging issue as when we stopped overnight in Golden, BC we charged the car to 85%, set departure and battery conditioning for the next morning -10 Deg C. It used about 7% for conditioning and cabin temp. That is our rule, always charge before going to bed if no hotel charging is present. Our road conditions included 10 to 15 inches of snow, with compact snow and black ice in sections. I have 20 inch FastWheels EV01+ with Michelin CrossClimate 2 235/45-20 average efficiency has been 209watt per KM (334watt per mile) driving about average speed of 120km / hr (75mph)

[@iowatesla]

Thanks for the info. It was a strange morning. We did charge the night before but had different nav the next morning. Thanks for watching.

[@matrix2121]

Τhe whole journey is how to find the next charger. :)

[@avelinovaz3174]

Electric cars have a long way to go before they can compete with a gasoline car. This guy stopped 4 times in Kansas to charge his car 😮

[@Drpeppehr]

Ye charge every 250 miles during a blizzard not bad

[@timgriffith2995]

@@Drpeppehr The three KS stops I watched were 58.7 miles, 87.6 miles and 119 miles (from 97 percent down to 15 percent charge)....where are you seeing 250 miles??