Trip from Northern VA to OBX... looking for some charge-up recommendations. (2024)

Good afternoon. I'm wondering if anyone has taken this trip in a Lightning, and if so, do you have recommendations on where to charge up along the way? We'll start at 100% (320 mile range). I find I get better mileage if I avoid highways, so I'll probably take country roads from my area (Warrenton) down to 64, but I expect I'll have at least a couple of hours of highway speeds to deal with.

Anyway, any suggestions will be much appreciated.

TomZ said:

Good afternoon. I'm wondering if anyone has taken this trip in a Lightning, and if so, do you have recommendations on where to charge up along the way? We'll start at 100% (320 mile range). I find I get better mileage if I avoid highways, so I'll probably take country roads from my area (Warrenton) down to 64, but I expect I'll have at least a couple of hours of highway speeds to deal with.

Anyway, any suggestions will be much appreciated.

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You’ll be fine. Banish all range anxiety. I make the drive from Arlington to Hatteras regularly. For me, Newport News is almost exactly half-way in terms of miles and charge. Williamsburg is just about the same. The WalMart in Newport News has 10+ Electrify America chargers that are in the Ford network. Several are 350kW; the rest are 150kW. The chargers are almost always available, but there’s no shade and the store is not the nicest in the WalMart portfolio. The Target in Williamsburg has 8? chargers, some shade, and a very clean, modern store. WalMart is right off 64, while Target is a couple of miles off the freeway. There’s no room for a big truck or a car with trailer at the Target chargers. There’s plenty of room for just about anything at the WalMart. I top off at the Level 2 chargers near the Avon pier. There are only two, but they’re rarely in use and allow me to arrive in Hatteras with about a 90% charge, that I then add to with my home’s 120vAC service. Good luck on the road.

kstype said:

If you have the Tesla Supercharger adapter (not the destination charger AC one) there is a 10 stall version 3 Supercharger that should work with the truck at the Outer Banks Mall.

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I'm here in the outer banks right now and drove from central VA. I charged at the tesla superchargers in Williamsburg and topped off at the charger in Chesapeake before crossing into NC. I'm on the north end of the outer banks so trying to avoid heading south to the supercharger in Nags head and just hit Chesapeake again on the way out. No issues charging at either spot. Did some beach driving too!

TomZ said:

Good afternoon. I'm wondering if anyone has taken this trip in a Lightning, and if so, do you have recommendations on where to charge up along the way? We'll start at 100% (320 mile range). I find I get better mileage if I avoid highways, so I'll probably take country roads from my area (Warrenton) down to 64, but I expect I'll have at least a couple of hours of highway speeds to deal with.

Anyway, any suggestions will be much appreciated.

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Looking forward to how it goes for you since this is one of the trips I'm mapping out as I decide on the Lightning. I'd be making the trip from Warrenton as well. When I did map it out I was figuring top of at the Walmart before hitting the OBX.

kstype said:

If you have the Tesla Supercharger adapter (not the destination charger AC one) there is a 10 stall version 3 Supercharger that should work with the truck at the Outer Banks Mall.

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I WISH I had that adapter. I ordered it the moment I learned I could - back in March, I believe. Last update email they sent me (late June) said maybe August. Oh well.

TomZ said:

I WISH I had that adapter. I ordered it the moment I learned I could - back in March, I believe. Last update email they sent me (late June) said maybe August. Oh well.

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It is a game changer - very happy I only had a month of delay (was May and moved to June).

s3mamill said:

I'm here in the outer banks right now and drove from central VA. I charged at the tesla superchargers in Williamsburg and topped off at the charger in Chesapeake before crossing into NC. I'm on the north end of the outer banks so trying to avoid heading south to the supercharger in Nags head and just hit Chesapeake again on the way out. No issues charging at either spot. Did some beach driving too!

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Great photo! It also answers another question I was wondering about. Looks like I CAN drive it on the beach. Is that the beach in Corolla? Did you do anything special to get on and drive around - like, deflate your tires, switch to 4WD, etc.? All my driving has been on paved roads and I have yet to even try 4WD - so I'm not exactly confident about my ability to do it. I definitely don't want to end up on that "Corolla Beach Idiots" facebook page. There are plenty of 4WD trucks on there, so I guess you have to do the right things to avoid getting stuck.

TomZ said:

Great photo! It also answers another question I was wondering about. Looks like I CAN drive it on the beach. Is that the beach in Corolla? Did you do anything special to get on and drive around - like, deflate your tires, switch to 4WD, etc.? All my driving has been on paved roads and I have yet to even try 4WD - so I'm not exactly confident about my ability to do it. I definitely don't want to end up on that "Corolla Beach Idiots" facebook page. There are plenty of 4WD trucks on there, so I guess you have to do the right things to avoid getting stuck.

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Yeah it was up in Corolla. I deflated to about 25 (most people say around 20 but I didn't want to go that low since the normal is 43 with my wheels) and it worked best in the off-road setting. You need a permit though.

Gullwing said:

Looking forward to how it goes for you since this is one of the trips I'm mapping out as I decide on the Lightning. I'd be making the trip from Warrenton as well. When I did map it out I was figuring top of at the Walmart before hitting the OBX.

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OK... I'm back and it went really well. We made it to the Walmart in Newport News (Exit 255) with plenty of juice to spare, charged up to 90% in about 25 mins, and arrived in Nags Head with nearly 60% left. We spent most of the time relaxing at the beach and took only relatively short trips - I think the longest was 30 miles round trip - and was plugged into the 120volt trickle charge at home, so by the end of the week I left with 95% battery.

We charged up at the same walmart on the way home, and had no stress at all regarding range.

This trip was a total breeze, and I will have no worries taking it again... especially since the next time I should have that Tesla adapter in hand. Turns out the tesla charge station was practically across the street from where I stayed.

I definitely recommend getting the lightning - it's the best vehicle I've ever owned!