Arizona Superchargers (location speculation, discussion)

[unclegeek]

I did the trip from Tucson/ Scottsdale Tesla store (and charger) last year before the Buckeye SC was a twinkle in TM's eyes. Because I wasn't willing to spend the time it would take to get a range charge in Scottsdale, I left with about 220 rated miles. There is a friendly stop in Wikiup at Davos RV which we used to get us over the top to Kingman. Was a close call. I'm planning on re-doing the trip in early May, and plan on leaving Buckeye with 252 rated miles. Believe it won't be a problem with a range charge in Buckeye. Will be anxious to hear your numbers when you do it. Couple of thoughts:
1. Highway 93 allows your to manage your speed at 65 which helps.
2. When you get to Wikiup make sure you have 90 rated miles in the tank. If not, stop at Davos.

Thanks for the input! and the tip on Wikiup!

Cross-post, in this case, no harm, no foul.
We've found EVTripPlanner very accurate and reliable for our road trip travels here in the Southwest. Yes, that climb up to Kingman is significant, and our first trip (a year ago, in a MS60, sans any Superchargers, it really surprised us.). We learned.
Napabill is exactly right, use Davos RV at Wikiup for a safety stop if the math warrants it. With good temperatures, and a light foot on the pedal, you may not need it. Trust EVTripPlanner and build in whatever safety cushion you want. I usually want 20 miles rated range in reserve on my flight plan, but I know many others are fine with ~10 miles rated range upon arrival and they are happy with that.

OT, I donate to EVTripPlanner each time I use it for a road trip. My understanding is they only get about 10 donations (~$300) per month; I see much greater value so I re-donate $25 with each trip. It's cheaper than gas.

Yeah I'm a contributor to EVTripPlanner already and haven't actually made a trip based on it yet.. I'm emailing the author to try to convince him to build a mobile app based on it with additional features that he can charge for and make some real money.
Good to hear you've found it pretty accurate on estimating the impact of mountain ascents.. I like the 20 mile cushion too.
we will definitely take note of remaining range as we roll into Wikiup..
Thanks for the responses.. I'll post my actuals after we're back.

 

[gjunky]

I added all the existing Tesla Superchargers to the map (see post #1)
If someone has an idea to where the Indio supercharger is going to be, let me know (lat/lng would be handy...)

 

[Monsoon]

I added all the existing Tesla Superchargers to the map (see post #1)
If someone has an idea to where the Indio supercharger is going to be, let me know (lat/lng would be handy...)

According to Superchargers
The address is 42100 Jackson St, Indio, CA.

 

[Cottonwood]

I know nobody likes a cross-poster.. but I'm not getting any nibbles on this in the AZ group section..
My family is planning a road trip to Vegas next weekend...
We live in Chandler and plan to stop at the Buckeye supercharger for a range-mode top-up.. from there to the Kingman supercharger is approx 182 miles..
EVTripPlanner tells me, with payload, massaging for predicted air temps (cabin=O.A.T.), and a 1.0 speed multiplier, that I will make it using 213 rated miles and "burn" about 362 wh/m doing it.
That sounds reasonable, risk wise. (S85, 19"). My understanding is EVTripPlanner does a good job of considering the elevation deltas along the way since Kingman is about 2500 ft higher and there are a lot of ups & downs on the way.
Has anyone else made the trek up to Kingman (from Phoenix or points south)?
Do you have any data on how you came out? wh/m used average, speed traveled, range remaining in Kingman, etc.?
Did you use EVTripPlanner and if so, how did it's predictions compare to your actual?

Thanks for helping out the semi-newby (7 months w/S85) with his first trip further than Quartzsite. :scared:
and please forgive the cross-post..

Having just driven a lot of that country, including Flagstaff to Blanding at 250 miles, I don't think you will have any problem. As others have said, having the RV Park as a safety net can be a good idea.

Here is another alternative idea. According to Google Maps, it is only 45 minutes or so more driving time to go Buckeye->Quartzsite->Kingman versus going direct Buckeye->Kingman. You will save most if not all of that by not needing to do a 100%, range charge in Buckeye. I'd much rather be driving my MS through the desert than sitting at the Carl's Jr in Buckeye.

 

[napabill]

Having just driven a lot of that country, including Flagstaff to Blanding at 250 miles, I don't think you will have any problem. As others have said, having the RV Park as a safety net can be a good idea.

Here is another alternative idea. According to Google Maps, it is only 45 minutes or so more driving time to go Buckeye->Quartzsite->Kingman versus going direct Buckeye->Kingman. You will save most if not all of that by not needing to do a 100%, range charge in Buckeye. I'd much rather be driving my MS through the desert than sitting at the Carl's Jr in Buckeye.

What's your opinion on Kingman to Barstow...I-40 all the way or Hwy 68/Hwy 95 to Needles then I-40?

 

[Cottonwood]

What's your opinion on Kingman to Barstow...I-40 all the way or Hwy 68/Hwy 95 to Needles then I-40?

It's close. I chose to go via Las Vegas. If you do it, I would consider taking Historic 66 and 95 to cut off 10 miles: Tesla Supercharger Kingman to Tesla Supercharger Barstow - Google Maps I'm sure if you slowed down and did some good hypermiling you could make it. :wink:

 

[unclegeek]

2. When you get to Wikiup make sure you have 90 rated miles in the tank. If not, stop at Davos.

Could that be Dazzo's RV park (and country store) ?
I don't see a Davo's.

 

[jomo25]

Yes, that's what he meant. Typo or autocorrect I presume.

 

[kk7p]

It's close. I chose to go via Las Vegas. If you do it, I would consider taking Historic 66 and 95 to cut off 10 miles: Tesla Supercharger Kingman to Tesla Supercharger Barstow - Google Maps I'm sure if you slowed down and did some good hypermiling you could make it. :wink:

I drove it last Friday: Buckeye to Kingman via Wickenburg, then Kingman to Barstow on I-40. P85, charged up to 250+ miles and made it OK. Not a lot to spare, don't have the numbers handy. I did the speed limit the whole way and had no bad headwinds, though some significant crosswinds along some stretches. Cabin set to 68 degrees, two people and a fair bit of luggage for a 2 week trip to Washington State. Up near the Burlington Supercharger now.

 

[unclegeek]

I drove it last Friday: Buckeye to Kingman via Wickenburg, then Kingman to Barstow on I-40. P85, charged up to 250+ miles and made it OK. Not a lot to spare, don't have the numbers handy. I did the speed limit the whole way and had no bad headwinds, though some significant crosswinds along some stretches. Cabin set to 68 degrees, two people and a fair bit of luggage for a 2 week trip to Washington State. Up near the Burlington Supercharger now.

What would you say is "Not a lot to spare"? I know you said you don't have your numbers handy.. but do you think that's like 5 miles or more like 15-20?
A/C set to 68.. range mode set?
Thanks for the feedback! Enjoy the trip! Sounds like Fun!!

 

[kk7p]

What would you say is "Not a lot to spare"? I know you said you don't have your numbers handy.. but do you think that's like 5 miles or more like 15-20?
A/C set to 68.. range mode set?
Thanks for the feedback! Enjoy the trip! Sounds like Fun!!

We arrived at Kingman with 41 miles. Arrived at Barstow with 22 miles. In each case we had 250 to 255 miles of rated range, just a bit shy of a full range charge, when we departed from the Buckeye and Kingman Superchargets. Car was set to range mode for cabin temperature control. FWIW the worst leg was Harris Ranch to Vacaville with 18 miles remaining. Being unsure of headwinds -- it was really windy when we left Barstow -- we went via Tejon to Harris rather than direct.

 

[procarl]

I've made the Kingman-Barstow route (and back) several months ago and had no trouble. Sorry, don't remember the remaining mileage, but believe it was in the area of 25-40 miles, traveling at 70 mph and with full range charge at each point (85 kWh car)

 

[gjunky]

Instead of spending time on my own map, I decided to support the supercharge.info project which is already a great map with lots of features and all the superchargers as maintained by BlueShift.

MarkR, please replace the map link in post #1 with this:
http://supercharge.info/?Page=Map&Center=34.1,-112.1&Zoom=7

As discussed here:
http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/enhanced-supercharger-map-zoom-change-range-indicators?page=14

 

[MarkR]

MarkR, please replace the map link in post #1 with this:
http://supercharge.info/?Page=Map&Center=34.1,-112.1&Zoom=7

As discussed here:
http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/enhanced-supercharger-map-zoom-change-range-indicators?page=14

Done! Thanks to gjunky for his efforts to keep us up to date.

 

[unclegeek]

Reporting back to those who helped me with range feedback, Phx -> Kingman -> Vegas...
We made it! We did hit Buckeye first as I'm out in S/E Chandler..

Buckeye SuperCharger

used about 60 rated miles getting there.. topped up to 251 before leaving... back tracked to the 303 north
and hit the 93.. rolled into the Kingman SuperCharger with 30 miles remaining..

Kingman SuperCharger

(yes the black 'S' was also on his way to Vegas)
We kept it at the speed limit until 93 dumps onto the 40, at that point I felt good about what we had left
and kicked it up to 80-85 on into Kingman. We had 4 adults, 3 suitcases and a "Go-Go" electric scooter..
(MarkR knows the one) so we were loaded down.. Frunk & Trunk, around 900 lbs payload.
The car performed and rode perfectly.

Pop's "Tesla" (see front sticker)

In Kingman we took maybe 25 minutes for nature break and a burger and I checked the app and I was
amazed how fast she can take on power when starting out that low.. we were up around 200 miles range
that quick.. more than plenty to get to Vegas.
Pulled into the Belagio and they valeted the car to the J1772 chargers as the HPWC was occupied.

Bellagio HPWC

There's plenty of free charging available in Vegas.. The Cosmopolitan just installed 4 HPWC's I understand.
We visited the Vegas supercharger on the way out of town yesterday and topped up again..

Las Vegas SuperCharger

Not a very appealing part of town but only a 10 minute walk from the Freemont Street Experience.
Coming back we charged up in Kingman back to 251 rated miles and headed for home.. skipping
Buckeye when we could see we had enough juice, rolled into our garage with 15 miles indicated.
The headwinds were pretty stout so that didn't help at all.. but I have to say, the EVTripPlanner
is a GODSEND.. time to donate a second time. It does a great job and I mean almost to the mile it
predicted our usage, even with the headwinds.

Thanks everyone.. I'm a very confident cross-country EV'er now.

 

[smsprague]

Should be even easier once the Wickenburg Supercharger opens.

 

[unclegeek]

Yeah then the 60'ers will be able to make it.

 

[Monsoon]

Yeah then the 60'ers will be able to make it.

Well, some of us 60'ers have already made it -- it just took a while.

 

[Cliff Hannel]

@Monsoon - you are a mensch! My son truly appreciates the value you assign to his work. He was 15 when he started working on this (and is 16 now). Stanford? Caltech? Mudd? We'll see where he ends up...but this has been a great project. I'm "Product Manager" and he does all the coding...learned an incredible skillset almost entirely on his own. New version coming out this week - wait until you see the "Auto-route through SuperChargers" feature!

 

[ZBB]

@Monsoon - you are a mensch! My son truly appreciates the value you assign to his work. He was 15 when he started working on this (and is 16 now). Stanford? Caltech? Mudd? We'll see where he ends up...but this has been a great project. I'm "Product Manager" and he does all the coding...learned an incredible skillset almost entirely on his own. New version coming out this week - wait until you see the "Auto-route through SuperChargers" feature!

Cliff -
Let me pass on my kudos again... I sent a bug report in on Fri and your son sent a great response later that afternoon, including link to a sneak peak of the new version. I played with it a bit over the weekend (and saw that he was adding features / options along the way). The new version takes EV Trip Planner from a great point-to-point planning tool to a true road-trip tool.

For reference, we're planning a huge road trop from Phoenix to Saltspring Island BC this summer. Was fantastic for doing the route planning -- especially trying to figure out where to stop for a night on the big drive days...