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Be honest: is SCing on a long trip annoying?
- Thread starter buckerine
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- Model S Supercharging
you don't get a prize for arriving at a SpC with extra miles, trust your trip planner and try to arrive with a low SOC, of course weather conditions and severe elevation changes need to be factored in but the scenario you've offered is a poor strategy.
brucet999
Active Member
Wow, 9 pages! People have strong opinions about it.
Is it annoying having to stop and charge? Of course it is. Just as annoying as stopping at a gas station. Ideally I want a car that doesn't need to stop at all. Not because I will drive 2000 miles in one go, but so I can pick and chose where and when I want to stop.
The issue isn't that an EV has to stop and charge. We humans need stops and food and use the restroom and need a break. The annoying part is that at this point in time the Supercharging network pretty much dictates the route and the stops and the minimum duration at each stop. You are forced to follow the car's needs.
I have taken several 2000 mile road trips and trust me, it does get annoying having to stop at places that don't even have a bathroom outside of normal business hours. But not many drive through the night and not many take 2000 mile road trips and it's usually fine to adjust your rests to the charging needs.
Is it annoying having to stop and charge? Of course it is. Just as annoying as stopping at a gas station. Ideally I want a car that doesn't need to stop at all. Not because I will drive 2000 miles in one go, but so I can pick and chose where and when I want to stop.
The issue isn't that an EV has to stop and charge. We humans need stops and food and use the restroom and need a break. The annoying part is that at this point in time the Supercharging network pretty much dictates the route and the stops and the minimum duration at each stop. You are forced to follow the car's needs.
I have taken several 2000 mile road trips and trust me, it does get annoying having to stop at places that don't even have a bathroom outside of normal business hours. But not many drive through the night and not many take 2000 mile road trips and it's usually fine to adjust your rests to the charging needs.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
My wife actually loves that we are forced to stop because "the car has needs." Before we got the Tesla, I would want to drive straight through without stopping, and be impatient to get back on the road if we were delayed even by 5 minutes for a bathroom break. Now the car's needs dictate that we stop every couple of hours, and I've discovered that break is a good thing for me. It breaks up a trip into shorter segments which have a supercharger as a mini-destination, rather than one long segment which takes all day.
So far, we've been fortunate in that all the superchargers we've visited have some bathroom facility within walking distance; I'd imagine it would be pretty annoying otherwise.
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If our ICE car were as nice as the Model S, we might've taken it instead of the S on longer trips. But the S is so much nicer that the slight inconvenience in taking it outweighs taking the ICE.
And that was true 3 years ago. Now it is even easier decision to take the S instead of the ICE.
And that was true 3 years ago. Now it is even easier decision to take the S instead of the ICE.
Owner
Active Member
Like Inyokern, for instance?
In terms of catching amps its an ideal mid point for people traveling in different directions (up to the Sierras or over to Death Valley).
No offense to any of the 1,000 people who live there - Unfortunately, not much happening in Inyokern, but that is true for a lot of superchargers.
My biggest issue with the whole SpC thing is that the SpC network is not omnipresent like petrol stations are. on my last xcountry trip the need to remain on a SpC supported routes added more than 300 hundred miles to the trip. of course as time marches on the holes are being filled in, in fact with the SpCs opened since January I probably could have taken a route with less meandering routing.
Joeski1
Member
well..I've seen the video..have you?? The 1st Tesla gets 100+ KW..and the second gets about 35KW if that... so it is less than half...
I believe he states that each pair can only pull 90% of the total of the maximum 150KW...
that means aprox. 135KW is actually available on any pair of chargers...If the 1st car is pulling 105KW... the second can only pull about 30-35KW tops... and it will usually be far less till that 1st vehicle disconnects... so is 1/3rd a 'trickle' compared to 3 X's that??/
I guess that depends on whether you're the one getting 105KW... or the one getting 35KW...
I have seen the video. I've also Supercharged over 25k miles on road trips. And I've been reading and participating in this forum for quite a while.
A question for you: have you searched this forum (as I suggested) to understand exactly how it works in conjunction with tapering? The real-world scenario is that two cars don't show up simultaneously with a near-empty state of charge, and drive straight up to paired Supercharging stalls. More likely, there are a couple of openings and someone's already tapering. As I mentioned in the post you quoted, it's an inaccurate representation of real life.
Joeski1
Member
I'll do it one day while I'm sitting @ a supercharging station waiting for the Tesla to charge... should give me plenty of time ..thanks...
You're making this argument while stating that you've never been to a supercharger.
I have been paired, and have gotten the 35kw (or whatever tiny number it was) when I just pulled in with someone who must have arrived on fumes (electrons?). Soon therafter, my KW rate started to go up and up and up. I'm sure it added a little time (single digit minutes), but not 3x the time as you're implying.
mikeash
Active Member
The first vehicle gets what it wants, then the second vehicle gets the rest.
That does not mean the first vehicle gets full power until it disconnects! Full power is only possible up to about 40% SoC, then the charge tapers off. As the first vehicle tapers, the power available for the second vehicle increases.
If you have the bad luck to plug in immediately after someone else starts charging from 0%, then you'll be getting dregs for about 20 minutes before they begin to taper. In the more common case where they arrived with a partial charge and plugged in some minutes before you arrived, then you'll start to get more power after just a few minutes, or maybe right away.
This is the whole reason Tesla went with this pairing business in the first place. For most time during most charges the car is not pulling full power.
Realistically it takes a little bit longer to travel with Superchargers. On the other hand, I find I arrive less tired and more relaxed.
Typically during your trip you have shorter stops and longer stops (due to distance to next charger or destination). I aim to have lunch or supper for during the longer stop, so it all works out nicely.
Typically during your trip you have shorter stops and longer stops (due to distance to next charger or destination). I aim to have lunch or supper for during the longer stop, so it all works out nicely.
snort
Member
I see a lot of folks who have the option to skip superchargers, or to run the battery low. I take a trip from Seattle to Silicon Valley and back a couple of times every year. North of Vacaville, I can't skip any SpCs. I don't necessarily have to get a full charge but in some I do. E.g. Springfield to Grants Pass, OR, is 138 miles, but a lot of them are uphill. The car sees them as more like 180. If there's snow, or even rain, a traffic jam, a construction project, detour, etc., that could easily steal another 40 miles. And where I'd be running out is somewhere in the mountains with poor cellular coverage, and very likely in the snow.
No thanks. I give myself a buffer of at least 20% of the trip. For that one, that means charging to 90% or more.
(one of the worst traffic jams I've ever been in was on I-5 between Roseburg and Grants Pass. A semi had jackknifed and caught on fire, totally blocking one direction. When I saw it, there wasn't much left but the aluminum frame was still burning and they'd routed the 20 mile long backup around the problem by putting us into the opposite direction lanes for about 5 miles. added about 4 hours at <5mph. the Tesla is wonderful, but its range is not all that good in this slow stuff)
Note to Tesla:
Please Add a supercharger somewhere near Roseburg, and after that, another near Ashland. make Mount Shasta bigger (it's my favorite of all of them, but it's often full. Not ICEd; full of Teslas). And finish 101. Please!
-Snortybartfast
No thanks. I give myself a buffer of at least 20% of the trip. For that one, that means charging to 90% or more.
(one of the worst traffic jams I've ever been in was on I-5 between Roseburg and Grants Pass. A semi had jackknifed and caught on fire, totally blocking one direction. When I saw it, there wasn't much left but the aluminum frame was still burning and they'd routed the 20 mile long backup around the problem by putting us into the opposite direction lanes for about 5 miles. added about 4 hours at <5mph. the Tesla is wonderful, but its range is not all that good in this slow stuff)
Note to Tesla:
Please Add a supercharger somewhere near Roseburg, and after that, another near Ashland. make Mount Shasta bigger (it's my favorite of all of them, but it's often full. Not ICEd; full of Teslas). And finish 101. Please!
-Snortybartfast
Joeski1
Member
No.. Ive been to superchargers... absolutely... matter of fact.. I was at a very jammed Hamilton , Nj supercharger this weekend watching all the folks that were not able to get juice @ the broken down Newark, De supercharger jockey for position... I sat there for 67 minutes to go from 40% to 98%... and that was about as exciting as it gets....that was my 5th supercharger stop in 5 months... but I did get to talk to Tom Bird from MD.. and a few other Tesla people.. it was pure chaos... lovely!!
Ps.. Tom was pumping the connecTT app.. which is an $5 app that unfortunately only works on I phone.. if you use his home charger out in coastal MD.. don't be surprised to find him calling you up in a few weeks.and asking you if he can do any investing on your behalf.. with your money of course!
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Even before I got my car I wrote Tesla asking for a Roseburg SC. I could see one was necessary there.
Wouldn't the Tesla get better mileage if creeping alone at a relatively constant speed?
According to someone on PDX Tesla they have plans to complete highway 101 all the way up the coast:
Wouldn't the Tesla get better mileage if creeping alone at a relatively constant speed?
According to someone on PDX Tesla they have plans to complete highway 101 all the way up the coast:
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
I look forward to when SCs are every ~30 miles so I can choose where to stop or stop when I need a break and be able to charge while stopped. It is slightly annoying to have predetermined stops but that will change soon.
Jim R
Member
Stopping to charge up is something I'm not looking forward to. In my ICE car, I drive 10 hours or more without stopping for bathroom breaks of fuel. I really dislike stopping for fuel, so I just fuel up at the start of my trip each day. OK, sometime I have too much coffee at breakfast and a stop for a bathroom break is needed after 5 or 6 hours - but I never stop for gas.
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