Be honest: is SCing on a long trip annoying?

[Drucifer]

My wife PREFERS it. In an ICE car, I was trying to rush her through lunch or dinner, rush her through the other stops. Now, if we go to say, Florida, the trip includes an hour lunch break, a 40 minute dinner break and a couple of 20 minute Starbucks breaks to walk and stretch out.

We arrive to our destination not exhausted from the rush and the vibration/noise of the car. She LOVES the Tesla. As far as I am concerned "happy wife, happy life"

 

[mshuang]

That's why these outfits okay these SC stations in their lots.... "Captive audience" (sales, sales, sales,)

I'm actually surprised that there aren't more locations clamoring to be Supercharger sites -- you have people who are driving an Tesla staying for 15-20 minutes or more.

In CA, we have many of them in Outlet malls and Shopping areas. I'd be curious to look at their numbers before and after the Supercharger was installed.

 

[Joeski1]

Question: if I have 40 miles of range left how long would it take to add another 100 miles? Assume an S70 or refreshed 60

See here it is.... run the car down to less than 10% if that.... and then the 'quick out' is leaving with what?? 50-60%?

so essentially... you run down to a bare minimum .. no real room left for an error... and then to get out quick... you only charge just up to... enough to.. repeat the process again at the next stop.....

Is that what you're used to driving an ICE?? You're in an unknown area.. and you purposely run the tank down to 2 gallons... and hope you can find the 'cheap gas' on the road ahead... but you're only going to get about a half tank... cause you wanna split fast....

gotta build a lot more chargers before I feel " real comfortable " with that...I gotta sit till I get at least 80% and I'm not running down to less than 25%... essentially.. a 1/4 tank to 3/4qtrs...

pushing a Tesla is NOT recommended.. (fingerprints!!)

 

[JMG]

Superchargers = great. Not having superchargers = not great.

I live about 90 miles from Dallas that I go to frequently. If I go to Dallas and make a few stops, or go slightly farther to Arlington and especially Ft Worth, I cannot make it back home without charging. No superchargers on my route. Even the one in Sulphur Springs won't help me in 90% of situations because it's only 20 miles from my house. So just about every time I go to Dallas (which is multiple times a month) I have to stop for a CHAdeMO charge, which is a pain in the neck. 20-30 minutes of charge, hope they aren't taken, pay money for it (not as expensive but close to a tank of gas), and hope they chargers are working. I've sat before at a charger on the phone with the company for 10-15 minutes before I even started charging because of technical charging errors. So that can be an extra 30 minutes to an hour of extra time for a quick day trip.

So that aspect is much less convenient than an ICE car. However, the rest of the EV experience more than makes up for it.

*edited to add*

I just realized I completely ignored the OP's question.

So to answer the OP's question, no, the SC are not an inconvenience most of the time. I enjoy the stops. The only times it has been a little bit of an inconvenience is driving out of the way to make a stop or needing to stay a little longer to get enough charge.

 

[AB4EJ]

So far I have taken exactly one trip that required use of SC, and in each case, we timed it to coincide with lunch; the Greenville (AL) SC is right next to a Cracker Barrel. We like to stop every couple of hours anyway... but I know plenty of people who don't.

One option that is always there, is that you could have your EV for local use & commuting, and rent an ICE for the once or twice per year you make a long trip & don't want to stop.

 

[mikeash]

gotta build a lot more chargers before I feel " real comfortable " with that...I gotta sit till I get at least 80% and I'm not running down to less than 25%... essentially.. a 1/4 tank to 3/4qtrs...

The difference is that the Tesla's "gas gauge" is a lot more accurate and you know exactly where you're going to "fill up" before you even set off. Also if worst comes to worst, slowing down a bit will extend your range significantly.

25% is a waste. If you're in a 90D then that's maybe 70 miles of buffer, that's huge! Obviously you want some buffer in case there's an unexpected detour or something, but what are the chances that you'd need to take a 70 mile detour?

I will admit that the inconvenience of Supercharging can be a little bit annoying on a long trip. Most of the time it's not, because breaks for the humans match up with charging, but sometimes you do end up just sitting around waiting for the car with nothing to do. I'd say that about one in four charging stops on our big trip to Florida last winter were like that. For me, it's more than made up for by the convenience of not having to go to the gas station when not on a long trip. Sure, I lose an hour or two a year waiting for Superchargers, but I win two or three hours not visiting gas stations several times a month.

 

[ohmman]

Based on this thread, I'm guessing if Tesla cut Supercharging times in half, we'd have a lot of disappointed owners..

 

[mikeash]

I caught myself a few times thinking, I wish the charging wasn't so fast so I could take my time here.

Then I came to my senses and realized that extra charging speed is always better, and that I can just take my time anyway if I want. But the idea was there!

 

[Galve2000]

Now when a supercharger is more then 2 hours away, I am like wow here we go for the long haul lol

lololol...

I've said this to myself many, many times...

 

[Max*]

Based on this thread, I'm guessing if Tesla cut Supercharging times in half, we'd have a lot of disappointed owners..

Not if, when.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

I LOVE the stop times.

I HATE the stop locations.

Agreed! Some of the locations are waaaaaay too busy for this country nave. I've done four long trips (WA-AZ, WA-CA, WA-BC 2x) and for the most part enjoy the stops. However, there are always some locations that are too busy, difficult to find, or otherwise inconvenient. Let's see: Kelowna, BC, San Mateo, CA, Mountain View (skipped) CA, Los Vegas, NV, and Salt Lake City, UT all come to mind here. Several times the stops are just a bit too far between bathroom stops, especially at some of the malls where it's a long walk or hunt to find them.

Edit: I've never gone more than four SCs in a day, and often the last one is where I spend the night. Two to three is more my style, with charging at the destination so that I can leave with a 100% full battery. This allows for the 1st SC stop to be short, for coffee, the 2nd stop to be at lunch (40+ min and back to full), then the 3rd can be 10 min or non-existent, depending on distance.

 

[ohmman]

Not if, when.

Right. There was a "tomorrow" in my original phrasing but it was awkward. When I deleted it, I should have changed that..

 

[roblab]

gotta build a lot more chargers before I feel " real comfortable " with that...I gotta sit till I get at least 80% and I'm not running down to less than 25%... essentially.. a 1/4 tank to 3/4qtrs...

After you've driven the Tesla a while, you get "real comfortable" real easy. The maps and GPS are easy. The number of miles left in your battery are easy. Trips is easy. You figure out whether you can speed up or slow down to adjust things, and the chances of "getting lost" are about zero. Yeah, I have missed an exit, but driving 5 miles extra is not like driving 20 miles.

Since I can't speak about experience with an S60 or S70, I will only say that I drive down to 30 miles remaining, charge up to 150 or so to make the next charger. I often skip the first charger stop since I have 100% at the hotel 50 amp or my own garage, if there's one to skip. Then it's 130 miles average between stops, and 20 minutes for charging, with "hurry up and finish eating, the car's ready!" We never sit at a supercharger for more than an half an hour, we always get out and wander around, find a snack, a bathroom, or some shop. It's fun, it's healthy.

I remember driving straight through from Oregon to Missouri, 24 hours, 5 minute gas fill ups. It was not fun. With the Tesla, driving is fun again. And stopping. I will never go back.

 

[supratachophobia]

See here it is.... run the car down to less than 10% if that.... and then the 'quick out' is leaving with what?? 50-60%?

so essentially... you run down to a bare minimum .. no real room left for an error... and then to get out quick... you only charge just up to... enough to.. repeat the process again at the next stop.....

Is that what you're used to driving an ICE?? You're in an unknown area.. and you purposely run the tank down to 2 gallons... and hope you can find the 'cheap gas' on the road ahead... but you're only going to get about a half tank... cause you wanna split fast....

gotta build a lot more chargers before I feel " real comfortable " with that...I gotta sit till I get at least 80% and I'm not running down to less than 25%... essentially.. a 1/4 tank to 3/4qtrs...

pushing a Tesla is NOT recommended.. (fingerprints!!)

The current ranges don't lend themselves to skipping superchargers and still stopping for "splashes" of electricity. Especially not if you want to drive 10% over the posted speed limit. Personally and practically, start at high SOC, drive 10% over posted speed, stop at every charger and stay until it gives you an estimated 20-25% remaining at destination. I don't drop below 15% as a good rule of thumb.

 

[cpa]

Not much to add to what most have been saying already. I find the Supercharger stops to be a pleasant interruption to the tedious function of driving. They are not annoying at all. At 62 years of age, a 15-30 minute walk to stretch my legs and hit the head is welcome. I usually have a cold beverage and a snack waiting for me in the trunk when I return. Sure, some stops necessitate me waiting at or near the car for another 10-20 minutes if I really need the charge.

I will concede that there are a number of locations here in the west that are not conducive to waiting: Quartzsite, Needles, Lovelock, Elko, West Wendover, Tooele, Green River, Ellensburg and Ritzville come to mind--at least for my wife and me. However, generally most of these locations only require a 20-minute charge in order to reach the next stop. This is a trivial price to pay for driving the most incredible automobile!

 

[Joeski1]

Based on this thread, I'm guessing if Tesla cut Supercharging times in half, we'd have a lot of disappointed owners..

Not from me!!!.. hey.. if you follow Bjorn.. he posted a demo on SC stations with two vehicles using the same transformer .The 2nd hook up don't get but a trickle until the 1st is done or leaves.. so a 10 or 12 or 14 stall station could easily turn into a 5 ,6 or 7 supercharger if you arrive and all transformers have one hook up.. that will increase your charging time by alot.. you'll have to jockey your vehicle from stall to stall if you get stuck beside somebody that arrived 5 mins ahead of you and needs a big charge.. the Tesla sales specialist (Austin in Devon, Pa) told me to beware of this and pick an unused trransformer.. but what if that's not possible.. then your wait time increases to possibly 2 or 3 times as long.. unless you have reserve to move on..

 

[ohmman]

The 2nd hook up don't get but a trickle until the 1st is done or leaves.

This is an inaccurate interpretation of how pairing works. There are plenty of resources here at TMC which should alleviate your unnecessary stress regarding pairing at Superchargers. In most cases, a "trickle" is absolutely not realistic.

 

[Joetnr1]

For me personally, I always want to get out of that last SC a little quicker and get to my destination, but other than that it's very pleasant.

 

[Tree95]

There's no question that the Tesla requires longer than an ICE. But there are lots of factors that add to the ICE minimum possible drive time; bladder, pets, spouse, and kids. The difference becomes less as more and longer ICE stops are required.

I've done several trips where I kept records of time in and time out of superchargers.

Most Superchargers Visited

That is a post on one 7323 mile trip. Ignoring overnight and tourist and family stops, other than 2-3 unplanned bio-breaks, the car was either in motion or sucking electrons at a supercharger. I spent 108 hours driving and 31.5 hours charging. The average charging time was 36 minutes at 53 superchargers.

In late March I drove from Whistler ski resort in British Columbia home (in the Sierra foothills between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe). The distance was 982 miles and took a total of 19hr 40min. Of that 15:58 was driving (includes 20 minutes at the border crossing) and 3:42 was charging at 7 superchargers I hadn't planned to do it in one shot, but I was up early. The forced stops to charge (along with autopilot) made things much less tiring than driving long trips in my ICE. I haven't driven nearly 1000 miles in an ICE in one shot in 30 years.

If you're in a hurry, take the ICE. If there are no SC's along your route, take the ICE unless you can tolerate slower L2 charging.

Someone posted something about time being money. Not always true. I don't work any more and have lots of time!

There have certainly been times I've been sitting in the waiting for it to charge so I can get going. I once misjudged winds and thought I had enough charge to get from St George to Primm without stopping in Las Vegas. I was peeved when it became clear I had to stop there - it's a crappy neighborhood and takes a while to get to/from the freeway. I was there less than 10 minutes. I didn't quite learn my lesson as last month I misjudged winds again headed into San Diego on I8 and had to drive 55 for an hour. There is no question an ICE had more available fueling options.

 

[roblab]

Not from me!!!.. hey.. if you follow Bjorn.. he posted a demo on SC stations with two vehicles using the same transformer....

Just to add my one cent worth. It doesn't work this way. Car one takes full charge, yes, for about one minute, and then starts tapering off. Car two takes the rest as it becomes available. If you pull into a SC stop, and there is only one place left, you still have no idea how fast your car will charge until you plug in and read your charge power on the dash.

The only time I was ever in this situation, the car that pulled out left me paired with a car that was almost ready to pull out. I had almost full power from the beginning. I imagine it lengthened my stay maybe a couple minutes.

This fear of having to wait is almost as bad as comparing the A pack with the B pack. The A (original battery design) took about four minutes more to charge from 30 to 80%.

In my lowly 70+ years of experience, I have noticed that those who are in a hurry need only do one thing to take all the emergency out of the trip: Start ten minutes earlier. But I might be wrong.