Charging at Airbnb with Dryer Outlet During Colorado Road Trip

[nebiyu]

Hi Tesla Community,

I'm planning a road trip in Colorado and will be staying at a mountain cabin Airbnb. The nearest Supercharger is 2 hours away, and I need to figure out a way to charge at the Airbnb to avoid anxiety about charging.

1. Can I use a 240-volt dryer outlet for Level 2 charging of my Tesla?
2. What type of adapter will I need for this setup?
3. Any safety tips or considerations when using a dryer outlet for charging?
4. Has anyone had similar experiences and can share how it worked out?

The regular 120-volt outlet charges too slowly, and I don’t want to worry about running out of charge because we will be using the car throughout the day. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[Soul Surfer]

Your best to get the official Tesla package of adaptors for your mobile charger. Messing around with any other brand or Amazon cost-effective solution, might be playing with fire, literally. Just my two cents.

 

[threeputts]

Dryers are usually a 14-30 outlet or a 10-30 outlet. Unless you have a photo of the outlet you will be using I would get both. Also will need to verify you can park close enough to the outlet so the mobile charger cord can reach. I've done this at a couple of VRBOs when the washer/dryer was in the garage. Just make sure it's plugged in securely.

 

[Harriscott]

There is a significant risk the dryer outlet will be too far away. I've also encountered vrbo with gas dryers and no 240v outlet. Even a 120v outlet might be too far (e.g. parking is at some distance from the house). I include a 50' (75'?) leafblower-type extension cord for that. I "brighten" the contacts with steel wool or an emery board and can usually get 12A from it.

 

[ucmndd]

The dryer outlet is either a 10-30 or 14-30. I’m sure your host can tell you which one - surely you’re planning to tell them of your plan and seek permission in any case…

 

[Rocky_H]

I second this, that it is very unlikely that you can get the car close enough to simply plug in directly with the 20 feet length of the charging cable itself, unless the dryer is in the garage, and you can park right next to it in the garage. You would really need to find out what type of dryer outlet it is and then figure out what kind of extension setup you want to use.

I have done this very thing, with parking in the driveway, and running an extension up the driveway, in the doggie door, down the stairs to the basement, and to the dryer outlet. It was a tight fit, even with my extra 30 foot extension.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Did you search for listings in that area that offer EV charging? Are there any public chargers in the area?

 

[Mark85SP]

Did you search for listings in that area that offer EV charging? Are there any public chargers in the area?

Public chargers are a total joke!!

 

[Alonzo]

I recently spent five days in a similar location. The only available Level 2 charging was at a Ford dealership and I didn't want to leave my car there for five hours while it charged. Only other option was a 14-50 outlet at the local city park, which appeared to be a hangout for teens and I didn't feel comfortable leaving the vehicle there either.

The AirBNB I stayed at had 120 volt 15 amp outlets close to the parking area so I plugged into that. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the car charged. I would plug it in at about 5 pm and unplug the next morning when we set out for the day, so charging for 15 hours or so each night. I did not do a lot of driving during the day, mostly visiting with friends/relatives and a couple of sight seeing locations. After four nights charging, I left there with 95% battery and was able to make it to my next Supercharger with ease.

 

[GWord]

I used to do this frequently back in the dark ages when there were very few superchargers. I would obsess over the pictures in the rental property listing to figure out where the dryer was located in reference to parking. I made up a 100' extension cord with a 14-30 male on one end and a 6-20 female on the car end. Using a 6-20 still gave me 3.8kw of charging but allowed me to use more manageable (and affordable) SOOW 12/4 cable. I had a 10-30 plug I could swap but don't recall ever having needed that. Houses built after 1996 will be 14-30.

 

[nebiyu]

Your best to get the official Tesla package of adaptors for your mobile charger. Messing around with any other brand or Amazon cost-effective solution, might be playing with fire, literally. Just my two cents.

Does Tesla sell

Public chargers are a total joke!!

Can you explain the problem with the public chargers?

 

[karkrazy]

Does Tesla sell

Can you explain the problem with the public chargers?

At the Tesla store

 

[Soul Surfer]

Does Tesla sell

Can you explain the problem with the public chargers?

Yes. On their website. They are sold as a kit or individually. At least if anything should happen to your car, they would have to cover when using their products.

 

[gsmith123]

Public chargers are a total joke!!

Colorado resident here, I’ve been all over the state and used CCS chargers pretty extensively.

While not at the level of Tesla for reliability and speed I wouldn’t rule out the usefulness of non Tesla fast chargers. They offer substantial flexibility for charging in southern CO particularly and they are simply more prevalent.

Can you share exactly where you’re going? You said two hours from a supercharger. I believe near Durango is the only place in the state that is over two hours from a SC.

 

[nebiyu]

Colorado resident here, I’ve been all over the state and used CCS chargers pretty extensively.

While not at the level of Tesla for reliability and speed I wouldn’t rule out the usefulness of non Tesla fast chargers. They offer substantial flexibility for charging in southern CO particularly and they are simply more prevalent.

Can you share exactly where you’re going? You said two hours from a supercharger. I believe near Durango is the only place in the state that is over two hours from a SC.

Glad to see a fellow Coloradan. We are going to Howard, Colorado. We will be there for 3 days. Driving from Denver. We will be at an Airbnb.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Public chargers are a total joke!!

Not if they work and are free and nearby. Slim odds though.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Yes. On their website. They are sold as a kit or individually. At least if anything should happen to your car, they would have to cover when using their products.

And they are very affordable. I wouldn't leave town without it.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I recently spent five days in a similar location. The only available Level 2 charging was at a Ford dealership and I didn't want to leave my car there for five hours while it charged. Only other option was a 14-50 outlet at the local city park, which appeared to be a hangout for teens and I didn't feel comfortable leaving the vehicle there either.

The AirBNB I stayed at had 120 volt 15 amp outlets close to the parking area so I plugged into that. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the car charged. I would plug it in at about 5 pm and unplug the next morning when we set out for the day, so charging for 15 hours or so each night. I did not do a lot of driving during the day, mostly visiting with friends/relatives and a couple of sight seeing locations. After four nights charging, I left there with 95% battery and was able to make it to my next Supercharger with ease.

I wonder what model he is driving.

 

[nebiyu]

Did you search for listings in that area that offer EV charging? Are there any public chargers in the area?

 

[brkaus]

Glad to see a fellow Coloradan. We are going to Howard, Colorado. We will be there for 3 days. Driving from Denver. We will be at an Airbnb.

If I’m looking at a map correctly, that’s not far from Poncha Springs supercharger?