Charging map apps; which are the most helpful?

[Pepar]

I am a week away from delivery and have digested pretty much everything except what apps I will want. Tesla app - check. Authy - ditto. And then I also have installed A Better Routeplanner, PlugShare and Bestla with an eye on Chargepoint. And there's where I thought .. really, I seem to be getting app happy.

So I am looking for advice from the community. What sayeth those who have passed this way already?

Also, aside from the charging adapter that comes with the car, what if any additional adapters am I likely to need?

 

[jjrandorin]

Plugshare for finding charging stations around wherever you are, and abetterrouteplanner for trips.

When I first got my model 3 in late 2018, I thought I needed a ton of different apps to find charging stations "just in case". I thought I needed to sign up for multiple different charging networks "just in case".

None of that was really necessary, in hindsight. use plugshare to find which charging networks are around where you think you might be, and maybe sign up for one of them as a backup. A better route planner is good for planning trips. the tesla official tesla app (obviously).

Thats all thats "needed" for regular use, trips and "where can I charge around me right now?"

 

[Pepar]

Thanks for the boiled down advice! What are your thoughts on adapters?

 

[jjrandorin]

Thanks for the boiled down advice! What are your thoughts on adapters?

Well,

When I bought my model 3 (2018) it was more expensive than they are now, but it also came with some stuff that is no longer included. One of those things that was included for me, was a set of adapters for the mobile charger for a couple different plug types. They stopped including it, but I have only used the 14-50 a couple times and the regular 5-15 that the car still comes with a couple times.

The J1772 adapter that allows you to charge from "non tesla" chargers still comes with the car, and that will get you 90% of what most people need.

If you are talking about adapters for the plug end of the mobile connector, thats fairly personal on where you see yourself going and what they might have. If its "just in case", examine where you might be going that doesnt have tesla superchargers within an acceptable distance. I dont think a person needs to load up with mobile charge adapters unless they have a specific use case that is going to take them someplace specific.

 

[roblab]

I'm on my fourth Tesla, and have been taking Tesla Trips for years. I have never used "a better route planner" nor "plug share" because they are not needed. The screen on the center console guides me to the nearest supercharger and tells me before I get there how many are in use, and after our first trip where we charged at RV parks, I have never used any slow charging while on vacation. What use is there in waiting HOURS to charge and then having to PAY for it? Once in a while you'll find a motel that has slow charging you can use overnight, but after a while it becomes evident that Superchargers are everywhere.

Having been doing this for a while, I also place higher priority on having more range. My first EV had a range of 95 miles, and it was immediately apparent that higher range was a necessity. I now have 400 miles, and I never think about range at all, much less worry about it. I have never used third party apps. I never felt that watching my car charge was the fun part of a vacation.

I too have a frunk full of adapters. They've been there for years, and are probably rusting out from lack of use.

 

[Pepar]

lol, thanks for talking me down.

I think I will drive the car for a while and see if I need anything more than the standard adapter.

 

[jjrandorin]

lol, thanks for talking me down.

I think I will drive the car for a while and see if I need anything more than the standard adapter.

This is all super normal concerns, so dont feel bad for asking. Unless you have EV experience already, it requires you to "think" about stuff you never thought about before, related to cars. "Where am I going to get fuel"? is not a question most worry about with a vehicle, unless its your first diesel or something and there are no stations that sell diesel close to you.

Most of us go through trying to get "the fastest" charging at home, if available, trying to plan for all the "just in case" situations we can think of, because "omg I might get stuck!, this is new!"

I did it, and probably everyone did it with their first EV (my model 3 was my first EV). After a while, it becomes much less an issue, and then you get to nod sagely at new EV owners and go "yep, I was there, this is how it really is...." (lol).

 

[Pepar]

“Fuel” was never a “cheese” before. Now I will have to allocate at least a small percentage of processing power to having a strategy to get some.

 

[Earl]

We drive in many out-of-the way places and have been doing so for a while.
The only charging apps I actually use (other than Tesla.com and the built-in one) are plugshare.com and, on rare occasions, chargepoint.com because it sometimes shows that status of their chargers. I have several charging network apps and accounts for starting charging but don't use them for finding stations. I use plugshare.com for searching for and info on chargers
The only 3 'must-have' adapters are clearly J-1772, NEMA 14-50, and NEMA 5-15. Those will probably handle 99.9% or more of what you'll come across on the road.
Everything else is starting to move into the unlikely to never-need category. In that category, since we are contingency people, we have a 6-30 adapter for the Mobile Connector that I bought at the local Tesla store when I found a 6-30 outlet in the barn when staying at a friend's house. We also have an evseadapters TT-30 adapter for the Mobile Connector for faster 120v charging at RV parks without "50 amp hookups" -- I've tried it but never actually needed it yet. The 6-30 and TT-30 pretty much equip us to easily and safely use any kind of 30-amp connector with simple plug-to-plug converters such as can easily be bought at evseadapters or others, or cobbled together with plugs and outlets available at Home Depot, etc.
I also have evseadapters.com twist-lock (don't remember the NEMA designator) since we had a temporary electrical box at a new building my company moved to, until we installed actual charging stations. I haven't used it since.