Anybody here routinely run between Charlotte and Atlanta? I have a trip scheduled for Jan. 11th. Google maps is telling me 243 miles from my house to Buckhead area. This should be easily doable, but will cut into any reserve margin I might like to have. Not sure what the cold weather range hit might be either. I have run from CLT to North Myrtle Beach several times (202 miles) so it's not my first road trip. My range charge is 258 these days, so 243 sounds really tight. Anybody have any suggestions to stop for some charging buffer south of Greenville, SC where a lunch stop for an hour could be planned to pick up 15-30 miles of range? I am not finding much with Recargo south of Greenville. I would love for that Northern GA SC grey dot to turn red before that weekend, but that's not looking to promising at this point. Have not heard of any sightings of it yet... Thanks!
No, I haven't done that exact route. First, you are correct, no amount of conservative driving in January will allow you to arrive without a bit of nervousness, so it would be better to plan locating a charge location ahead of time and add to your range. You might consider stopping at KOA in Anderson/Lake Hartwell for a couple hours to top up: that is about mid-way (about 113 miles from Atlanta). There is another KOA @ Spartanburg NE/Gaffney (about 187 miles from Atlanta). Good Sam has similar South Carolina locations in Anderson, Piedmont, Greenville and Spartanburg on your route to Charlotte. Either KOA or Good Sam should be able to accommodate you to do a couple of hour charge, and have a worry free trip (always call ahead to confirm). My general guideline is try to retain a 30 Mile buffer minimum in my battery pack. Have a great trip!!
This seems trivial to me. Stop in downtown Greenville, find a charger (there are many) and have a nice long lunch. I'd take that over a marginally faster KOA in the middle of nowhere. If you needed a LOT of range, sure go ahead and seek out the faster NEMA 14-50, but for 15-30 miles? Nah, go to downtown Greenville. Which, BTW, will only add 3 miles to your trip. FYI, as I type this an Atlanta owner is slow-charging at a hotel in Greenville, as he does an inaugural road trip from Atlanta to New Hampshire. The East Coast Tesla Challenge
Thanks for the replies, I guess you could consider this trip *trivial*, but what I was looking for is some forum members that may already make this trip *routine* and what stops they use if any. I too prefer a 30 mile reserve. I routinely go up and back to Burlington, NC in the same day, returning home with 10-30 rated. But now that the SC is there this trip is as routine and easy as it was in the ICE. Thanks for the link to the East Coast Challenge. Very cool trip. Looks like a great test of the East coast SC network!
Just out of curiosity, are there any hotels with charing where you could stop and get a bite to eat? I would think they would not have a problem with charging during the day as their lodging customers are typically not charging mid-day.
Greenville SC does have good charging in the downtown parking garage and many fine restaurants nearby.
See my writeup of a long-distance, winter trip in a P85: Realistic Range Expectations in Crummy Winter Weather - Page 2 This was a 240 mile equivalent mile trip with elevation change added. If I remember correctly, Buckhead is higher than Altlanta, so you probably have something like another 3 miles of range tneeded for elevation change. This trip will be really close to your range limit, especially if you run into a winter storm, or heaven forbid, headwinds. If you really want to try this on one charge, plan on a 50 mph or less max speed until you know that you have Atlanta made with some margin. If I were you, I would plan on a charge stop. A 30-Amp J1772 in town is better than an RV, 50-Amp outlet that will give you 40 Amps. Its worth it to me to charge a little slower, but have restaurants, coffee shops, shopping, etc in the area. If you do use an RV park, call ahead. I like to find one that has a community room with WiFi. Often, I will also stop shortly before the RV park and pick up some lunch to eat there. Remember that even with the intermediate charge stop, because the charge speed is only 20-28 mph, you can often arrive at your destination sooner by driving slower and not needing to add as many miles at the charge stop. Happy Electric Thanksgiving!
But it's SO hard to drive under the speed limit and watch the RVs and llama trailers (no, really, trailers with llamas in them) pass you … my experience from Glen Allen to Burlington on Sunday!
With cold weather, I would plan on using (or at least having) 320 miles of range for that trip. That's pretty conservative but will save you some serious anxiety at the end. For reference, this past weekend, I went from my Mom's in eastern NC back to Virginia which is 165 miles. Route is 70-75 mph for first 25 miles, then 55-60 mph back roads the rest of the way. I left with 217 miles rated and arrived home with 11. Temp was low 30's with a bit of headwind for much of the trip.
Downtown Greenville is really great and they do have quite a few chargers very close by. If you did not want the 20 minute detour there is a free to use chargepoint charger right off 85 on Pelham road at Scansource.
Thanks for all the great input. The specifics of the weather and head winds going down won't be evident until trip time. I have learned the "slower you go" can get you there faster tactic. I have tested that on several repeat trips. So, looks like downtown Greenville for a long lunch will be the best choice. The Recargo app with the Yelp link is the best tool I have found so far to cross reference restaurants to chargers. Thanks for the Scansource confirmation, I have been eyeing that one for the return trip which will be at night.
If you are coming back through around late afternoon or early evening to use the Scansource I have the chargepoint card and can activate if you don't. I can also come by and take you up to some restaurants about 1.5 miles away if you want to grab a meal and then pick you back up when you are ready to proceed back to The Queen City. I am sure it would be easier to pass the time while having a meal the sitting in the car.
Have you downloaded the Plugshare app yet? You may find another owner along your route who has a HPWC you can use. I used the app on my way from Charlotte to Charleston and back recently and met up with a couple of very kind, generous owners who let us use their chargers. So cool. I bought them each a bottle of wine. By the way, I live in the Lake Norman area and there was a couple at an event where I had my MS. The wife excitedly told me she sees a white MS in the South Park area and showed me photos she had taken on her iPhone of the white MS in a parking lot. She explained what stores they frequented and then stopped and looked at me and said, "Is it weird that I know where they shop?" It was pretty funny. Anyway, I thought it might be you after seeing your avatar. I have yet to see another Tesla in the wild here.
I drove from the west suburbs of Atlanta to Florence over Thanksgiving. I stopped on the way there in Columbia 249 miles on the odometer, I banked 4 miles of 'rated range' during the interstate drive. It was raining consistently, and below 40F for the first 200 miles. I made it there driving 50-55 most of the way with a few miles to spare. So you can do it in all but the worst weather if you can drive slowly. On the way back (even gaining 800 feet of elevation) I banked about 40 miles of 'rated range' during the same stretch, driving 55-60 in sunny and 50-60F weather. So it should be easily doable Charlotte to Atlanta. This was a problem. Other than the time commitment I had no real problems with the drive. And watching a movie at the RV park while eating lunch on the way back was actually great. But I did get passed by an oversized load semi carrying a double wide trailer. It was embarrassing. I don't think I will road trip without superchargers, or being able to make it in a single charge. And as many others have pointed out the public garages in Spartanberg and Greenville have 1772 chargers, to give you a little extra speed on the way down, if you stop for lunch. But remember that driving slowly, when only offered slow charging, makes your trip shorter!
Might be me Leilani, I have a pearl white MS and work in the Southpark area. Haven't noticed any stalkers (only gawkers so far :smile, but I'll keep my eyes open.
Thanks Shumdit, that is very generous of you. There will be four of us traveling. I'll DM you before we leave if that looks like something we will want to do. - - - Updated - - - leilani, yes I have the plugshare app. I have not looked for any locals along my route with a HPWC, but that's a great idea. I have the dual chargers in my car and would love to see a HPWC in action. Although, after using a super charger you really get spoiled. It could have been me in the Southpark area. I am surprised you have not seen any MS's in the wild in the LKN area. I have seen 9 others myself here in CLT in my area. Mine is white, and I have seen two pearl whites, but no other plain whites at this point. I was talking with one of the Raleigh techs about the CLT service center opening in Jan and he told me he heard there were 90+ cars in the CLT area. So, I am guessing you will see one soon in the LKN area.
Richardson Municipal Parking Garage in Greenville claims to have a Chademo on plugshare ("coming soon"). Anyone use that? the comments are > 9 mos. old. 66 Richardson Street, Greenville SC 29601
Resurrecting this thread - so what's the consensus - is this CHAdeMO station (Richardson Municipal Garage) the best place to get a charge when traveling between Atlanta and Charlotte? Taking the Model S from New Orleans to New Jersey next week (round trip) and it appears the only stretch not covered by superchargers is this one. Mike
South to North Level 2 / Chademo at Mall of Georgia, Buford GA HPWC at Chateau Elan, Braselton GA Level 2 at Tanger Outlets, Commerce GA (where there should be a Supercharger, IMHO) HPWC at the Bleckley Inn, Anderson South Carolina Level 2 / Chademo Richardson Street Garage, Greenville South Carolina Level 2 / Chademo Caromont Regional Medical Center, Gastonia, North Carolina BTW, a number of people have made it with an 85 on one shot. Low/no climate control and 55 mph for the first bit until Model S tells you that higher speeds will still make it.
Thanks, appreciate the list. I was also looking at Plugshare and see the BMW factory between Greenville and Spartanburg has Level 2 (and CCS DC Combo) where I could possibly pick up a few miles of charge. I've been there before (M5 Driving Event) and would take some satisfaction plugging my Tesla in at the BMW factory... I think my first choice would be to try and make it on a single charge. Second choice would be the CHAdeMO in Greenville. Mike
