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Destination Chargers - Mackinaw City, MI
- Thread starter tomsModelS
- Start date
scottf200
Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that Marina is only 59 miles from the new Gaylord SC. That is where I charged my X 100D and I didn't charge again until I went to Escanada, MI (hotel).
We’re heading to DeTour/Drummond island. It’s 120 miles one way from Gaylord so can get there and back to Gaylord but would be cutting it a little close. Our cottage only has 110 volt outlets - that’s the backup plan. We’re staying only one day so that’ll get me 72 miles. If we stop in Mackinaw for a bite and some fudge shopping I would use the destination charger
Another alternative is the destination charger at Boyne Highlands. Just did a road trip from Lansing to Traverse City, went to Boyne Highlands and zip lined with the family while topping off to 300+ in my Model 3. Drove from there to Munising/Au Train. Charged at 110 at our cabin there at 4-5 mph. To make all our tours and have enough charge to get to the Howard, Wi supercharger, stopped by the KOA in Munising and charged at 50 Amps for an hour. They were nice and charged me $5.
If you are doing Pictured Rocks, there is also an outlet at Pictured Rocks Kayaking that gave me another 25 Miles while we kayaked. The people there are great and the kayaking well worthwhile. It was a bit of winging it in the UP, but also kind of fun.
If you are doing Pictured Rocks, there is also an outlet at Pictured Rocks Kayaking that gave me another 25 Miles while we kayaked. The people there are great and the kayaking well worthwhile. It was a bit of winging it in the UP, but also kind of fun.
sdoorex
Member
There is a positive check-in on PlugShare for this location.
PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
Jim MacInnes
Member
Check with Star Ferry Lines. They have a 40 Amp outlet that charges at a rate of 29 miles of range per charging hour using your portable charger. They are also planning to install some HPWC'S soon. A good reason to use this ferry service to Mackinac Island. The Star Ferry CEO has a new blue Model X. I have heard that Tesla is scoping out some SC locations for Mackinaw city.
ElectricTravel
Member
Coincidentally, my wife just used this one today. They're 208V, 32A.
$5 flat rate parking (as mentioned on Plugshare). She said there was a "no overnight parking" sign, so plan ahead if you're going to stay nearby and charge while you're at your hotel.
Thanks for the detailed post, I was getting a little worried since this place seems to be a little far from any superchargers and couldn't find a hotel with any chargers. I was about to drop the plan and go somewhere else but with your post and what TomServo said, I think I'll be fine if push comes to a shove. Hopefully all of them won't be ICEd and I won't have to actually prove TomServos theory, although I think it should work (maybe this is why Tesla put the port all the way at the back
)I would still take the time to get to 100% at the Gaylord charger and drive at or below speed limits to Mackinaw and not do unnecessary driving once there.
Personally I think you're being overly cautious for Mackinaw City. It's only 60 miles from the Gaylord Supercharger, and there are two locations in town that have Tesla chargers as well as some NEMA/J1772 outlets. I believe they are marked well enough so that they will not be ICED. Besides all of that...it's summer. I don't know about your car, but my car loves the heat. It runs so efficiently when it's hot outside.
Perhaps I missed what car (battery) you have, but I would think even the 60's would be fine for this trip. I know I could do it in my 90D without even using any destination chargers in town and still have plenty of range to spare.
Yeah, that's the thing, I have the Model 3 SR+ (240mile battery, gets to about 236 on full charge), so I have to plan a little hrder I guess
. I agree with you though that it should not be a problem. The destination charger at the marina seems to be in an open lot with no gates but is not a 24hr lot, so if required (ICEd during regular hours and the long cables don't work) I can go late at night/early in the morning and just sit in the car for hour and a half or 2 and that should be more than I need, even if a cop comes, I should be able to explain to him the situation (and hopefully he understands).How long are you going to be there, in Mackinaw City? Because that's the only possible concerning factor. If you're only going for one day...then obviously it's an easy drive even without any Destination Chargers. But still...I don't believe you'll have an issue with the Destination chargers there. In the one place there are FOUR of them. Two on each post. The cords are plenty long enough to reach to your car if you can get in one of the six spots that are in front of the chargers during any day that you are there. You should only need to charge once also... I mean, just stay plugged in till you get topped back up. Gaylord is only 60 miles away and you don't need to charge every day. The first seven weeks that I had my car I only charged it up on the weekends.
Anyway, I was there in August last year... As you can see...plenty of open spots at 4:30 in the afternoon.
And as for planning a bit more due to battery size...that's all relative. No matter what size of battery you have there will likely be some trip that you want to take which will stretch the limits. In 2-1/2 years with my car (and over 70,000 all electric miles) I've certainly had more than my share of those types of journeys. Which is perhaps why i have a bit more confidence in these cars at this point. They are incredible machines and amazingly predictable (regarding how much energy they will use) when you go at a consistent speed in consistent conditions.
But, I encourage you to look at all the graphs in your car, and see how much energy you use at various highway speeds... Check all the route planners that also show consumption and take into account elevations (such as A Better Routeplanner) until you reach your own level of comfort with your car. After you've done that you'll have a much better appreciation of the true range of your car. Then you'll know that there are indeed some trips that you won't be able to make...I just don't believe this is one of them.
Gaylord to Mackinaw and back in the heat of the summer should be easy.
Anyway, I was there in August last year... As you can see...plenty of open spots at 4:30 in the afternoon.
And as for planning a bit more due to battery size...that's all relative. No matter what size of battery you have there will likely be some trip that you want to take which will stretch the limits. In 2-1/2 years with my car (and over 70,000 all electric miles) I've certainly had more than my share of those types of journeys. Which is perhaps why i have a bit more confidence in these cars at this point. They are incredible machines and amazingly predictable (regarding how much energy they will use) when you go at a consistent speed in consistent conditions.
But, I encourage you to look at all the graphs in your car, and see how much energy you use at various highway speeds... Check all the route planners that also show consumption and take into account elevations (such as A Better Routeplanner) until you reach your own level of comfort with your car. After you've done that you'll have a much better appreciation of the true range of your car. Then you'll know that there are indeed some trips that you won't be able to make...I just don't believe this is one of them.
Gaylord to Mackinaw and back in the heat of the summer should be easy.
How long are you going to be there, in Mackinaw City? Because that's the only possible concerning factor. If you're only going for one day...then obviously it's an easy drive even without any Destination Chargers. But still...I don't believe you'll have an issue with the Destination chargers there. In the one place there are FOUR of them. Two on each post. The cords are plenty long enough to reach to your car if you can get in one of the six spots that are in front of the chargers during any day that you are there. You should only need to charge once also... I mean, just stay plugged in till you get topped back up. Gaylord is only 60 miles away and you don't need to charge every day. The first seven weeks that I had my car I only charged it up on the weekends.
Anyway, I was there in August last year... As you can see...plenty of open spots at 4:30 in the afternoon.
View attachment 429950
View attachment 429951
And as for planning a bit more due to battery size...that's all relative. No matter what size of battery you have there will likely be some trip that you want to take which will stretch the limits. In 2-1/2 years with my car (and over 70,000 all electric miles) I've certainly had more than my share of those types of journeys. Which is perhaps why i have a bit more confidence in these cars at this point. They are incredible machines and amazingly predictable (regarding how much energy they will use) when you go at a consistent speed in consistent conditions.
But, I encourage you to look at all the graphs in your car, and see how much energy you use at various highway speeds... Check all the route planners that also show consumption and take into account elevations (such as A Better Routeplanner) until you reach your own level of comfort with your car. After you've done that you'll have a much better appreciation of the true range of your car. Then you'll know that there are indeed some trips that you won't be able to make...I just don't believe this is one of them.
Gaylord to Mackinaw and back in the heat of the summer should be easy.
I will be there for 3 days. Thanks for the additional info and I agree its a matter of gaining confidence on the cars predictability. I do use a better route planner but the default params it uses for my car seems to be quite off. I have done a couple of experiments over the last couple of weeks to better tune those params (mainly the reference consumption at 65mph number), thinking of posting the details of the experiment and findings in a separate post.
On the point of gaining confidence - over the last couple of road trips that I did take I was quite amazed at the accuracy of the energy graphs (and yes I watched them constantly earlier since this is my first EV and I wasn't completely comfortable with the whole range thing yet at that point) over 130-150 miles of driving. It wasn't like I was driving at the speed limit and on auto pilot all the time, it still came in within a couple of percent of what it had predicted at the start of the drive!! The better route planner is not even close but the planning features in it are really good which is why I am trying to make it work for me. I just wish Tesla would update their routing to do similar things.
That's been a common ask for years now. (Way-points!!!) Hopefully someday soon.
Sounds like you're doing exactly what I did when I got my MS. I delved rather heavily into the graphs and all the data that I could absorb as I was new to EVs as well. But with time and experience comes the understanding of the limits of the car.
Did I mention when I was charging up in Mackinaw City that I then left there and drove all the way over to Green Bay, Wisconsin (Howard SC) all on one charge... 258 miles without stopping and I left with the car saying it had 262 miles of range. Got to the SC with 14 miles to spare. I certainly would not have tried that trip in the first few months that I had my car...but after driving it for over a year by that time, I had supreme confidence in what it could do. And there were few backup plans in place in case I needed to charge up (RV park, hotel). Now...the car Nav didn't want to have any part of that trip. It wanted me to go back around through Chicago...but I knew it would make it.
It's reassuring to hear from a veteran like you that I'm on the right track to being a responsible EV owner
. I was actually on the market for a regular car and got turned by some Tesla owners at work and some research so still trying to figure this EV lifestyle Btw, I think it will be quite a while (if ever) before I can go against the suggestions of the Tesla Nav
but these stories do help me gain confidence on the product over all.Similar threads
