New Tesla owner, bought a 2016 S. Curious in reading a bunch of threads about charging and adapters - I think I have a pretty good idea now of what to carry for adapters, but I never see a mention of any sort of cords besides a regular 120v extension cord. If you find a place with a 14-50 outlet for example, isn't it usually just an outlet, not a cord with an outlet? So wouldn't you need a short 14-50 cord to connect to the car? The adapter pigtails are pretty short. Curious how this works, I'm not a travel camper so not familiar with campgrounds.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Do I have to buy and carry extra charger in the car for long trips?
- Thread starter paracha3
- Start date
Extension cords are NOT recommended.
Just Superchargers and J-1772 locations are going to solve 99% of your needs. Dependent on what your travels look like, they very possibly will solve 100% of your needs.
The Tesla Mobile connector came with most vehicles but may have gotten lost during resale. https://shop.tesla.com/product/mobile-connector
It has something like a 15 ft cord. The NEMA 5-15 and NEMA 14-50 adapters that come with it are probably going to solve 99.9% of your needs. There is very little likelihood that you will need anything else.
What is more important than any of this is Plugshare.com.
Pretty much the only extension cord I would use is something like RIDGID 25 ft. 12/3 Heavy Duty Indoor/Outdoor Extension Cord with Lighted End, Orange/Grey 74025RGD - The Home Depot
or in a bind Southwire 50 ft. 12/3 SJTW Hi-Visibility Outdoor Heavy-Duty Extension Cord with Power Light Plug 2588SW0002 - The Home Depot
Longer is NOT better as it represents a higher voltage drop, which can mean slower charging speeds.
The importance in an extension cord is the wire gauge, you may see that these are the largest made and that's important.
These cords are for a standard 120V 15A plug, which will give you about 40 miles in 12 hours.
Thank you for all that, the mobile connector was the piece I wasn't aware of. So many things to learn as a new owner!
Got it on extension cords, I was aware of those details. As you suggested, I plan to have a 50' 12 gauge, already have one at home I can use.
From the driving I've done so far I'm very confident of the superchargers and J-1772 covering nearly all my needs. By nature I'm one of those "better to be prepared than to assume" people so will feel better with some alternatives, not like it takes up much room.
Got it on extension cords, I was aware of those details. As you suggested, I plan to have a 50' 12 gauge, already have one at home I can use.
From the driving I've done so far I'm very confident of the superchargers and J-1772 covering nearly all my needs. By nature I'm one of those "better to be prepared than to assume" people so will feel better with some alternatives, not like it takes up much room.
For road trip charging, here is what you may encounter in the US:
- Tesla Superchargers and other J3400/NACS DC fast charge stations. Plug directly into the car.
- Tesla destination chargers or home Wall Connectors (AC charging) with J3400/NACS. Plug directly into the car.
- Destination chargers at hotels (etc.) or EVSEs in homes with J1772 plugs. Use the J1772 adapter that should come with the car (or about $50 if you need to purchase separately).
- DC fast charge stations with CCS1 plugs. The CCS1 adapter costs $250, but many older Teslas need an additional cost retrofit to be able to use CCS1 charging with the adapter.
- Receptacles for which a Tesla Mobile Connector and appropriate pigtail may be used:
- NEMA 5-15 (120V 15A) typical household outlet.
- NEMA 5-20 (120V 20A) indicates higher amperage circuit, more often found in commercial buildings, but very new home garages may have at least one per parking space for EV charging.
- NEMA 14-50 (240V 40-50A) may be found in houses for electric stoves or EV charging; also sometimes found at campgrounds.
- NEMA 14-30 (240V 30A) electric dryer outlet. Very old electric dryer outlets may be NEMA 10-30.
- NEMA 6-50 (240V 40-50A) traditionally for welders; sometimes used for EV charging.
- TT-30 (120V 30A) sometimes found at campgrounds. Requires a third party pigtail, or an adapter that the Tesla pigtail for NEMA 14-30 plugs into.
Extension cords are generally not recommended for EV charging.
legendsk
Member
This is probably a more rational viewpoint than mine personally. I have a horror of being stuck some place and at the mercy of those who just happen to have what I need, (for some astronomical price because they have me between a rock and a hard place).
So I have a Tesla mobile connector, with a 1772 adapter and some adapters to cover most of the power sources I should ever see. Here is what my kit looks like. (Under the trunk is also a jump starter, a tire plugging kit and a portable compressor.) Probably over kill, but they are assets that don't really depreciate.
dhrivnak
Active Member
I ALWAYS carry the Tesla Mobile connector with me and quality 15’ extension cord. My son, my In-laws and many hotels/VRBO’s do not have chargers but nearly everyone has 120v outlets. At 50 miles a night it is not great, but often just enough to make the trip worry free.
PS I also carry the NEMA 14-50 adapter but those options have been few and far between for me. But handy when available.
PS I also carry the NEMA 14-50 adapter but those options have been few and far between for me. But handy when available.
doghousePVD
My grandfather’s car
Everybody has different uses. My charging is approximately 1/3 home, 1/3 portable charger with a variety of dongles, and 1/3 Supercharging.
When using the portable, about half the time I need to use a 14-50 extension cord. I have used the 5-15 connector just once in 100,000 miles, when I was stuck in a six hour traffic jam about 15 miles from the next SC.
I regularly use a half dozen dongles. The only Tesla plugs I own are 14-50 and 5-15.
I know my usage is not common. YMMV. Just figure out what is good for your driving pattern, and don’t listen to the preachers who think their approach is the only true path to charging.
When using the portable, about half the time I need to use a 14-50 extension cord. I have used the 5-15 connector just once in 100,000 miles, when I was stuck in a six hour traffic jam about 15 miles from the next SC.
I regularly use a half dozen dongles. The only Tesla plugs I own are 14-50 and 5-15.
I know my usage is not common. YMMV. Just figure out what is good for your driving pattern, and don’t listen to the preachers who think their approach is the only true path to charging.
I might be in the minority, but, in the three years (and 12 2000-mile road trips) I’ve driven Tesla and even CCS vehicles, I’ve never had reason to use anything but DC fast chargers and J1772 connections. Go ahead and take a mobile connector for peace of mind, but don’t be surprised if it never leaves your frunk.
A jump starter gets you into the frunk via the front tow hook jumper tails. From there you can jump the 12V battery to get the vehicle powered up. Once at that stage you engage sentry mode or another mode, that may or may not be called "camping", either of which prevent the car from going to sleep mode and locking you out with a still dead enough 12v battery.
The bit I don't understand is if the discharged 12v battery can be resurrected by the big battery over a drive or it needs replacement automatically before you get locked out again.
That's for a Y in a Y forum thread anyway. Maybe a 2016 S is different.
legendsk
Member
One of the easily dealt with, possible Tesla problems is a failure of the 12/16 v battery. Not such a big deal on an ICE vehicle, but on a Tesla, you can't even open the doors, put it in neutral so it can be pulled onto a truck, etc. If you pop out the little disc on the front bumper, the low voltage +/- wires can be accessed - use a jump starter to supply low voltage, so you can at least get into the car and start it. TYFA.
davewill
Active Member
Take a look at how many ICE vehicles that have doors without keys.One of the easily dealt with, possible Tesla problems is a failure of the 12/16 v battery. Not such a big deal on an ICE vehicle, but on a Tesla, you can't even open the doors, put it in neutral so it can be pulled onto a truck, etc. If you pop out the little disc on the front bumper, the low voltage +/- wires can be accessed - use a jump starter to supply low voltage, so you can at least get into the car and start it. TYFA.
1, 3, 5.5, 5.6.
5.5 is my home charging setup and used probably 90% of the time last year, with one road trip using predominantly 1 and a little 5.6 making up the rest.
FastEddieB
Member
I’d hope they have a Battery Management System that takes them offline below a certain voltage to protect them from the damage a total discharge does. But I don’t know for a fact that they do.
Similar threads
