I received my Model S in October and we decided to take it on a road trip at the end of January of this year. We have driven this route many times in my husband Tundra but to do it in my Tesla would be new and challenging. I had some anxiety as to no roadside assistance after Ensenada Baja, uncertain charging equipment, voltage and locations and charge times. min preparation for the trip we order the Tesla Tire Repair Kit and 2 extra Sealant Canisters. We also packed a stand tire plug kit. We took our home charging wall connector with us as well as we had read on an app that sometimes the hardware is damaged. We also picked up in San Diego a power recepitcal and box for our home charger. (My husband has done electrical work so is capable of wiring a plug if needed.) We left home with 96% charge and 564KM Range on Jan 28 and headed down the I-5 after crossing the border in Aldergrove.
We had only 3955km on my car when we left.
We used super chargers in Centralia Wa, Springfield Or, Grants Pass Or. We charged overnight using a J1772 charger in Yreka at the Fairview Clinic. Next day we charged at these super chargers: Mt. Shasta Ca, Manteca Ca, Buttonwillow Ca and Lake Elsinore Ca, these all work very well and were quick stops mostly about 20-35 minutes.
Next Stop Baja Mexico, we crossed over at the Tecate Ca crossing and made our way to Ensenada thru Valle de Guadalupe.(there are many destination chargers in Valle de Guadalupe at wineries, restaurants and hotels)
When we arrived in Ensenada we still had 256km on our charge from Lake Elsinore, we didn’t stop for a charge at one of the 4 Tesla destination chargers or the Tessa super charger located in the city, we continued South to Ejido Uruapan to the orphanage we volunteer with. My husband wired the receptivas and box into their 240v system in the shop so we used our home charger to charge while we were there, it worked great. Two days later we packed up and headed South along Hwy 1 with a plan but no time line as we were uncertain exactly what the charging would be like heading further South.
We left with 562km charge. Our first stop was the beautiful Cataviña in the heart of Northern Baja, we had gone 334.5km and it was lunchtime! We found 2 Tesla home charge units just to the left of the entrance under a shade cover. We were charging at 58.5kw or 175km/hr. There was no charge to use the charger, although we did have lunch in the restaurant. We enjoyed lunch and stroll before continuing 2 hours later.
We crossed into Baja Sur and stopped for the night at Guerro Negro at the Terrasal Inn, where we used their Tesla destination chargers overnight at no additional charge. The hotel room was $34US per night and nice and clean and quiet.
With 566km charge we continued South passing a charger in San Ignacio. Our plan to top up over lunch in Mulege was thwarted by the location of the charger at Cuesta Real hotel, it was 2 km to the closest restaurant! This location was the only disappointment of the trip, it is an old run down RV park/hotel with no nearby services. So we moved on hitting a taco stand for lunch and figured we had enough of a charge to get to Loreto. We arrived in Loreto in the late afternoon to a lovely boutique hotel Hotel Plaza Loreto, with 2 Tesla destination chargers. We had 89km left! We overnight charged and carried onto La Paz. We arrived in the northern area, El Centenario where our friends live, just afternoon lunch. There are 3 other Tesla charging locations between Loreto and La Paz that we didn’t use. In La Paz there are also 3 destination locations. We decided to use the 120v plug at our friends house as we were not needing the car for a few days. Then once we gave our friends a ride it became the vehicle of choice for our day trips so the guys gerry rigged our home charger to our friends welding set up, and we were able to charge in 4 hours to full capacity. Don’t forget to pack electrical tape and pliers to do this and also be sure the power is off before attempting. (Wouldn’t ever advise doing this but it’s Mexico and the guys know electricity) Saturday Feb 8 we headed back North, stopping overnight again in Loreto and Guerro Negro. We the took the newly finished Hwy 5 at Lake Chappela to San Felipe, we had a full charge when we left Guerro Negro but encountered heavy rains and chilly temps and hill climbs across the Peninsula, we seemed to be using a lot of battery! I was a little worried if we would make it to San Felipe, but once at ross the mountain top we hit sunny skies warmer temps and down hill, rehén kicked in and we added about 22 km to the range and arrived at the San Felipe Marina Hotel in time for a late lunch and a quick tip up before heading North ten minutes into the heart of town to meet friends for drinks and dinner. Got a full charge overnight and drove north on Hwy 5 and west on Hwy 3 back to Ensenada and back to the orphanage. Again we plugged in our home charger for while we were there, then headed north again for home.
we charged at Super Chargers in Downey Ca, Harris stanch Ca, Williams Ca, Shasta Lake Ca, Springfield Or, Portland Or, and a little top up in Sedro-Woolley Wa, and back at home on Feb 17. Over 8600km with out one issue! No problems at all with Charging, there are lots of options. Only issue we have had with the car is since the last update, pretrip the cameras have not been working correctly, so no blind spot monitoring and no cruise control. We get an error message that the cameras need to calibrate. Heading for service tomorrow morning in Vancouver BC. the car was so comfortable we were easy able to drive long 12 hour days a few days. Such a pleasure to drive! Hope you enjoyed our adventure and if you want more details about the various chargers just ask!
We had only 3955km on my car when we left.
We used super chargers in Centralia Wa, Springfield Or, Grants Pass Or. We charged overnight using a J1772 charger in Yreka at the Fairview Clinic. Next day we charged at these super chargers: Mt. Shasta Ca, Manteca Ca, Buttonwillow Ca and Lake Elsinore Ca, these all work very well and were quick stops mostly about 20-35 minutes.
Next Stop Baja Mexico, we crossed over at the Tecate Ca crossing and made our way to Ensenada thru Valle de Guadalupe.(there are many destination chargers in Valle de Guadalupe at wineries, restaurants and hotels)
When we arrived in Ensenada we still had 256km on our charge from Lake Elsinore, we didn’t stop for a charge at one of the 4 Tesla destination chargers or the Tessa super charger located in the city, we continued South to Ejido Uruapan to the orphanage we volunteer with. My husband wired the receptivas and box into their 240v system in the shop so we used our home charger to charge while we were there, it worked great. Two days later we packed up and headed South along Hwy 1 with a plan but no time line as we were uncertain exactly what the charging would be like heading further South.
We left with 562km charge. Our first stop was the beautiful Cataviña in the heart of Northern Baja, we had gone 334.5km and it was lunchtime! We found 2 Tesla home charge units just to the left of the entrance under a shade cover. We were charging at 58.5kw or 175km/hr. There was no charge to use the charger, although we did have lunch in the restaurant. We enjoyed lunch and stroll before continuing 2 hours later.
We crossed into Baja Sur and stopped for the night at Guerro Negro at the Terrasal Inn, where we used their Tesla destination chargers overnight at no additional charge. The hotel room was $34US per night and nice and clean and quiet.
With 566km charge we continued South passing a charger in San Ignacio. Our plan to top up over lunch in Mulege was thwarted by the location of the charger at Cuesta Real hotel, it was 2 km to the closest restaurant! This location was the only disappointment of the trip, it is an old run down RV park/hotel with no nearby services. So we moved on hitting a taco stand for lunch and figured we had enough of a charge to get to Loreto. We arrived in Loreto in the late afternoon to a lovely boutique hotel Hotel Plaza Loreto, with 2 Tesla destination chargers. We had 89km left! We overnight charged and carried onto La Paz. We arrived in the northern area, El Centenario where our friends live, just afternoon lunch. There are 3 other Tesla charging locations between Loreto and La Paz that we didn’t use. In La Paz there are also 3 destination locations. We decided to use the 120v plug at our friends house as we were not needing the car for a few days. Then once we gave our friends a ride it became the vehicle of choice for our day trips so the guys gerry rigged our home charger to our friends welding set up, and we were able to charge in 4 hours to full capacity. Don’t forget to pack electrical tape and pliers to do this and also be sure the power is off before attempting. (Wouldn’t ever advise doing this but it’s Mexico and the guys know electricity) Saturday Feb 8 we headed back North, stopping overnight again in Loreto and Guerro Negro. We the took the newly finished Hwy 5 at Lake Chappela to San Felipe, we had a full charge when we left Guerro Negro but encountered heavy rains and chilly temps and hill climbs across the Peninsula, we seemed to be using a lot of battery! I was a little worried if we would make it to San Felipe, but once at ross the mountain top we hit sunny skies warmer temps and down hill, rehén kicked in and we added about 22 km to the range and arrived at the San Felipe Marina Hotel in time for a late lunch and a quick tip up before heading North ten minutes into the heart of town to meet friends for drinks and dinner. Got a full charge overnight and drove north on Hwy 5 and west on Hwy 3 back to Ensenada and back to the orphanage. Again we plugged in our home charger for while we were there, then headed north again for home.
we charged at Super Chargers in Downey Ca, Harris stanch Ca, Williams Ca, Shasta Lake Ca, Springfield Or, Portland Or, and a little top up in Sedro-Woolley Wa, and back at home on Feb 17. Over 8600km with out one issue! No problems at all with Charging, there are lots of options. Only issue we have had with the car is since the last update, pretrip the cameras have not been working correctly, so no blind spot monitoring and no cruise control. We get an error message that the cameras need to calibrate. Heading for service tomorrow morning in Vancouver BC. the car was so comfortable we were easy able to drive long 12 hour days a few days. Such a pleasure to drive! Hope you enjoyed our adventure and if you want more details about the various chargers just ask!