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It would be extremely difficult to back into my garage at my house. Having the charge port in front is definitely better in almost all situations. I actually have my EVSE mounted on the side wall of my garage near the rear of my Leaf, but it works fine for charging at the front port as the cord is long enough. It also works great if I park another EV outside my garage to charge (as long as that EV has a front charge port). Is there any other EV maker that doesn't have their charge port near the front of the car besides Tesla? Seems like a terrible design decision.
I'm ok with it given my EVSE is already mounted toward the rear of my garage, but it will be a pain to charge the Tesla at my office where I have slanted parking spots in a tight garage with the chargers at the front of the parking space. It isn't really possible to back into those spots as there isn't room in the parking deck.
I'm ok with it given my EVSE is already mounted toward the rear of my garage, but it will be a pain to charge the Tesla at my office where I have slanted parking spots in a tight garage with the chargers at the front of the parking space. It isn't really possible to back into those spots as there isn't room in the parking deck.
If you have an EVSE in your garage, why would you need to charge the Tesla at your office? Sounds like "Leaf think"-- with the range of a Tesla you never have to think about charging except on an out of town trip, assuming you plug in every night at home. Leave the office spots for someone's Leaf or other short range EV.
rfmurphy81
Member
@Blu Zap, did you eventually run into the owner? I'm curious whether anything happened.
I'm also thinking it would have been a good idea to call Roadside Assistance. Perhaps they could have called the owner to "educate" them about their surroundings. In anything else, a report of the issue could have officially made its way back to the Supercharger team then.
I'm also thinking it would have been a good idea to call Roadside Assistance. Perhaps they could have called the owner to "educate" them about their surroundings. In anything else, a report of the issue could have officially made its way back to the Supercharger team then.
You missed my point. I wasn't saying I need to charge at my office. I was pointing out how some buildings (including mine) do not have parking garages that are convenient for a Tesla to charge in because of Tesla's unconventional charge port location.
I completely agree. I was very surprised to know that Teslas have rear charge ports. Here in Japan almost everybody parks back in, so rear ports are very convenient, but I know American people usually pull in.
On the other hand Nissan Leaf has front charge port, so it is hard to use in Japan because of the same reason. All of the parking spaces are designed for back in, so people with Leaf have very hard time to park and charge.
And my point was it's pretty uncommon for Teslas to need to charge in office parking garages.
Thanks for your post, which made me chuckle.
The Japanese EV manufacturer Nissan puts the charge port in the front even though many Japanese are accustomed to backing in to parking spaces. The American EV manufacturer Tesla puts the charge port at the rear even though many Americans are used to parking headfirst. Some EV owners in each country are dissatisfied with the placement of the charge port while others think it is just fine. Some want two charge ports, one at each end of the car, or maybe they want to be able to order the car with a single port located at the preferred end of the car. I can just see the EV design engineers rolling their eyes...
Why do People Back into Parking Spaces? | Coyote Blog
Bottom line: the downsides heavily outweigh the benefits.
One point that was never mentioned in that blog is that, backing in requires the driver to pull the car forward beyond the parking spot, which invariably often the car behind tail gates anyway and then you have a deadlock. I have seen this one too many times. in narrow multi floor parking garages, like an airport/
Bottom line: the downsides heavily outweigh the benefits.
One point that was never mentioned in that blog is that, backing in requires the driver to pull the car forward beyond the parking spot, which invariably often the car behind tail gates anyway and then you have a deadlock. I have seen this one too many times. in narrow multi floor parking garages, like an airport/
dandelot
Member
Well. One hopes a following driver would understand what a turn or emergency blinker would mean when stopped near a parking slot (and which would folks think a better choice?). In San Francisco traffic the following car is just
5 feet back (and the one behind that, and...) so nothing really works. Aggravation.
5 feet back (and the one behind that, and...) so nothing really works. Aggravation.
Being able to screw someone out of a parking spot by accidentally pulling forward too far or pretending to not realize they were trying to park when they are attempting to back in is common behavior for other drivers in my experience.
I said this in another thread, but I cannot back in because the driveway is too steep (I miss scraping by 1" even on high suspension). My only charging option is about 10 ft in front of location C, right next to the passenger mirror. I literally must hang the cord diagonally over the car to charge! Yes, it's stupid but that's what I was dealt with since the Leaf gets the left side (EVSE upgrade connected to the former dryer circuit. I don't want to swap locations due to proximity to garden tools and kitchen door. Since the 70D sits mostly and is the road trip vehicle, and the Leaf gets used multiple times each day, it's the best option.
@rfmurphy81
Back to the topic. Thanks. To answer your question, the Tesla taking up 3 charging stalls was locked and unoccupied. No driver to be found, no note on the windshield etc. This is a new MS with the paper registration taped to the windshield. I can understand if this may have been his first SC experience and unfamiliar with how to do it. But still. When you line up, face the same way as the other 4 vehicles there.
I believe the Tesla SC team will see this thread and better understand the issues with the Petaluma SC. I have spoken with them first hand about the previous post I had on this topic.
Back to the topic. Thanks. To answer your question, the Tesla taking up 3 charging stalls was locked and unoccupied. No driver to be found, no note on the windshield etc. This is a new MS with the paper registration taped to the windshield. I can understand if this may have been his first SC experience and unfamiliar with how to do it. But still. When you line up, face the same way as the other 4 vehicles there.
I believe the Tesla SC team will see this thread and better understand the issues with the Petaluma SC. I have spoken with them first hand about the previous post I had on this topic.
Ulmo
Active Member
dhanson865
Well-Known Member
I put mine in position D. There are load bearing columns in the middle of my two car garage between the cars. I have a 1/3 length of the garage wall running from the outside wall to the first column. The EVSE is at that first column attached to the wall and can reach either car in the garage. The EVSE I'm using has a 25' cable I think, something longer than I need, but it can snake behind a Tesla to reach the charge port if its on the wrong side. There is enough slack to lay the cable on the concrete even when plugged in no matter where you park. Heck I could probably plug it into a car parked outside the garage if it is parked right next to either garage door.
It cost a little more to run the conduit along the ceiling to come down to where the 14-50 socket is but it sure makes the charging situation flexible. I'm pretty sure I've got my bases covered no matter what combination of EVs park in my garage.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
Another point not mentioned in that blog was the difference having a rear camera makes. All other things being equal, if you don't have a rear camera, then it's much harder to back in because there's no visibility. I never backed a car into a space before having the Model S. In those days, I'd frequently need to let a passenger jump out and give me visual hand signals to tell me when to stop. The rear camera is a complete game-changer.
Also, quite often I find myself in a parking garage where there are concrete columns on both sides of the stall, and literally a three-inch clearance on either side of the car. If I tried coming in frontwards, I'd almost certainly end up scraping the far front fender, which I can't see at all from the driver's seat. However, if I back into the spot, I can see all three sides of the car (using side mirrors and the rear camera), and can get lined up perfectly.
To the OP it took me a second but I think people unfamiliar with a layout like that would mess it up, some would go back and look and be like oops my bad or something isn't right. Granted I would probably take a second longer to look if I pulled into an SC like that to make sure I wasn't blocking anything.
In regard to later posts, I have always backed my cars into their spots, my Model S is the first with a camera. This goes for the SUVs all the way to the Mini. I mean hell I can back any car in better and faster than most people can pull in with nose in. It is safer in my opinion as I can see quicker when blocked on either side and pulling out. That Coyote Blog article really did not lend anything. I think about how many accidents I used to witness in the parking lot of a Whole Foods while I sat out and enjoyed a pint of beer. People pay zero attention in parking lots and on the road.
As they say in the Mini Cooper Club .... Butts In!
In regard to later posts, I have always backed my cars into their spots, my Model S is the first with a camera. This goes for the SUVs all the way to the Mini. I mean hell I can back any car in better and faster than most people can pull in with nose in. It is safer in my opinion as I can see quicker when blocked on either side and pulling out. That Coyote Blog article really did not lend anything. I think about how many accidents I used to witness in the parking lot of a Whole Foods while I sat out and enjoyed a pint of beer. People pay zero attention in parking lots and on the road.
As they say in the Mini Cooper Club .... Butts In!
Without a backup camera, you would have been right, but with one, I find that to be totally the opposite. Frequently when I am in a parking garage downtown, and there are big trucks or SUVs on both sides, it does not work as you describe at all. when pulling out forward, I have no visibility from the driver's seat until the front of my car is halfway out into the lane. But with the wide angle fish-eye view from the backup camera, I can see all the way up and down the aisle from the very first moment, before I even begin backing out.
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