SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
A big Alpha Bravo for Charlie, David and Endless!
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Far West Texas Charging
- Thread starter charliepmayer
- Start date
eladts
Member
Can you please make sure that all those sites are listed correctly on PlugShare? I would have added them myself by I rather not add sites I did not personally visit.
Thanks!
XHabjab: It was $1,400. My wife is asking Tesla to reimburse us. If they won't we'll ask them to donate to the Friends of the Library.
Friends of the Jeff Davis County Library | Helping the Libraries in Fort Davis and Valentine, TX
eladts (good one!): I just added the stations to PlugShare. Please review and let me know if something looks amiss.
Friends of the Jeff Davis County Library | Helping the Libraries in Fort Davis and Valentine, TX
eladts (good one!): I just added the stations to PlugShare. Please review and let me know if something looks amiss.
Marathon Motel & RV Park | Lodging in Marathon, Texas RV park and Motel only 80 miles from Big Bend National Park!
165 miles from Ozona, 130 miles from Van Horn. (Didn't bother to see how far from Fort Stockton.)
Rooms, RV spots. Easy walk to great bar and restaurant.
Met with the GM/future owner (Justin) today. 30 and 50 amp ready right now for $10 and a ten minute ride
.
Lady at the front desk is Chelo. Friendly folks. Nice place. No pool, but I saw a sign mentioning a campfire every night.
1/2 mi (easy walk) to the White Buffalo Bar and the 12 Gage Restaurant at the Gage Hotel.
GM asked (unprompted) about dedicated Tesla Chargers (whoo hoo!).
I put him in touch with the Tesla Destination Charging person for this area (Max Wilcox).
(I can't get any traction with the GM at the Gage - this experience was vey encouraging.)
If you decide to go to Marathon through Sanderson, check this out: Big Bend Open Road Race
165 miles from Ozona, 130 miles from Van Horn. (Didn't bother to see how far from Fort Stockton.)
Rooms, RV spots. Easy walk to great bar and restaurant.
Met with the GM/future owner (Justin) today. 30 and 50 amp ready right now for $10 and a ten minute ride
.Lady at the front desk is Chelo. Friendly folks. Nice place. No pool, but I saw a sign mentioning a campfire every night.
1/2 mi (easy walk) to the White Buffalo Bar and the 12 Gage Restaurant at the Gage Hotel.
GM asked (unprompted) about dedicated Tesla Chargers (whoo hoo!).
I put him in touch with the Tesla Destination Charging person for this area (Max Wilcox).
(I can't get any traction with the GM at the Gage - this experience was vey encouraging.)
If you decide to go to Marathon through Sanderson, check this out: Big Bend Open Road Race
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Marathon Motel & RV Park | Lodging in Marathon, Texas
Forgot something: rates are somewhat flexible in busy times.
Worst case is if you occupy an RV space overnight when the place is full.
If I recall correctly, the normal RV rate of $35(?) would then apply.
Forgot something: rates are somewhat flexible in busy times.
Worst case is if you occupy an RV space overnight when the place is full.
If I recall correctly, the normal RV rate of $35(?) would then apply.
mckemie
Member
I just came across this topic, linked to from Ft. Stockton. Thanks to all, especially charliepmayer who got the Ft Davis thing going.
I'll mention here several of my generally unsuccessful efforts:
I was recently successful in cornering some Big Bend NP people (desk people are very protective of the higher ups) and made following points:
1) there is an excellent charge station site on the corner of the Basin ranger station building and cost could be as low as a couple of hundred dollars for a 14-50.
2) I offered $5k to cover both installation and electric cost for a few years while demand and electric costs were evaluated.
3) I tried to make the case that a 14-50 was the best/cheapest way to go.
For one night in the Basin hotel, I charged from my room's AC outlet through a 100' 12 gauge cord.
I've lobbied the Gage Hotel. I did charge at the mentioned RV park in Marathon several years ago but not again because I found it farther from the Gage than I wanted to walk. With the news posted here, I'll certainly check them out next time I'm in Marathon.
I've lobbied Stillwell store. I've charged at Stillwell and noted how much nicer 80 amps would be. I suggested to the guy there that he could levy a parking fee or somesuch.
I recently charged at Davis Mountains State Park while staying at Indian Lodge. There is a "park host" RV slot that is closer to the Lodge and is many times open. They do not normally rent that slot so I suggest asking about it. I stopped in Prude Ranch and confirmed they have about 6 RV slots with 50 amp outlets. Same price as park, as I recall.
I'll mention here several of my generally unsuccessful efforts:
I was recently successful in cornering some Big Bend NP people (desk people are very protective of the higher ups) and made following points:
1) there is an excellent charge station site on the corner of the Basin ranger station building and cost could be as low as a couple of hundred dollars for a 14-50.
2) I offered $5k to cover both installation and electric cost for a few years while demand and electric costs were evaluated.
3) I tried to make the case that a 14-50 was the best/cheapest way to go.
For one night in the Basin hotel, I charged from my room's AC outlet through a 100' 12 gauge cord.
I've lobbied the Gage Hotel. I did charge at the mentioned RV park in Marathon several years ago but not again because I found it farther from the Gage than I wanted to walk. With the news posted here, I'll certainly check them out next time I'm in Marathon.
I've lobbied Stillwell store. I've charged at Stillwell and noted how much nicer 80 amps would be. I suggested to the guy there that he could levy a parking fee or somesuch.
I recently charged at Davis Mountains State Park while staying at Indian Lodge. There is a "park host" RV slot that is closer to the Lodge and is many times open. They do not normally rent that slot so I suggest asking about it. I stopped in Prude Ranch and confirmed they have about 6 RV slots with 50 amp outlets. Same price as park, as I recall.
Dr. J
Active Member
mckemie
Member
mckemie
Member
OH! I failed to mention Balmorhea. I checked in there a few weeks ago.
1) City Hall said that they normally do offer 14-50 charging. However, at the time I was there, all stalls were full with RVs and they offered me no alternative. Fortunately, I was just checking things out and did not need to charge.
2) On to the Park. The pool is closed. Work crews are working on the CCC cabins so they are closed. The RV park is closed to all but the work crews. No joy at the park. The only thing open is the entrance office. It looks like that may last many months.
I met a guy at Iraan who lives in Marfa and was driving his new/used S60 to Austin so he had to charge some in Iraan to reach Ozona. He clued me in on the Balmorhea pool deal: earthquakes from fracking are the likely culprit for the pool failure.
Pecos is a changed place. Overwhelmed by oil workers. I did get into the hotel that is supposed to have destination charging. Turns out, they do not have a wall connector but a J1772 station. It did, however, give me 70 amps at good voltage. The hotel people indicated that they get almost no charging business. I haven't been to Pecos in quite a while but remember their rather modest zoo. It has been closed about 7 years.
1) City Hall said that they normally do offer 14-50 charging. However, at the time I was there, all stalls were full with RVs and they offered me no alternative. Fortunately, I was just checking things out and did not need to charge.
2) On to the Park. The pool is closed. Work crews are working on the CCC cabins so they are closed. The RV park is closed to all but the work crews. No joy at the park. The only thing open is the entrance office. It looks like that may last many months.
I met a guy at Iraan who lives in Marfa and was driving his new/used S60 to Austin so he had to charge some in Iraan to reach Ozona. He clued me in on the Balmorhea pool deal: earthquakes from fracking are the likely culprit for the pool failure.
Pecos is a changed place. Overwhelmed by oil workers. I did get into the hotel that is supposed to have destination charging. Turns out, they do not have a wall connector but a J1772 station. It did, however, give me 70 amps at good voltage. The hotel people indicated that they get almost no charging business. I haven't been to Pecos in quite a while but remember their rather modest zoo. It has been closed about 7 years.
Alphacrux
Member
Yes. Noted for hosting the annual Texas Star Party. They also have trail riding. It was there that Apple Pie (retired) tried to drive me into some cactus during a beginners trail ride.
Graffi
Member
On Plugshare there are photos of one J1772 and two Tesla HPWC. These are at the Best Western Plus Swiss Chalet Hotel and Suites, not the Best Western Swiss Clock Inn, which is next door.
I do hope these are still in operation as I will be using one of them on our Westward journey home somewhere around Labor Day weekend. Driving Coast to Coast from Jacksonville, FL to San Diego, CA. We wanted to go I-10 all the way but not yet. Last year we used I-40, this year I-20, so maybe next year I-10 through Fort Stockton and their brand new Supercharger.
eladts
Member
Thanks! Two really minor nitpicks: the EV parking tag means there are signs limiting parking near the charging stations to EV only. I don't see such signs in the pictures. Also, for HPWC that are part of the Tesla destination program, the type of station is set to Tesla Destination instead of Non-Networked. Again, I'm not sure if this applies in this case. Again thanks! I haven't been in the area since 2009, but it is good to know that I would be able to take a road trip there in my future Model 3 thanks to your efforts.
eladts: Thank you for the feedback! I fixed the "EV Parking" but there was no "Tesla Destination" option in the pulldown menu fo the HPWCs. Tesla has not yet added this location to its website, perhaps related?
I will be visiting family in San Marcos, TX this winter (late Feb) and driving back to Los Angeles in my MX 100D. Using abetterrouteplanner.com, it says I can make it from Ozona to Van Horn by charging to 100% and arriving with 7% charge remaining. However, this is assuming zero headwinds. If I plug in 10mph headwinds it limits my speed to 50mph in order to make it, which is less than ideal and makes me nervous that I could get stuck if there were stronger winds.
Now if the Fort Stockton supercharger ever gets built this will be a moot point, but I'm wondering if anyone has made the trip in a MX 100D? What sort of headwinds should I expect? I know from reading this thread that there are alternatives routes should I get stuck, but I'd rather try to make it in one shot if possible. Am I bound to end up at Fort Stockton RV park?
Now if the Fort Stockton supercharger ever gets built this will be a moot point, but I'm wondering if anyone has made the trip in a MX 100D? What sort of headwinds should I expect? I know from reading this thread that there are alternatives routes should I get stuck, but I'd rather try to make it in one shot if possible. Am I bound to end up at Fort Stockton RV park?
I suggest a detour to Midland for a charge at that supercharger- We did that in our S85 and it worked, just have to deal with 2 lane roads from Midland to Ozona. There are a couple of different routes, but we took one that only added 70 miles to the trip one word of caution, try to drive through the 2 lane roads during the day - lots of Deer around at dusk, we saw several and some that had been recently hit. We luckily didn't hit any. We got back to Van Horn with maybe 12-15% charge left from Midland
The San Marcos supercharger is at a very large outlet mall. only 5 stalls but it's pretty far out in the lot so not too much risk of ICEing.
The San Marcos supercharger is at a very large outlet mall. only 5 stalls but it's pretty far out in the lot so not too much risk of ICEing.
DoctorVenkman:
I would advise against trying Ozona-Van Horn going either way (226 miles). (I won't try it with my S 100D.)
7% is not enough margin if there is an accident, detour, cold, or wind. Alternate routes are even longer.
The other traffic will be driving 80-90 mph on I-10 as they pass and wave back at you with one finger.
I suggest Ozona-Iraan (50 mi), then Iraan-Van Horn (181 miles). Only adds 5 miles.
You can read about the Iraan oil fields while you get your 50 miles back. Library is only one block away.
(Or you could mosey to the Mesquite Wood bbq or Old House Cafe.)
Iraan has a J-1772 up to 70 amps. It gets picky sometimes and tries to limit charge rate, so beware.
Ozona SC has had issues with unnecessary throttling. The handicapped slot is the only one that works consistently.
Again, beware - watch it on your app.
Brand new route option: Ozona/Iraan - Fort Davis - Van Horn. Two new HPWCs up to 72 amps in Fort Davis.
Adds 50 or 60 miles to the trip, but it is a nicer drive. Hotel, restaurants, etc. in FD. No oil field traffic.
Van Horn - FD: 80 miles
FD - Iraan: 152 miles
FD - Ozona: 197 miles
I would advise against trying Ozona-Van Horn going either way (226 miles). (I won't try it with my S 100D.)
7% is not enough margin if there is an accident, detour, cold, or wind. Alternate routes are even longer.
The other traffic will be driving 80-90 mph on I-10 as they pass and wave back at you with one finger.
I suggest Ozona-Iraan (50 mi), then Iraan-Van Horn (181 miles). Only adds 5 miles.
You can read about the Iraan oil fields while you get your 50 miles back. Library is only one block away.
(Or you could mosey to the Mesquite Wood bbq or Old House Cafe.)
Iraan has a J-1772 up to 70 amps. It gets picky sometimes and tries to limit charge rate, so beware.
Ozona SC has had issues with unnecessary throttling. The handicapped slot is the only one that works consistently.
Again, beware - watch it on your app.
Brand new route option: Ozona/Iraan - Fort Davis - Van Horn. Two new HPWCs up to 72 amps in Fort Davis.
Adds 50 or 60 miles to the trip, but it is a nicer drive. Hotel, restaurants, etc. in FD. No oil field traffic.
Van Horn - FD: 80 miles
FD - Iraan: 152 miles
FD - Ozona: 197 miles
tmoz
S85D, Y LR, ex Prius PiP
Is your screen name Ghost Busters inspired? If yes, cool. If no, lucky you.
Thanks for this, very helpful! The Fort Davis detour does look nicer, but we're going to be on a bit of a timeline so I'll probably skip it this time around. It sounds like the top-up in Iraan is the best option for this trip. My only worry is that it's a single charger - have you ever run into someone else charging there? I guess in that case we could go to Fort Stockton RV park instead and pay the $10.
Back off man, I'm a scientist!
My personal experience/opinion on stopping in Iraan heading west is that it is just too close to Ozona (so the battery is still pretty highly charged) it is slow, (I have 48 amp charging), and the additional time and distance added means it doesn't really save anything. I still had to stop in Balmorhea to charge, and could have just driven straight there and saved a couple of hours.Thanks for this, very helpful! The Fort Davis detour does look nicer, but we're going to be on a bit of a timeline so I'll probably skip it this time around. It sounds like the top-up in Iraan is the best option for this trip. My only worry is that it's a single charger - have you ever run into someone else charging there? I guess in that case we could go to Fort Stockton RV park instead and pay the $10.
Back off man, I'm a scientist!
On the up side, I might go to iraan just to visit Mesquite Wood BBQ.
My asterisk here is that I was driving my MS60D before it was upgraded, and it was in the first few months of ownership (although we had driven across the country already).
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