From Silicon Valley to Death Valley in a Tesla

[CoastalCruiser]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but I just came across this travel log of a guy who drove his MS from Silicon Valley to Death Valley. The post caught my eye because if you have ever driven to Death Valley you know that one of the biggest concerns is your <strong>car overheating</strong>. Many a cooling system has been defeated by the heat of Death Valley.

But. With an electric car. Hmm. Nice.

Click here

 

[ggnykk]

Tesla built multiple superchargers at or near death valley, I would assume it mean Tesla cars can take the heat w/o issues.

 

[Rifleman]

I was just in death valley last week. It was 125 degrees at the time I was there. I saw 2 Model S's during the 3 hours I was in the park, neither looked to be having any problems. Sadly I was in a rental toyota camry, as my Model S was almost 3000 miles away safely plugged in at the long term airport parking lot.

 

[Owner]

This was my write up. The superchargers don't make the trip perfect yet:

Charging Stations | TESLA OWNER

The problem is that once you are in the park, you may drive a lot and need to charge up again. and there is no concessionaire for those who want to top off without staying overnight with them.

 

[ecarfan]

I have just booked 4 nights at the Furnace Creek Ranch in early February 2017. Will be driving there in my S from my home in the SF Bay Area. Looks like an easy trip because as a Furnace Creek guest I can charge there at one of their RV spots. PlugShare shows several Tesla owners have done that this past year and as recently as a week ago.

That said, I am disappointed that Furnace Creek has not yet taken advantage of the free HPWCs offered by the Tesla Destination Charging Program. Given that this page Sustainability makes a lot of noise about their solar power production one would think they would make an effort to provide more EV charging than just a few RV plugs (and what if all the RV spots are occupied and trailers are hooked up?). When I am there I am going to speak to management and ask why after all this time they don't have dedicated EV charging.

In a post in the Tesla Motors forum dated 3/13/2015 at Driving into Death Valley | Tesla Motors member @Sobonzin posted, quote:
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"I was in Death Valley without my Tesla. The only possibility for charging at present is to rent one of the campsites with hookups, which is extremely difficult in a busy season. We stayed at the Furnace creek Inn, which has no means to charge, I even checked the grounds for a 110 outle in the landscaping, no luck. I had the good fortune to speak withChris Freeman, theInn Manager. He said the he has been in contact with Tesla, and hopes to have two charging stations by the end of the year, one at the Inn and one at the Ranch. He was gracious enough to offer his direct line 760-786-3348, so those interested could check on the progress, or offer encouragement."
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So over a year and a half later it appears that Furnace Creek has done nothing for EVs. Every Tesla owner who goes there needs to ask why not. I will be calling Mr. Freeman at that number.

And yes, it would be great if Tesla built a Supercharger at Furnace Creek for people passing through Death Valley and not staying at that particular location.

 

[Owner]

I have just booked 4 nights at the Furnace Creek Ranch in early February 2017. Will be driving there in my S from my home in the SF Bay Area. Looks like an easy trip because as a Furnace Creek guest I can charge there at one of their RV spots. PlugShare shows several Tesla owners have done that this past year and as recently as a week ago.


And yes, it would be great if Tesla built a Supercharger at Furnace Creek for people passing through Death Valley and not staying at that particular location.

I'll be at the Ranch in late January for 3 nights. I went two years ago but did not stay there (no rooms available) and you can drive up to the Beatty supercharger, but that does restrict how much you are driving in DV, where the distances are long.

The National Park concessionaires are strange beasts. They do a lot of talking about sustainability but don't install many chargers or offer many vegetarian food options. More talk than action. And then Delaware North claims they own the name Ahwahnee -- not I think the local tribe does!

I'd prefer this to be not with the concessionaires. I'd rather see a charger at the visitor center or even at the local tribe's new eatery. Stop in there and have a taco.

 

[ecarfan]

I just called the Furnace Creek Ranch and asked to speak with someone who could explain to me how I could charge my Tesla when I come for 4 nights in February 2017. The person I spoke to assured me that I could use the 40A RV outlets in the campground, which I believe is the campground described on this page Furnace Creek Resort Fiddlers’ Campground

I asked what would happen if the spaces with the 40A RV outlets were all occupied by an RV or trailer when I arrived. This person insisted that there would be outlets available. I rephrased my question slightly by asking how the situation was handled if all the outlets were in use when I needed to charge. Again I was told that an outlet would be available for me.

At that point I decided that I was not going to get a rational explanation from the individual I was speaking with and thanked her and ended the call. Tomorrow I am going to call the number that @sobonzin posted at Driving into Death Valley | Tesla Motors and see if I can get a clearer explanation of the Furnace Creek charging situation.

The National Park concessionaires are strange beasts. They do a lot of talking about sustainability but don't install many chargers

Agreed. I think some of their sustainability talk is more about image marketing and less about substance. It is mystifying as to why Furnace Creek has no dedicated EV charging stations.

 

[yaja23]

@ecarfan Did you end up staying in Death Valley? What was the charging situation like? I have a trip planned in March with a couple of nights in Furnace Creek.

 

[yaja23]

For anyone that is looking to do this in the future. I stayed at the Furnace Creek Ranch in March 2017. When you check-in at the lobby, they have you sign a EV form, with make and model of your vehicle and contact information. They have a 14-50 charging port available near the laundry mat area in the resort and they let you plug-in there. It looks like there is only one available. However I was able to charge at ~ 10kw on 2 nights with no issues.