From the wife...

[Goodlife]

Well it shouldn't be much longer til I get my husband back!
The tesla is ordered and slated for delivery in a few weeks. I just have to say that I have never seen my husband so "all-consumed" by anything like he is with this car. Any free moment he has is spent reading and learning more about the Tesla! I'm hoping/thinking/assuming that eventually he will be over his excitement with this vehicle and will join planet earth again.
From what I am hearing, we will be one of a very few owners in the great state of Nebraska! I decided when I saw how obsessed he was with the Tesla that I would not try to change his mind or stand in the way of his dream to own one, but I have to admit I have some concerns.
The #1 thing bothering me is the obvious fact that there are no charging stations in our state. That leaves me to conclude that our decision to own the model S either makes us very "up-and-coming" or very stupid.
Im worrying about things like, "what will the neighbors think?" and "will I EVER feel like I can drive this vehicle around town without a whole lot of anxiety?"
I'd love to hear from anyone who can either ease my mind or simply relate =}
No matter what, we are in this together and hope to see you fellow Tesla owners/lovers on the road... Cuz there's nothing better than living the

"Good life"

 

[bonnie]

Welcome to the forum Get your own username, so you can be *you* and not *the wife*.

Regarding your 'where do we charge?' concern, due to lack of charging stations in your area ... you charge at home, in your garage, every night. And you wake up every morning to a car fully charged. I suspect there are very few days where you would drive in excess of the range.

You're going to love driving electric.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh oops. YOU are 'goodlife'.

Welcome!

 

[brianman]

Sounds like someone needs "the phone call", bonnie.

 

[dflye]

My wife had similar concerns and made similar concessions about my overwhelming obsession with getting a Model S. After it arrived in November, she was adamant about not driving it, even after I persuaded several of her friends and relatives to take it for a test drive. Eventually she caved in, and has taken it out multiple times since then (although the first time our son saw the S pull into the school parking lot for pickup one day and realized it was her not me driving, he was concerned)

The real test for us will be taking longer road trips using the S, as while NC does have a scattering of charging stations, they aren't really on the routes or near the destinations we'd normally frequent, which makes travel planning a challenge.

 

[Goodlife]

Taking a road trip will have its challenges, Bonnie.:wink:

 

[bonnie]

Taking a road trip will have its challenges, Bonnie.:wink:

Well, yes ... but a few things to consider ...

• Superchargers will be available to you in the next few years
• When I first got my Roadster (2 years ago!), there was ONE place to charge in San Francisco. Now, there are more places than I can be bothered counting. It's amazing how quickly things took off. It will happen there, too.
• RV parks typically have 40amp service (call to make sure). Allstays | Campgrounds | RV Parks RV parks are everywhere.

How often do you take roadtrips?

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The #1 thing bothering me is the obvious fact that there are no charging stations in our state.

Actually, there ARE charging stations in your state. www.recargo.com Not an overwhelming number, but definitely more than I had available a couple of years ago here on the left side of the country.

 

[carrerascott]

Reset your odometer on your car you have now. See if you ever (other than roadtrips) get close to driving 250 miles per day. If not, then you have nothing to be anxious about (with the 85). If so, then you'd have to come home and recharge, so the Tesla may not be for you yet. But 250 miles in a day is a good 4 hours at 60mph per day -- that's a lot.

I live in central Virginia, which likely won't have any charging stations either.

 

[dsm363]

Welcome!
If you have two cars in the family and the gas car is suitable for road trips you can always take that as well.

 

[Krugerrand]

From one wife to another; at least you know where he is and what he's doing, and it's relatively harmless. :wink:

 

[ChadS]

Four your ago, my wife was in your shoes. I didn't know anybody with an electric car, and I had never driven one, but I was determined to get one and spent a lot of time on the internet looking around to figure out what my options were. I bought a used RAV4-EV on Ebay from Utah. I had it shipped up sight unseen.

My wife thought I was crazy. She told me I could experiment with my car all I wanted, but I was to leave her car alone. The RAV4 would probably be rated at about 90 miles on today's EPA test, and she didn't want to have to worry about range.

Of course, as soon the car arrived, she started driving it and fell in love. It became her car, and that's when I ordered a Tesla Roadster. We recently sold the RAV4 and she now drives a Model S. But she drove that RAV4 for almost 4 years, and it was the most convenient car she has ever driven. She never once took it in for service, never once went to a gas station, and never looked for a charging station (there weren't any!) and never once waited for a charge. She just got in the car and drove it, day after day for years.

Of course there were a few days - maybe one every 4 months - where she needed more range. We just swapped cars those days. (My Tesla Roadster had a lot more range, but was a small two-seater...similar to a Miata. Frankly I had to trade vehicles with her more often to carry more people or cargo, but nobody has ever asked me if I have cargo anxiety). As long as you still have another car in the household, there is nothing easier! You will love the car.

 

[carrerascott]

But she drove that Model S for almost 4 years, and it was the most convenient car she has ever driven. She never once took it in for service, never once went to a gas station, and never looked for a charging station (there weren't any!) and never once waited for a charge. She just got in the car and drove it, day after day for years.

Wow, you've had a Model S for 4 years? Impressive!

 

[brianman]

I am also confused by that part of ChadS's story.

 

[Krugerrand]

I am also confused by that part of ChadS's story.

ChadS simply has Model S on the brain. He probably says, Good Morning Mr. Model S when he greets his boss. And I'll have some Model S with those fries when he orders at McDonald's.

 

[Doug_G]

Replace that instance of "Model S" with "Rav4 EV" and it makes perfect sense.

 

[ChadS]

Replace that instance of "Model S" with "Rav4 EV" and it makes perfect sense.

Thanks, Doug. I edited my post; sorry for the typo.

...or did I really get the first Model S prototype? You will never know for sure.

 

[brianman]

Replace that instance of "Model S" with "Rav4 EV" and it makes perfect sense.

We recently sold the RAV4 and she now drives a Rav4 EV.

Weird.

 

[kinddog]

I live in central Virginia, which likely won't have any charging stations either.

I'd be willing to bet that Richmond (off of I-95) is on the short list of SuperCharging stations with Tesla.

besides, i bet there are a ton of 3rd-party charging stations all over Charlottesville. i doubt Nebraska has those either...

 

[efusco]

This could have been written by my wife 2 months ago. She knew my passion for alternative energy vehicles and I'd talked for ages that if the 'right' EV was built that I would have to buy it to support the technology. She conceded (at the then $50k price point, that eventually grew to $90k). She wasn't certain about driving it either. But let me tell you, it didn't take much prompting after the first time she drove it before it became something she really wanted to drive over our other cars. (see this thread: My Model S was stolen...again!! )

As pointed out, there are chargers, even in Nebraska, but it's unlikely you'll need to use them very often and if you do take a road trip just a bit of planning ahead of time will be necessary.

 

[jerry33]

And don't forget that the Tesla can be plugged into any 50 Amp RV plug (and will charge faster there than most EVSEs). These aren't on the charging applications, so you need an RV Park app to find those.

 

[Goodlife]

We live in a rural area and do have several other vehicles to get us where we want to go, BUT I sure think it will be hard to take the long road trips and pay for gas, when the Tesla is at home in the garage (since there are no super chargers anywhere in our state) I'm sure crossing my fingers that a couple of these go in before too many years go by. With kids living 4-5 hours away its not unusual for us to travel to see them. Its a different way of life for us. We are going to feel like pioneers of the modern world for a change. We've lived a reserved style of life for many, many years, so that may be a nice switch. I'm sure it's hard for most city people to imagine, but our closest Walmart is 1 hr away and our closest Target is over 2 hrs from us.
I have another question that is on my mind:
It's not uncommon to have thunderstorms out here on the prairie. Do we need to be concerned about lightening causing damage when the Tesla is connected to the charger?:scared:
Thanks for advice/comments on this subject.
it's a gorgeous day and I'm thinking about painting the garage. I want it to be Tesla worthy after all! (Downside; traveling 50 mi for paint...seriously!)
~gotta love livin the Goodlife