Garage Issue: Need Charger Placement Advice

[DrLOAC]

Hey, first post.

I’m planing to buy an M3 LR in the next month or so. I’ve currently got a couple of electricians coming by to give me a quote on running a 240 line for the mobile charger or Tesla wall charger (not sure which to go with yet)

The issue I have is where to place the charger. The garage is a finished attached 2 car garage. The breaker box is on the exterior of the left garage wall while the door from the house to the garage is on the right.

With the charge port on the rear driver side of the M3 it would be ideal to put it in the left spot in the garage. I can’t however. The other vehicle in the garage is a Suburban and due to a deep freeze, refrigerator and shelving system the truck only fits on the left side of the garage. That puts the M3 on the right with charge port in the middle rear of the garage when parked head in.

So it seems my choices of mounting location for either type of charger are:

• Left rear side of the garage - problem here is the charge cable would be drawn across the back of the Suburban and have to be disconnected when ever the Suburban goes anywhere.
• Right rear side of the garage - problem would be dragging the cable across the back of the Tesla. So possible paint damage after awhile? Also space is tight on that wall but could work
• Middle of the forward wall - problem here is the garage is 20 feet long will either charger have a long enough cord to reach the backside with enough slack in the charger cable?
• Middle of the garage ceiling far enough back to avoid the garage door opening - can one of the chargers actually be mounted to the ceiling? Would also have to add a retractable cable reel so the charge cable doesn’t hang on the floor when not in use

I almost think the ceiling mount is the best long term option even if it’s the one requiring the most upfront work.

Anyone else have the problem or have some advice?

Thanks!

 

[Tam]

...cord...

The longest cord for High Power Wall Connector is 18 feet while the mobile unit is 20 feet.


Without a picture, the orientation, right/left and front/rear confuses me.

The garage has a big garage door for cars so I would call that orientation as Front of the garage, toward the street.

The garage has a small house door for people so I would call that orientation as Rear of the garage, toward the house wall.


I think you like to park head in, so the front of the cars is toward the small house door and toward the wall of the house, not the street, not the big garage door.

Let me see if my orientation is correct:

Head-in Parking:

Right passenger side: Model 3 facing the small house door while the Left Driver side is the Suburban and the Main Electrical Panel.

If the setup is at #1, you can hook and unhook your charger cord from the car's driver rear side charge port easily.

If the setup is at #2, your cord is ran over by the Suburban (if the cord is that long).

If the setup is at #3, if the cord is long enough, it can touch your front driver tire, so no paint will be harmed. If the cord is barely longh enough, you might have to let it cross over on your front hood and you might need a blanket to protect the paint.

If the setup is at #4, it only makes sense if the cord is long enough, the cord can be on the ground in front of the Suburban's tires then angle back toward the Model 3 charge port at Model 3's driver rear charge port.

With the cord length of 18 feet and 20 feet, I doubt they can reach from #2 or #4.

Thus, the best is #1, second best #3 but I don't think 20 feet is long enough for your second best.

I think ceiling is a good option too.

Good luck!

 

[Petermcg]

My wall charger is right next to the charging port. While I don’t have your orientation problem, I occasionally back my M3 into the garage which means I have to run my (long) charging cable down the passenger side and around the back of the car to reach the port. It isn’t a problem and there’s no risk of paint damage as it just lays on the floor with cable to spare.

 

[Orys3]

Same scenario, except our other vehicle is a van. Wall charger is on the wall near the garage door. The cord falls naturally under the back bumper and no issues with paint damage.

 

[terrywhite]

I decided on a front wall approach for mine. I back the left Tesla in 100% of the time. The right Tesla can pull in or back in and the cables reach either way.

 

[bjrosen]

If I were you I'd do what Orys3 did, place it on the right wall at the rear to give you the shortest distance for the cord. Place it as far towards the door as you can so that doesn't drape over the car.

 

[rtanov]

Here is what I did - an easy DIY job. A steel cable and a few attachment and tightening clamps from the local HW store. And a few zip ties to attach the charging cable to the steel wire. You'd have to have enough clearance over the Suburban though. My charger is on the right hidden by the shelf, but left installation would also work as long as the charging cable is long enough.

 

[Mrbrock]

Paint damage? The cord sits in the floor as others have mentioned, you won’t be dragging it across the trunk. Do what Orys3 did and you’ll be fine. Mounting on the ceiling would have to be forward of the garage door when open and you’ll always have a cord hanging down about where you open your front door. More likely to get damage with that installation.

If middle of the forward wall is best location, can you back in? It would be similar to charger at back right pulling in forward. You’d have the cord on the ground going around the back the charge port.

As far as which to get, the HPWC will allow you to charge faster if you can put in a 60A breaker. If you can only do 40A, either connector will give you the same charge rate.

 

[miimura]

My 14-50 outlet for the Model 3 is in the middle of the wall between position #1 and #3 in your diagram @Tam. I have the Mobile Connector cable zip tied to some wire shelves and a holster screwed to the shelf near the garage door. When not in use, the cable is coiled over the holster. When in use, the cable goes across the back of the Model 3 and reaches perfectly so the cord does not touch the car. Having the cable go across the back of the charging vehicle is far better than going across the back of the other vehicle. You can't drive when the cord is connected, and you really don't want to drive over the cable with the other vehicle. I don't have any photos of the setup, but can provide if people are interested.

 

[DrLOAC]

That’s basically the layout of the garage - great visual aid!

#1 or the ceiling looks like my best bet. #1 is tight due to shelving and potential small clearance but I think there’s enough room and would probably be the over all easiest to install.

I’ll update the thread with what we decide.

Thanks for all the inputs!

The longest cord for High Power Wall Connector is 18 feet while the mobile unit is 20 feet.


Without a picture, the orientation, right/left and front/rear confuses me.

The garage has a big garage door for cars so I would call that orientation as Front of the garage, toward the street.

The garage has a small house door for people so I would call that orientation as Rear of the garage, toward the house wall.


I think you like to park head in, so the front of the cars is toward the small house door and toward the wall of the house, not the street, not the big garage door.

Let me see if my orientation is correct:

Head-in Parking:

Right passenger side: Model 3 facing the small house door while the Left Driver side is the Suburban and the Main Electrical Panel.

View attachment 644044





If the setup is at #1, you can hook and unhook your charger cord from the car's driver rear side charge port easily.

If the setup is at #2, your cord is ran over by the Suburban (if the cord is that long).

If the setup is at #3, if the cord is long enough, it can touch your front driver tire, so no paint will be harmed. If the cord is barely longh enough, you might have to let it cross over on your front hood and you might need a blanket to protect the paint.

If the setup is at #4, it only makes sense if the cord is long enough, the cord can be on the ground in front of the Suburban's tires then angle back toward the Model 3 charge port at Model 3's driver rear charge port.

With the cord length of 18 feet and 20 feet, I doubt they can reach from #2 or #4.

Thus, the best is #1, second best #3 but I don't think 20 feet is long enough for your second best.

I think ceiling is a good option too.

Good luck!

 

[Tam]

#1 or the ceiling looks like my best bet...

If you do back-in parking, #3 would be great as it would be next to the left rear driver side charging port.

Backing-in parking would work great for both #1 and #3.

I used to do head-in parking until I got a great rear-view camera since 2012 Tesla Model S and later (and it's been 9 years).

I hate doing head-in parking since then because I can't see what's under the hood in front. Also, it's safer to get out of the garage in a hurry when the front of the car is heading out and ready.

 

[F14Scott]

I built this, so my wife could nose in on the right. Under $100 in parts, and about an hour to string up. Works like a champ.

 

[miimura]

I built this, so my wife could nose in on the right. Under $100 in parts, and about an hour to string up. Works like a champ.

Nice job. The only improvement I would suggest is a V-shaped guy wire arrangement to give it more stability against swinging forward and back.

 

[MarsOrBust]

I saw a neighbors garage and his is on the ceiling!
Pretty crazy at first but it seems to work well. Has the longer cable with a retract system. Two teslas in the garage and he can reach both.

 

[F14Scott]

Nice job. The only improvement I would suggest is a V-shaped guy wire arrangement to give it more stability against swinging forward and back.

I actually considered that, but decided I'd rather the assembly swing back and forth, if something hooked the looped cable, than be rigid, rip out of the wall, and collapse on the car below. As it is, it moves around gracefully but returns to center.

 

[leonar40]

Position 2 is the best for kids. Keeps them able to access all their stuff through the middle of the garage without ever coming into contact with the cable. My panel is actually inside the house on the opposite wall, so I had the electrician string it up through the attic, run it across, and then drop it back down on the wall where #2 is shown. Cost more for the extra labor and conduit but well worth it for the long haul and totally stealth, there is no exposed cable going to the wall charger.

 

[DrLOAC]

If you do back-in parking, #3 would be great as it would be next to the left rear driver side charging port.

Backing-in parking would work great for both #1 and #3.

I used to do head-in parking until I got a great rear-view camera since 2012 Tesla Model S and later (and it's been 9 years).

I hate doing head-in parking since then because I can't see what's under the hood in front. Also, it's safer to get out of the garage in a hurry when the front of the car is heading out and ready.

The problem with back in parking is at number 3 that wall has the manifold for our pex water system. So it’s full of hot and cold water lines (ask me how I know.)

 

[DrLOAC]

I built this, so my wife could nose in on the right. Under $100 in parts, and about an hour to string up. Works like a champ.

Very nice! I just found a similar option elsewhere. I’m considering it

 

[Gasaraki]

Hey, first post.

I’m planing to buy an M3 LR in the next month or so. I’ve currently got a couple of electricians coming by to give me a quote on running a 240 line for the mobile charger or Tesla wall charger (not sure which to go with yet)

The issue I have is where to place the charger. The garage is a finished attached 2 car garage. The breaker box is on the exterior of the left garage wall while the door from the house to the garage is on the right.

With the charge port on the rear driver side of the M3 it would be ideal to put it in the left spot in the garage. I can’t however. The other vehicle in the garage is a Suburban and due to a deep freeze, refrigerator and shelving system the truck only fits on the left side of the garage. That puts the M3 on the right with charge port in the middle rear of the garage when parked head in.

So it seems my choices of mounting location for either type of charger are:

• Left rear side of the garage - problem here is the charge cable would be drawn across the back of the Suburban and have to be disconnected when ever the Suburban goes anywhere.
• Right rear side of the garage - problem would be dragging the cable across the back of the Tesla. So possible paint damage after awhile? Also space is tight on that wall but could work
• Middle of the forward wall - problem here is the garage is 20 feet long will either charger have a long enough cord to reach the backside with enough slack in the charger cable?
• Middle of the garage ceiling far enough back to avoid the garage door opening - can one of the chargers actually be mounted to the ceiling? Would also have to add a retractable cable reel so the charge cable doesn’t hang on the floor when not in use

I almost think the ceiling mount is the best long term option even if it’s the one requiring the most upfront work.

Anyone else have the problem or have some advice?

Thanks!

Right rear. The cable will not touch the car. It's long enough to hit the ground but it will running behind the car.