Is a 3 night stay in Big Bend (no charging) crazy?

[Zaxxon]

Great info, @growler23. I'm considering a trip to Big Bend for spring break in our X, and the actual day in BBNP is the only part I'm struggling with at this point, largely because the lodging options with 50A or Tesla service are all booked up.

We have an Airbnb near the Alpine Stable 14-50 outlets, so we'll depart there with a full charge. Even so, trying to shoot down for the Big Bend driving loop over to Terlingua and back up to Alpine is dicey without an overnight stop in Terlingua on some form of L2 charging. We'll have our family of 4 plus 2 dogs, so car camping is right out. My poor prior planning for a peak season visit is making this difficult.

Would be great if Tesla would stick a Supercharger in Terlingua...

 

[growler23]

Great info, @growler23. I'm considering a trip to Big Bend for spring break in our X, and the actual day in BBNP is the only part I'm struggling with at this point, largely because the lodging options with 50A or Tesla service are all booked up.

We have an Airbnb near the Alpine Stable 14-50 outlets, so we'll depart there with a full charge. Even so, trying to shoot down for the Big Bend driving loop over to Terlingua and back up to Alpine is dicey without an overnight stop in Terlingua on some form of L2 charging. We'll have our family of 4 plus 2 dogs, so car camping is right out. My poor prior planning for a peak season visit is making this difficult.

Would be great if Tesla would stick a Supercharger in Terlingua...

Yes, that does look like a dicey number of miles for a round trip, particularly with a full vehicle. You could possibly contact the folks at Retro Rents where I stayed in Terlingua; their L2 charging might make the difference for you, but you'd have to entertain your family for, say, a couple of hours to get enough charge to feel safe heading out again. And you might need to do it without running the AC and entertainment or you'd be talking 3 hours...
I agree that a Supercharger down there would open up a lot of great areas to visit, but I have a feeling the traffic level is nowhere near what Tesla would want to see to justify that.

 

[Zaxxon]

I agree that a Supercharger down there would open up a lot of great areas to visit, but I have a feeling the traffic level is nowhere near what Tesla would want to see to justify that.

Yeah, I imagine you're right. I'd just love to see even a minimal/'cheap' setup, eg the smallest grouping of urban SCs Tesla can put in. Even that would make a world of difference.

On the one hand, I'm considering just skipping BBNP, as it may not be worth the headache on this trip since we have no 'easy' charging options, we'll have our dogs and it's not a dog-friendly park, and we have plenty to see/do outside of BB: Guadalupe Mountains, Ft Davis, Carlsbad, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Valles Caldera, and Capulin.

On the other hand, BBNP is in the middle of actually-seriously-no-really-nowhere, and heading down from Colorado a separate time for BBNP is also not an enticing thought.

 

[growler23]

Yeah, I imagine you're right. I'd just love to see even a minimal/'cheap' setup, eg the smallest grouping of urban SCs Tesla can put in. Even that would make a world of difference.

On the one hand, I'm considering just skipping BBNP, as it may not be worth the headache on this trip since we have no 'easy' charging options, we'll have our dogs and it's not a dog-friendly park, and we have plenty to see/do outside of BB: Guadalupe Mountains, Ft Davis, Carlsbad, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Valles Caldera, and Capulin.

On the other hand, BBNP is in the middle of actually-seriously-no-really-nowhere, and heading down from Colorado a separate time for BBNP is also not an enticing thought.

All that makes sense. I've gone to BBNP for a number of years now, and while there is much to see on a driving trip, it's way better to do a couple of hikes there. Might be a thing to do once fast DC charging is everywhere, even far off the highways of West Texas. Either way enjoy your trip! Don't foget to drop by for a dip in Balmorrhea Springs if you have the chance.

 

[Zaxxon]

All that makes sense. I've gone to BBNP for a number of years now, and while there is much to see on a driving trip, it's way better to do a couple of hikes there. Might be a thing to do once fast DC charging is everywhere, even far off the highways of West Texas. Either way enjoy your trip! Don't foget to drop by for a dip in Balmorrhea Springs if you have the chance.

Looks cool--will definitely try to fit it in, especially if we don't head down to BBNP.

And the more I think about it, Tesla could even put a 4-post HPWC install somewhere public with a 100A circuit and even that would make a big difference. Would be a pittance of a cost.

 

[brkaus]

Looks cool--will definitely try to fit it in, especially if we don't head down to BBNP.

And the more I think about it, Tesla could even put a 4-post HPWC install somewhere public with a 100A circuit and even that would make a big difference. Would be a pittance of a cost.

How much would a driver be willing to pay if someone put in a chademo w/ a Tesla adaptor? My guess is next to nothing so there would never be a return.

 

[Zaxxon]

How much would a driver be willing to pay if someone put in a chademo w/ a Tesla adaptor? My guess is next to nothing so there would never be a return.

Which is why I'm talking about Tesla. The return is they close another 'difficult-to-travel' hole in their customers' landscape. One hosting a national park, no less.

I took my 3 to Teddy Roosevelt in North Dakota in 2018, and far west TX makes ND look like a charging panacea.

 

[growler23]

Which is why I'm talking about Tesla. The return is they close another 'difficult-to-travel' hole in their customers' landscape. One hosting a national park, no less.

I took my 3 to Teddy Roosevelt in North Dakota in 2018, and far west TX makes ND look like a charging panacea.

I think that as time goes on, businesses will figure out a way to make charging a value. Captive audience for 20 minutes (SC) to a couple hours (high current AC) potentially with bored, hungry kids could match some business models. And West Texas traffic is light (understatement) but IIRC Big Bend gets around 1 million visitors annually, many/most of whom must drive.
Some must fly into Lajitas, which is quite a posh resort and might support a SuperCharger, come to think of it.
We may see an uptick in charging out there when the Cybertruck finally gets out (or the Rivian in significant numbers, or the Lightning) as us low-clearance Teslas are limited to the well paved byways right now.