I plan on traveling to my son's house in Durham, NC from Knoxville, TN. There is a Supercharger in Knoxville, but that doesn't help. The next closest is in Charlotte, NC, but not reachable from Knoxville and a bit out of the way besides. Does anybody know of a route that can be done in under 10 hours? Fast DC chargers that actually work? Help!!!
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Google maps says it's 240 miles from Knoxville to the Charlotte SC. If you have an 85, a completely full charge will get you probably 220 miles of range at highway speeds. You'll have to manage speed vs. charging time vs. risk to do this route though... There are public chargers in downtown Asheville, close to the interstate. You could hit one of those to get you the extra charge that you need.
Another possibility is to skip the Charlotte detour, spend more time in Asheville (it's a very nice little city) and fill up there. You can easily do Asheville to the Burlington SC in a mostly-charged 85. It's 190 miles from downtown to Burlington, and I've done this leg (in good weather) at about 310wh/mi.
If you have a 60, I have no idea what to tell you as you're going to have to spend a lot of time charging *somewhere*.
So you can definitely do it in less than 10 hours... but you're not going to be able to do it in six.
Another possibility is to skip the Charlotte detour, spend more time in Asheville (it's a very nice little city) and fill up there. You can easily do Asheville to the Burlington SC in a mostly-charged 85. It's 190 miles from downtown to Burlington, and I've done this leg (in good weather) at about 310wh/mi.
If you have a 60, I have no idea what to tell you as you're going to have to spend a lot of time charging *somewhere*.
So you can definitely do it in less than 10 hours... but you're not going to be able to do it in six.
A stop in Asheville is a good idea if you have a CHAdeMO adapter because there are some L3 chargers there that appear to have good success on Plugshare.
I think the fastest route would be to stop in Gastonia for a charge. There appears to be 3 locations with CHAdeMO stations. The Caromont Regional Medical Center looks like it should be good. There's even a number in Plugshare so you can always call to make sure it's available. Worst-case there's a Nissan dealership that you might want to call beforehand and see how Tesla friendly they are. If that doesn't pan out, you can always stop at one of the L2 stations for maybe an hour or two at the most just to get enough to get you to Charlotte - but if you're going to wait around, the wait in Asheville is far more enjoyable.
Good luck on your trip! Once you get to Durham, if you need a place to charge, just holler (even though I'm in Cary). There are lots of us in the area on Plugshare.
I think the fastest route would be to stop in Gastonia for a charge. There appears to be 3 locations with CHAdeMO stations. The Caromont Regional Medical Center looks like it should be good. There's even a number in Plugshare so you can always call to make sure it's available. Worst-case there's a Nissan dealership that you might want to call beforehand and see how Tesla friendly they are. If that doesn't pan out, you can always stop at one of the L2 stations for maybe an hour or two at the most just to get enough to get you to Charlotte - but if you're going to wait around, the wait in Asheville is far more enjoyable.
Good luck on your trip! Once you get to Durham, if you need a place to charge, just holler (even though I'm in Cary). There are lots of us in the area on Plugshare.
Zarwin
Member
I agree the best option is to just hit a CHAdeMO in Asheville if you have the adapter. Most of the CHAdeMO DCFCs in that area require a Greenlots account to use. Look into setting that up ahead of time if you plan on using them. Greenlots.com
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I had the same question - How to get to Knoxville from Charlotte. I ended up going home through DC but this would have worked for me:
Originally Posted by PJFW8 
Consider this: on I 26 just 6 miles south or the intersection with I 40 there is the Biltmore Park Town Square shopping area. They have a pair of free chargers and tons of convenient places for coffee or lunch (including a Borders Book store). Exit 37. Nice break before the mountains. I am not sure of the amperage, but you would not be the first Tesla to charge there! This is a nice stop prior to the drive through the mountains.
It's 252 miles if you take 74 instead of 321. Get an hour or 2 charge at the above stop and you can make it to Charlotte SC if you keep the speed at 65 mph or less. Of course if you have CHAdeMO adapter then do what one of the above posters suggest.
It's 252 miles if you take 74 instead of 321. Get an hour or 2 charge at the above stop and you can make it to Charlotte SC if you keep the speed at 65 mph or less. Of course if you have CHAdeMO adapter then do what one of the above posters suggest.
dhanson865
Well-Known Member
btw I did the Hickory to Knoxville run in a Leaf recently and used the CHAdeMO greenlots at
163 S Charlotte St
Asheville, NC 28801
It was a nice clean lot on a main street so it seemed safe to me even at dusk but I didn't see any stores or anything of note other than office buildings within walking distance. So be prepared to kill some time on your smartphone while waiting for the charge to complete.
Greenlots was easy enough to use that I was able to download the app on my phone and get charging in a couple of minutes. I literally never had their app or charged on one of their chargers before showing up to use it.
If for some reason you are low on charge before you get to Asheville there is a free J1772 at Haywood community college right off of I-40 at 185 Freedlander Dr. Clyde, NC 28721 that I also used before coming over the mountains. I doubt you'll need it but if somehow every DC charger in asheville died at the same time there is another greenlots location in Waynesville, close enough to I-40 that I actually used it (costs you about 5 to 7 miles extra driving going from Knoxville to Asheville or vice versa).
88 Montgomery Street, Waynesville NC 28786
the Plus there is you have tons of stuff within walking distance in Waynesville. It's literally right next to an Italian restaurant. Other options within a block or two.
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If you head to Charlotte via I-40 -> 321 you'll pass by my place ~50 miles north of Charlotte. If you're in a jam PM me or find me on plugshare. Two HPWC @ 80A available, enough to get you to Charlotte on about an hour of charge or straight to Burlington with ~2 hours of charge... if you have dual chargers.
dhanson865
Well-Known Member
It's only 127 rated miles from Knoxville to Asheville so I'm assuming you'll skip waynesville unless you want to eat there.
EV Trip Planner
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EV Trip Planner
either way you have to pick up a few miles on a Chademo. But once you get to Waynesville or Asheville you've already crossed the worst of the mountains and won't have any big concerns heading east from there.
Heck if you had to you could also Chademo in Hickory before you turn south to Charlotte (but it's only 60 miles from Asheville to Hickory). The Nissan dealership has a nice clean waiting area and was friendly to us even though we were just passing through and leeching electricity.
EV Trip Planner
vs
EV Trip Planner
either way you have to pick up a few miles on a Chademo. But once you get to Waynesville or Asheville you've already crossed the worst of the mountains and won't have any big concerns heading east from there.
Heck if you had to you could also Chademo in Hickory before you turn south to Charlotte (but it's only 60 miles from Asheville to Hickory). The Nissan dealership has a nice clean waiting area and was friendly to us even though we were just passing through and leeching electricity.
