Longish Trip--Supercharger feasibile?

[seevT]

Hi All,
I am planning a San Diego To San Fransisco trip in the next couple of weeks and deciding whether to take my Ice or Model S 60. Would like to take model S but worried about charging on the trip given the congestion seen on superchargers specially based on my SD experience. Wanted to seek advice/feedback from folks who have done this recently (since the model 3 production ramp


I plan to split the trip into two segments: SD to Pismo beach on day -1 and Pismo beach to Bay area on Day-2 . For day-1, i have some extra time pad for charging but on day -2 i need to reach SFO by 1pm and can leave earliest by 9am. (so have only 1 hr for charging o the road)

Questions:1
1. Has anyone done the above? can i solely rely on SC or should i look into Charge point and EVGo membership? any additional plugs/adapters needed with these networks
2. Anyway to calculate the worst case supercharger wait?
2. I am thinking of getting a hotel in pismo beach with EV charging..but not sure how reliable these will be on availability on spot whn i reach? any experience? is there generally a linit how long you can change?

any other tips?

 

[abasile]

Love your profile photo! We do take road trips, we no longer own an ICE, and we have no intention of ever buying anything again that requires gasoline or diesel. On the other hand, we know Tesla owners who continue to keep an ICE because they don't want to have to charge en route on their road trips. My recommendation would be to take the Model S. You'll probably enjoy the overall experience more. On the other hand, if you don't like the experience, you can always use your ICE next time.

I doubt you'll have a problem with SC congestion except maybe at some of the more popular locations in the LA/OC area. The car's nav system can tell you how many stalls are free at a given SC. Unfortunately, I know of no way to ascertain wait times at congested SCs.

Personally, I prefer having ChargePoint and EVGo memberships for overnight charging and/or opportunity charging (when you have a need to spend time somewhere, and there happens to be charging available). We also have a CHAdeMO adapter for 50 kW charging on the EVGo network (primarily). That said, we don't frequently use those memberships when road tripping, and we haven't ever actually needed our CHAdeMO adapter, though we may use it this summer. Your included J-1772 adapter and UMC should be adequate.

Normally hotels that offer EV charging will allow you to stay plugged in overnight. I'd recommend checking their ratings on PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You. Before confirming a reservation, make a phone call to verify that you'll have access to charging. It's very helpful to be able to start each day of driving with a full charge!

 

[seevT]

thanks. Phtotocredit to my wife

Do we have to buy the chademo adapter or it comes standard in the model S kit?>

Also hoping to hear from folks who have used any of the superchargers in Socal/Nor Cal area recently while EV tripping on avaialbility/wait time ..

 

[SaveOurPlanet]

thanks. Phtotocredit to my wife

Do we have to buy the chademo adapter or it comes standard in the model S kit?>

Also hoping to hear from folks who have used any of the superchargers in Socal/Nor Cal area recently while EV tripping on avaialbility/wait time ..

I just drove up from Redondo Beach to San Francisco 2 weeks ago and found no problem, I was concerned with the SC in Oxnard because of the recent accident but they only shut down 4 out of 18 chargers due to that. I charged at Oxnard, San Luis Obispo and Salinas and hardly any cars were charging. Keep in mind that I was travelling on a weekday so not a lot of shoppers were charging. The only SC you may have problem is when you get to the Bay Area, I suspect all the local commuters are getting their free charge during lunch time or before heading home, especially bad in San Mateo and probably South Bay as well. Plan your trip carefully with EVtripplanner or Plugshare so you can make sure you have enough range. You should not have any problem at all, word of caution, there are stretches where people are pushing 85+mph even though limit is 65mph, if you flow with the fast lane traffic your range would be quite a bit shorter.

 

[SaveOurPlanet]

One more thing, if you plan to stay at Pismo Beach just for the sake of charging, you could ease your worry by staying in San Luis Obispo by the supercharger, then you can start out with a full charge in the morning and make a charging stop at Sanlinas for 45 min or less before leaving for San Francisco. BTW, I am assuming you are taking 101.

 

[bmah]

thanks. Phtotocredit to my wife

Do we have to buy the chademo adapter or it comes standard in the model S kit?>

Also hoping to hear from folks who have used any of the superchargers in Socal/Nor Cal area recently while EV tripping on avaialbility/wait time ..

The CHAdeMO adapter is extra. My gut feeling is that it's not absolutely essential (I've used mine exactly twice since 2015, both times when going off the Supercharger network).

Model S/X CHAdeMO Adapter

The rest is all my supposition...and I probably travel much much less than some other people here. You seemed to be concerned about the Model 3 production ramp, although as I look around at various Superchargers I've been to (all in Norcal), and seen pictures of other California Superchargers, I'm not seeing them overrun with Model 3s. I don't think that's a huge factor at this point in time. My gut feel is the Superchargers between the major metropolitan area aren't really that congested. US-101 is pretty well served, and there have even been some recent additions along this route (Thousand Oaks, San Luis Obispo, Salinas). You might want to charge just before you hit the Bay Area (say at Gilroy?) to avoid having to use the Bay Area chargers right when you arrive, which get pretty busy.

Although you can (most of the time) get real-time stall occupancy information for chargers close to you on the Nav display, they can't tell you about the presence of people waiting to charge.

Your trip sounds like the reverse of what we talked about in this thread...might be some useful tips in there.

Bay Area to Disney and LEGOland. Any tips?

Bruce.

PS. I'm probably going to move this thread to the California section...it's more appropriate there and might get some additional eyes.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

My advice: Don't go on Thurs/Fri before Memorial Day. Otherwise, you should be fine until the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

 

[xyeahtony]

I haven't done SD-SF but I've done SF-LA/OC plenty of times with my parents and never had a problem. The Kettleman city SC has 40 stalls, and last time I was there, I saw no more than 7 cars on a Saturday afternoon.

Reports of super crowded superchargers are greatly exaggerated and are generally restricted to local chargers in the Bay Area superchargers.

 

[ucmndd]

I personally think we're smack dab in the middle of the good old days for superchargers in California. Nearly all of the capacity issues from a year or two ago have been resolved with substantial upgrades of existing stations and scores of new ones. Model 3s haven't hit the roads in significant numbers yet to make them all congested again.

No better time than the present - I wouldn't hesitate to make the trip. I've done LA-SF many times in the last year and have never had to wait for a stall or worried about making it to the next station.

 

[ecarfan]

can i solely rely on SC

I would say “yes”.

Anyway to calculate the worst case supercharger wait?

No.

I am thinking of getting a hotel in pismo beach with EV charging..but not sure how reliable these will be on availability on spot whn i reach? any experience? is there generally a linit how long you can change?

There are 6 places to stay in Pismo with Tesla Destination Chargers and while I don’t think you will need to charge overnight if you stop there, given how many Superchargers there are now on 101, charging overnight in Pismo will save you time. Discuss your charging needs with the hotel you chose so they know you will need to use the charger for several hours after you arrive.

I don’t think you can do Pismo to SF in 4 hours total. Check out www.evtripplanner.com

 

[seevT]

thanks all . Bmah, thanks for the links and moving it to the right subforum. based om the f/b leaning towards taking the tesla

The move is part of relocation to bay area for a job--my family will still be in SoCal hence the option of either taking the tesla or leaving it here. Also it will help with the HOV lane access in 101 traffic. The apartment complex in which i plan to rent has a chargepoint-so hopefully i can use that using the J1227 adapter for 20ishmph charging?

 

[Big John]

Since you are taking the 101, you could stop at the Raddison in Santa Maria. They have two Tesla destination chargers and you can leave your car plugged in overnight. Not sure what the draw is for Pismo. Another nice stop is Atascadero. There is an Andersons Split Pea place there and nice accommodations right by the SC. If you swing over to the 5 you will have plenty of SC. Highway 1 not so sure. 101 traffic a bear until north of Santa Barbara.

 

[bxr140]

You are seriously overthinking this. The trip is a non-issue regardless if you take the 5 or 101.

The thing that is most odd to me is splitting it into two days....