los angeles to el paso anyone?

[Alireza Raboubi]

has anyone driven from la to el paso? if so what route do you recommend...thank you in advance

 

[smsprague]

It will be a real pain. No superchargers Going east on I10 after Casa Grand, AZ. Living in Tucson you can not really go east in a Tesla only North or West.

 

[cgiGuy]

Plugshare shows an EV friendly RV park in Deming, NM (would def call for verification). That's 216 mils from Tucson. Then you need 100 miles to get to El Paso, so at least you wouldn't need to do a full charge at the RV park (at 40 amps).

Roadrunner RV Park | Deming, NM | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

 

[smsprague]

Problem is no Superchargers in Tucson and you can't make it from Casa Grand

 

[smsprague]

I would rent a car or fly.

 

[cgiGuy]

Good point. There are a few CHAdeMO chargers in Tucson, though.

 

[smsprague]

Maybe spend the night in Tucson at La Paloma - they have Tesla HPWC for guests. That would break up the trip anyway.

 

[bsbomber]

It is 382 miles from Casa Grande, AZ to El Paso. Yes, you can stay and charge in Tucson, but don't forget about campgrounds along the way. If it were me, I would drive 236 miles (MAX 60MPH) from Casa Grande to the KOA in Lordsburg, NM and stay in a Kamping Cabin overnight. ( My girls love staying at a cabin at KOA while charging Tess) If you have the time, I would much rather drive than fly.

 

[TaoJones]

Good luck. Tesla has made exactly zero progress in 2015 and so far, zero progress in 2016 toward the stated goal of closing the I-10 wasteland/gap from Tucson to San Antonio. It's incomprehensible given the relative inherent danger of transiting I-40 or I-70 by comparison much of the year. It's one thing to say, "Oh, I'll just carry chains". Yeah, well, a) better make sure they're the right chains and b) better plan ahead because not all SvCs have them on hand. Not everyone has snow tires nor AWD. It's just gotten embarrassing at this point.

Meanwhile, that Lordsburg run is better made after topping off at the Embassy Suites in Tucson (2x80A HPWCs). It's ridiculous in any case because it should not take THREE DAYS to make a trip that normally could be made in one long day. I have business in Tucson regularly and refuse to make the trip east from there yet along I-10 just out of principle. Not to mention it's not justifiable.

Finally, please note that the Chademo in Tucson are *all* underpowered either by manufacture or by service run. Your best bet is the one at the Nissan dealership at the Auto Mall, but be aware that you're competing with every other Tesla (with a Chademo adapter) and Leaf in the area. The Nissan dealership manager (Darrin) and internet sales manager (Tom) are gracious folks - if you grab a couple of their cards for people you encounter who might not be Tesla candidates yet but who could swing a Leaf, they'd appreciate the business. All for one and one for all, and that sort of thing. Better a Leaf than a Prius, eh.

Anyway, all is not lost - if/when the Supercharger team gets off the schneid and maybe scores a deal with a national/regional travel center (truck stop) chain (or preferably with some of the longstanding independents, such as the Triple-T on what used to be the outskirts of Tucson), they could close that 8 SC gap from Tucson to San Antonio within a couple of years. But as it stands today, anyone who believes the 2016 projection, as with the 2015 projection, is smoking better stuff than the rest of us - and should bring enough for everybody.

 

[Alireza Raboubi]

thank you everyone, I am moving to TX so i have to take my car. would it be a better idea to ship?

 

[smsprague]

I would drive to Tucson and stay at a hotel with a HPWC. Then find a hotel to stay at between Tucson an El Paso with a HPWC. It would only add a day to the trip for me as it would be to far to drive it all at once for me.

 

[wraithnot]

has anyone driven from la to el paso? if so what route do you recommend...thank you in advance

We've made the trip from the Bay Area to Las Cruces, New Mexico three times. El Paso isn't too much farther than Las Cruces so you should be fine if you are willing to find hotels with charging and stop at an RV park or two.

The first time in 2013 it was pretty challenging since Hawthorne and Quartzsite AZ were the only superchargers for the last part of the trip. The last two times were much easier thanks to superchargers along interstate 10. All three times we spent the night at the La Paloma in Tucson and then spent about three hours charging at the Magic Circle RV park in Wilcox AZ. We always made it to my parent's place north of Las Cruces (almost to Radium springs) with a comfortable margin of about 40 rated miles. I'd suggest adding a charging stop at the EV friendly RV park in Deming NM for an hour or two to make it to El Paso without cutting things too close. There is also a super 8 motel within walking distance of the Magic Circle RV park in Wilcox so you could charge the car overnight in Wilcox and sleep either in the Motel or in the back of the car. But the RV park doesnt allow arrivals after 6 pm IIRC so you have more flexibility spending the night in Tucson and doing your RV park charging stops during the day. If you don't mind walking a few miles, there is some surprisingly good wine tasting and good restaurants in Wilcox you can visit while the car is charging.

edit- this was done with a classic S85. We drove between 60 and 65 mph with range mode on from Tucson to Las Cruces and got better than rated mileage. Things will get easier or more difficult depending on what variety of car you have.