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Moving to CA from VA... CHAdeMO worth it?
- Thread starter Herroweric
- Start date
If you're traveling on the interstate highways that have Supercharger coverage, then that is fine, and the CHAdeMO adapter certainly isn't necessary. But just for ongoing possibilities in the future, if you want to enable going some places on smaller side routes to towns that may not be very easy within range of Supercharger coverage, then it can be very useful to open up your options of charging stations you can use. There are a few routes near me, around the Oregon, Idaho, Nevada intersection area that do have CHAdeMO coverage on the U.S. highways, but not Superchargers. So it can be handy sometimes.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
El joe
Active Member
Cali has so many superchargers -- I've never had an issue charging on the road in my time owning my Model 3. When I had a Bolt, charging was always an issue due to third-party chargers not working well for me. You probably don't need any non-Tesla charging options here.
kishkaru
Member
The only exception will be if you need to DC fast charge / supercharge during the daytime (10am-7pm) on a regular basis. Tesla recently raised most of the supercharger prices in CA to $0.40/kWh during these hours. Electrify America DC fast chargers are cheaper ($0.31/kWh) with their Pass+ membership ($4/mo). This is where the CHAdeMO adapter will pay for itself (over a long period of time).
However I agree with others. For a single cross-country trip, paying $400 for the CHAdeMO adapter isn't needed.
However I agree with others. For a single cross-country trip, paying $400 for the CHAdeMO adapter isn't needed.
One thing you may want consider is that in some areas of CA superchargers can be full up and you'll be waiting to get your turn. Having the CHAdeMO or Setec CCS adapter can give you options if you're in a rush. The caveat is that both adapters are limited to 50kw charging for your MY. So you'd have to consider the slower charger rate vs waiting for a slot at a SC. Especially since the MY can charge much faster than a pre-Raven MS or MX
I notice people keep talking about the situation at California Superchargers, but this question is mainly about driving across the country. I've done similar, but slightly smaller, drives in the past couple of years. I drove using I-80 and I-70 from Boise out to Kansas City and back last summer--totally fine. And in 2018, I did Boise all the way over to Dayton, OH on I-70 (and then up to Michigan) and then on the way back, branched off south through Oklahoma and Texas to take I-40 back west, and it was fine. There is pretty full Supercharger coverage on all these major east-west routes you would need.
Assuming all the superchargers are working properly, and you're only going to be driving along interstates from VA to CA, i.e. no driving around backwoods areas off the beaten track for days at a time, then there's no case where a CHAdeMO adapter would be very useful on that trip with the exception of the section on I-40 between Brinkley, AR and Oklahoma City, OK. Of course, if you're not planning on taking I-40 that's irrelevant.
However, the above assumes all superchargers are working properly. In the unlikely event that you are relying on a supercharger and you arrive to find it inoperable, having a CHAdeMO adapter may save you a lot of time, hassle, stress, and possibly money. Whether paying $400 for that peace of mind is worth it to you or not is obviously a question only you can answer. That may seem like a lot of money for something that you aren't likely to actually use, but I recommend thinking about it more like insurance instead of a piece of unused tech sitting in your trunk.
Rice&Curry
Member
You certainly will have lesser need for a CHAdeMO once you are in CA. As for the road trip to CA, it will just be an added insurance. To me a spare tire ( Modern spare) is more valuable than the CHAdeMO charger adaptor.
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