Orlando - My first road trip

[Bill D]

[FONT=&amp]Tomorrow, I'll be driving 220 miles to Orlando via the Port St Lucie Supercharger for a meeting. I only have 1100 miles on my P85 and I've not yet charged anywhere but home, so I'm a little nervous.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Based on various posts, I've factored for using the A/C and driving at higher speeds. The range seems OK, but getting a substantial charge in Orlando is key for my trip back to Port St Lucie.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]I'm staying at the Florida Hotel[/FONT][FONT=&amp][FONT=&amp] (20 miles from my meeting).[/FONT] The Florida Hotel has two J-1772 L2 guest chargers, but if I can't charge there for some reason, I'm working on my "Plan B". I have a ChargePoint card but haven't used it yet.[/FONT] I was also wondering about the possibility of Teslas being queued at Port St Lucie at lunchtime on a Saturday.

[FONT=&amp]Any advice from the Tribe Elders would be appreciated.[/FONT]

 

[DEinspanjer]

I'm not a native there, but I took a road trip down to Orlando back in mid-Feburary so I can offer just a bit. There are many charging stations listed in Orlando.

I tested out the one at the police department ( Orlando Police Department - Electric Car (EV) Charging Station - PlugShare ) as well as using the Fast Park and Relax ( Fast Park Relax - Electric Car (EV) Charging Station - PlugShare ) to recharge mid-week before making my way back to the SuperCharger.

As long as you get to Orlando with 20 miles or so left in the battery, I would say you should have zero concern about being able to charge up for the trip back. The only thing that might surprise you is some of the routes are incredibly toll-heavy. I burned about 90 miles of range getting from the Port Orange SuperCharger into Orlando (60 miles via trip planner) due to tolls. Oh, that said, sounds like you live in FL, so you probably have a pass so you don't have to stop. I was irritated because EZ-Pass from up north doesn't work there. :/

 

[Larry Chanin]

I was also wondering about the possibility of Teslas being queued at Port St Lucie at lunchtime on a Saturday.

Hi Bill,

I commend your conservative approach. However, I wouldn't unduly worry about having to wait at the Port Saint Lucie Supercharger station. There are 8 charging stalls and the likihood of all of them being tied up is slim. In the extremely unlikely event you have to wait, walk over to the TGI Fridays for a bite to eat. Mention that you're a Tesla club member and they'll give you a 25% discount off of your bill.

Larry

 

[Shumdit]

Hi Bill,

I commend your conservative approach. However, I wouldn't unduly worry about having to wait at the Port Saint Lucie Supercharger station. There are 8 charging stalls and the likihood of all of them being tied up is slim. In the extremely unlikely event you have to wait, walk over to the TGI Fridays for a bite to eat. Mention that you're a Tesla club member and they'll give you a 25% discount off of your bill.

Larry

For some reason, I just envision you saying you are a Tesla club member and the waitress/waiter will say ok and then go back in the kitchen and they will all say "Mr Rockefeller out there at table 26 is a Tesla Club Member- lah dee freakin dah!"Then when you get back on TMC and ask Larry about why they did not give you a discount he will tell you he was just messing with you and there is no such discount!

 

[Bill D]

Thanks for the tips. My Slime pump & plug kit arrived from Amazon yesterday, I charged the P85 to 100% this morning, loaded all my music on a thumb drive and I'm ready to roll with backup Plan B, C and D.

Advice from my non-Tesla owner friends: 1) Go around trailer hitches on the road rather than straddling. 2) Watch this documentary: Horatio's Drive | PBS (I did and it was great).

I sincerely trust Larry and doubt he's pulling the old TGI Friday rookie hazing trick on me. I also carry the "Friends of Al Gore" wallet-card Larry gave me to show to cops if I'm pulled over. :wink:

 

[Larry Chanin]

For some reason, I just envision you saying you are a Tesla club member and the waitress/waiter will say ok and then go back in the kitchen and they will all say "Mr Rockefeller out there at table 26 is a Tesla Club Member- lah dee freakin dah!"Then when you get back on TMC and ask Larry about why they did not give you a discount he will tell you he was just messing with you and there is no such discount!

Hi,

Funny! You have a very active imagination. :biggrin:

The current General Manager of the restaurant, Ryan McConnell, was nice to extend this discount to our club members. The prior General Manager, Kelly Dawson, instituted the discount at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Port Saint Lucie Supercharger.

The Port Saint Lucie Supercharger in large measure was due to the efforts of the Mayor, Joann Faiella who had the foresight to contact Tesla to promote their city as an excellent location for a Supercharger. Our club has had a few events at the FGI Fridays and they have always treated us very well. This location is obviously a WIN-WIN situation for Model S owners and the local business community.

For those club members who have a concern...

Print this coupon.

Larry

 

[techmaven]

Hi,

Funny! You have a very active imagination. :biggrin:

The current General Manager of the restaurant, Ryan McConnell, was nice to extend this discount to our club members.
Larry

So... Are there other Florida Supercharger discounts that those of us from outside the state should know about? Maybe something on the way to Orlando from the north?

TIA

 

[Brit4864]

Hi Bill,

Mention that you're a Tesla club member and they'll give you a 25% discount off of your bill.

Larry

It's true. I did get the discount at PSL TGIF on the way back from the DC TeslaRoadTrip last month.

 

[Bill D]

[FONT=&amp]Many thanks to the Tesla owners that PMed me offering use of their home HPWCs. However, my road trip went perfectly according to plan and my case of "rookie range anxiety" evaporated faster than a Florida sun shower. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]The Port St Lucie Supercharger's 360 mph charge rate tapered-off as it the SOC increased and my car was topped-off faster than I ate. There was no waiting at the 8 charging stalls. Three other Teslas were charging on the way up Saturday at noon and two others on the way back Sunday at about 5 pm. Chatting with the other owners was an enjoyable break. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]The two most convenient self-parking spots at my Orlando hotel were the coned-off free J-1772 chargers, which charged at 22 mph. Local traffic to/from my meetings was my only gripe because I could have stayed closer if more hotels had chargers.[/FONT]

Yes, Shumdit - T[FONT=&amp]he waitress instantly acknowledged the discount, which is programmed into the TGI Friday's system with "TESLA 25%" printed on the receipt:

[/FONT]

 

[Roland]

Bill,

Glad your trip went as planned. It seems that as long as you you have a plan B you won't have to use it.

Hopefully this is the first of many road trips in your Model S.

Roland

 

[Shumdit]

Hi,

Funny! You have a very active imagination. :biggrin:

The current General Manager of the restaurant, Ryan McConnell, was nice to extend this discount to our club members. The prior General Manager, Kelly Dawson, instituted the discount at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Port Saint Lucie Supercharger.

The Port Saint Lucie Supercharger in large measure was due to the efforts of the Mayor, Joann Faiella who had the foresight to contact Tesla to promote their city as an excellent location for a Supercharger. Our club has had a few events at the FGI Fridays and they have always treated us very well. This location is obviously a WIN-WIN situation for Model S owners and the local business community.

For those club members who have a concern...

Print this coupon.

View attachment 45533

Larry

I didn't really doubt ya Larry. It just seemed like the sort of prank I would pull! Any advice for my planned trip in 4 weeks to Orlando? I have the SC's to use all the way to Disney but am not sure what I should do about charging there. You seem to know be the source for Disney charging info.

 

[Larry Chanin]

I didn't really doubt ya Larry. It just seemed like the sort of prank I would pull! Any advice for my planned trip in 4 weeks to Orlando? I have the SC's to use all the way to Disney but am not sure what I should do about charging there. You seem to know be the source for Disney charging info.

No worries.

The problem of course is that currently there is NO "Disney charging".

We are big supporters of Disney, but Disney has not reciprocated by proactively supporting EV adoption. I have repeatedly told Disney representatives that in the absence of charging at Disney resorts our membership has started to shift its patronage to competing resorts. Recently a Disney World executive called me, but all she would say is that they expected to have something installed by the end of this year. I suspect it will be in a downtown Disney parking garage and not where we really need them at hotels/resorts.

Have you seen our Hotels in Florida with Charging Stations thread?

Click on this link and zoom into the Orlando area.

Map of Florida Hotels with Electric Charging Stations

Larry

 

[Bill D]

Another thing I was able to test on this trip to Orlando was having the SunPass "External Transponder" mounted behind my nosecone.

My SunPass statement shows that it worked all the way up and back on the Sawgrass Expressway, the Turnpike and the BeeLine Expressway.

My statement does not show any ITOLs (which indicate a failure to electronically read the transponder).