Painfully crowded and slow charging on I5 between LA and SF

[apacheguy]

i would take the coast, it's not that much longer of a drive, much better looking drive and living right by the Buelton Charger, I have never seen it full, I was by Atascadero many times this weekend and there we only once I say more than half of the stalls full. Have a great drive.

It is a much better drive. Not sure about time wise tho. In my experience the 101 adds about 2 hours v the 5.

Anyone know if Tejon will be expanded soon? 6 stalls is way too few for such a busy location.

 

[AEdennis]

It is a much better drive. Not sure about time wise tho. In my experience the 101 adds about 2 hours v the 5.

Anyone know if Tejon will be expanded soon? 6 stalls is way too few for such a busy location.

Tejon now has 10 stalls. Plan is to 12 or 13 stalls, I believe.

[Update 2015-10-13 7:44 AM Pacific - I MEANT Harris, so the statement above is confused, updated post below.]

 

[FredTMC]

Tejon now has 10 stalls. Plan is to 12 or 13 stalls, I believe.

Wow. When did it jump to 10? I went thru there in August. Was only 6

 

[spentan]

Tejon now has 10 stalls. Plan is to 12 or 13 stalls, I believe.

Wow. When did it jump to 10? I went thru there in August. Was only 6

Do you mean Harris Ranch?

When I drove up from Southern California for the model X reveal, I noticed two pairs of temporary chargers at Harris Ranch. It didn't seem like anything had changed at Tejon ranch

 

[AEdennis]

Do you mean Harris Ranch?

When I drove up from Southern California for the model X reveal, I noticed two pairs of temporary chargers at Harris Ranch. It didn't seem like anything had changed at Tejon ranch

Yes... retraction... Harris Ranch. It was still SIX this past Saturday. I ALWAYS pair those two stop ups and switch them...

Tejon = 6
Harris Ranch = 10, going up to 12 or 13 when the permanent additions are in place.

I wonder if they'll move the 4 temporary ones from Harris Ranch to Tejon when they're done with them and the permanent ones are built.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Thanks all. I was thinking of taking 101 just for the scenery as well, but will defer to my passengers. Time will probably be a wash with charging waits on I-5. I will report back either way.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Thanks all. I was thinking of taking 101 just for the scenery as well, but will defer to my passengers. Time will probably be a wash with charging waits on I-5. I will report back either way.

Well, a quick report: SJC to LA was easy with no conflicts. We used Gilroy, Atascadero, and Tejon on the way down Sunday. There was only one other at Tejon around 4pm Sunday! Atascadero was more crowded, but only three when we arrived. I had a premonition and stepped out during lunch to see a ninth arrive, so pulled out of the spot (hopefully gaining some reputation points). I probably had more than 30 min charging at that point anyway, and certainly more than plenty to get to Tejon. On the return from LA to SF, we took I-5 and again had no wait, always getting unpaired stalls.

The only place we waited was at 9:30 pm Friday in San Mateo, and that was only for about 5 min until someone pulled out. Interestingly we sat next to a lady who was obviously charging to 100%. She had about 50% when we arrived and was still trying to cram in those last few electrons above 90% when we left. We had planned to use Mountain View over dinner while visiting friends, but they warned us against it due to a concert in the area. Of course, we "had" to stop at Fremont just for the view and pit stop. 5:30 pm Friday. Wow! Pretty amazing to this small country mouse.

 

[ecarfan]

I just did a similar trip. SF to Orange County and back. Went south on the 101 and returned via the 5. Never had to wait for a charging spot even at noon at Harris Ranch on Sunday (only 3 other Teslas were there). Most SCs were almost empty. Easy trip.

 

[ohmman]

Also the Buttonwillow SC has an address (from the official Buttonwillow thread): 20673 Tracy Avenue.

I still won't be able to skip Harris Ranch, even if I top up at Dublin. But it does mean I could skip Tejon.

 

[TexasEV]

The only place we waited was at 9:30 pm Friday in San Mateo, and that was only for about 5 min until someone pulled out. Interestingly we sat next to a lady who was obviously charging to 100%. She had about 50% when we arrived and was still trying to cram in those last few electrons above 90% when we left.

Some casual owners are clueless about this. They haven't studied the Tesla charging web page and don't read the forums, and are still in a "fill 'er up" mindset. This is why I think the smartphone app should send a message when supercharging has reached 90% saying something like charging will be REALLY SLOW from now on, only stay connected if you need more range than what you have now. The 17" screen could display a similar message for those sitting in their cars for the last painful minutes above 90%.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Some casual owners are clueless about this. They haven't studied the Tesla charging web page and don't read the forums, and are still in a "fill 'er up" mindset. This is why I think the smartphone app should send a message when supercharging has reached 90% saying something like charging will be REALLY SLOW from now on, only stay connected if you need more range than what you have now. The 17" screen could display a similar message for those sitting in their cars for the last painful minutes above 90%.

Agreed. I like the popup that indicates enough charge to reach the next SC. The "slow" popup could be bigger, more of a warning. We only charged above 90% twice on the 3000 mi trip (once over lunch and once overnight on HPWC), and this was with a 70D. Charging to 100% at a SC is not really necessary, at least during warmer temperatures.

 

[TexasEV]

Charging to 100% at a SC is not really necessary, at least during warmer temperatures.

It certainly can be necessary when you're not traveling around the west coast (land of the superchargers), or along another supercharged interstate. Like much of Texas, for example. In other posts I've called this California-centric thinking but apparently it's prevalent in Washington too. My point is it's fine to do when necessary, but owners should receive a message to do it only if necessary and not routinely like at a gas station, and explain the time penalty in doing so.

 

[ohmman]

It certainly can be necessary when you're not traveling around the west coast (land of the superchargers), or along another supercharged interstate. Like much of Texas, for example. In other posts I've called this California-centric thinking but apparently it's prevalent in Washington too. My point is it's fine to do when necessary, but owners should receive a message to do it only if necessary and not routinely like at a gas station, and explain the time penalty in doing so.

Even in California, I've needed to hit 100%. People are assuming that you're going from one Supercharger to another, but that's not always the case. You may be at your last Supercharger on the way to your final destination, which is 250 miles (or a lot of elevation change) away. I had to make it from Mt. Shasta to Bend, Oregon over the winter - it definitely required a 100% charge and driving without heat for much of the trip. Before there were Superchargers in Dublin and Manteca, I also would have to make it from Harris Ranch back to my place, which is a 250 mile stretch. It required 100% and slow driving.

There are times this is necessary - you never know where people are headed next.

 

[gregincal]

Even in California, I've needed to hit 100%. People are assuming that you're going from one Supercharger to another, but that's not always the case. You may be at your last Supercharger on the way to your final destination, which is 250 miles (or a lot of elevation change) away. I had to make it from Mt. Shasta to Bend, Oregon over the winter - it definitely required a 100% charge and driving without heat for much of the trip. Before there were Superchargers in Dublin and Manteca, I also would have to make it from Harris Ranch back to my place, which is a 250 mile stretch. It required 100% and slow driving.

There are times this is necessary - you never know where people are headed next.

True, although San Mateo has other superchargers in just about every direction. Still it's true somebody might have a very specific reason.

- - - Updated - - -

In other posts I've called this California-centric thinking

To be fair, this is a thread in the California regional section about charging in California.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Gregincal, thanks for "defending" my statement. Sorry, yes, it was meant for SC-laden areas, but still I oversimplified. There will always be situations, as others indicated, where 100% charge will be necessary, even with SC's less than 100 miles apart. Hopefully, the need for 100% charges will decrease with the increased density of SC in 2016 and beyond. Edit: I just noticed that WA (if you also count a couple of SC's in the ID/OR border area) has more stations than TX, so TexasEV's comment is certainly justified (hopefully TX will overtake WA soon).

In defense, perhaps the person I observed was planning to drive along the coast on highway 1 and couldn't charge at Petaluma 60 mile to the north. Or perhaps, they were without home charging. In any case, it wasn't a big deal to me since I only waited 5 min extra, insignificant compared to the previous 12+ hours of driving earlier in the day.

I plan to "stretch" my battery legs in the future and will certainly have a few more 100% charges. I look forward to cross country trips, excursions into western Canada, and other trips south. That said, I did charge to 100% in Burlington, WA (walked 1/2 mile for breakfast) when I was heading up to Vancouver Island (no additional SC's for a couple of days). A few weeks ago I charged to 100% at Pendleton, OR while watching a movie (not needed, but since I was the only occupant of the SC, I didn't worry about blocking). I try to be respectful and move out of the SC as soon as possible and leave contact information. All of this behavior comes from reading about J1772 station congestion in more heavily populated areas and my experience with the Leaf and single charging point stations. Here in eastern WA, we have few charging options, but few EVs. If it weren't for home charging, I wouldn't have purchased my Leaf back in 2011.