Please don't do this...(park blocking multiple Supercharger spots)

[bonnie]

Honestly, I think people need to be a little more tolerant and less judgmental here. No one was being harmed, it appears the owner of the car was nearby, ready to move it, no one was blocked from charging.

I'd have a completely different opinion if someone was delayed charging their car. No one was.

And ftr, I'm the person that even though when I'm taking my 93 year old mom around to appointments & I have her handicapped parking tag to use, I use it only to get her in the building and then I go back out and move my car to a non-handicap spot. Because I'm perfectly capable of walking and someone might need the spot. So it's not about not being sensitive to other stuff going on. I just think people are really overreacting here to a non-issue. Maybe they were trying to keep the car cooled down. I don't see what all the drama is about.

Assume good intent before labeling the owner a jerk or lazy or entitled or whatever adjective comes to mind. No one was blocked, no one was inconvenienced. So what is the big deal here?

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I don't see the problem as long as there were other charging spaces available. I would not expect the owner to remove his bike rack, that's kind of silly. I do think that if anyone is going to try this, that they at least leave a note visible through their windshield with a cell phone number or email address by which to notify the owner.

 

[jerry33]

Honestly, I think people need to be a little more tolerant and less judgmental here. No one was being harmed, it appears the owner of the car was nearby, ready to move it, no one was blocked from charging.

If the owner was nearby or left a contact number (e.g. they were in a building where you couldn't see them but were still close) then it's not that big a deal. Just leaving it like that and not being around is a problem even if no one was actually inconvenienced--unless your crystal ball is really good.

 

[rolosrevenge]

It should be remembered that there are 8 stalls at Centralia, not 4, and if they pull up and sell 6 or more vacancies, I have no problem with this. No one was stopped from charging.

 

[bonnie]

I don't see the problem as long as there were other charging spaces available. I would not expect the owner to remove his bike rack, that's kind of silly. I do think that if anyone is going to try this, that they at least leave a note visible through their windshield with a cell phone number or email address by which to notify the owner.

If the owner was nearby or left a contact number (e.g. they were in a building where you couldn't see them but were still close) then it's not that big a deal. Just leaving it like that and not being around is a problem even if no one was actually inconvenienced--unless your crystal ball is really good.

The owner and his family appear to have been hanging out.

 

[brianman]

Sure. In a perfect world, that spot will exist right where it needs to be on the map. Right next to the unicorn zoo.

Meaning, if that opportunity presents, great. But it's unlikely everyone can always get what they want. But you'll get what you need.

No need to be snarky. I was just pointing out a simple refinement of the suggestion that addressed one of the issues that was called out.

 

[bonnie]

No need to be snarky. I was just pointing out a simple refinement of the suggestion that addressed one of the issues that was called out.

I thought I was being funny. Sorry.

 

[TTT]

This brings up two items
1. Isn't it SC etiquette to leave on your dash a contact number i(or QR code) n case someone is waiting to hook up?
2. There should be a thread created, with the first picture being the first posting, for the SC Wall of Shame

 

[jerry33]

1. Isn't it SC etiquette to leave on your dash a contact number i(or QR code) n case someone is waiting to hook up?

Yes, if you're not hanging out by the car (or in the restaurant, if the SC is in a restaurant parking lot).

2. There should be a thread created, with the first picture being the first posting, for the SC Wall of Shame

I don't think this will accomplish anything. The polite people already know and practice good manners (at least most of the time), and the rest don't care.

 

[David_Cary]

This illustrates (IMO) one of the design flaws of the Model S. Maybe I am missing something painfully obvious, but isn't it always better to put the charging port on the front of the car or at least the front half of the car. I can see the advantages of the Volt design - close to front on driver's side. The Leaf directly in front seems better for public charging.

And forget public charging, even in the garage, the power must come from the wall and the only consistent wall is in front of the car. So why not put the plug there. I feel like I've seen a few setups where people suspend the plug from the ceiling to make it more convenient.

On the side can get bumped by another person walking between cars. On the side encourages people to leave the plug on the ground where it could get run over.

My thought is front driver's side would be best for my garage. And front center is always best for public charging. Rear driver's side is best for ... I don't know people who like backing cars into a space?

 

[brianman]

This illustrates (IMO) one of the design flaws of the Model S. Maybe I am missing something painfully obvious, but isn't it always better to put the charging port on the front of the car or at least the front half of the car. I can see the advantages of the Volt design - close to front on driver's side. The Leaf directly in front seems better for public charging.

And forget public charging, even in the garage, the power must come from the wall and the only consistent wall is in front of the car. So why not put the plug there. I feel like I've seen a few setups where people suspend the plug from the ceiling to make it more convenient.

On the side can get bumped by another person walking between cars. On the side encourages people to leave the plug on the ground where it could get run over.

My thought is front driver's side would be best for my garage. And front center is always best for public charging. Rear driver's side is best for ... I don't know people who like backing cars into a space?

The location of the charge port has been discussed before. IIRC, there were a number of assumed reasons ranging from "look more like a gas car to help humans transition" to "curbside parking works better with a side port" (I guess in England).

As for who likes to back into parking spaces, in my Jeep GC I loved to. I preferred it. In my Model S, not as much. (The Jeep visibility and shape made it simple.)

 

[bollar]

And forget public charging, even in the garage, the power must come from the wall and the only consistent wall is in front of the car. So why not put the plug there. I feel like I've seen a few setups where people suspend the plug from the ceiling to make it more convenient.

I'm one of the ones who hangs the plug from the ceiling, and that's purely for safety, not convenience. In our garage, regardless of where we chose to put the plug, or back-end / front-end the cars, there was always at least one scenario where someone would have to step over the cord. From experience, that's potentially a very bad situation, so the cable is hung.

I also prefer to back in at home, mainly so I can load / unload the car with the garage door closed.

You will probably look at this as a negative, but I also back into spots more frequently than I used to. The rear view camera makes it much easier to get the car fully into short parking spots. Even with parking sensors, I worry about how close I can nose into a spot. The biggest issue there, is that the camera is off-center, so if you think you're exactly in the middle of a spot, you're really closer to the car's left side.

 

[Electroman]

This illustrates (IMO) one of the design flaws of the Model S. Maybe I am missing something painfully obvious, but isn't it always better to put the charging port on the front of the car or at least the front half of the car. I can see the advantages of the Volt design - close to front on driver's side. The Leaf directly in front seems better for public charging.

And forget public charging, even in the garage, the power must come from the wall and the only consistent wall is in front of the car. So why not put the plug there. I feel like I've seen a few setups where people suspend the plug from the ceiling to make it more convenient.

On the side can get bumped by another person walking between cars. On the side encourages people to leave the plug on the ground where it could get run over.

My thought is front driver's side would be best for my garage. And front center is always best for public charging. Rear driver's side is best for ... I don't know people who like backing cars into a space?

I think I said the same points 30 posts ago. leaf's front design is good for both public and home charging. Keeping it on the side and in the back is ICE mentality that simply does not work for EVs.

The front socket design gives you ease of parking, less cabling and ease of plugging in and least trip hazard.

Backing into garages ? Give me a break. I bet 99.9% would hate it. Even in public spots.

 

[jerry33]

but I also back into spots more frequently than I used to. The rear view camera makes it much easier to get the car fully into short parking spots. Even with parking sensors, I worry about how close I can nose into a spot. The biggest issue there, is that the camera is off-center, so if you think you're exactly in the middle of a spot, you're really closer to the car's left side.

^^^This. I almost always back into a spot because it's safer when pulling out. And the Model S makes it so easy to back in that there's really no reason to do otherwise. I don't have the parking sensors, but I've driven a couple of Model S with them and I don't feel they add anything.

 

[bonnie]

I know we have some long threads about the value and overall safety of backing up into a spot. The camera is usually off-center in any vehicle, including Roadsters. I use side mirrors to center between lines and the camera to determine how close I am to the back of the spot. I have zero issues with having to back a vehicle in for charging.

- - - Updated - - -

Backing into garages ? Give me a break. I bet 99.9% would hate it. Even in public spots.

If I have stuff to unload, I back in. If I have a lot of stuff to load, I back in. When I lived in a snowy clime, I always backed in if the weather forecast was for snow -- better chance of making it out to the main road if I didn't have to interrupt momentum. Why do people hate backing into spots? If you pull in, you have to back out. And it's just easier to back in when you have full view of traffic all around you, than it is to back out when you can't see traffic.

 

[Larry93428]

Tesla's port is aft where the electrics are, allowing shorter cabling on-board.
Put the port front and you must carry the longer cable's weight.
Car is lighter with the port aft.

 

[Krugerrand]

Why do people hate backing into spots? If you pull in, you have to back out. And it's just easier to back in when you have full view of traffic all around you, than it is to back out when you can't see traffic.

Lack of skill, confidence and straight up practice. Typically backing in means less room for error than backing out. A lot of people simply don't know where the points of their car are when they are in the driver's seat, so they can't effectively or efficiently back up, parallel park, or turn in tight quarters.

 

[Owner]

I'm with Bonnie on this one.

A time or two on my x-country trip I parked perpendicular (without blocking other chargers) for short periods when nearby. I went for days without seeing any other Teslas and well was a bit tired/lazy. I visited many a supercharger being the only one charging.

Honestly, I think people need to be a little more tolerant and less judgmental here. No one was being harmed, it appears the owner of the car was nearby, ready to move it, no one was blocked from charging.

I'd have a completely different opinion if someone was delayed charging their car. No one was.

 

[David_Cary]

Tesla's port is aft where the electrics are, allowing shorter cabling on-board.
Put the port front and you must carry the longer cable's weight.
Car is lighter with the port aft.

Ok - but if you first determined that the port would be in the front, you could put the charger up there. So design flaw if that were the reason.

I'm not sure that really matters all that much. The Leaf (I know - smaller charger, smaller wires) moved the charger from rear to front between model years - they didn't seem to care. Maybe more of an issue with quick DC charging.

But really weight - we can't be talking more than 5# here. Cost maybe but not weight.

 

[mibaro2]

It may not be possible, but wouldn't a stall configuration like this solve this issue?

View attachment 56005

Allows for front in parking so trailers or bike racks do not interfere.

Prevents any long vehicle from ICEing multiple spots.

Another option would be a hybrid one...have one slot at each SC location as a pull through slot. That way TESLA won't need to increase the amount of land at each location by too much