(Reported on 12/26/2015) 11+ car wait at Tejon Ranch!

[EVenthusiast]

Tesla needs to share real-time usage data. If they are too busy, then let the Plugshare people access this data, I'm sure they will be more than willing to integrate this data into their app.

Or make the api public, so we can do it ourselves, and come up with features such as forecasting and alerts.

Maybe Tesla can/should sponsor a few AAA CHAdeMO trucks near busy stations during peak times. Those already exist on some areas, but I'm sure they could come up with an even better mobile & battery based solution if they really wanted to.

 

[cwerdna]

@gg_got_a_tesla
I dispute your that driving less than 70 mph (posted speed limit) is a safety hazard.
There are multiple tractors and wagons on I-5 with loads of tomatoes I encountered, and they were certainly not going 70 mph.

The alternative to driving fast and waiting for your place in line is simply learn to drive at a slower speed in the right lane.
Or plan to wait ONE HOUR AND 45 MINUTES @ Tejon.

I'd assert that it is of greater safety risk to have a significant delta in speed between yourself and the rest of the traffic. That's how many accidents happen. And, it's also of greater risk when you or others have to lane changes that otherwise wouldn't be needed.

I had to limp along at 50 mph for ~100 miles to get home to the Bay Area from Vegas when I had a blowout/tire failure and had to use the 50 mph max speed donut spare on my Prius. Part of it was on I-5 w/its 70 mph limit and no light vehicles (passenger cars and "light trucks") doing 70 mph or under. (BTW, at 50 mph, even the big rig trucks were passing me.)

As for the 2nd part, how are people that on such a roadtrip supposed to know about the long line at their next Supercharger and thus drive slower so they can skip it? And, if they can skip it, wouldn't that cause a long line at the next one? Driving slower coupled w/a long wait at the next next Supercharger might == even a longer trip.

You're also assuming that people realize that driving slower (until a certain point) == lower energy consumption. People new and even some non-to-new EVs don't realize this! Example of the "street encounter" from 2013 re: a guy w/a 2011 Leaf: Why sell with less than 500 on the clock? - Page 2 - My Nissan Leaf Forum

I was in a 2011 Leaf with only 500 miles on it the other day.

The owner did independent testing, and he knew virtually nothing about the car. I was at a drive and ride event with Plug in America when he showed up and started saying his car was broken, it would only go 30 miles on a full charge.

I walked him to his car to see what the heck he was talking about, especially after he told me it only had 500 miles on it.

He had it plugged in to a charging station, and I explained the bars, the GOM, etc. etc. He had all 12 capacity bars, he just didn't know how to read the gauge.

He was amazed that it would get better economy in city driving over highway. He says the car was charged up and then left to sit for all this time. He was taking it into Nissan the next day, or so he said.

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Maybe Tesla can/should sponsor a few AAA CHAdeMO trucks near busy stations during peak times. Those already exist on some areas

I've seen figures of 20 kW and Your Electric Car Out Of Juice? AAA Tests Roadside Recharging mentions 20 to 25 kW.... so that's still way slower than most public/commercial CHAdeMO DC FCs.

And, I've actually seen and heard one in operation an at EVent, charging a Leaf as part of a demo. The ICE on them is very loud.

Nissan had brought a diesel-powered (IIRC) CHAdeMO tow chargers to EVents before to charge their test vehicles. I took the pics at Picasa Web Albums - cwerdna - Alt Car Expo .... It's the last 2 pics. That unit is very quiet. IIRC, it was being towed by a Nissan Armada (huge SUV).

 

[MartinScorpio]

Lots of chargers in bakersfield. just a few miles north

 

[cwerdna]

Lots of chargers in bakersfield. just a few miles north

I don't see any Tesla Superchargers in Bakersfield.

 

[MartinScorpio]

I don't see any Tesla Superchargers in Bakersfield.

apologies.
was referring to chademo.

 

[Sethsla]

12/26 FIRE!!!!!!!! An important note for out of area readers:

California Tesla drivers know that the Tejon Ranch station is in need of expansion. But why did this massive buildup occur in Tejon on December 26??? The coast alternative N-S route on highway 101 was completely closed down in both directions all day due to a wildfire near Ventura. The fire occurred on Christmas night and continued throughout the 26th. North and southbound travelers normally using the 101 on the coast on Dec 26th were alerted to the closure, drove inland instead and took the 5 Fwy through the Tejon Pass. That's a lot of extra vehicles on Interstate 5 - vehicles of all types in both directions.

We know there have been long holiday and weekend wait times at Tejon, but this was an extreme emergency situation that closed the entire 101 freeway. So, perhaps we can be thankful that no one was injured by the fire, the 101 is now re-opened, and the wait times on both routes are back to "normal" today. FWIW, I have driven our Model S on the 101 for N-S CA trips and it has been a terrific ride. Hope that helps.

 

[wdolson]

I suppose so, but there are quite a few gas stations all along I-5 between the Bay Area and LA. When driving my ICEVs to LA (has pretty much always been my Prius since 06), I can make it from home in the South Bay to LA on a single tank of gas and the Prius' gas tank is not very big. I've never put more than 9.975 gallons into it.

I know some of my trips ended in San Gabriel and per Google Maps, it's 341 miles from my home to that city. I get gas once I arrive in San Gabriel. If I achieve only 40 mpg, I'd need 8.525 gallons.

Yeah, because it's in the middle of nowhere. I highly doubt there are many Model S owners around there since virtually nobody lives around there to begin with.

It looks like Tejon Ranch, along w/Buttonwillow and Bakersfield falls within Kern County. Per Kern County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau, median household income there between 2009 and 2013 was just under $49K, so not many folks there would be able to afford a Model S.

In comparison, Santa Clara County (where most of Silicon Valley falls within) per Santa Clara County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau is at almost $92K, and there are quite a few Model S running around.

And in terms of population density, the former has 103.3 persons/square mile vs. 1381. The state average is 239.1/square mile. (I suspect if you tossed Bakersfield w/its 2444.2 persons/square mile at Bakersfield (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau, Kern County population density would be much lower.

For comparison, San Jose has 5358.7 person/square mile per San Jose (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau and it's nowhere near what I'd call densely populated. It has a LOT of suburbs w/folks living in 1 and 2-story houses. And, almost all apartments, townhouses and condos are low-rise.)

Additionally, Kern county is not a place where Teslas or electric vehicles are very popular. Virtually everyone in Kern county who could afford a Tesla either works in the oil business or the ag business. The bulk probably work in the oil business and the rich ag people tend to be the ones driving the $75K pickup trucks and they wouldn't be caught dead in a sedan.

My older sister lives in Bakersfield and I used to spend a lot of time there when I was a teenager. One time when riding Greyhound between LA and Bakersfield, the bus had a blowout just as we were approaching Grapevine, which is a couple of miles south of the Tejon outlet mall (which didn't exist then). I was stuck there for several hours until my sister could come down from Bakersfield and pick me up. Grapevine is a modern oasis, instead of a pond and some date palms, it's a clump of gas stations and restaurants. Just about everyone who works there lives in Bakersfield which is 40 minutes up the road.

I-5 through the San Joaquin Valley is like that. There is the occasional town, but they are tiny and mostly just farm service towns. A few have other purposes, like there was a naval air station at one point (now closed), and there is a prison, but mostly there is a whole lot of nothing, just more oasises for travelers like Grapevine.

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Lots of chargers in bakersfield. just a few miles north

If you look at the individual chargers on plugshare.com, the only charger even close to a high speed charger anywhere near Bakersfield is at the Nissan dealership and is only open when the dealership is open.

 

[bhuwan]

Curious to know - how is it today?

 

[Beryl]

I wish Colorado and Texas had as many SCs as Californians even if we have to wait an hour or three to access a stall. This thread underscores why having a CHAdeMO adapter when traveling great distances away from home is a good idea no matter where you live.

 

[Lump]

Curious to know - how is it today?

No fires, no excuses. 8 waiting to charge.

 

[Spidy]

I wish Colorado and Texas had as many SCs as Californians even if we have to wait an hour or three to access a stall. This thread underscores why having a CHAdeMO adapter when traveling great distances away from home is a good idea no matter where you live.

How about Germany :biggrin:

 

[AMPd]

+1 to expanding Tejon SC
Doesn't necessarily have to be in the exact parking lot
10 or 12 stalls by the in n out would be fantastic!

 

[MsElectric]

It's actually better to have multiple nearby locations for busy supercharger locations and I am sure Tesla is aware of this.

As bad as this was imagine if a transformer blew and Tejon Ranch was out of commission.... Redundancy is always better.

 

[cwerdna]

12/26 FIRE!!!!!!!! An important note for out of area readers:

California Tesla drivers know that the Tejon Ranch station is in need of expansion. But why did this massive buildup occur in Tejon on December 26??? The coast alternative N-S route on highway 101 was completely closed down in both directions all day due to a wildfire near Ventura. The fire occurred on Christmas night and continued throughout the 26th. North and southbound travelers normally using the 101 on the coast on Dec 26th were alerted to the closure, drove inland instead and took the 5 Fwy through the Tejon Pass. That's a lot of extra vehicles on Interstate 5 - vehicles of all types in both directions.

We know there have been long holiday and weekend wait times at Tejon, but this was an extreme emergency situation that closed the entire 101 freeway. So, perhaps we can be thankful that no one was injured by the fire, the 101 is now re-opened, and the wait times on both routes are back to "normal" today. FWIW, I have driven our Model S on the 101 for N-S CA trips and it has been a terrific ride. Hope that helps.

View attachment 105602

And, for those that might've missed it, I posted a link to a video of the fire at 11+ car wait at Tejon Ranch AVOID IF YOU CAN!!!! - Page 5.

 

[aesculus]

Reading this thread reminded me of the early days of I5 when there were very few gas stations and you could encounter a line of cars trying to fill up at one. Sometimes they even ran out of gas stranding motorists. Many just took HWY 99 to avoid all of that until the density of gas stations increased over the years.

From wiki: Interstate 5 in California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When the second phase of the freeway opened in 1972, it was a long and lonely route with no businesses alongside. Services were not easily available as the nearest towns were miles away and generally out of sight. It was common for cars to run out of fuel.[SUP][27][/SUP] Over time the West Side Freeway (I-5) saw the development of businesses serving the needs of travelers.

 

[russman]

I spoke to a number of the people in line and only 1 out of the 18 people I spoke to said they were diverted because of highway 1. Just saying, I don't think there were that many people diverted from there to Tejon.

12/26 FIRE!!!!!!!! An important note for out of area readers:

California Tesla drivers know that the Tejon Ranch station is in need of expansion. But why did this massive buildup occur in Tejon on December 26??? The coast alternative N-S route on highway 101 was completely closed down in both directions all day due to a wildfire near Ventura. The fire occurred on Christmas night and continued throughout the 26th. North and southbound travelers normally using the 101 on the coast on Dec 26th were alerted to the closure, drove inland instead and took the 5 Fwy through the Tejon Pass. That's a lot of extra vehicles on Interstate 5 - vehicles of all types in both directions.

We know there have been long holiday and weekend wait times at Tejon, but this was an extreme emergency situation that closed the entire 101 freeway. So, perhaps we can be thankful that no one was injured by the fire, the 101 is now re-opened, and the wait times on both routes are back to "normal" today. FWIW, I have driven our Model S on the 101 for N-S CA trips and it has been a terrific ride. Hope that helps.

View attachment 105602

 

[tezzla]

I wonder how much better (faster) it would be if Tesla stopped sharing power between pedestals. If they can't add more pedestals, at least double the power. Or maybe, better switching apparatus that doesn't just split two pedestals but all pedestals (if that is even possible).

 

[sub]

I spoke to a number of the people in line and only 1 out of the 18 people I spoke to said they were diverted because of highway 1. Just saying, I don't think there were that many people diverted from there to Tejon.

Not it that it would help that much, but until they have the system setup to tell you what stations are full they could add some web cams at the busy locations. Quick cheap solution to get a look ahead and try to alter plans if possible.

 

[Canuck]

Not it that it would help that much, but until they have the system setup to tell you what stations are full they could add some web cams at the busy locations. Quick cheap solution to get a look ahead and try to alter plans if possible.

That's a great idea. It would also add a sense of security to those who are charging, especially late at night.

 

[Tyl]

Tejon/Harris Ranch CA need many more superchargers. Twenty total at both locations. These locations will ALWAYS be busy during Holiday/weekend travel. All Tesla owners just want to charge and keep going at freeway speeds/cold weather concerns/Grapvine climbing. I-5. Get with it Tesla! This is your back yard, supercharger these locations up! It's a Musk!