Road trip help

[Newtothis]

Hello!

I’m looking to do a road trip from the Bay Area, to Victorville(friend lives there) and Joshua NP and Death Valley NP, in no particular order. Probably Bay Area, Victorville, Joshua, Victorville, Death Valley, Bay Area. Wondering if anyone has stayed near the parks, recommend any places that have a charger? Obviously I routed it and saw the supercharger network but wondering if there are any pitfalls to be aware of. I have a Y LR

 

[RTPEV]

Welcome Newtothis!

I can't help you specifically with those destinations, but in general, you should get to know Plugshare (plugshare.com). You will find most charging stations listed there (everything from wall outlets up to fast chargers), and by looking at the reviews/checkins, you can get a good sense of how reliable the charging stations are (or aren't) and see what amenities may be nearby.

 

[roblab]

Yeah, had to do that before there were ANY superchargers. We found we could pull into any RV park, find the manager, and pay a few bucks for the priviledge of plugging into 220 for an hour or so. If you're gregarious, you might try driving up to an occupied camp spot and offer to pay five bucks to use their outlet for an hour or so. Wifey and I would plug in and take a stroll down the street and have a cup of coffee while we picked up a few electrons. I know that the National Parks have RV outlets, so getting a charge isn't hard. It just takes longer at an RV outlet, and now, with so many superchargers popping up, and with range long enough not to need charging so often, the trips are not quite so adventurous.

 

[LoudMusic]

PlugShare has been really good for me. The filters make it really easy to narrow down what I'm looking for.

You can click on each of the green markers for more info. I try to find places with 2 or more plugs. Be sure to bring your J1772 adapter!

 

[Newtothis]

Ohh thanks! I’ll look into that. I guess my other important step is to figure out where I’m staying…I guess that’ll dictate a lot regarding my charging plan. I hope it doesn’t interfere much with the trip. Seems like it won’t if I’m start about going into the park well charged

 

[LoudMusic]

Ohh thanks! I’ll look into that. I guess my other important step is to figure out where I’m staying…I guess that’ll dictate a lot regarding my charging plan. I hope it doesn’t interfere much with the trip. Seems like it won’t if I’m start about going into the park well charged

I suspect that if you get a full charge at the hotel then you'll have enough for the day of cruising around the parks. There's also quite a few Superchargers in the area. I think you'll be fine

 

[ucmndd]

There are free L2 chargers at the Inn at Death Valley. I really enjoyed my stay there.

 

[Newtothis]

Well it looks like Death Valley is the hard one, since there is so much driving between places. There is a hotel group that has about 6-10 charging spots, and then there Is another hotel a little ways away that has 14-50 hookups for RVs. I booked the latter, and hopefully will get a spot overnight. JNP seem pretty easy with lots of hotels, airbnbs, and a supercharger right outside. The park

 

[Deleted member 205258]

Do you have adapters? (not crapping on your intelligence, trying to get a baseline). If your doing trips anywhere say 100 miles (say 50 with greater than 2,000 feet incline) look on plugshare, but also scroll to see what plug is at say a business or campground, even a truck/ rest stop. cause if it's search says a plug, and the only option is say a 120 outlet, but go down to the photos, users will post a photo. it's a suggestion, but wouldn't hurt to build a adapter kit for a variety of 30 to 60 amp plugs. we took a trip to colorado, and there was a truck stop in no-where that had a 50 amp welding receptical, I made a adapter for that plug, cause it was a good place to go for a run, walk the dog for an hour, a few other tesla pilots came to the same stop, plugshare listed it as a different plug, cause that was what was avail. but didn't look at the photo. you may also consider the CCS TO TESLA adapter for travel as well, I'm not your conscious, just I'm on my 6th EV, and stretched sanity with where we have plugged. ALL campgrounds will let you charge, but when you ask for a 20 outlet, they may respond with all we have is 50 amp, ok, deal! good luck on your trip.

 

[Solarman004]

I agree with @GRANDIZER52 . We've gotten a lot of use out of our TT-30 adapter at campgrounds. State and national parks mostly use the same standards. 50 amp service (at 240 volts) use the NEMA 14-50 plug. 30 amp service (at 120 volts) use the TT-30. It only gives you 3.6 kW charging, but if you're camping overnight, it's plenty.
However, if you're looking to stop at a campground just for a quick charge to make it to a Supercharger, the 30 amp service will be too painfully slow.

 

[Deleted member 205258]

I agree with @GRANDIZER52 . We've gotten a lot of use out of our TT-30 adapter at campgrounds. State and national parks mostly use the same standards. 50 amp service (at 240 volts) use the NEMA 14-50 plug. 30 amp service (at 120 volts) use the TT-30. It only gives you 3.6 kW charging, but if you're camping overnight, it's plenty.
However, if you're looking to stop at a campground just for a quick charge to make it to a Supercharger, the 30 amp service will be too painfully slow.

DOOOOOODE getting to denver from washington state gets white knuckly the first time, that 7,000 feet between chargers!!!!!!!