Road Trip to Tacoma: destination charging near Tacoma Dome?

[SteveW25561]

We're driving down in my S85 from Vancouver, Canada to Tacoma, WA (specifically the Tacoma Dome) next weekend for a concert. Ideally, we'd charge at Burlington SC, hit Tacoma Dome for the concert, then drive home, but this won't likely work.

The Tacoma Dome is just far enough from the Burlington Supercharger (~100 miles) that even a full charge at the Burlington Supercharger may not give enough comfortable range to get from the Supercharger to the Tacoma Dome and back (in order to charge again at Burlington to make it home to Vancouver, BC, Canada). I don't want to drive another hour or so to Centralia, just to backtrack to Burlington. I realize ideal range on an 85 is closer to 270 miles, but I think this cuts it a little close for my personal comfort. Ideally, while at the concert, I'd like to top up to get enough range to make it back from Tacoma to Burlington.

I see the Best Western Tacoma Dome has Tesla HPWC's and J1772's but they list as for guests only. I have an email into the hotel to see if they will let me charge there (happy to pay) but we weren't planning to stay there. Plugshare shows other J1772 chargers at the Museum of Glass and the UWT Library and each are ~ 17 minute walks (not a big deal) away, but I don't know if they have parking available on Saturday nights during the concert (eg. 6pm - 11 pm).

I hope Tesla plans more SC's in WA for these kind of trips. Superchargers are awesome, but when you just want to go somewhere inbetween and back, they often aren't enough.

Any suggestions?

 

[jerry33]

I'm looking for something near Everett. A B&B would be ideal, but a motel would also be good. (The one on the Tesla site is over $500 per night--I'm not Prince Charles.)

 

[BerTX]

The parking garage near the Museum of Glass is a public facility and I don't think it closes, but there is a fee ($10 for more than 3 hours) on top of the charging cost. I don't know where the charger is, specifically or if it is likely to be occupied at that time. You'll need a backup option. Maybe plan to go to the museum before the concert to be sure you get to charge, rather than showing up last-minute and finding out there is a problem. It is interesting, but closes at 5PM.

Have you considered having a nice dinner before the concert somewhere near a strong L2 charger? There are likely lots of those between Burlington and Tacoma. You seem a little fixated on a charge/park option during the concert -- just suggesting other options might be considered. Personally I'd rather know BEFORE the concert that I was not going to have to deal with charging issues, so I could relax and enjoy.

 

[JohnMc]

There is a nice Blink CHAdeMO in Fife just 3-4 miles north of the Tacoma dome. That is where I tested mine and it worked well. At the same location, The Tahoma market, there are 4-5 L2 Blink chargers. I also tested the Clipper Creek L2 chargers at the Tacoma Dome hotel and the Best Western plus in Fed way and they produce 70 or 80 amps but as I remember they are 208V.

 

[ibdb]

The Museum of Glass chargers are described as being under the building. I've been there several times for different things, but never looked for them (our car is still a month or so out). That part of the lot would be fine during daylight hours, but after Museum hours (they close at 5) I'm not sure if that's the location I'd pick. I'd rather park somewhere with a little better visibility (security).

The one near the UWT would probably fit the bill better (again, I've never looked specifically for it). It's in a much busier area that time of the day.

 

[captain_zap]

We're driving down in my S85 from Vancouver, Canada to Tacoma, WA (specifically the Tacoma Dome) next weekend for a concert. Ideally, we'd charge at Burlington SC, hit Tacoma Dome for the concert, then drive home, but this won't likely work.

The Tacoma Dome is just far enough from the Burlington Supercharger (~100 miles) that even a full charge at the Burlington Supercharger may not give enough comfortable range to get from the Supercharger to the Tacoma Dome and back (in order to charge again at Burlington to make it home to Vancouver, BC, Canada). I don't want to drive another hour or so to Centralia, just to backtrack to Burlington. I realize ideal range on an 85 is closer to 270 miles, but I think this cuts it a little close for my personal comfort. Ideally, while at the concert, I'd like to top up to get enough range to make it back from Tacoma to Burlington.

I see the Best Western Tacoma Dome has Tesla HPWC's and J1772's but they list as for guests only. I have an email into the hotel to see if they will let me charge there (happy to pay) but we weren't planning to stay there. Plugshare shows other J1772 chargers at the Museum of Glass and the UWT Library and each are ~ 17 minute walks (not a big deal) away, but I don't know if they have parking available on Saturday nights during the concert (eg. 6pm - 11 pm).

I hope Tesla plans more SC's in WA for these kind of trips. Superchargers are awesome, but when you just want to go somewhere inbetween and back, they often aren't enough.

Any suggestions?

I suggest leaving a little early, and stopping in Kirkland, WA at the free 80 amp J1772 chargers at the Nytec building. You can charge less than an hour at a ~50 mph rate and get a comfortable buffer. 416 6th Street S, Kirkland, WA 98033.

 

[ww73]

I suggest leaving a little early, and stopping in Kirkland, WA at the free 80 amp J1772 chargers at the Nytec building. You can charge less than an hour at a ~50 mph rate and get a comfortable buffer. 416 6th Street S, Kirkland, WA 98033.

+1 for Nytec.

If it was during regular day hours, you can always call the gallery at Bellevue Square Mall. Charge at their HPWC or the mall's paid chargepoint L2 chargers. Lots of shopping/food options.

 

[ibdb]

I suggest leaving a little early, and stopping in Kirkland, WA at the free 80 amp J1772 chargers at the Nytec building. You can charge less than an hour at a ~50 mph rate and get a comfortable buffer. 416 6th Street S, Kirkland, WA 98033.

+1 for Nytec.

If it was during regular day hours, you can always call the gallery at Bellevue Square Mall. Charge at their HPWC or the mall's paid chargepoint L2 chargers. Lots of shopping/food options.

I was in downtown Tacoma last night for dinner. While I didn't drive past either station last night, there was another large concert going on at the Dome and I got another look at people and traffic patterns in the area. It seemed like either charger was probably farther than I would want to walk back to my car after the concert. If the Link Light Rail was still running at that hour, I might choose differently. Since it doesn't, I'd vote for one of these two suggestions on your way down over the two Tacoma locations you'd mentioned.