I just took my first trip in my 2021 Y and I had two bikes on the back. Charging at a supercharger was a bit of a pain because, due to the short charging cable, one needs to back up almost right to the charger. The bikes prevented this. My wife had to maneuver the bike handlebars to clear the red Tesla sign so I could back up far enough. I think the cable should be longer. I even managed to break off one of the Tesla signs at a super charging station - bike handle caught the sign when pulling away.
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Short Cable
- Thread starter MikesT
- Start date
I think the length of the cable was design to avoid having the plug touchng the ground?
But sometime the post is located behind the car, not on the side or between to stall.
In this case, even without having a bicycle holder, it is difficult to plug the car.
Also at night, it is often very difficult to position your car correctly.
Sometime you need to exit your car to check if you are correctly parked.
You were lucky to have someone assisting you.
In some locations, I noticed that Tesla try to have at least one charger
where you enter in and not back up. This help if you have a trailer.
Sharing Superchargers with non Tesla will be a big issue,
especially with car having their plug located on the otherside, thus tacking two spots !!!
But sometime the post is located behind the car, not on the side or between to stall.
In this case, even without having a bicycle holder, it is difficult to plug the car.
Also at night, it is often very difficult to position your car correctly.
Sometime you need to exit your car to check if you are correctly parked.
You were lucky to have someone assisting you.
In some locations, I noticed that Tesla try to have at least one charger
where you enter in and not back up. This help if you have a trailer.
Sharing Superchargers with non Tesla will be a big issue,
especially with car having their plug located on the otherside, thus tacking two spots !!!
That's certainly an issue. Sometimes creative parking can help - such as parking perpendicular to the spaces, so long as you're not blocking several spaces at a busy location.
The cables at their current length can very much reach the ground. I've seen quite a few laying in the dirt or grass. I believe they keep them short in order to reduce heat buildup from resistance in the cable.
The cables at their current length can very much reach the ground. I've seen quite a few laying in the dirt or grass. I believe they keep them short in order to reduce heat buildup from resistance in the cable.
I wish the Superchargers layout was similar to a gas station.
This would help also when getting on line, like at a Costco gas station.
Flybuddy
Member
I like the gas station (two sided) idea and surprised that it's not more prevalent. As far as cable length, the main driving factor is the huge amount of power being pushed through the cable. Additional length increases resistance which increases heat. I found a reference to liquid cooled cables for V3 SCs but not sure if this is CURRENT-ly 
in use.
Tesla patents new liquid-cooled charging connector
in use.Tesla patents new liquid-cooled charging connector
My idea is to have a waiting line on the app. So if you pull up to a full lot, you enter the line by clicking on the Tesla screen and it will tell you which charger you will get next. If someone tries to cut ahead of you into the spot, it will only work for your car.
CharePoint provides a Waiting List option:
Using Waitlist | ChargePoint
If you find yourself in a situation where every charging spot is full, add yourself to a busy station’s waitlist on the ChargePoint app.
Such type of Superchargers layout is quite common in Norway.
I think this layout is more practical for a snow plow truck to clean the snow.
But it seems that in US, Tesla still prefer the back up style Superchargers,
when building a new pool of Superchargers, like in Firebaugh and Kettleman City:
I wonder which layout is optimum, surface wise?
In particular, the 'Gas Station" type is more compatible for cars with trailer or bicycle rack on the back.
And avoid having to install some enter-in stalls next to the traditionl back-up stalls.
I aslo, in the case of bigger SUVs, like the Cyber Truck, or passenger Vans, or non-Tesla cars with a plug on the oppisite side,
the "Gas Station" type would avoid those vehicles to occupy two spots.
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Flybuddy
Member
I've not seen any SC stations that extensive in U.S. Might be because only 2% of car sales in U.S. in prior reporting year were EV vs 60% in Norway. Curious if the government in Norway funds the charging stations? That's something that's grossly lacking in U.S.. We get lots of press from auto manufacturers about converting most of their production to EVs and government adds incentives but little is done (other than Tesla) to increase charging stations in any meaningful way.
I'm very curious how things will shake down once non-teslas start charging at superchargers that are busy enough to have a queue. Queueing in the app may help make things more orderly.
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