Some advise needed for a long road trip with kids

[Superendo]

In The Netherlands we have a game you can buy: car bingo.

Searcy for constructies vehicles
Or recreational vehicles etc etc

 

[kort677]

Do they generally let EVs charge in their facilities? Do they have a fixed fee structure for EV charging? If not, should I offer to pay them? If yes, how much?

Every rv park is different most will allow you to charge, some charge some may try to force you to pay for a night. Some places the outlets work well others will trip the breakers. I believe the app has reviews. I've never had the need to us an rv park and I offered the info so you were aware of the option if desperate

 

[Ugliest1]

I am staying at my brother's place in Surrey and he has a 30 amp dryer outlet that I can (hopefully) use. He mentioned that there might be issues with making it accessible to the car though, but we will see.

There's usually no problem. If you really have to stop by, you might need one of these adapters: NEMA 14-50R to TT-30P Adapter for EV Charging at Campgrounds

Model S and X only come with 50A adapters, so you'll need the TT-30 to use your brother's 30A dryer outlet as well. They have different plug arrangements - the 50A won't go into the 30A outlet.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Model S and X only come with 50A adapters, so you'll need the TT-30 to use your brother's 30A dryer outlet as well. They have different plug arrangements - the 50A won't go into the 30A outlet.

No! TT-30 is for RV parks and campgrounds that only have "30 amp" service — 120 volts, 30 amps (24 amp charging). Dryer outlets are 10-30 (older houses) or 14-30 (newer houses, since the mid '90s). Both kinds of dryer outlets are 240 volts, 30 amps (24 amp charging). 10-30 and 14-30 dryer outlets will charge a car twice as fast as a campground TT-30 and require completely different adapters.

I've charged on both TT-30 and 10-30. I bought the TT-30 adapter and made my own 10-30 adapter. Tesla sells 10-30 and 14-30 adapters for the UMC supplied with the car; the Tesla adapters have the advantage of automatically limiting the current to 24 amps. Otherwise one has to reduce the current on the charging screen in the car to avoid popping a circuit breaker (or worse).

FWIW.

^ Campground pedestal with only TT-30 and 5-20 charging, called "30 amp" service in the RV industry. [Picture taken at Ridgway State Park in Colorado.]

^ Campground pedestal with both 14-50 ("3"), TT-30 ("2") and 5-20 ("1") outlets. These are called "50 amp" service in the RV industry. [Picture taken at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado.] The standard 14-50 adapter supplied with the Tesla UMC will work fine on these "50 amp" pedestals.

 

[Ugliest1]

@dgpcolorado, thank you for the detailed correction! Especially the pictures.

To use a 10-30 or 14-30, though, an "extra" adapter will still have to be purchased or made, as it doesn't come with the car... correct?

 

[dgpcolorado]

@dgpcolorado, thank you for the detailed correction! Especially the pictures.

To use a 10-30 or 14-30, though, an "extra" adapter will still have to be purchased or made, as it doesn't come with the car... correct?

Correct.

 

[petertdavis]

The longest road trip I've done with my kids was from Massachusetts to South Carolina to see the full solar eclipse this summer, and though the traffic was crazy, there was only one time when I showed up at a supercharger to find all the spaces full, and that was the one in Columbia, South Carolina, and we got there about thirty minutes before the full eclipse. There was a giant black cloud directly over the Hilton, which the supercharger was behind, so we raced off to get a better view of the eclipse, and when we got back there were several spots open at the supercharger. Anyway, my point being that if I didn't have any big issues at the superchargers during this, you probably won't either.

To keep the kids busy on the road, they each had their phones and laptops. I have a MiFi in my car, and as long as we have connectivity, they can occupy themselves on their laptops and phones. They each had their favorite pillows and blankets and were able to snooze while I was driving too. The one thing I do wish I had for longer road trips is more places for them to put their drinks. I'm not quite sure what the designers were thinking when they went so minimalistic on the drink holders.

 

[redy]

As an FYI, Tesla sells 14-30 adapters. I bought one. Took 10 days to arrive. That's my daily charger. Chargers at 17-18 mi/hr.

 

[ishareit]

As an FYI, Tesla sells 14-30 adapters. I bought one. Took 10 days to arrive. That's my daily charger. Chargers at 17-18 mi/hr.

Yup. Same here.

I have 10-30, 14-30 and 14-50 ready for the trip. Hopefully I don’t need to stop at any RV parks and probably won’t buy a TT-30.

Btw - I have bookmarked this thread to check for all the great ideas suggestions one more time before I leave for the trip.

 

[arcus]

Btw - I have bookmarked this thread to check for all the great ideas suggestions one more time before I leave for the trip.

Don't overthink it too much, bottom line is to leave some room (time) for flexibility and enjoy the trip. Hope you guys have an awesome time!

 

[dmd2005]

Don’t forget to bring your rain jackets or umbrellas...it’s called the “wet coast” of Canada for a reason.