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vdiv
Chief Grump
Will view it like a bonus bonanza, no need to issue new equity and debt 
Plugin before you check into the hotel and come back afterwards to unplug and move the car. You can finish charging in the morning while having breakfast, which will also warm up the battery and the interior.
Plugin before you check into the hotel and come back afterwards to unplug and move the car. You can finish charging in the morning while having breakfast, which will also warm up the battery and the interior.
cpa
Active Member
Vdiv's suggestion is good. I might add that you consider your usual travel patterns too. If you jump out of bed in the morning, shower and hit the road, you probably should charge upon arrival to your desired level and then move the car for your getaway.
On the other hand, if your mornings are more leisurely, then by all means follow Vdiv's suggestion, or just plug in after rising.
On the other hand, if your mornings are more leisurely, then by all means follow Vdiv's suggestion, or just plug in after rising.
The idle fee problem is you never know if a crew of folks will fill up the charger past 50% while you are parked overnight. It might not happen at 3AM, sure, but in the early morning (possibly before you have gotten up), several folks could be charging their cars getting ready to head out. Then you get hit with the idle fee. No one knows if Tesla would only charge you for the time the charger was 50% full, or for the time from when your car stopped charging.
Best to do what others have said and plug the car in while you check in and unload, then move it after that. That is good supercharger ettiquette always.
If you plan to stay at hotels with destination chargers, then you can plug in overnight, which may be more convenient than moving your car after supercharging.
There are four hotels with destination chargers in Savannah, if staying there instead of Santee is an option.
Find Us | Tesla
GSP
There are four hotels with destination chargers in Savannah, if staying there instead of Santee is an option.
Find Us | Tesla
GSP
vdiv
Chief Grump
Also consider the weather. Tonight it is fine, but if there is a chance of a thunderstorm or lightning overnight you probably don't want your car left plugged in regardless of the idle fees. If it is too cold you don't want to charge in the morning as the battery would be soaked cold and it will charge slowly, you want to charge mostly as you arrive while the battery is still warm from the drive.
last year when i stopped in Santee overnight i left myself plugged in all night long. but back then, there were no idle fees.
I was the only one there when I plugged in, but there were 2 other Model Ss there in the morning when I unplugged.
The in-dash Nav will tell u if there are idle fees to contend with. if there are, I would not leave myself plugged in overnight. even if in the most likely scenario the station will not reach 50% or more capacity. (which is when Tesla will enforce the idle fees rule)
if there not idle fees to contend with, i would say you are safe to stay plugged in overnight in any case.
are u hoping to charge to more than 90%? if yes, and you do have idle fees to contend with, things could get tedious.
That said, you can make it from Santee SuperCharger to Savanna SC easily without charging all the way to 100%. In fact, the distance is only 110 miles or so -- you could probably be ok leaving santee with a 50% battery and have plenty of electrons to spare to make it to Savanna SC.
I was the only one there when I plugged in, but there were 2 other Model Ss there in the morning when I unplugged.
The in-dash Nav will tell u if there are idle fees to contend with. if there are, I would not leave myself plugged in overnight. even if in the most likely scenario the station will not reach 50% or more capacity. (which is when Tesla will enforce the idle fees rule)
if there not idle fees to contend with, i would say you are safe to stay plugged in overnight in any case.
are u hoping to charge to more than 90%? if yes, and you do have idle fees to contend with, things could get tedious.
That said, you can make it from Santee SuperCharger to Savanna SC easily without charging all the way to 100%. In fact, the distance is only 110 miles or so -- you could probably be ok leaving santee with a 50% battery and have plenty of electrons to spare to make it to Savanna SC.
ThisIsTrue
Re-member
But the bottom line is in your subject line: etiquette. The answer to that is, it is not proper etiquette to leave your car in a charging spot -- SC or not -- if you don't actually need to be actively charging. Set a good example and don't block the charger.
Just arrived at Santee. It males sense for us to get up and charge in the morning. It wasn't a matter of laziness but we arrived at 11:30 and I'm beat. I wouldn't want r to stay up and move the car.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Well done. Won't take much time to get enought charge for your trip.
Perfect strategy would be to plug in the morning, get a nice breakfast, use the restroom then head out with a full tank of electrons.
Enjoy your trip.
Perfect strategy would be to plug in the morning, get a nice breakfast, use the restroom then head out with a full tank of electrons.
Enjoy your trip.
What does the Nav say about idle fees at Santee?
BTW I agree with the rest of the group here. it is poor etiquette to leave yourself plugged in all night long. I also assumed you would be arriving there after a very long drive, that's why I said go ahead and do it if no idle fees. never mind incurring the wrath of Ms. Manners.
I didn't see anything about idle fees. I'm here at Kingsand SC. I'll see what it says when I get back to the car for this site.
It's not relevant whether or not idle fees would apply. Don't park in a supercharger space when you're not charging. Period.
Idle fees apply when the supercharger is 50% occupied, but that shouldn't be your determining factor in deciding not to leave your car parked there.
Idle fees apply when the supercharger is 50% occupied, but that shouldn't be your determining factor in deciding not to leave your car parked there.
I left my 70D overnight at Santee last September. When you arrive at 12:30am and want to hit the road at 8am, there's very little choice. Plus, the Courtyard is about ¼ mile from the SC. No one was there when I arrived, and no one was there when I left, and I'd make a large wager that no one was there in between. I'd call Tesla just to make sure, but you'll be fine. Enjoy the trip.
IIRC when u select a SuperCharger location on in-dash Nav it will say if idle fees apply. I rarely use SCs so this behavior may have changed with a recent update. back in January or February some SCs had idle fees and some did not. I could not figure out a pattern for this (my assumption was that it had something to do with whether a SC was congested or not, but I can't really say)
Tesla may have now changed this and is charging idle fees at all SCs (that are more than 50% in use while a car is Idling.)
I keep meaning to test this in my car, but I alway forget bc I don't use SCs much. I've been meaning to get up to Tarrytown for weeks now to see what kind of charging rates I will be getting there and have yet to do so. maybe this weekend.
If your car is parked, connected to the supercharger, but not charging, expect to pay the fee. It doesn't matter whether you are alone all night or there is a line of folks waiting to get in. Now I realize that $24/hour is not a terrible rate for parking in some locations. But just go out and more your car. The fee is meant to be punitive.
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