Supercharger - Bryce Canyon City, UT

[bradtem]

I've stayed at Ruby's twice in the last year. They have Tesla destination chargers and an RV park (though the RV park is closed in winter, turns out they have a few RV spots at the main hotel which are open.) So I've charged up my car on those stays. The first stay I took the last spot, but thanks to the RV spots (which I and the front desk didn't know much about) I need not have worried.

However, thanks to the SC, people don't need to stay overnight any more. If you are staying overnight, you should still use the destination chargers, not the SC, as they are free and better for the battery and you can do things like keep your car warm at night in winter.

UT-12 is one of the best roads in the USA, in fact the world. There's a reason it won the contest. However, it still can be pushing it, especially if you do any detours, to do UT-12 all the way to Capitol Reef and Hanksville. You can make Green River, but barely, and not with detours. I've stayed at an RV park in Hanksville with cabins to fill up and explore that area. But some fast charging is needed, perhaps in Hanksville or Torrey. It doesn't have to be a lot. A 2-stall slow station would do it, even CCS 50kW.

 

[Utah John]

UT-12 is one of the best roads in the USA, in fact the world. There's a reason it won the contest. However, it still can be pushing it, especially if you do any detours, to do UT-12 all the way to Capitol Reef and Hanksville. You can make Green River, but barely, and not with detours. I've stayed at an RV park in Hanksville with cabins to fill up and explore that area. But some fast charging is needed, perhaps in Hanksville or Torrey. It doesn't have to be a lot. A 2-stall slow station would do it, even CCS 50kW.

I live on UT-12.

My vote would be for Torrey or even better yet, Hanksville for the next Supercharger after Bryce Canyon City on Utah's Grand Circle auto route. Kayenta, AZ - which is listed as a target opening in 2024 - would also allow a complete EV Grand Circle tour.

Torrey makes sense since it is 100 miles from both Bryce to the south, and Green River to the north.

Hanksville makes sense as it is 112 miles from Richfield, 125 miles from Blanding, 60 miles from Green River, and 150 miles from Bryce Canyon City. The drive from Torrey to Hanksville to Blanding is - dare I say - as pretty as UT12.

To quote a favorite meme - Why Not Both?


My guess, though is that Escalante gets the next supercharger, as it is a fan favorite, rather than the most practical choice.

 

[Nosken]

Glad to see the new Supercharger. I traveled this area on a 4,000+mile tour for the last total solar eclipse. In 2017 from Northern California to Idaho, via the Utah parks. I stayed at Entrada Escalante Lodge which had two Tesla HPWC's. The owner and lodging were great, it was a comfortable overnight. There is now Canyon Country Lodge with 5 destination chargers. I haven't stayed there.

 

[RayB]

Great location! We visited Bryce a couple years ago and stayed at the Bryce Canyon Inn in Tropic, UT. They have Tesla destination Chargers there which was great. We charged up to 100% and were able to easily make it up to Green River, via Torrey, Hanksville, and Goblin Valley. Awesome drive!

 

[bradtem]

Great location! We visited Bryce a couple years ago and stayed at the Bryce Canyon Inn in Tropic, UT. They have Tesla destination Chargers there which was great. We charged up to 100% and were able to easily make it up to Green River, via Torrey, Hanksville, and Goblin Valley. Awesome drive!

While in theory you can do this without a long range, there are a number of side trips along that route that made me wish I had one. So instead I've stayed in Hanksville to fill the car overnight. Green River is a boring supercharger -- the museum is always closed, and there's just the one sit-down restaurant. The CCS charger isn't much better.

 

[dgpcolorado]

While in theory you can do this without a long range, there are a number of side trips along that route that made me wish I had one. So instead I've stayed in Hanksville to fill the car overnight. Green River is a boring supercharger -- the museum is always closed, and there's just the one sit-down restaurant. The CCS charger isn't much better.

Hmm. Green River has long been a favorite of mine. Lovely park and path on the river, picnic tables. WiFi at the museum. Since I never use restaurants — I carry my own road trip food — such places are of no interest. The lack of restrooms when the museum is closed is my only concern about the Green River Supercharger Station except that I am nearly always there when it is open. I've charged at Green River thirty-three times over the last eight years, so I remember when it was a four stall V1.

Bryce Canyon City Supercharger Station sure opens up some scenic routes! Hope to check it out this summer.

 

[tyler601717]

We will also need to start a thread for Kanab, Utah as it is a Q3 2023 Supercharger Voting Winner

 

[Tectonic]

We will also need to start a thread for Kanab, Utah as it is a Q3 2023 Supercharger Voting Winner
View attachment 1033148

It already exists here: Supercharger - Kanab, UT

 

[tyler601717]

It already exists here: Supercharger - Kanab, UT

Oh I see. It just isn't on the map then supercharge.info

 

[bradtem]

We will also need to start a thread for Kanab, Utah as it is a Q3 2023 Supercharger Voting Winner
View attachment 1033148

I feel Kenab is a bit of a waste of the voting system, but then most of the voting winners are wastes (though Bryce is an example of a good one.)
Kenab has a quality CCS station, which like most CCS stations will add NACS soon. So while it's nice to have an SC, it wasn't needed. Where one is needed is somewhere like Monument Valley, since today it's a challenge for a car to drive from Blanding to Page, even if the have the adapter and can charge up in Bluff. While there are other gaps in rural places like that, this is southern Utah -- a candidate for the best scenic drives in the United States! I believe these scenic areas should be a top priority to get in stations. They don't have to be big stations, but they solve a big problem, places you want to go that you can't easily go in an EV.

Many of the contest winners are just more chargers for an urban area for people who are supercharging in their own town. The answer for them is more home charging, which I know they can't all get, but it's still the right answer that needs a longer term solution.

The contest is a bit silly. Tesla knows where every Tesla drives. And most of all, it knows where Teslas are *not* driving, and can compare that with the traffic data for where gasoline cars go. That comparison should say, "Hey, a lot of people drive the scenic routes of Utah, like by Monument valley, but very few Teslas" and know that's a place that needs charging. They don't need to do a poll.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I feel Kenab is a bit of a waste of the voting system, but then most of the voting winners are wastes (though Bryce is an example of a good one.)
Kenab has a quality CCS station, which like most CCS stations will add NACS soon. So while it's nice to have an SC, it wasn't needed. Where one is needed is somewhere like Monument Valley, since today it's a challenge for a car to drive from Blanding to Page, even if the have the adapter and can charge up in Bluff. While there are other gaps in rural places like that, this is southern Utah -- a candidate for the best scenic drives in the United States! I believe these scenic areas should be a top priority to get in stations. They don't have to be big stations, but they solve a big problem, places you want to go that you can't easily go in an EV.

Many of the contest winners are just more chargers for an urban area for people who are supercharging in their own town. The answer for them is more home charging, which I know they can't all get, but it's still the right answer that needs a longer term solution.

The contest is a bit silly. Tesla knows where every Tesla drives. And most of all, it knows where Teslas are *not* driving, and can compare that with the traffic data for where gasoline cars go. That comparison should say, "Hey, a lot of people drive the scenic routes of Utah, like by Monument valley, but very few Teslas" and know that's a place that needs charging. They don't need to do a poll.

It knows where Teslas aren't driving, but it doesn't know where people would go if they could.
It also doesn't know the places Tesla-curious non-Tesla owners want to be able to go before they buy a Tesla.

And if there isn't a Supercharger in an area and Tesla owners aren't going there, they also don't have stats to give to those potential hosts to persuade them of potential custom. But if that location gets a lot of votes, they can point to the voting and say "When we asked Tesla owners what locations they want, N% of those who voted, voted for this location, so if you host a Supercharger you could have a significant amount of custom from people with more money than sense."

So, it combines a PR and engagement exercise with filling in some stats.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I feel Kenab is a bit of a waste of the voting system, but then most of the voting winners are wastes (though Bryce is an example of a good one.)
Kenab has a quality CCS station, which like most CCS stations will add NACS soon. So while it's nice to have an SC, it wasn't needed. Where one is needed is somewhere like Monument Valley, since today it's a challenge for a car to drive from Blanding to Page, even if the have the adapter and can charge up in Bluff. While there are other gaps in rural places like that, this is southern Utah -- a candidate for the best scenic drives in the United States! I believe these scenic areas should be a top priority to get in stations. They don't have to be big stations, but they solve a big problem, places you want to go that you can't easily go in an EV.

Many of the contest winners are just more chargers for an urban area for people who are supercharging in their own town. The answer for them is more home charging, which I know they can't all get, but it's still the right answer that needs a longer term solution.

The contest is a bit silly. Tesla knows where every Tesla drives. And most of all, it knows where Teslas are *not* driving, and can compare that with the traffic data for where gasoline cars go. That comparison should say, "Hey, a lot of people drive the scenic routes of Utah, like by Monument valley, but very few Teslas" and know that's a place that needs charging. They don't need to do a poll.

Kanab UT would be very helpful for getting to or from the North Rim of Grand Canyon. Not every car can use CCS stations, nor are they notable for being reliable, so that is hardly a reasonable option compared to a proper Supercharger Station.

For those of us who would like to see more national parks easily accessed from Supercharger Stations, Kanab would be a helpful addition, as is the coming one in Bryce Canyon City.

As for the poll, one of the ones I voted for numerous times was actually built: Alamosa CO, the first station on US 160 and the gateway city to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. That one is a big deal for those of us who live in, or visit, the Four Corners region. Not all of the poll winners are just useless fill-ins in crowded urban areas, as Bryce Canyon City shows.

 

[bradtem]

It knows where Teslas aren't driving, but it doesn't know where people would go if they could.
It also doesn't know the places Tesla-curious non-Tesla owners want to be able to go before they buy a Tesla.

And if there isn't a Supercharger in an area and Tesla owners aren't going there, they also don't have stats to give to those potential hosts to persuade them of potential custom. But if that location gets a lot of votes, they can point to the voting and say "When we asked Tesla owners what locations they want, N% of those who voted, voted for this location, so if you host a Supercharger you could have a significant amount of custom from people with more money than sense."

So, it combines a PR and engagement exercise with filling in some stats.

I disagree. They know where Tesla owners would go if they could, because they can get data on where gasoline powered cars are going. What they should do is start by saying, "Where do people go with gas cars that they don't go in Teslas?" In particular look at the ratio of miles driven by gasoline cars to EV miles. They can control for the number of Teslas that live a given distance from the area, something they know exactly.

They also know which cars own or have used the CCS or CdM adapters, and can control for that.

The only modification they might put on what they would learn from that data would be more romantic or subjective judgment about the route in tourist books. For example, at present, it's almost impossible for a Tesla to get to Alaska through BC, though a few have done it, and some new CCS stations are opening up. Prince George is as far as you can go on superchargers. But even so, they might decide that the Alaska and Cassier highways don't have the traffic to merit the effort. But they might do it for the romance, "Yes, your Tesla can take you on that bucket list trip up the Alaska highway you've dreamed about." That might have some value. Though the fact that the ratio of gasoline cars to Teslas on these highways is ridiculously high, and probably all but a handful of them have CCS/CdM adapters.

The other thing that should affect their decision is that they won the connector fight, and everybody will be switching to NACS. In many cases, a far faster and cheaper plan would be to just take steps to hasten the addition of NACS cords on those CCS stations which are far from the nearest SC. Kenab is a good example of that. Yes, the Kenab station is just 3 60kw stalls, not Tesla level, but by far the cheapest thing to do would be to just pay for the NACS upgrade to those stations. Chargepoint is offering NACS cable upgrades to their stations, but if Tesla paid for those today, they need not rush at fast at putting in an SC with more stalls and higher power rating. Though frankly, any operator of such a charging station is an idiot if they don't put in that upgrade, since 70% of the EVs are Teslas. The main reason they haven't all done this is most CCS stations were put in for subsidy or public policy reasons, not as for-profit businesses. The Kenab one is run by the city. That's why Tesla should start by paying. They could even "loan" the upgrade, saying that they will swap it back out or ask for money in 3 years, when they put in a station.

There are 3 goals to the SC network:

1. Let Tesla owners take road trips with low hassle
2. Let Tesla owners *feel* that they can take road trips (almost) anywhere they want to go
3. (Added later) Let Tesla owners who don't have charging at home have a fast charging experience.

Not on the list, by the way, is make money, at least in the past. I mean it started as free to Tesla owners. It's debatable if #1 or #2 is more important.

Kenab is not without value, I just state that because there is CCS there, it's not as high a value as places where there is no SC or CCS. Anybody who does rural road trips in places like these is crazy not to get the CCS adapter now, though they will have less reason in a couple years when the CCS stations all put NACS on them. The main reason not to get it would be if you have the car that needs a board upgrade to use it. I have such a car, but I manually upgraded my board with the bundle-o-wires, because it's that useful.

Yes, not all poll winners are fill-ins, but many are. I don't think they should poll about those. They have perfect data on which of those they need to build already, they don't need to ask users. I think they ask just to make drivers feel good. The only real value of the poll would be to tell them stuff they don't know, about that romantic factor.

 

[GregD60]

Yes, I think making money is one of Tesla's goals with the Supercharger network. I don't think that was initially the goal, but I think it's the case now. Pushing a universal standard makes sense, but Tesla shouldn't be helping anyone else build out their own charging network unless they get a piece of the action.

 

[bradtem]

Yes, I think making money is one of Tesla's goals with the Supercharger network. I don't think that was initially the goal, but I think it's the case now. Pushing a universal standard makes sense, but Tesla shouldn't be helping anyone else build out their own charging network unless they get a piece of the action.

Tesla has said otherwise, and so far have acted otherwise but it's changing. Today they say they want the charging network to break even, so they can run it without cost, and it provides the benefits above. SC continue to be better for Tesla drivers, with lower price, better experience. They could be a lot better for Tesla owners, but Tesla is seduced by the $5B in subsidies -- that's not small change -- for stations that can serve all cars. There are two ways to serve all cars. Either put CCS magic docks on your stations, or get everybody else to switch to NACS. That latter is better in the long run.

 

[Utah John]

Garkane is already working on putting in the support for Bryce Canyon City’s supercharger, and it is expected to open in June of this year.

Oh, and I got my picture on the cover of the Insider!

Highway 12 Electrified: - The Insider

WAYNE & GARFIELD COUNTIES - April is Earth Month. But more specifically, for Torrey’s John Lee, it’s Drive Electric Earth Month. On April 20, Lee will be hosting the Wayne County EV Meetup and Car Show at the Torrey Solar Pavilion from 3 - 6pm, an event he hopes will help educate locals and...

www.insiderutah.com

 

[Bobz1]

Any update on confirmed location of this Kanab supercharger and getting it on supercharge.info ?

Thanks!