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Supercharger - Charleston, SC

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Well, that takes South Carolina off the list of places to which to return during this year's roadtrippery.

My criteria for states to visit are simple and include:

1. Must have at least one SC (this is now pretty much a given, notable exceptions notwithstanding).

2. Must not make Tesla purchase or servicing difficult.

3. Must not be half underwater or otherwise impacted by natural disaster at the time. This one is wishful thinking - I haven't done the Northwest when it hasn't been smoky in years. Last year, the smoke started in NorCal and didn't quit through 5 states and 2 provinces.

Wow. I will add this to the list of reasons to not retire in South Carolina. Have family near Myrtle Beach and they don't understand my reticence. Been going to Myrtle Beach for 50+ years. Love it. But don't want to live in South Carolina...now even more so.
 
From Charlotte, NC. Columbia is 148miles away, not gonna be able to go there and get back on a single charge.
The Santee Supercharger is only 90 miles away - so you should easily make it there and back on a full charge with an 85 kwH battery or better. The Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah also (reportedly) lets you charge if you eat in one of their restaurants.
 
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I am familiar with Kiawah, but we are staying on Seabrook and I prefer not to have to go there and valet...

I have been to Santee as well, while it is doable, we have to stop prior to arriving and wait for 100% charge turning a 3.5 hour trip into almost 5 hours. Also, we have to be very careful if we make any additional trips before heading back.

Just going to take the volvo :(

The Santee Supercharger is only 90 miles away - so you should easily make it there and back on a full charge with an 85 kwH battery or better. The Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah also (reportedly) lets you charge if you eat in one of their restaurants.
 
From Charlotte, NC. Columbia is 148miles away, not gonna be able to go there and get back on a single charge.

Wait what? Charlotte to Seabrook Island routes through Columbia quite easily and there is a supercharger there.

[Edit]: Ah, sorry. You didn't mean 148 miles from Charlotte to Columbia, but rather Columbia to Seabrook Island. In that case, yes, this would be difficult. You can stop by the Belk Mall or Pflug Law Firm, but it'd be a hassle. Yeah, will need the Volvo in this case.

Not many other chargers nearby either (Zoom out after clicking): PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
 
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Lack of a supercharger in Charleston is a mild inconvenience to us locals (who have home charging), but it is a pretty huge deal for visitors. The roundtrip from Santee to downtown Charleston is workable in a Model S 60, but only without much driving around or vampire drain. Any trip to the beaches and islands is impossible without some level 2 charging, and level 2 is very hit or miss around here. I'm really surprised Tesla has taken this long to build it out, especially given the amount of tourism Charleston has.
 
Lack of a supercharger in Charleston is a mild inconvenience to us locals (who have home charging), but it is a pretty huge deal for visitors. The roundtrip from Santee to downtown Charleston is workable in a Model S 60, but only without much driving around or vampire drain. Any trip to the beaches and islands is impossible without some level 2 charging, and level 2 is very hit or miss around here. I'm really surprised Tesla has taken this long to build it out, especially given the amount of tourism Charleston has.

I complete agree. It's only even more frustrating when you're watching this for 6 months continuously because it says "Coming by end of 2017." And of course, it didn't, and they changed the date on Jan 1...
 
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Problem fixed, I am staying at Sanctuary now so I could take our Tesla :)

Wait what? Charlotte to Seabrook Island routes through Columbia quite easily and there is a supercharger there.

[Edit]: Ah, sorry. You didn't mean 148 miles from Charlotte to Columbia, but rather Columbia to Seabrook Island. In that case, yes, this would be difficult. You can stop by the Belk Mall or Pflug Law Firm, but it'd be a hassle. Yeah, will need the Volvo in this case.

Not many other chargers nearby either (Zoom out after clicking): PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
 
Problem fixed, I am staying at Sanctuary now so I could take our Tesla :)

Hah! Awesome!

This is also a good example to other hotels, I think they all need to get on the ball and install chargers, because the availability of chargers literally makes the decision sometimes when someone is taking a road trip. It's something I would absolutely consider to for my future road trips. Anyway, glad you got it worked out!
 
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We have made trips to Charleston. There are level 2 chargers at garages in town and there is an outlet mall outside of Charleston that has level 2. Not the fastest, but a day downtown or shopping and it makes a big difference. If your real inquisitive at some hotels(Marriot close to the outlet mall( also I have found 220V plugs here and there for using the UMC . You gotta live on the wild side just a bit, thats what makes it fun. I was going from North Carolina to Florida on my last trip. You gotta stay longer then a few hours. Slip out of town early early morning, make great time, no AC. North or South great fun.

Is that outlet still there? Is it still energized? Its the secret sauce to Charleston. Perhaps destination charging is another option. M trip was over a year ago. By now on PlugShare there must be more options. Supercharging while great is not always the answer and can limit your experience.
 
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Hopefully, Charleston will come online this year. However, in the interim, both Charleston Place and the Sanctuary in our experience are great about letting folks use the Tesla charger if you're dining there. We've also used the charger in the public deck near Husk and gone shopping.
 
I'm driving down this weekend in my Model 3. I'll post an update next week. The fastest level 2 I've found so far is in the Mt Pleasant Towne Centre across the Ravenel bridge. It's listed as 16 kW, most of the others are around 8. I have 7.5 kW at home which gives me about a 7.5 hr full charge time. Even thought the maps say I can get there in 2 stops from where I live (in the baltimore/DC area), I'll add a 3rd stop just after Lake Marion, just before the I26 exit off I95. That's a level 3 where I can top off, then explore the charger options around the city. 9 There's supposed to be a new level 3 at a new Target downtown, but I'll ask a bud to swing by and see if it's online.
 
I'm driving down this weekend in my Model 3. I'll post an update next week. The fastest level 2 I've found so far is in the Mt Pleasant Towne Centre across the Ravenel bridge. It's listed as 16 kW, most of the others are around 8. I have 7.5 kW at home which gives me about a 7.5 hr full charge time. Even thought the maps say I can get there in 2 stops from where I live (in the baltimore/DC area), I'll add a 3rd stop just after Lake Marion, just before the I26 exit off I95. That's a level 3 where I can top off, then explore the charger options around the city. 9 There's supposed to be a new level 3 at a new Target downtown, but I'll ask a bud to swing by and see if it's online.
Target in Charleston or Mt. Pleasant?
 
I'm driving down this weekend in my Model 3. I'll post an update next week. The fastest level 2 I've found so far is in the Mt Pleasant Towne Centre across the Ravenel bridge. It's listed as 16 kW, most of the others are around 8. I have 7.5 kW at home which gives me about a 7.5 hr full charge time. Even thought the maps say I can get there in 2 stops from where I live (in the baltimore/DC area), I'll add a 3rd stop just after Lake Marion, just before the I26 exit off I95. That's a level 3 where I can top off, then explore the charger options around the city. 9 There's supposed to be a new level 3 at a new Target downtown, but I'll ask a bud to swing by and see if it's online.
We go to Kiawah often and our visits frequently bring us into Charleston. The Sanctuary on Kiawah will let you Charge with their Tesla charger, but their is a $22 valet fee (plus tips) and the last time I valeted the car there I discovered some minor damage on the leading edge of the RF quarter panel.
I am not aware of a new level 3 at a Target store. I use an app I found on the Apple App Store called "Superchargers" which not only maps all the superchargers, but it also identifies locations where permits to install a supercharger or urban charger have been issued and then once it is under construction the icon changes to "under construction", and finally if you bookmark that map location the app will text you when that charger location is open for use. I don't know if there is an Android equivalent, but the point is that even though Tesla intends to put a Level 3 in Charleston, the Supercharger app doesn't even show a permit pulled yet for that location.
I have used the Santee (I-95 at Lake Marion) super charger several times and it is reliable and there are restaurants and restrooms in the immediate area, although it is a little off course for our regular trips from Aiken to Charleston and back.
But point of information for your trip, there is a two stall Tesla charger at the Springhill suites at 7535 N. Forest Dr, North Charleston, SC. 48 Amp. This is right off of I-26. The chargers are on the east side of the building and they are readily available for use, no need to be a guest. This stop has come in handy when I need to pick up that extra "comfort mileage" to reach to next destination.
 
I use an app I found on the Apple App Store called "Superchargers" which not only maps all the superchargers, but it also identifies locations where permits to install a supercharger or urban charger have been issued and then once it is under construction the icon changes to "under construction", and finally if you bookmark that map location the app will text you when that charger location is open for use.

That app is pulling data from the supercharge.info website. Supercharge.info depends on user reports, mostly from here, to populate supercharger status. Very likely that a permitted installation won't show up there until it is reported here. We've been searching, but most of the Charleston area governments don't have publicly searchable permit databases.
 
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But point of information for your trip, there is a two stall Tesla charger at the Springhill suites at 7535 N. Forest Dr, North Charleston, SC. 48 Amp. This is right off of I-26. The chargers are on the east side of the building and they are readily available for use, no need to be a guest. This stop has come in handy when I need to pick up that extra "comfort mileage" to reach to next destination.

Thank you. Just for my own future reference, I'm posting this link here: PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You
 
Pffft... I"m a buffoon....
I saw I that wrote "There's supposed to be a new level 3 at a new Target downtown, but I'll ask a bud to swing by and see if it's online."
It's not a Target Store I saw on some website, but a "'Target date" of 2018. Sorry. Either way, nothing around yet. Fingers crossed for something soon.
If it helps, I did the same thing for like a week. ugh.... Searching for the new Target location online for days.
Drove to Charleston last month for the weekend, and failed to top off in Santee. It was a pain. Best charger was at Tanger only because it has something to do for a few hours. But it's only like 22 miles/hr. A similar one in Mt. Pleasant, but had to charge at least 2 hours to break even for the trip there and back from West Ashley. Not driving down again until super charger installation complete. ( I go home every 2 months.,,,)