Supercharger - Clayton, NM

[HillCountryFun]

I really need this location to energize soon! Anyone going through this area any time soon? Drive slow and look for construction activity, please!

Best guesses for location:

• Love's Travel Stop
• Best Western Kokopelli Inn
• Quality Inn and Suites
• Valero 24hr self-service pumps
• Somewhere close to Main and 1st street

Tesla still shows it activating in 2018 and I'm hoping they make it -

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Gadgetboyea]

I am driving back to Denver the first week in January, Amarillo - Trinidad is the longest stretch of the trip. Would be nice to see if construction has started in Clayton and if it can open soon. I will post a photo if I see any construction.

 

[ewoodrick]

Look for places near multiple food entities and other amenities. That's what Tesla seems to be looking for with road chargers these days.

 

[PLUS EV]

Just going from memory (have only been to Clayton once 6 years ago), Love's is the first place I would look. Don't recall if there is ample parking but hopefully there is. Things are usually fairly spread out in these small desert/high plains towns.

 

[jbdower]

I make the trip from Austin to Denver every month but in my ICE so far because of that stretch from Amarillo to Trinidad. When I was though there earlier this month it looked like there was some construction in the back of Love's parking lot that resembled a new supercharger station. So maybe coming soon although not in 2018.
I have a Mod 3 LR with aero wheels so I think I could make it without Clayton when the weather warms up this spring, but it's 20 degrees there right now. Has anybody tried this stretch in a Mod 3?

 

[HillCountryFun]

Drove through Clayton on 12/30, looked at every location I could think of...nothing found. Ugh.

 

[ICE Br8ker]

Drove through Clayton on 12/30, looked at every location I could think of...nothing found. Ugh.

My family and I travel from Central Texas to Estes Park every year or two (along with half of Texas!!!). That Amarillo to Trinidad stretch looks treacherous for range. I'm taking my Model 3 this summer and am running scenarios. We usually drive to Trinidad on day one and stay overnight there, but that doesn't look feasible at all without the Clayton station.

How have you overcome this challenge while you're waiting on Clayton to open?

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

This is one of my top three desired locations.
The other relevant one is Ft. Smith, AK.

The combination of these two would be to make the I-40 corridor viable for travel from Atlanta to Denver.

 

[iceisdone]

Austin -> Denver... We didn't want to drive the suggested route through Tucumcari so we opted to chance straight Amarillo->Trinidad... We stopped at Coyote Keeth's RV park right before Clayton because we didn't charge enough in Amarillo, and then didn't charge enough there ( ugh, 30mph!!! ), so we stopped at the KOA in Raton to make sure we could get over the pass. We have 5 people ( 2 adults, 2 teenagers and a preteen ), and it was below freezing and snowing, so we didn't want to risk it. The KOA charged us the RV rate, but prorated hourly, so it was quite affordable. Keeth's charged a flat $15 ( called them, and that's what they said to put in the envelope, so that's what I did ). I'd recommend the KOA in Raton if you can make it there, probably only need an hour or two to get over the pass safely. But yes, desperately need the Clayton Supercharger!

 

[BerTX]

My family and I travel from Central Texas to Estes Park every year or two (along with half of Texas!!!). That Amarillo to Trinidad stretch looks treacherous for range. I'm taking my Model 3 this summer and am running scenarios. We usually drive to Trinidad on day one and stay overnight there, but that doesn't look feasible at all without the Clayton station.

How have you overcome this challenge while you're waiting on Clayton to open?

This is one of the most often discussed sections of road on TMC. You can search for past discussions to get more information and opinions and experiences.

Success on this route depends on what car/battery you have, the temperature, the wind speed and direction, which direction you are travelling (it is uphill going west) and how fast you drive. The only one you can really control is driving speed, and it has a major impact. This road is not usually heavily traveled, and is two lanes each direction, so it is fairly safe to travel below the speed limit. Like so many places, you may be able to slow down and get there much faster than you can by stopping to charge for hours at a campground or by going through Tucumcari, etc. Under most conditions, most Teslas can make the eastbound route. Westbound, with the elevation change and often strong prevailing westerly winds, is much more problematic (especially in colder temperatures).

 

[HillCountryFun]

We have a “Classic” 2014 RWD 85 and get about 250 rated miles per charge. Southbound travel is easier than Northbound and summer requires less energy than winter. That said, we stayed in Dumas this Holiday season traveling both directions and used the hotel’s Tesla destination charger. Southbound was not to bad but Northbound was really tight even charging to 100%. The wind and outside temperature become important when the route is so tight.

 

[reddy]

I've posted my statistics on the Amarillo <-> Trinidad leg in the past, here:

Amarillo to Trinidad, CO supercharger stats - round trip

For my Model S 85, I boosted my charge at Dalhart at the free RV park there when westbound.

Going east, no boost was necessary because the winds generally go east, and it is downhill. However if you are running your heater, you may need to stop at Dalhart or Dumas for a free boost. Both towns have free RV charging and are almost never full.

 

[Gadgetboyea]

I am driving back to Denver the first week in January, Amarillo - Trinidad is the longest stretch of the trip. Would be nice to see if construction has started in Clayton and if it can open soon. I will post a photo if I see any construction.

Update- due to storms and strong wind on our return trip (from louisiana), we took the longer route and came home through Oklahoma Kansas. About 100miles longer but safer with more Superchargers. I did not want to chance the Amarillo-Trinidad leg.

 

[reddy]

Update- due to storms and strong wind on our return trip (from louisiana), we took the longer route and came home through Oklahoma Kansas. About 100miles longer but safer with more Superchargers. I did not want to chance the Amarillo-Trinidad leg.

Yesterday the wind was 37mph with gusts over 50mph from the northwest. You made the right decision. We need that Clayton NM supercharger.

 

[Buzd]

Around Christmas I did it in my M3 dual motor with aero wheels. It was around 20 degrees and averaging about 5mph over the speed limit with a head wind I made it to the Amarillo supercharger with 0 miles estimated range showing. On the return trip through heavy snow and at 25 to 35mph below the speed limit I ended up stuck in Clayton with roads closed and a blackout affecting the entire area. It was not possible to make it to Trinidad in my car with those weather conditions. I had to wait for power to be restored and charged 6-8 hours at an RV park to comfortably get over Raton pass. Bad stretch in the winter, no EV currently available can make it from Trinidad to Amarillo in winter blizzard conditions.

 

[reddy]

Around Christmas I did it in my M3 dual motor with aero wheels. It was around 20 degrees and averaging about 5mph over the speed limit with a head wind I made it to the Amarillo supercharger with 0 miles estimated range showing. On the return trip through heavy snow and at 25 to 35mph below the speed limit I ended up stuck in Clayton with roads closed and a blackout affecting the entire area. It was not possible to make it to Trinidad in my car with those weather conditions. I had to wait for power to be restored and charged 6-8 hours at an RV park to comfortably get over Raton pass. Bad stretch in the winter, no EV currently available can make it from Trinidad to Amarillo in winter blizzard conditions.

In event of a power outage, and closed roads, the supercharger isn't going to be much help.

Perhaps once the power came back on, and roads reopened, then the SC would recharge the battery faster, certainly..

 

[PLUS EV]

Around Christmas I did it in my M3 dual motor with aero wheels. It was around 20 degrees and averaging about 5mph over the speed limit with a head wind I made it to the Amarillo supercharger with 0 miles estimated range showing. On the return trip through heavy snow and at 25 to 35mph below the speed limit I ended up stuck in Clayton with roads closed and a blackout affecting the entire area. It was not possible to make it to Trinidad in my car with those weather conditions. I had to wait for power to be restored and charged 6-8 hours at an RV park to comfortably get over Raton pass. Bad stretch in the winter, no EV currently available can make it from Trinidad to Amarillo in winter blizzard conditions.

It was crazy to attempt that Amarillo to Trinidad leg in the first place!

 

[HillCountryFun]

I drove through Clayton on May 17, 2019 and I saw no evidence of any construction. That said, I think a case could be made that because Tesla has started on the Wichita Falls (Texas) location, they may move to Clayton soon in order to build out the route from DFW to Colorado. Would sure like to see it going!

 

[Isaacs1997]

Just going from memory (have only been to Clayton once 6 years ago), Love's is the first place I would look. Don't recall if there is ample parking but hopefully there is. Things are usually fairly spread out in these small desert/high plains towns.

I drove through Clayton on May 17, 2019 and I saw no evidence of any construction. That said, I think a case could be made that because Tesla has started on the Wichita Falls (Texas) location, they may move to Clayton soon in order to build out the route from DFW to Colorado. Would sure like to see it going!

As far as I know they haven't started construction in town yet, but I do see the site lists Clayton to be a location this year. Loves was remodeled a few years ago so I think it should have enough space to house at least one charger, if not dairy queen is closed now so there is beyond ample space at the valero pumps for sure!

 

[reddy]

As far as I know they haven't started construction in town yet, but I do see the site lists Clayton to be a location this year. Loves was remodeled a few years ago so I think it should have enough space to house at least one charger, if not dairy queen is closed now so there is beyond ample space at the valero pumps for sure!

I check the DIG TESS reports for Union County regularly, and haven't spotted anything that looks like a Tesla supercharger. Clayton doesn't have its building permits online, as far as I can tell.

Now that Henrietta TX is nearing completion, the Dallas to Denver route only lacks Clayton, so I hope that Tesla will see fit to get this completed. It has been on the 'this year' map for 2 or 3 years now.

And, welcome to the group! I noted this is your first post. Can I message you in case I get a lead on a DIG TESS request, since you are local ?