Supercharger - Forks, WA
- Thread starter BerTX
- Start date
ColoradoEV
Member
Any updates? I’m an elementary teacher now stuck doing online ed at home. I’m planning on doing a national park tour for my students in these next two months. Car camping in the SR+. Planning on social distancing and staying at KOA’s to charge overnight. My hope was to go from Colorado through some national parks up to the PNW. If this is online, I’d love to highlight the tip of America for my students.
03-22-2020
Parking paint is done and so is the overhead light fixture. Still no power though.
Parking paint is done and so is the overhead light fixture. Still no power though.
If you make it out here and it's a sunny day, you should definitely do the drive and short hike (about a mile) out to Cape Flattery, the NW corner of the US. It is an amazing place. You'll also get a good view of Tattoosh Island and its lighthouse.
There will be no power until it is final inspected. I check daily M-F and as of Friday at 18:00 no inspection yet so no power.
ALSET YXES
Member
Washington State Government is closed until further notice which includes WA L&I who will be performing the final inspection.
matt_net_zero
Member
You may get a view of Tatoosh Island. I’ve piloted a boat through that passage and could only see Tatoosh on the boats radar. Even on a sunny day, there’s often a boundary layer just off the coast.
ALSET YXES
Member
@Mattzilla Next time you're there can you get a straight on picture of the transformer/lightpole/charge post from a distance and up close?
Cheers Mate!
henderrj
Member
Inspectors are supposed to be exempt, according to my contractor son.
L&I inspector was at Forks today and it appears the cabinets were locked so site still has not passed inspection. Looks like this contractor is FUBAR.
Looks like an inspection is scheduled for tomorrow 3/26.
otter
Recovering eager beaver
Most KOAs are still open. Check the frequently updated KOA website for current closures, then call individual KOA campgrounds not on the closure list to learn their current partial closures and restrictions. I stayed at the Los Banos, CA, KOA (along I-5, 4 mi. south of the Gustine SC) Saturday night. Shower house was closed but one small restroom was open. My first experience with Camping Mode, which worked nicely.
ColoradoEV
Member
How was the sleeping? I’m trying to figure out how to best level out my model 3 rear seat folded. The angle is too steep to be comfortable for my hip for several hours. I’m thinking of stacking cardboard or lots of blankets to try to even it out.
otter
Recovering eager beaver
I'm happy to wander off-topic this time to share my experience. Those sound like good ideas. Definitely get your nest as flat as you can. I am a pre-M3 fossil (love your car) and so drove my MX, which has a flatter rear deck. An air mattress, sleeping bag, and thick pillow held up by behind-the-front-seat cargo sufficed, although the air mattress was the thinner back-packing sort. Thicker padding would have been better, but that was what I had.
If you are not familiar with the word "fomite", look it up. People seemed not to understand that critical concept. To protect yourself from contamination on charging connectors and the almost inevitable restroom door handles, take enough glove protection or sanitizing wipes, if you have those, and as much hand sanitizer as you can scrounge up or manufacture. You don't have to waste precious exam/painting gloves if you have a good way to sanitize heavier resusable nitrile or plastic gloves, although getting them off and cleaning them can be a bit awkward. With some forethought, often I was able to only need one hand gloved. Think about your building entrances and exits every time you leave the car. Those rest areas that weren't closed for construction were all open, as opposed to the restaurant toilets near superchargers, so plan ahead. One exception: Granzella's at Williams CA, 8AM-8PM last weekend.
In most states, you can sleep at rest areas (you can check online) and they were not crowded last weekend. Lots of oblivious people were using those inevitable door handles, though! Sometimes you can lurk a little and use your foot when someone else opens the door, although that tightens the social distance. I went online to make a list of their approximate mileage points along my route, so I wouldn't drive past, but online data about which were closed for construction was not always reliable. I am male so the bushes are less of a challenge, but only had to resort to them once in two 13-14 hour days. I used the KOA as posssibly more secure, definitely quieter, and a way to keep my battery topped up while camping.
I am wary of the outer packaging on take-away food, and didn't want the hassle of dealing with it, so I took my own road food and had room for a 12 v cooler (although most of what I packed or prepared was safe at cabin temperature for a couple of days). Take plenty of water! Think ahead and stay safe!
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On topic info. The L&I site now shows Forks as inactive apparently for lack of payment of $46.80 for an inspection fee. Hopefully this will be the only installation that Tesla does with this contractor.
Hey otter! I have had the same issue with sleeping in my M3. Too much slope on the folded portion of the seat. My solution was to pop out the back seat bottom, flip it end-for-end (optional) stand it up behind the front seats. The back then lies a little down, but can be adjusted with some type of support material which also protects the upholstery from wearing on the exposed structure under where the seat bottom was. I also use a 1" high density foam pad and a 1" memory foam on top of that. Worked well for me. I tried an air mattress, but it lifted me up far enough that turning over was a little restricted.
Video from @jonco223 on how to remove the rear seat bench in the Model 3 so that the rear area is much flatter. The bench will then fit in the footwell area. The only concern is that you need to put something down to protect the seat back material from being marked or damaged by the metal structure under the bench when the seat backs are laid flat.
otter
Recovering eager beaver
Thanks! This is all great info for us coronavirus campers, and I guess it gives a few us of something to do while waiting for this SC to open
, but I'm feeling guilty. Anyone know if there's a camping thread to move over to?
