Supercharger - Indio, CA (LIVE, 36 V3 + 8 V2 + 2 Urban stalls)

[PLUS EV]

Anyone used this site recently?

planning a trip from Santa Clarita to Phoenix next week.
Indio and Quartzite look like my best options in my time vs range calculations.
2018 Model 3 Performance (20" wheels) real world range +/-180 miles (at about 80 mph highway)

ABRP recommends stops at Blythe and Buckeye, but experience tells me the 2 minute savings is more than eaten up in travel to and from the highway, picking a spot, plugging in, etc. So I'll choose to stay at a charger a few extra minutes and make 1 less stop.

But here's the rub; Beaumont and Cabazon are closer to my starting point so beginning SOC would be higher and would need to charge over 90% to make Quartzite, adding time...

There's no supercharger in Blythe. I guess you mean Ehrenberg.

Anyways, Indio does get full at times, so I'd keep an eye on the occupancy as you approach and divert to either Cabazon or Rancho Mirage if it looks like it's full. Cabazon is less optimal because your SOC will be high as you mentioned and Rancho Mirage is a diversion from the interstate so there's no perfect solution, but either of those would be better than queuing up in Indio imo.

 

[mihanson]

I stopped by Indio as I was driving west in the late afternoon on July 4. I got the last open stall and charge speeds were bad. Only 35kW. I stayed long enough to use the restroom at the Chevron (and by this time there was a queue 4 cars deep), but then went to Rancho Mirage where I got the full 72kW out of the urban superchargers there.

 

[stevemc]

I stopped by Indio as I was driving west in the late afternoon on July 4. I got the last open stall and charge speeds were bad. Only 35kW. I stayed long enough to use the restroom at the Chevron (and by this time there was a queue 4 cars deep), but then went to Rancho Mirage where I got the full 72kW out of the urban superchargers there.

Indio is always slow even when I'm the only there. If you can, and depending on where you're going, try to get to Beaumont as they have V3 chargers. For some reason Tesla doesn't always navigate you there so you may have to select it on the map.

 

[mihanson]

Indio is always slow even when I'm the only there. If you can, and depending on where you're going, try to get to Beaumont as they have V3 chargers. For some reason Tesla doesn't always navigate you there so you may have to select it on the map.

I have stopped at Beaumont before and I really like that location. Right next to In-N-Out and quite a few stalls.

 

[Sasmania]

Indio, as the last stop on a 100 Mile gap on the way to AZ, needs a serious upgrade. I'm thinking 24+ V3s.

There is PLENTY of space in the existing parking lot for a big expansion (hopefully with Solar??)

Has anyone heard any rumors??

 

[eidco]

I'm surprised Tesla hasn't put Superchargers at Chiriaco Summit. That's the best halfway point between Indio and Quartzsite.

 

[Sasmania]

I'm surprised Tesla hasn't put Superchargers at Chiriaco Summit. That's the best halfway point between Indio and Quartzsite.

That would even be better! No real services like Indio but they really do need to eliminate these 100+ mile gaps on the interstate highways. I mean they are putting SCs 2 miles apart in LA etc (which are needed too) but let's get the basic travel routes handled as well!

 

[PLUS EV]

I'm surprised Tesla hasn't put Superchargers at Chiriaco Summit. That's the best halfway point between Indio and Quartzsite.

There's a decent chance that Chiriaco Summit wouldn't have the electrical supply necessary for a supercharger, or at least not for a v3 supercharger. And I don't think anyone wants to spend hours at a place like that plugged into an urban supercharger or a pallet supercharger or whatever.

But sure, if the electrical supply is there, that's the one place between Indio and Blythe that could work. Putting one in Blythe itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point since it's only a few miles from Ehrenberg.


Edit to add... I just found this quote on the Chiriaco Summit wiki page:

"In 1999, electricity from the electrical grid finally reached Chiriaco Summit, freeing the town from its dependence on Diesel generators."

So it looks like they at least have power from the grid, but who knows if it is enough to support a supercharger. I'm no electrical grid expert. Perhaps someone else can chime in.

 

[Sasmania]

There's a decent chance that Chiriaco Summit wouldn't have the electrical supply necessary for a supercharger, or at least not for a v3 supercharger. And I don't think anyone wants to spend hours at a place like that plugged into an urban supercharger or a pallet supercharger or whatever.

But sure, if the electrical supply is there, that's the one place between Indio and Blythe that could work. Putting one in Blythe itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point since it's only a few miles from Ehrenberg.


Edit to add... I just found this quote on the Chiriaco Summit wiki page:

"In 1999, electricity from the electrical grid finally reached Chiriaco Summit, freeing the town from its dependence on Diesel generators."

So it looks like they at least have power from the grid, but who knows if it is enough to support a supercharger. I'm no electrical grid expert. Perhaps someone else can chime in.

I've always wondered about the economics of an 8 stall V3 Charger with enough Solar and Batteries to be completely Off-Grid. Where Tesla could pre-fab them and basically drop them anywhere. How many panels would it take? How many Mega-Packs? What would be the payback period for Tesla vs just paying for regular grid electricity?

 

[PLUS EV]

I've always wondered about the economics of an 8 stall V3 Charger with enough Solar and Batteries to be completely Off-Grid. Where Tesla could pre-fab them and basically drop them anywhere. How many panels would it take? How many Mega-Packs? What would be the payback period for Tesla vs just paying for regular grid electricity?

I think by the end of busy travel days with a lot of usage the supercharger would stop functioning leaving people stranded and/or frustrated.

 

[Sasmania]

I think by the end of busy travel days with a lot of usage the supercharger would stop functioning leaving people stranded and/or frustrated.

So what you're saying is it would take a ridiculously unpractical amount of panels & batteries to make it have close to 100% up-time?

 

[eidco]

Regarding driving L.A. to Phoenix, I remember the days before there were SCs at either Cabazon or Indio (or Blythe or Ehrenberg). One time we left Quartzsite with a full charge and found a hotel in Rancho Mirage with a Tesla 50A (40) charger. We ate and hung around for a couple of hours. Then we could make it to another SC near LA. After that, we'd actually stay over night at a Holiday Inn Express in Rancho Mirage. They had a public charger there. Even though it was only about 18 mph of charging it was easy to get a full charge overnight and make it to Quartzsite.

 

[P85_DA]

Indio is so busted down these days , I remember when it first opened, now it’s always guaranteed to have 2-3 offline. I did speak to a supercharger tech who was out working on stall 1a and he did say they are expanding Indio, I haven’t seen anything on map but this is a good place to stock up some V3s.

 

[Sasmania]

Indio is so busted down these days , I remember when it first opened, now it’s always guaranteed to have 2-3 offline. I did speak to a supercharger tech who was out working on stall 1a and he did say they are expanding Indio, I haven’t seen anything on map but this is a good place to stock up some V3s.

Yea, it's one thing when there are other options, but Indio is the last stop for 100+ miles, so it needs to be rock solid with plenty of V3s.

Great news if Tesla is expanding this location!

 

[wdolson]

So what you're saying is it would take a ridiculously unpractical amount of panels & batteries to make it have close to 100% up-time?

Yes. The most efficient solar panels available in a very sunny location can collect about 20 W/sf. With 10 hours of full sunlight a day, that's 200 Wh/sf (0.2 KWh/sf). To be able to provide 100 KWh in a day, that would require 500 sf of solar panels. For one 150 KW to keep up with the sun at the peak of the day would require about 750 sf.

The problem with renewables is that they are very low concentrations of energy per unit of space compared to other sources of energy. In places that get lots of sun with lots of open space it might be possible to build a solar array that can keep up most of the time, but it would need some sort of grid back up for times when the usage is high and the sun is not intense.

 

[cpa]

Eagle Mountain (tucked in just south of Joshua Tree) was the old Kaiser company town during its mining heyday in the early to mid-20th Century. People still live there. Access to Eagle Mountain is off Interstate 10 just west of the SR177 exit that cuts off the angle from Palm Springs to Needles and Interstate 40. There is a golf course and some other odds and ends in that area called Desert Center. While I have no idea just how much power is flowing through the power lines to reach these locations, I would submit that there is enough to light up eight or twelve V3 Superchargers.

Granted there is absolutely nothing at either of these exits off I-10. But they are about 35-40 miles west of Blythe and likely have enough power if Chiriaco Summit does not. I betcha land is dirt cheap there, so perhaps a 2 1/2-acre site with solar panels and a dozen superchargers would make some sense.

 

[PLUS EV]

Eagle Mountain (tucked in just south of Joshua Tree) was the old Kaiser company town during its mining heyday in the early to mid-20th Century. People still live there. Access to Eagle Mountain is off Interstate 10 just west of the SR177 exit that cuts off the angle from Palm Springs to Needles and Interstate 40. There is a golf course and some other odds and ends in that area called Desert Center. While I have no idea just how much power is flowing through the power lines to reach these locations, I would submit that there is enough to light up eight or twelve V3 Superchargers.

Granted there is absolutely nothing at either of these exits off I-10. But they are about 35-40 miles west of Blythe and likely have enough power if Chiriaco Summit does not. I betcha land is dirt cheap there, so perhaps a 2 1/2-acre site with solar panels and a dozen superchargers would make some sense.

I've never driven the road out to Eagle Mountain, but no one is going to want to divert out there. And there's no way the Desert Center exit (which has absolutely nothing as you describe) has better electrical supply than Chiriaco Summit.

 

[cpa]

I've never driven the road out to Eagle Mountain, but no one is going to want to divert out there. And there's no way the Desert Center exit (which has absolutely nothing as you describe) has better electrical supply than Chiriaco Summit.

I wasn't suggesting Tesla place a SC in Eagle Mountain. I merely pointed it out for reference because there are two exits off I-10 about 4-5 miles apart, and that people still live way out yonder, so must get some electricity from somewhere.

 

[BlueTMS]

I've never driven the road out to Eagle Mountain, but no one is going to want to divert out there. And there's no way the Desert Center exit (which has absolutely nothing as you describe) has better electrical supply than Chiriaco Summit.

The electrical supply infrastructure in the area is actually way better than most of supercharger locations.

https://www.sce.com/sites/default/files/inline-files/RedBluffMitigationMap.pdf

Desert Sunlight Solar Farm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[israndy]

Is this new? It wasn't here the first time I was thru:

I would have thought a portable Supercharger would have been active for the Memorial Day weekend. Perhaps it'll be ready for the 4th

It's just wired in like the pallet Supercharger is at the end of the line of Superchargers.