Supercharger - Lindale, Texas

[SW2Fiddler]

Since Lindale was the sight of a tornado not long ago It's possible the local utility company may be very busy fixing damage in town. I haven't read if the site actually has a transformer yet.

Good point - and in addition to this -
Even though they are "neighbors" on the NA SC map, Lindale and Shreveport are in different states, likely two wholly different power grids, definitely different utility markets/regulators. (I don't recall much in the way of utility or permitting delay for Lake Charles)

 

[bobsi]

I am planning a road trip next weekend from Dallas Texas to Little Rock Arkansas. With the new super chargers in Lindale and Shreveport I think I can make it to Little Rock using super chargers by going I20 to Shreveport and then up to I30 and on to Little Rock. It will be 213 miles for the last leg of the trip so it should be possible in my S85. Any advice or other ideas on how to accomplish this?

 

[NOLA_Mike]

Assuming Lindale is open in time for your trip, this should be doable. You will likely have to spend 1 to 1.5 hours in Shreveport to get the full charge you need and if you are new to EVs then keep in mind you will use significantly more energy than estimated if you have a strong headwind or cross wind or if you have moderate to heavy rain along the route (it's not cold anymore so that won't be an issue). If any of those adverse conditions exist in addition to starting with a full range charge I would drive slower than normal until I was comfortable that I was going to make it with a reasonable cushion.

I would do 213 miles in my P85D. (I have done 245 miles a couple of times before the Greenville, SC supercharger was installed.)

 

[NOLA_Mike]

(I don't recall much in the way of utility or permitting delay for Lake Charles)

Either Lake Charles or Baton Rouge (can't remember which one but I thought it was Lake Charles where you bonded with the McD's slow azz charger ) was delayed a couple of weeks due to waiting on a transformer. The transformer the utility company planned to use was redirected before installation to replace a failed one at a hospital.

Point being, if weather did a bunch of damage to the area I could definitely imagine a delay due to other higher priorities.

 

[Chris TX]

From Shreveport, take 29 up to hope, then take I-30 up to LR. That's 201 miles, but you will encounter hills. If you stay around 60 and take it easy going up hills, you should be able to do it in an 85. Have you found a place to charge in LR? Unfortunately, the only L3 station in the entire state is in in Bentonville.

 

[thx1139]

I am planning a road trip next weekend from Dallas Texas to Little Rock Arkansas. With the new super chargers in Lindale and Shreveport I think I can make it to Little Rock using super chargers by going I20 to Shreveport and then up to I30 and on to Little Rock. It will be 213 miles for the last leg of the trip so it should be possible in my S85. Any advice or other ideas on how to accomplish this?

I would also look for some RV parks along the route. Can start with www.plugshare.com. I see an RV park along the route outside of Texarkana. I have also found other RV parks not on plugshare that would be OK with allowing you to charge.

 

[Chris TX]

I would also look for some RV parks along the route. Can start with www.plugshare.com. I see an RV park along the route outside of Texarkana. I have also found other RV parks not on plugshare that would be OK with allowing you to charge.

I've been to that RV park. It's okay, but honestly, Dallas to Shreveport to LR should be easy in an S85. The only L2 stop should be overnight-ish in Little Rock. May I recommend the Double-Tree downtown with a nice L2 Chargepoint a few blocks away: Little Rock State Building | Little Rock, AR | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

 

[thx1139]

I've been to that RV park. It's okay, but honestly, Dallas to Shreveport to LR should be easy in an S85. The only L2 stop should be overnight-ish in Little Rock. May I recommend the Double-Tree downtown with a nice L2 Chargepoint a few blocks away: Little Rock State Building | Little Rock, AR | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

Yeah should be able to do it, but if after the first 50-60 miles the estimate starts getting iffy have a place you could stop would be good to have in back pocket.

 

[bobsi]

I have a relative in Little Rock and I plan on charging overnight through their dryer outlet. I have the proper connector and extension cord. If that does not work for some reason I will find one on Plugshare as there appear to be options in LR. I appreciate the suggestion of taking 29 from Shreveport to Hope. I have been looking at that but I have never been on that road so not sure what to expect.

 

[bobsi]

Thanks everyone for your advice. This is only our third road trip in the Tesla. We did Dallas to Houston and Dallas to San Antonio using superchargers. In July we are planning a trip to Salt Lake City so that will get us to the next level. Life is good.

 

[Chris TX]

Thanks everyone for your advice. This is only our third road trip in the Tesla. We did Dallas to Houston and Dallas to San Antonio using superchargers. In July we are planning a trip to Salt Lake City so that will get us to the next level. Life is good.

Went to Colorado, well before the SC network with filled in. Went to Des Moines last summer, all Superchargers there and back (L2 charged a block away from my cousin). Dallas to Nashville on L2 and CHAdeMO. And just finished a Dallas-Orlando trip last week, all Superchargers. The key is to keep your buffer going down only slowly. Trying to keep the buffer the same through the entire trip is going to get you driving and unsafe slow speeds. If you can taper the buffer down to zero right before you get to the Supercharger, it's best. I hit zero several times rolling into a Supercharger for the Orlando trip. It charges the fastest when it's 0 or 1 miles range

Supercharger to Supercharger is a fun game to play. There's even times when you can skip Superchargers, but your buffer will be smaller. For the Dallas/Shreveport/LR trip, I would drive 60-65 all the way because you're going to want to top off in Shreveport since no one has really done that trip. With ~50 miles of buffer starting out and the possibility of hills, I'd take it easy, turn off regen so you can coast better (NOT REGEN!) down hills, then gradually slow down going up hills until you get to the top. Putting your steering into Sport Mode will also use less power to the steering rack. Good luck!

And make sure you become a member of the North Texas Tesla Owners! (See sig for link)

 

[bhines]

Can't wait. I'm happy to see Shreveport is open. I'm from Monroe, LA and my mom/dad live in Shreveport. I didn't want to do the RV game so the Lindale stop will be nice. My dad has a 240V installed in his garage, but the Shreveport Supercharger will allow me skip spending hours in Shreveport if needed.

 

[sublimaze1]

I can make it from my house (McKinney) to Shreveport on a single charge, but Lindale will give me piece of mind for a quick Dr Pepper stop when I am carrying five people, luggage, and a roof top rack ....

 

[reddy]

I can make it from my house (McKinney) to Shreveport on a single charge, but Lindale will give me piece of mind for a quick Dr Pepper stop when I am carrying five people, luggage, and a roof top rack ....

I will give me peace of mind going 80 mph and seeing 4% remaining on trip predictor.

Seriously though, I had planned on Mobile - Pearl - Shreveport - Lindale - Denton next week.

Looks like I may be out of luck and will re-route through Houston.

I even had a fantasy that Alexandria would be open, and route through Baton Rouge and Alexandria instead... Looks like I'm a few days early.

 

[L.Robinson]

I'm wanting Lindale, Monroe, and Meridan to get to Birmingham. Going Dallas to Jackson is possible but that last step to Birmingham exceeds the car's range unless you go slow on I20, which is dangerous. I guess a 30 mile range adder for an hour near Tuscaloosa on a 14-50 would work but don't really want to do that.

 

[jaysquyres]

Lindale is still closed. Transformer is in, meter is installed, but shows ZERO's on the meter. Spoke with the manager to find out what the problem is, he was told the Fuses keep blowing and Tesla needs 2 more weeks to repair.

I have the 60 battery, so getting to Shreveport will be difficult. Closest RV park is Tyler Rose, so we visited it and added them to PlugShare:
Tyler Rose RV park | Tyler, TX | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

This will still require extreme battery management (only getting 28 miles/hour at RV park's,) so we found an 18 wheeler to draft behind. This really works! My average Wh/mi is 360-390 when I drive 85 MPH, but drafting behind a trucker brought my average down to 246Wh/mi at 65 MPH. Still 10 MPH below the speed limit, but I didn't have many choices since the concert was starting in Shreveport in 2 hours.

Knowing drafting really works, I tried to return to Flower Mound on my maximum 190 mile charge. Was able to keep in the 240Wh/mi range, but still needed 30 minutes in Tyler (added 14 miles,) and 20 minutes at the Shell CHAdeMO station (added 43 miles) here:
Victron at Shell | Dallas, TX | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

 

[bkp_duke]

Just be careful with the drafting, you can get a lot of rock chips that way.

 

[reddy]

Jay, thanks for pointing out the Shell Chademo charger on I-20.

I will probably use that to help me make Denton from Shreveport next week, since it sounds like Lindale won't be online yet.

And Holy Cow, 122,000+ miles on your S60 ???

That's amazing.

 

[Rockster]

Jay, thanks for pointing out the Shell Chademo charger on I-20.

I will probably use that to help me make Denton from Shreveport next week, since it sounds like Lindale won't be online yet.

And Holy Cow, 122,000+ miles on your S60 ???

That's amazing.

If you need access to my 80 amp HPWC on the way to Denton, let me know. I'm right off of 121 in McKinney.

 

[sublimaze1]

And Holy Cow, 122,000+ miles on your S60 ???

That's amazing.

Right? I have 71k on my 85 and I thought I was doing well. LOL!