I was going to say the same thing. Also, several locations, like the Village and the Westin, amongst others, have destination charging. Nothing better than getting a full charge while sleeping.
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Supercharger - Lone Pine, CA (LIVE 28 Jan 2015, multiple expansions, 16 V3 stalls)
- Thread starter callmesam
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- California ski Supercharging USA
You can always stop at any fast food you choose close to where you plan to charge, take your pee break, buy your food, and go to the supercharger to eat it while charging. There are plenty of fast food places in Lone Pine and Bishop if you don't want to walk over to the McDs in Lone Pine like we usually do.
Valid point indeed. If I can find a hotel that offers free parking & charging, it may negate the price difference somewhat. Will now investigate.
With Tesla, roadtripping requires more planning in advance, but still, Lexus NX is staying home.
Did plenty of eating in Tesla while charging during COVID and I still have the steering wheel plate in trunk. The good old days....
MountainRatMat
Member
Eh, maybe a little bit but it is negligible. Just type it in to the nav and it tells you where to go and stop.
In desolate places it is good to plan a little but as long as there are superchargers every 150 miles or so along your route then it's easy.
Are you new to road tripping in a Tesla? It took me about 5000 miles before I was comfortable driving mine everywhere without range anxiety.
No, this is my second 3. First was 2019 leased 3SR. Range anxiety is not a concern, especially now with LR. Clean bathroom within reasonable/safe walking distance (not crossing busy street) where I won't feel awkward/embarrassed or getting weird/nasty look, is. Thus I generally prefer charging at outlets, mall, department store, etc., or at the very least, gas station. We have had unpleasant experience with small/individual shops. I would happily spend a bit at the store (Coke, coffee, etc.) but sometimes I just want bladder-relief.
Mostly true. I still find that the supercharging directions can at times be ridiculously stupid. Driving to Mammoth this past April was a perfect example. I left West LA with a full charge. Yet, the nav recommended that I stop off in West Hollywood first (5 miles away from my start), then charge in Mojave. Neither stop was needed, especially a stop when I would have been at 99%! I knew had WAY more than enough to hit Lone Pine. So, I changed the destination to the Lone Pine Supercharger itself, and the nav took me there without the previous recommendations. Showing off my Tesla to my technophile friend, I was pretty embarrassed.
I still enjoy planning, but that is the type of guy I am. I purposely try to choose my route based on meals. For example, if I can get to Lone Pine at breakfast time, with a low enough state of charge, I may walk over the the Alabama Hills Cafe. My older Tesla's could only make it to Mojave, so I used my charging time there to shop at the Stater Bros for my weekend supplies.
For pee breaks, in case of emergency, I actually bought these, though haven't had the need to use one yet. Can double as barf bags.
MountainRatMat
Member
This is a new "feature" I have noticed this problem recently as well. Hope they get the nav software updated so it doesn't do that anymore.
MountainRatMat
Member
The Lone Pine charger is too fast now, every time I go to Alabama Hills Cafe (highly recommended if you make it through before 2pm and clean restroom as well) I find myself sprinting back to my car to avoid idle fees before I'm done with my meal.
Right. I have to get to the SC at an extremely low rate, and pretty much jog to the cafe. Given how slow things get towards the end of the charge, and how big my battery is, I usually have enough time to eat.
Does Tesla still exempt idle fees if a SC is empty? They did this at the inception of this policy, though I recall people having to call to fight it. Last time I did went to the cafe, I was the only one there, and that was with 8 stalls, not 16 like now.
MountainRatMat
Member
At $1/minute I've never dared to try. Even if they did exempt it for under 50% capacity that's a hefty fee if a few cars show up and plug in.
fholbert
Active Member
+ 1 for Alabama Hills Cafe. My friends and I have flown in a walked from the airport’s for breakfast. Pretty good pies too.
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
Hmmm, like what kind of planning? I've been traveling east/west coast to coast and north to south over the last 6 years and never needed to plan any more than when I used the ICE car.
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
Many places yes, idle fee according to a friend working there. I have never gotten a fee, but then again, I always unplug on time. She says the first time offense is typically a courtesy no-fee reminder. A couple folks have told me they didn't realize they had a fee until they went to the service center for some reason and were told they had to clear the charge on their account. And then there are other folks that say it appeared on their credit card. It seems a bit confusing sometimes.
Charged here this week. There are now several nice trash cans right by the superchargers. The Museum of Western Film History now costs $8, but I thought it was worth it, especially since I was range-charging to 100% before going into Death Valley. The Alabama Hills Cafe and Bakery was so busy, I just got a pastry to go. And the Trails Motel is a nice, clean, convenient place to overnight, if you don't mind 1950s style accommodations.
Finally, at the supercharger there is now an information marker that helped you identify the different mountain peaks, including Mt. Whitney.
Informational sign
Zoomed view of Mt. Whitney
Finally, at the supercharger there is now an information marker that helped you identify the different mountain peaks, including Mt. Whitney.
Informational sign
Zoomed view of Mt. Whitney
mspohr
Well-Known Member
My favorite Supercharger.
It was the only one on 395 when I got my 2015 S in February 2015 and took the inaugural trip from Tahoe through Death Valley.
Beautiful location and a nice town. Have stopped there many times going to Death Valley.
My March 2015 S85D has been there many times. I look forward to taking my new Dec 2023 S LR there and using the transferred free supercharging.
Was also a first for us in our 2015 85D. All of four stalls. Felt like a real adventure then. Great memories!View attachment 1025735View attachment 1025735
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