Supercharger - Manteca, CA - Perimeter Drive (LIVE 12 Feb 2015, expanded 12 Dec 2017, 20 V2 stalls)

[bmah]

Looked like 12 new podiums

Nice! I hope drivers are better than using this stall arrangement than at Petaluma, which has a similar layout. There are pictures in the Petaluma Supercharger thread of some truly bizarre parking jobs, like one where a single car rendered three stalls unusable because its driver parked the "wrong" way.

Bruce.

 

[ecarfan]

Thanks for the photo! That part of the mall parking area is never used, in my experience (may get full on Black Friday and for a few days before Xmas) and it appears that I could charge there without unhitching my camper trailer. It would block a lane in the parking area but I don’t think it would inconvenience anyone. Yay!

 

[CuriousG]

Thanks for the photo! That part of the mall parking area is never used, in my experience (may get full on Black Friday and for a few days before Xmas) and it appears that I could charge there without unhitching my camper trailer. It would block a lane in the parking area but I don’t think it would inconvenience anyone. Yay!

Doubtful for Black Friday considering I think they lack quality stores and they are quite a bit away from any of the stores. Perhaps some overflow from Bass Pro Shop but I don't see parkers extending out that far.

 

[MarcoRP]

 

[ohmman]

One nice potential side effect from the additional charging stations at this location is that it will create a bit more Tesla traffic in the area. Considering the smash and grabs that occurred here over the years, more chargers hopefully means less chance of having all charging cars unattended.

 

[ecarfan]

@ohmman, based on your towing experience, do you think that you will be able to charge here without unhitching when towing?

 

[suraj1194]

I've regularly seen a guard drive or ride by this location while I'm charging. It feels safe enough to me to go jogging around the mall while my car charges.

 

[CuriousG]

Over the weekend I noticed that it showed 20 chargers at the site through the GPS app and saw unusually low amount of available chargers. I just assumed it meant the chargers were live. So Monday morning about 5:30am I check the status of this site again and it showed 3 chargers in use. I thought no way there should be that many people at that hour. So I called Tesla on my way to home to confirm the amount of activity at the site. The person to told me that some of the chargers are misrepresenting whether they are available or not due to cell signal or malfunction. So I head there assured that I shouldn't have reduced charge or a stall unavailable.

When I arrived they were still working on the new stalls and it's still corded off by yellow tape but it looks complete at least from the outside. The stalls are all labeled with no fencing or obstacles. The only thing that's left is a bunch of residual dirt in the area during the construction.

 

[ucmndd]

Still tied off but look cleaned up and ready to go. The full 20 stalls show up on the nav screen but the 12 new ones are marked unavailable.

 

[CuriousG]

Arrived yesterday about 1:30PM and the chargers are live. The place was completely empty when I arrived which seemed strange. Plugged into one of the new chargers to test. The handle had to be wrestled to go into the charging port as the fit was tight. After a few seconds I received an error message that said something about hitting the brakes (message came and went really fast). After acknowledging this, it started charging at full speed.

The parking stall next to the current handicap spot has a Clipper Creek L2 charger next to it. I didn't notice a listing in PlugShare to indicate that it's available.

 

[McManX]

Glad to hear it’s open!

The clipper creek looks like a late after thought

 

[ecarfan]

Thanks for your report! I have updated the thread title.

Arrived yesterday about 1:30PM and the chargers are live. The place was completely empty when I arrived which seemed strange. Plugged into one of the new chargers to test. The handle had to be wrestled to go into the charging port as the fit was tight. After a few seconds I received an error message that said something about hitting the brakes (message came and went really fast). After acknowledging this, it started charging at full speed.

 

[CuriousG]

Thanks for your report! I have updated the thread title.

Yes! I always wanted to do a FIRST! post.

 

[bmah]

Charging at Manteca in the new pull-through style stalls. You enter these facing north (driving towards the freeway). The stalls on the eastern end (towards the Bass Pro) are well lit by a lamp pole, which at least gives the impression of being more secure/safe. There’s a big difference in lighting between the new and original stalls...given the choice I’d definitely opt for the new stalls. (Given the history of the security of this site.)

You can see the lighting of the new area in the first picture and then a view of (almost) all of the stalls in the second picture.

Bruce.

 

[ecarfan]

Bruce, thanks for the photos! So for someone towing a trailer, given that this parking lot is almost never busy in the area of the Supercharger, which stall do you think would be best for charging without unhitching?

The new charging hardware enclosure doesn’t block the most distant aisle, correct? So if someone who was towing drove headfirst into the stall on the far right (in your photos) that is in front of the white S and angled their trailer, cars using the row of stalls closest to that back road would still be able to get in and out, correct?

I would only try to do that if the lot wasn’t busy. I’ve been to Manteca many times and have never seen anyone park in that area where the new stalls now are. But likely on Thanksgiving weekend and the days just before Christmas the lot would have a lot more cars in it.

 

[ohmman]

The new charging hardware enclosure doesn’t block the most distant aisle, correct? So if someone who was towing drove headfirst into the stall on the far right (in your photos) that is in front of the white S and angled their trailer, cars using the row of stalls closest to that back road would still be able to get in and out, correct?

Most campers stretch a lot farther behind that car than you’d think. I believe it would not be straightforward to avoid blocking the aisle with your suggestion. Instead, I would approach this charger perpendicular to the white S, coming from the lamppost side. I would park across parking spots and land the charging port of my X right at that first stall. I would probably block the second one as well with that configuration but it would theoretically still be accessible.

That would all depend on the lot being vacant enough, that charger being open, etc. So in almost all cases, I’d be likely to unhitch.

 

[ecarfan]

I would approach this charger perpendicular to the white S, coming from the lamppost side. I would park across parking spots and land the charging port of my X right at that first stall. I would probably block the second one as well with that configuration but it would theoretically still be accessible.

I think I am following what you are saying: you are describing a scenario where you would charge in the stall the white S is occupying in Bruce’s photo? So the trailer would stick out and block that aisle (second aisle in from the street that is at the rear of the photo).

I can see how that would work if that area of the lot was basically empty. I was trying to envision a way to charge (without unhitching) in the rearmost aisle so as to be less likely to block anyone. Based on my experiences charging at Manteca, no one uses that aisle in that lot.

I am not trying to engage in complex mental gymnastics just to avoid 5 minutes of unhitching/hitching. I am only trying to be realistic regarding whether or not anyone would be inconvenienced if I did not unhitch to charge. And at this location, I don’t think anyone would be inconvenienced because that area of the parking lot is rarely used.

 

[bmah]

Bruce, thanks for the photos! So for someone towing a trailer, given that this parking lot is almost never busy in the area of the Supercharger, which stall do you think would be best for charging without unhitching?

The new charging hardware enclosure doesn’t block the most distant aisle, correct? So if someone who was towing drove headfirst into the stall on the far right (in your photos) that is in front of the white S and angled their trailer, cars using the row of stalls closest to that back road would still be able to get in and out, correct?

I would only try to do that if the lot wasn’t busy. I’ve been to Manteca many times and have never seen anyone park in that area where the new stalls now are. But likely on Thanksgiving weekend and the days just before Christmas the lot would have a lot more cars in it.

The new Supercharger stalls seem to fit exactly into the footprint of the two original rows of parking spaces, so the traffic aisles are pretty much as they were before. (So the most distant aisle is still clear.)

I think that plan would work (pull into the space on the far side of where the white Model S was). Note that you can't pull through too far out to the north, because if you do, the charge cable won't reach your charge port. In any case, the photos in posts #404 and #409 show that there's a fair amount of space on that side. If you're thinking about angling the trailer "around" the lightpole that should work. Even if the end of the trailer sticks out into the closer aisle a little bit, the traffic aisles are pretty wide so it's probably not a big deal and people are probably used to dealing with that anyways.

I have been at Manteca when the lot was full out to where the chargers are, but I think as you said it was over a Thanksgiving weekend.

(Still wish there was a Peets Coffee or Starbucks in this mall though. I got food from Subway last night, just before they closed at 9PM.)

Bruce.

EDIT: OK I see where you and @ohmman were exchanging messages while I was writing the above. I defer to @ohmman's judgement in anything involving towing.

 

[ohmman]

I think I am following what you are saying: you are describing a scenario where you would charge in the stall the white S is occupying in Bruce’s photo? So the trailer would stick out and block that aisle (second aisle in from the street that is at the rear of the photo).

I can see how that would work if that area of the lot was basically empty. I was trying to envision a way to charge (without unhitching) in the rearmost aisle so as to be less likely to block anyone. Based on my experiences charging at Manteca, no one uses that aisle in that lot.

I am not trying to engage in complex mental gymnastics just to avoid 5 minutes of unhitching/hitching. I am only trying to be realistic regarding whether or not anyone would be inconvenienced if I did not unhitch to charge. And at this location, I don’t think anyone would be inconvenienced because that area of the parking lot is rarely used.

Not exactly. This may help explain. It could be that I don't know what's to the right of this photo, but I thought it was a longish parking lot headed toward Bass Pro.

 

[cpa]

I have been at Manteca when the lot was full out to where the chargers are, but I think as you said it was over a Thanksgiving weekend.

Soon after Manteca opened a few years ago, I charged there on two different Friday nights. Both times the parking lot was packed all the way to the original Superchargers, and it was difficult with all the parked cars and ICE cars circling the lot like vultures to driving into a stall without jockeying back and forth and annoying those circling ICE.

I haven't used Manteca at night since, so perhaps this sort of situation has waned.