I charged here last month. Not sure what changed but it seemed safe, albeit a bit lonely, when I arrived at about 8:30 pm. It was two of us charging and my wife and I felt fairly safe walking to the grocery store to the restroom and to buy some quick supplies. The vibe inside and outside the grocery store didn’t seem like that of a sketchy neighborhood, and I’ve been in some very sketchy neighborhoods. Grocery stores seem to be a reflection of a neighborhood and inside or outside of the store seems to reflect the vibe of the neighborhood, at least in my experience.
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Supercharger - Mojave, CA (EXPANDED Dec 2021, 6 V2 + 4 V3 + 2 urban stalls)
- Thread starter Yombad
- Start date
Yes, and that has been my experience most of the time as well. Mojave seems to be reasonably safe, as long as you stay aware of your surroundings. It is fine for the most part... until it is not. I lived in Baltimore for awhile, and East Flatbush, so I have seen sketchy big-time. There is a large meth problem in Mojave, and you will occasionally see some of those people perusing the market or the lot. You can't miss them: thin, wired out, and missing teeth. Very sad.
I always do a large shopping trip at the Stater Bros on my stop going to Mammoth. It is a very clean market, the produce is often times exceptional, and almost everyone working there is friendly. Most of the customers seem fine too. Yes, it is a lower class neighborhood, but that in of itself does not make it sketchy. 3 weeks ago, one guy literally followed me around the market for a solid 15 minutes until I stared him down. The issue I saw the other day with the guy in the lot was very real, and clearly an imminent threat. Even my kids saw what was about to go down.
The lesson is you are probably safe in Mojave, but keep your eyes open. No way will I send my wife to the market without me, and I will hesitate to leave my Tesla unattended if I am the only car there.
Charged here on the way up to Mammoth last Thursday evening. The Nav showed a "short wait" for most of the drive up, and when I arrived, there was one stall available. Fortunately, I was paired with someone who was almost done.
On the way back, the Nav said "short wait" for about 4 hours, so the nav diverted me to Inyokern, which was wide open. I was not the only one though, as that location filled up within minutes of my arrival, with 2 cars waiting within minutes after I plugged in.
Interestingly enough, when I charged at Lone Pine, my MCU changed me to 80% being a highly utilized location. I was the only car there, yet Mojave was full and there was no such restriction.
Mojave really needs 6 additional stalls, maybe more.
On the way back, the Nav said "short wait" for about 4 hours, so the nav diverted me to Inyokern, which was wide open. I was not the only one though, as that location filled up within minutes of my arrival, with 2 cars waiting within minutes after I plugged in.
Interestingly enough, when I charged at Lone Pine, my MCU changed me to 80% being a highly utilized location. I was the only car there, yet Mojave was full and there was no such restriction.
Mojave really needs 6 additional stalls, maybe more.
Well folks, things just got interesting in Mojave.
They're about to open 4 V3 Superchargers stalls and 2 Urban Superchargers in a new gravel parking area next to Anthony's Grill directly behind the current stalls. This will add to the 6 V2 stalls that have been open for many years, for a total of 12 stalls. It all looks very odd and awkward.
The V3 stalls are a prefabricated unit apparently quickly dropped into place. The Urban Superchargers are also a prefab unit with 4 stalls, only 2 of which are accessible. See the pictures below that I took this afternoon. There were workers present doing landscaping, but I didn’t bother them. This expansion could open this weekend assuming Tesla is not going to pave this area.
They're about to open 4 V3 Superchargers stalls and 2 Urban Superchargers in a new gravel parking area next to Anthony's Grill directly behind the current stalls. This will add to the 6 V2 stalls that have been open for many years, for a total of 12 stalls. It all looks very odd and awkward.
The V3 stalls are a prefabricated unit apparently quickly dropped into place. The Urban Superchargers are also a prefab unit with 4 stalls, only 2 of which are accessible. See the pictures below that I took this afternoon. There were workers present doing landscaping, but I didn’t bother them. This expansion could open this weekend assuming Tesla is not going to pave this area.
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Well, it's about time!!! Yes!! This will help a lot.
It looks, however, that the Urban stalls are temporary. I wonder why they would bother bringing those in if needed, rather than just build out 2 more. Wait, on second hand, while it looks like they are temp chargers, they could be just prefabricated and placed there permanently. In fact, it looks like the V3 charges are also the new pre-fab chargers I heard about on another thread, making for a rapid install.
It looks, however, that the Urban stalls are temporary. I wonder why they would bother bringing those in if needed, rather than just build out 2 more. Wait, on second hand, while it looks like they are temp chargers, they could be just prefabricated and placed there permanently. In fact, it looks like the V3 charges are also the new pre-fab chargers I heard about on another thread, making for a rapid install.
ratsbew
Active Member
OK, I did an update for the expansion...we can keep updating the title as the new chargers come on-line (assuming none of the new ones are operational yet).
Bruce.
It's doubtful. The cables used on the Urban pedestals are thinner, so the max current is limited, just like the power split on the V2 cabinet is fixed at that lower max current.
Looking at these photos, those Urban chargers are absolutely the temporary pallet variety. This is identical to the one previously used at Lone Pine. You can see that there are actually 3 Urban chargers, one being made useless on the back side. Below is a photo from the LP thread.
Why not just build 2 more V3’s, or, if some kind of power issue, 2 Urbans? It makes me think, maybe they are taking the originals off line, with plans for upgrades, with the Urbans as temps.
Why not just build 2 more V3’s, or, if some kind of power issue, 2 Urbans? It makes me think, maybe they are taking the originals off line, with plans for upgrades, with the Urbans as temps.
Yes, the palletized Urban Superchargers are a fast install option that they seem to use for somewhat temporary installations. Thanks for pointing out that they only have 3 stalls, not 4 as I erroneously wrote previously.
This whole expansion does appear to be temporary. I do not think they are planning to pave this area, as they already put the Urban SC pallet on the gravel. If they were paving it, they would have waited and put the pallet on top.
I don't expect that they are replacing the 6 V2 stalls, but I'm not sure what Tesla's plans are now with this site. My optimistic guess is that they are planning a large installation (16+ stalls) at a new location in Mojave with solar and batteries, and this expansion is just a hold over until that can be built in a year or two.
This whole expansion does appear to be temporary. I do not think they are planning to pave this area, as they already put the Urban SC pallet on the gravel. If they were paving it, they would have waited and put the pallet on top.
I don't expect that they are replacing the 6 V2 stalls, but I'm not sure what Tesla's plans are now with this site. My optimistic guess is that they are planning a large installation (16+ stalls) at a new location in Mojave with solar and batteries, and this expansion is just a hold over until that can be built in a year or two.
And it's actually only 2 that function. There are 3 stalls on it to allow for multiple configurations, but one of the stalls will be inactive.
Am I the only one that was shocked to learn this was still only 6 stalls? I knew it hadn't been expanded, but I was thinking the initial install was 8 or even 10. I guess I haven't been to Mojave in a while! Anyways, considering they are already having to expand superchargers in the Four Corners area, I'm surprised it took them this long to expand this isolated Southern California location.
Mojave has been listed as "coming soon" for a couple of years. I always assumed it was an expansion, and not another location. Besides, this location is very ideal, with a massive and very underutilized parking lot. And yes, 6 stalls is pathetic for this location, and has been for a long time, even before Model 3's and Y's. It can often be empty, but when it is busy, it is slammed, enough so that during the winter of 2019/20 they had a Tesla rep stationed there to manage traffic. Clearly, Tesla is aware.
Again, I come back to the temp nature of the expansion. The V3s are known to be a permanent pre-fab install option, in order to make installs go much quicker. I would tend to think that those would stay. Or, maybe not. The urban pallet (and yes, they always only have 2 of the 3 operational) is what confuses me, and why I speculate about what is planned here. I looked up permits for Kern County and could not find any info, only finding Inyokern 2. @MarcoRP , perhaps you can find out more.
Unfortunately, ski season is over for me, and unless I get another camping trip here, I will not pass this way until next season.
cpa
Active Member
I don't recall how many of the V3 prefabricated units are on hand. I will throw out there for laughter, derision, ridicule, and whatever else: this site will replace the current V2 with V3. Tesla cannot take the entire site down at once, as it is a critical location. So, Tesla will keep four V2 available while they disconnect the other two to upgrade those spots to V3. The temporary two-holer is to keep Mojave with six stalls during the conversion. I would think that Tesla will wind up with eight V3 at Mojave. Most of the traffic through Mojave is north-south between LA and the Eastern Sierra. Palmdale is about 35 miles south and can take much of the load off Mojave for all but the smallest of batteries.
Kramer Jct. and Bakersfield proper are on the coming soon map for east-west travelers along SR58, so having only eight V3 stalls at Mojave might work.
This makes sense. And after looking at a map and realizing Mojave is not on US395 as I had thought, I think a new supercharger in Kramer Junction makes more sense than a huge Mojave expansion (I do realize that LA people don't go through KJ on their way north, but there is lots of east-west travel on this route as well). I recently went through KJ and noticed they upgraded to something better than that awful 4-way stop. It now has a mostly completed proper interchange. Anyone who has tried to drive from Vegas to central or northern CA on a Sunday will know what I'm talking about.
Actually, the Tesla map removed the other Mojave "coming soon" pin at the beginning of the year. See my previous post from January:
It's certainly possible that they would upgrade the 6 V2 stalls to V3, but I would be surprised. Mojave is a significant cross-road for SF to LV and LA to Eastern Sierra traffic. Even 10 V3 stations won't meet the long-term need. The more I think about Mojave the more I think they'll decide to invest in a much larger capacity station.
See my quoted comment above. Kramer Junction was on the Supercharger map, but was removed for the 2021 map update. I wouldn't bet on a station there anytime soon. I hope I'm wrong; CA-58 doesn't have any other Superchargers other than Mojave and Barstow. A significant station in Mojave along with a presence at KJ seems very desirable. (I also hope they put one in Rosamond, down CA-14, for the Willow Springs Raceway crowd.)
All good input. My prediction now is as follows, both revised and what I alluded to before:
These new 6 stalls will serve as temporary stalls while the original 6 are dismantled. A much larger expansion will ensue. Ideally, 24 stalls. One can hope. Again, I see no permits, not even for this current expansion, which should exist. My search capabilities are, however, quite questionable.
Update: I found the parcel ID for this property: 236-060-25-00. A search of records using this criteria does not indicate any new permits, which does not make sense given the new stalls. Oh, BTW, the property is for sale for $1,999,999 (this is the building that includes Anthony's Grill and 28 parking spaces).
These new 6 stalls will serve as temporary stalls while the original 6 are dismantled. A much larger expansion will ensue. Ideally, 24 stalls. One can hope. Again, I see no permits, not even for this current expansion, which should exist. My search capabilities are, however, quite questionable.
Update: I found the parcel ID for this property: 236-060-25-00. A search of records using this criteria does not indicate any new permits, which does not make sense given the new stalls. Oh, BTW, the property is for sale for $1,999,999 (this is the building that includes Anthony's Grill and 28 parking spaces).
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Mrbrock
Active Member
Here is the original permit. Note the different APN. Ends in 257, not 25. But no new permits recently indicating the new work.
