Supercharger - San Luis Obispo, CA (LIVE 5 May 2018, expanded May 2020, 14 V2 + 4 V3 stalls)

[ecarfan]

What happened to this thread?

That thread is for general discussion of the Mobile Supercharger (Tesla’s name, they do not call it a “MegaPack, I’m going to request that thread title be revised).

If one of the Mobile Supercharger unit shows up at a specific location it is okay to post about that in the thread for that specific location.

Thank you.

 

[Kevy Baby]

That thread is for general discussion of the Mobile Supercharger (Tesla’s name, they do not call it a “MegaPack, I’m going to request that thread title be revised).

If one of the Mobile Supercharger unit shows up at a specific location it is okay to post about that in the thread for that specific location.

Thank you.

I was asking where the linked thread had gone because when I clicked on the (first) link, I got en error message saying it didn't exist.

 

[ecarfan]

I was asking where the linked thread had gone because when I clicked on the (first) link, I got en error message saying it didn't exist.

Sorry, now I understand. I don’t know why that link didn’t work. It used to. I just tried and it and yes it’s broken. I edited my posts with that link so that they now point to this thread Tesla Mobile Supercharger - Battery and Pedestals on Trailer

 

[goldengate]

Grapevine is closed today... the day after Christmas... this station should be very busy today. Anyone have updates on the new pedestals opening? I'm surprised they aren't open by now.

 

[FalconFour]

Grapevine is closed today... the day after Christmas... this station should be very busy today. Anyone have updates on the new pedestals opening? I'm surprised they aren't open by now.

"Busy" is the understatement of the century. I just arrived here. Time me.

I arrived to a small shopping center's worth of parked Teslas in queue - arranged to fill the entire lot around, and down the way from, the SC stalls.

I don't really want to take photos for fear of feeding the $TSLAQ lunatics, but let's just say, it's... a bit shocking to witness.

15 minutes, I think I've moved up 5 spaces so far. All I really want is to just get +40 miles so I can get to Kettleman. A bit of a roundabout route, but there's 33/40 spaces available right now there!! I really wonder if everyone is charging to full here or just getting what they need for the good of the many...

update: Just got to the front of the line to enter the parking-lot queue structure (yes, that's a thing!) and realized I have a CHAdeMO adapter, and there's a nearby available EVgo station! So I ditched the line on a gamble...

 

[FalconFour]

update: Just got to the front of the line to enter the parking-lot queue structure (yes, that's a thing!) and realized I have a CHAdeMO adapter, and there's a nearby available EVgo station! So I ditched the line on a gamble...

update on that update (there's an edit time limit?): I detoured to a nearby EVgo station - Marigold Center, behind the Vons, in the trucks area behind the shopping center - and I'm now sipping juice at 37kW due to the burdensome 4kW overhead of unnecessary battery heating. Well on my way to get home much quicker than waiting on the SC line. Really glad I got that adapter right now...

 

[thecloud]

The video posted here is worth the proverbial thousand words:
Chris on Twitter

 

[FalconFour]

The video posted here is worth the proverbial thousand words:
Chris on Twitter

ah and there it is, the $TSLAQ tag.

Megapack was there but it was already drained (4 MWh!) because of the unexpected I-5 diversion driving traffic there.

This was Kettleman tonight, though... and me the only car in the entire lot:

 

[ecarfan]

Grapevine is closed today... the day after Christmas... this station should be very busy today.

I arrived to a small shopping center's worth of parked Teslas in queue - arranged to fill the entire lot around, and down the way from, the SC stalls.

My supposition: the I5 closure diverted all that north/south traffic to 101 and that resulted in massive lines at SLO and no doubt lines at other Superchargers on that route.

I feel for all those Tesla owners who had to wait so long to charge, but for those uncommon emergency situations Tesla can’t size the Supercharger network to a scale that will eliminate lines.

 

[goldengate]

The Supercharger network on 101 between Salinas and Santa Barbara is not appropriately sized even for non-peak situations. There are frequently reports of lines at SLO And Atascadero and now even Buellton. I know they are working on it but it's taking them too long to fix this glaring hole in the network IMHO.

 

[Xepa777]

Seeing Youtube videos of long super charger lines at Madonna Inn. I'm about to do my first road trip in California. Can't you go from Santa Clarita to Kettleman City and from Kettleman City to San Jose on a SR+? Why do you even have to go through the Madonna Inn?

 

[thecloud]

Seeing Youtube videos of long super charger lines at Madonna Inn. I'm about to do my first road trip in California. Can't you go from Santa Clarita to Kettleman City and from Kettleman City to San Jose on a SR+? Why do you even have to go through the Madonna Inn?

As @ecarfan mentioned above, it's because Interstate 5 was closed yesterday due to snow through the Tejon Pass (locally known as the Grapevine.) Since highway 101 is the only real alternative, it got all the traffic going between Southern California and the SF Bay Area.

But I have to agree with @goldengate : it's not just holiday traffic or a road closure issue, though they helped create this perfect storm. We've encountered lines at both Madonna Inn and Atascadero when traveling to the L.A. area on ordinary non-holiday weekends.

 

[FalconFour]

Seeing Youtube videos of long super charger lines at Madonna Inn. I'm about to do my first road trip in California. Can't you go from Santa Clarita to Kettleman City and from Kettleman City to San Jose on a SR+? Why do you even have to go through the Madonna Inn?

You can (I'm LR, but I was only charging to min range to destination, and it was nowhere near full), and that was my first choice. I'd used Google nav to get me to Kettleman, which automatically routed me around the closed Grapevine (detouring around the closure via 33, I think, then eventually back to I-5) at first. By the time that Tesla's nav finally stopped trying to route me on a U-turn back to the closed Grapevine, it offered a new choice - taking the scenic route, 101, with a very similar ETA - to get home by 10pm. I chose to ditch Google's nav and go back to Tesla.

WORST MISTAKE OF MY ---... *thinks*... MONTH.

If I'd just stayed the course to Kettleman then home, I'd probably be home at 10 at the latest. Instead, with a handful of other perfectly nutty chance alignments, I finally got home at 3am

My own uninformed coin-toss choice between the two routes was a big factor (so we can call that... chance! Yeah, chance), but Tesla's navigation not being able to be told (or to simply know) about the closure was one problem worth noting.

 

[Big Dog]

The Supercharger network on 101 between Salinas and Santa Barbara is not appropriately sized even for non-peak situations. There are frequently reports of lines at SLO And Atascadero and now even Buellton. I know they are working on it but it's taking them too long to fix this glaring hole in the network IMHO.

It just takes money (and time). Obviously, the first fix is to upgrade many SC's to v.3, so thru put will be much faster. And then CA's new charging regs mean that Tesla has to build individual meters onto its SC infrastructure. That also takes time and money (and offers zero benefits to Tesla owners).

 

[FalconFour]

It just takes money (and time). Obviously, the first fix is to upgrade many SC's to v.3, so thru put will be much faster. And then CA's new charging regs mean that Tesla has to build individual meters onto its SC infrastructure. That also takes time and money (and offers zero benefits to Tesla owners).

FWIW, the new regs apply to new installations only; existing stations are grandfathered until 2030+. Just want to squish that little misconception first and quick =)

sauce: California bans per-minute billing; Tesla Superchargers will need displays - Electrek (under heading "...more like gas pumps...")

 

[Big Dog]

FWIW, the new regs apply to new installations only; existing stations are grandfathered until 2030+. Just want to squish that little misconception first and quick =)

sauce: California bans per-minute billing; Tesla Superchargers will need displays - Electrek (under heading "...more like gas pumps...")

Sorry, you squished nothing. Regardless of the timing -- which I clearly excluded -- Tesla still needs to design those meters into its system and production queue. And the simple fact is that Tesla is installing new SC's in CA nearly every month. All new SC installations will now likely be delayed until the individual meter can be designed. And if CA is up to its normal self, I'm betting that the new v3 SC upgrades will also be held to the new standards. Any such hold up for no good reason (for Tesla owners) just adds to the queue..

 

[Eno Deb]

Sorry, you squished nothing. Regardless of the timing -- which I clearly excluded -- Tesla still needs to design those meters into its system and production queue. And the simple fact is that Tesla is installing new SC's in CA nearly every month. All new SC installations will now likely be delayed until the individual meter can be designed.

Only DC chargers deployed starting 2023 need to meet the display requirement.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

Only DC chargers deployed starting 2023 need to meet the display requirement.

...and that's only if Tesla is unsuccessful in changing this inane court decision...or finds a legal loophole to get around it.

 

[wdolson]

Seeing Youtube videos of long super charger lines at Madonna Inn. I'm about to do my first road trip in California. Can't you go from Santa Clarita to Kettleman City and from Kettleman City to San Jose on a SR+? Why do you even have to go through the Madonna Inn?

The 101 route does have lots of destination chargers especially around Paso Robles, both at hotels and at businesses (a lot of wineries have them). If you are OK taking a bit longer to charge you can stop in Paso Robles. Last time I was down there I spent two nights west of the coast range and didn't supercharge once. I stayed at a hotel in Morgan Hill that had one, then in Paso Robles at a hotel with a charger.

On the second day I went from Paso Robles, to Morro Bay, then to Bakersfield for the night with no supercharging. Though I should have listened to my instinct and topped up at Buttonwillow. My sister said she had 220V, but the plugs didn't match the adapters I had. I had to charge at 120V/20A. Fortunately I didn't need the car for two days while I was there. Santa gave me the correct adapter for Christmas

 

[AMPd]

Sorry, you squished nothing. Regardless of the timing -- which I clearly excluded -- Tesla still needs to design those meters into its system and production queue. And the simple fact is that Tesla is installing new SC's in CA nearly every month. All new SC installations will now likely be delayed until the individual meter can be designed. And if CA is up to its normal self, I'm betting that the new v3 SC upgrades will also be held to the new standards. Any such hold up for no good reason (for Tesla owners) just adds to the queue..

Why in the world would they delay installation while designing a new stall?