Supercharger - Tejon Ranch, CA (expanded to 24 V2 stalls)

[DrManhattan]

Tejon is now saying "reduced service" and is re-routing me to Buttonwillow.

 

[ecarfan]

I have moved several more posts in this thread to the newly created thread at Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates

Please focus your posts in this thread on the specific situation at the Tejon Supercharger. If you wish to discuss the issue of some Superchargers not providing a maximum or "normal" rate of charge please use the newly created thread at Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates

Thank you.

 

[Bruinfan]

Charged tonight at 9pm. 1 car there, 1 other came in the 15 minutes i was there. got 90 kw. came in at 25%.

 

[cpa]

Charged tonight at 9pm. 1 car there, 1 other came in the 15 minutes i was there. got 90 kw. came in at 25%.

The one already there at nine o'clock would have been me.

 

[Bruinfan]

Back here Sunday at 1:45. 3 cars here. arrived with 46%, got 95kw. gone in 10 min with 75%

 

[dkonigs]

Stopped here around mid-afternoon today. Apparently one of the stalls wasn't working, so I found myself 3rd in line for the next open spot.

I also discovered that the Yogurtland has recently closed, to be replaced with a Firehouse subs. I guess this now means I really have no reason to stop here anymore while driving southbound, and will always opt for Buttonwillow or Bakersfield for my final pre-LA top-off instead. I'm sick and tired of having to wait around for a spot here on trips, and now there are alternatives. I just wish those alternatives had proximity to more stuff.

 

[Tam]

...I also discovered that the Yogurtland has recently closed...

Thanks for the update. I'll miss the Yogurtland!!!!

 

[thecloud]

I also discovered that the Yogurtland has recently closed...

What??!! That's sad news. It was the main reason we looked forward to the stop at Tejon.

 

[dehydratedH2O]

Anyone been here today? How are the lines? Trying to decide if I would go to Bakersfield and roll into Anaheim on fumes on my S60.

 

[Petra]

I also discovered that the Yogurtland has recently closed, to be replaced with a Firehouse subs.

What?!?! Nooooooooooo!

I was willing to skip Buttonwillow and risk waiting in line at Tejon just to grab a snack at Yogurtland while charging. Heck, I did that every time I passed through (about 6 times in the past year). Now, I have no reason to stop at Tejon.

This is sad news, indeed. I must go mourn the loss of my favorite provider of yummy frozen road trip treats.

 

[shs1]

The Tejon Supercharger is a real mess the Sunday evening at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend. The chargers are not the problem, it is traffic on Dennis McCarthy Drive. My wife is trying to get from Central California through LA to Palm Springs for a meeting that starts tomorrow. She traveled down 99 from Fresno and the traffic got bad when 99 and 5 merged and on down to Tejon. Once she got to the SC, she was the 2nd in line and had to wait 30 to 40 minutes for a charging stall. The charging went fine and she pulled out with what we calculated she would need to get to Rancho Cucamonga, but after waiting 20 minutes or so just to get onto McCarthy Drive we decided to pick up a few more miles. It is now 10 PM and the traffic is still completely stopped on McCarthy Dr and she has been waiting for more than an hour to move a few feet. Avoid Tejon Sunday evening if you can.

 

[rfmurphy81]

I stopped by yesterday evening (11/26 around 8:30p) on my way from up north and noticed the kW output was substantially lower than anticipated. Four out of the six stalls were in use so I had to share the pair, which of course is a huge factor in the output.

The nav told me that I needed to charge for 30 minutes but I ended up having to be there for 50 minutes to get enough kWh to get home. I rolled in at 13% and left at 78%.

Here's a chart showing the kW I received during the 50 minutes I was there:

I'm guessing the brief spike to 90 kW was when the car next to me left (wasn't there as I went to grab some food) but I'm not sure what the next 10-15 minutes represented before it went into the usual incremental step down as the battery gets fuller. It dipped around more than I would expected but maybe that's typical? I haven't read upthread in a while but I'm assuming this is one of the original 90 kW locations that hadn't been upgraded yet, which would explain why it doesn't seem to go above that amount.

It seems like the nav should factor this stuff when telling you to go somewhere. I would have been happy to stop in Buttonwillow or Bakersfield (which have always been deserted whenever I've used them) where I'd presumably get a higher kW output considering the SOC level. In the very least, the nav should have told me I needed the 50 minutes once I plugged in rather than the 30 it said ahead of time. Maybe it doesn't factor in lower kW when the other stall in the pair is in use?

In any case, I'll probably avoid Tejon Ranch unless I have to now. FYI to those who care...

 

[shs1]

The charging rate my wife experienced was not the big problem; she started at > 200 MPH starting at about 80 rated miles. But she has now spent 2 hours getting from the SC to the freeway onramp. Crazy.

 

[Tam]

The charging rate my wife experienced was not the big problem; she started at > 200 MPH starting at about 80 rated miles. But she has now spent 2 hours getting from the SC to the freeway onramp. Crazy.

Is it because holiday I-5 traffic congestion toward the South direction, going back to Los Angeles?

 

[shs1]

That seems to be some of it, but traffic flow picked up considerably about 10 miles south of there.

 

[ecarfan]

The charging went fine and she pulled out with what we calculated she would need to get to Rancho Cucamonga, but after waiting 20 minutes or so just to get onto McCarthy Drive we decided to pick up a few more miles. It is now 10 PM and the traffic is still completely stopped on McCarthy Dr and she has been waiting for more than an hour to move a few feet.

Sorry to hear about that bizarre situation. I've charged at Tejon many times and never spent more than a few minutes to get from the Supercharger to the I5 onramp.

Now that we have the Bakersfield and Buttonwillow Superchargers it seems that Tejon should be avoided at busy travel times. It's great to have options!

 

[Petra]

Now that we have the Bakersfield and Buttonwillow Superchargers it seems that Tejon should be avoided at busy travel times. It's great to have options!

Tejon may have better amenities (no more Yogurtland, though! *shakes fist at clouds*), but Buttonwillow and Bakersfield have 10 charging bays each--I went with Bakersfield over Tejon on Saturday.

 

[shs1]

If you are coming up or down 5, then Buttonwillow or Bakersfield are no doubt the preferred option, with good, but not great food options. If you are coming from the Sierra, or say, Fresno, then it is far more direct to come down 99 to Tejon and avoid crossing over to 5 on slower roads with stoplights, etc. That is why we have been surprised to find Bakersfield and Buttonwillow no more than half full in recent trips, but Tejon always with a waiting line. The wait to charge at Tejon last night was annoying, but not bad for a holiday weekend, compared to waiting more than 2 hours to get from the SCs to Laval Road. Once there, she starting moving slowly but dependably onto and then down 5. She did arrive in Palm Springs at 3 in the morning after a very quick charge at Cabazon. It is hard to know what the best charging strategy is coming back.

 

[rfmurphy81]

When I decided to skip Buttonwillow and Bakersfield (as I had IHOP at Bakersfield on the way up and my passenger didn't want to be subjected to that again ), I had a momentary flashback to the reports earlier in this thread showing the giant lineup on a holiday weekend. Thankfully, a few stalls were open but I would definitely be upset having to wait for a stall at this absurdly small location let alone being stuck in surface street traffic for that length of time!

 

[whttiger25]

The charging rate my wife experienced was not the big problem; she started at > 200 MPH starting at about 80 rated miles. But she has now spent 2 hours getting from the SC to the freeway onramp. Crazy.

Wow. I wonder if it would have been better to give up and take side streets north to 166 to get on the 5 up there?