Thanksgiving 2022 charging stories?

[Unclepaul]

Sounds like the word is out about previous long waits on heavy vacation weekends. A combination of owners doing smart things plus Tesla adding more and faster charging. People no longer charge to 100% on busy days. People drive till almost empty, get a quick charge to 60% and get back on the road.
Congratulations to all involved.

 

[bmah]

There was apparently some Supercharger congestion around the south end of the San Joaquin Valley yesterday (Saturday), discussed in this thread:

Supercharger - Tejon Ranch, CA - Outlets at Tejon Pkwy (LIVE 1 Sep 2021, 28/56 V3 stalls)

Bruce.

 

[ucmndd]

~4pm Sunday, just went out to look at the California map. Checked out every road trip charger between northern (bay area and Sac) and southern (Santa Clarita) California on SR 99, I-5, and US 101.

Most stations are busy but reporting at least 3-5 open stalls.

“Less than 5 minute wait” at:

Harris Ranch
Patterson
Atascadero
Soledad

Nowhere reporting any wait longer than that.

 

[kelpcar]

There was apparently some Supercharger congestion around the south end of the San Joaquin Valley yesterday (Saturday), discussed in this thread:

Supercharger - Tejon Ranch, CA - Outlets at Tejon Pkwy (LIVE 1 Sep 2021, 28/56 V3 stalls)

Bruce.

though that one specifically might have, as noted, a Black Friday weekend shopping component to it, esp if the free charging was in play. I could see folks trying to get a free topoff (or to 80%) out of that.

But if 20 minutes is the worst case scenario, it's close to Costco every Saturday. The LA-SF/Sac corridor will continue to be the live test bed for software improvements, and load management study.

 

[RTPEV]

Sorry, I just came across this thread catching up on my e-mail over the past week. Seems like it asked for trip reports of Thanksgiving travel, but quickly devolved into the old reservation vs. queue vs. free-for-all debate (not sure how many times we have to revamp that old discussion)...

Anyway, I had posted a report on my experience traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday here: Thanksgiving 2022 (eastern US) - very little trouble

I would ask that the post be merged here, except I think this thread is already way too off topic for the requested stories already. So I'll just leave you to visit the linked thread.

 

[bradtem]

Sorry, I just came across this thread catching up on my e-mail over the past week. Seems like it asked for trip reports of Thanksgiving travel, but quickly devolved into the old reservation vs. queue vs. free-for-all debate (not sure how many times we have to revamp that old discussion)...

Anyway, I had posted a report on my experience traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday here: Thanksgiving 2022 (eastern US) - very little trouble

I would ask that the post be merged here, except I think this thread is already way too off topic for the requested stories already. So I'll just leave you to visit the linked thread.

It wasn't that off-topic, in fact it was here many of us learned about Tesla's new feature where they are managing charger demand by redirecting people away from full chargers to less used ones mid-drive with the navigation system. This is the first step in what a system to manage stations during periods of high demand would look like. That doesn't guarantee it will progress to actually allocating stalls, of course.

I think many folks would like to see stall allocation at V2 chargers even without reservations. As not everybody knows, your charge rate at a V2 stall depends greatly on who you park next to. The system knows what's going on in every charging pair, including how much power is available at the empty stall and also how long the existing car is going to be charging, and at what likely rate. There is definitely a "best" stall to pick and the system should know it and should tell me as I drive up.

You want that for yourself, but you also want it for everybody else at busy times, because faster charging rates mean faster turnover at the charger, though when a station is full, most people would go for the empty slot and you want them to. It turns out though that if you arrive at a V2 station with one empty stall, but that empty stall is paired with a freshly arrived model X, and another stall is paired with a car that's leaving in a few minutes, it is actually faster for you to wait for that other stall to open up. That's useful, except when there is a line, because in that case you would prefer somebody take the slow stall -- bad for them, but good for total throughput.

 

[RTPEV]

I think many folks would like to see stall allocation at V2 chargers even without reservations.

Speaking of which, why doesn't Tesla put the number of free stalls in the red pin HERE like they do on the map?

That would be SUCH useful information!

Granted, I whip out ABRP to get this info, but it would be so handy to just have this right here in the nav system, and the car already displays it anyway (if you are willing to work hard enough to pan the map to it).

 

[kelpcar]

Speaking of which, why doesn't Tesla put the number of free stalls in the red pin HERE like they do on the map?

That would be SUCH useful information!

Granted, I whip out ABRP to get this info, but it would be so handy to just have this right here in the nav system, and the car already displays it anyway (if you are willing to work hard enough to pan the map to it).

I thought it did...or did on my last road trip in May. Though it wasn't clear if that number was being live updated, or just reflecting how it looked when the plan was entered.

 

[TomServo]

We spent Thanksgiving at Dolly Patron’s Dream More Resort in Pigeon Forge TN and needed to charge up on Thanksgiving Day so we could be on the road by 7 am. It was a breeze, no wait no lines. But Tesla’s came and went while we were there. Most stops were 10 to 15 minutes, I arrived with a 10% SOC and charged to 90%.

 

[bradtem]

We spent Thanksgiving at Dolly Patron’s Dream More Resort in Pigeon Forge TN and needed to charge up on Thanksgiving Day so we could be on the road by 7 am. It was a breeze, no wait no lines. But Tesla’s came and went while we were there. Most stops were 10 to 15 minutes, I arrived with a 10% SOC and charged to 90%.

Thanks for report, but I would not expect problems on T-day. It would be mostly on the Wednesday before and on the return days like Sunday and sometimes Friday.

People going less than 200 miles (or almost 300 with long range) are not going to need superchargers. It will be the people doing long slogs for the holiday, and more likely highway chargers than urban chargers, though some would use an urban charger at their destination -- though they don't need to do it on crunch day, they can do it any time they are there.

 

[Werecow]

A fair chunk have got the adapter -- and at $130 for a clone if you will tolerate one, it's a no-brainer buy.

But it doesn't need that much penetration. I have the adapter, I know if I showed up at an SC with an hour wait,I would be very tempted to check out a nearby CCS. Of course it would be nice if I could tell what the wait is there. Tesla now shows a very rough wait estimate if you click on an SC, and I don't know what it shows if it's an extra long wait. Even if only 20% of the people seeing the line have adapters and head elsewhere, it makes a difference.

It is true that the number of EVs sold has grown more than the number of charging stalls.

Got a link for that? Does it work on a 2014 Model S?

 

[bradtem]

Got a link for that? Does it work on a 2014 Model S?

There are many threads here about these adapters in all forms, but no, they only work on post-2020 models, though there are ways to retrofit, and Tesla will offer its own retrofit for some cars later this year, they say.

 

[srs5694]

There are many threads here about these adapters in all forms, but no, they only work on post-2020 models, though there are ways to retrofit, and Tesla will offer its own retrofit for some cars later this year, they say.

Concerning the retrofit, @Werecow (and anybody else who's interested) should check their Tesla app, under Service. Mine (I have a 2019 Model 3) has an item at the top called "CCS Adapter Retrofit." Clicking it shows a message that reads "appointments for the CCS Combo 1 Adapter retrofit are currently unavailable. Check back in early 2023 for availability." I wish they'd update that message with a more precise ETA -- or better yet, start making the retrofit available!

 

[RTPEV]

I wish they'd update that message with a more precise ETA

You mean like "Check back in two weeks"?