That was so close!

[Forty Creek]

Here in the East part of the San Francisco Bay Area, AAA is experimenting with a rescue truck outfitted with batteries and generators which can provide a limited emergency charge. I saw it an EV show in September. I wish I had taken a picture.

I've been meaning to ask about the existence of mobile charging. You just answered the question. If AAA is just experimenting then CAA will be a long way behind that curve since there are fewer Teslas on the road in Canada. Mind you, we are still anticipating our first Super Charger installation (now sometime in 2014).

 

[Cottonwood]

I've been meaning to ask about the existence of mobile charging. You just answered the question. If AAA is just experimenting then CAA will be a long way behind that curve since there are fewer Teslas on the road in Canada. Mind you, we are still anticipating our first Super Charger installation (now sometime in 2014).

What's needed is a Supercharger on a truck. Given the size of the Supercharger racks, and the size of the load-leveler/backup power sources that Tesla is making for Solar City, its seems like its just a matter of putting these together on a truck. Would be a great joint demo with AAA in NorCal.

 

[stevezzzz]

What's needed is a Supercharger on a truck. Given the size of the Supercharger racks, and the size of the load-leveler/backup power sources that Tesla is making for Solar City, its seems like its just a matter of putting these together on a truck. Would be a great joint demo with AAA in NorCal.

Didn't Tesla bring a mobile Supercharger to one of their big announcements in Europe?

 

[captain_zap]

Here in the East part of the San Francisco Bay Area, AAA is experimenting with a rescue truck outfitted with batteries and generators which can provide a limited emergency charge. I saw it an EV show in September. I wish I had taken a picture.

AAA does have some charging trucks on the west coast: http://www.king5.com/news/local/AAA-roadside-charging-service-electric-vehicles-199211421.html

 

[scaesare]

Didn't Tesla bring a mobile Supercharger to one of their big announcements in Europe?

Was this a self contained unit with both the charger and it's power source (i.e. generators and/or battery) on board?

Or was it just a mobile charger station that had to be attached to local shore power wherever it was parked?

 

[Kalud]

I once went 16km (10mi) past the 0mi left... HVAC off long time before reaching 0, the power limiter goes down and down until I guess 0kW... I hope I never test is again. Oh, by the way, it was on the first day with the car

 

[C.Ford]

This weekend, I pulled into the Burlington Supercharger with 16 miles range left. I started in Asheville with 249 miles range to travel 189 miles. I made Burlington to Asheville a few days before starting with 257 miles of range and ending with 60 miles left. For the return trip, however, the temp was 33F versus 55F. I figured going downhill (about 1500ft elevation change) would mediate some of the range loss from temperature differential... I was wrong. I should have known better. I've had the car for nearly a year and know that temps in the 30s mean w/mi in the 340s or better. I wonder how much range I lost due to riding at Standard suspension height instead of Low (nearly the whole trip on this leg was highway)? I dropped back on the speed and HVAC when I saw it was going to be close. I can't wait until the Supercharger network is fully operational. Oddly enough, more than a couple people gave me a thumbs up as they passed by while I was going 5mph under the speed limit. In my other car, I would have gotten a different finger for that.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I can't relate. 11,000 miles and a full year with my Model S. I don't recall ever using the heater. Never climbed a steep grade. Never been below 40 miles of range. However, I am still using the AC.
It's Florida.

I'm reading and learning. Just in case I drive north in the winter.

Florida sounds 'boring'
what is an AC? armored car?
:tongue:
I am in Quintana Roo currently and I think an armored car might be appropriate for the way locals drive!

to the point of the thread I have been at 0mi 3 or 4 times and there was more than 2 miles left but I was driving ~40mph on hwy280 by then

 

[brianman]

I'm a newbie, and don't even have my car yet (6.5 days and counting!!). But tell me.....what happens when you totally run out of juice? I mean....if you don't pull over, will it just STOP? And then what....do you have to get a tow? Or is there a way to get a charge from someone? I'm hoping to never have to find this out....but the way I used to procrastinate getting gas, its possible!!!

I've never run out of gas.....but my miles to empty was very accurate, and as people said, there was a buffer there to protect my bad judgement.

Note: Keep your cell phone charged. Not doing so makes for an even worse day/night in such circumstances.

At "zero rated" you get the Charge Now notification. Prior to that climate control goes into (effectively) range mode and you start to see a limiter (yellow dashed line) on the consumption (orange) arc on the right side of the speedometer, so you have some warning that it's coming even if you don't notice the battery range.

Once you pass "zero rated" you get the Charge Now notification more prominently (it blinks or something). When you're down to basically "unacceptable!" the car gives you a warning like "stopping underway, please pull over to a safe location if possible". At this point you have like 5-10 car lengths before you are at zero mph.

My understanding is that after this "stopped" state, you have like 3-4% SOC remaining but the car reserves that for self-protection of the battery rather than let you drive yourself directly into "bricked". If you leave the car sitting (especially in hostile weather) for an extended period, then it will brick from here; but you should be fine for at least a month in non-hostile weather. If you go beyond that you're basically asking to brick your battery and have a really horrible bill due if you want your car working again.

 

[shepali]

Note: Keep your cell phone charged. Not doing so makes for an even worse day/night in such circumstances.

At "zero rated" you get the Charge Now notification. Prior to that climate control goes into (effectively) range mode and you start to see a limiter (yellow dashed line) on the consumption (orange) arc on the right side of the speedometer, so you have some warning that it's coming even if you don't notice the battery range.

Once you pass "zero rated" you get the Charge Now notification more prominently (it blinks or something). When you're down to basically "unacceptable!" the car gives you a warning like "stopping underway, please pull over to a safe location if possible". At this point you have like 5-10 car lengths before you are at zero mph.

My understanding is that after this "stopped" state, you have like 3-4% SOC remaining but the car reserves that for self-protection of the battery rather than let you drive yourself directly into "bricked". If you leave the car sitting (especially in hostile weather) for an extended period, then it will brick from here; but you should be fine for at least a month in non-hostile weather. If you go beyond that you're basically asking to brick your battery and have a really horrible bill due if you want your car working again.

Wow. Thanks for the info. Definitely sounds like something to avoid! I have so much to learn about how the car and technology works....and appreciate the feedback and information available on this forum. Although I'm very comfortable with the range on a normal commuting day, its going to take some time to figure out how do to trips without 'range anxiety'. Its clear that it can be done, but just takes some proper planning. But I like a good challenge, so will be fun!

 

[DavidM]

Florida sounds 'boring'
what is an AC? armored car?
:tongue:
I am in Quintana Roo currently and I think an armored car might be appropriate for the way locals drive!

to the point of the thread I have been at 0mi 3 or 4 times and there was more than 2 miles left but I was driving ~40mph on hwy280 by then

AC is air conditioning. It's your best friend in places like Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada.

 

[darthvdr]

Florida sounds 'boring'
what is an AC? armored car?
:tongue:
I am in Quintana Roo currently and I think an armored car might be appropriate for the way locals drive!

to the point of the thread I have been at 0mi 3 or 4 times and there was more than 2 miles left but I was driving ~40mph on hwy280 by then

It was pretty scary for me especially because I was on an incline.....if I was on a flat surface I could at least push the car back. So when I the range went from "0" to "Charge Now", and I still had 2 miles to go while running at 700wh, I dropped my speed from 40mph to 15mph. It was still early, so nobody was behind me. I've learned to give a cushion of 35%-40% in cold weather.

 

[Cottonwood]

It was pretty scary for me especially because I was on an incline.....if I was on a flat surface I could at least push the car back. So when I the range went from "0" to "Charge Now", and I still had 2 miles to go while running at 700wh, I dropped my speed from 40mph to 15mph. It was still early, so nobody was behind me. I've learned to give a cushion of 35%-40% in cold weather.

I've found EVTripPlanner to be very good. If I put in actual temps, I am comfortable going with 10-20% over its estimate. The only time I put in a big margin is for big headwinds.

 

[Treker56]

This weekend, I pulled into the Burlington Supercharger with 16 miles range left. I started in Asheville with 249 miles range to travel 189 miles. I made Burlington to Asheville a few days before starting with 257 miles of range and ending with 60 miles left. For the return trip, however, the temp was 33F versus 55F. I figured going .......

Hmm..was hoping to make the Asheville to Burlington SC trip without stopping on an S60 but I guess not give this info. They really need to place the SCs with the range of the 60 in mind. I see plenty of J1772s along the way on I-40 but the thought of stopping for an hour to gain 16 miles cushion gives me pause.

Is Glen Allen SC to Burlington SC doable on S60 in winter? Anyone been that route?

 

[lloyds]

I've found EVTripPlanner to be very good. If I put in actual temps, I am comfortable going with 10-20% over its estimate. The only time I put in a big margin is for big headwinds.

Yes I agree. I used it for my drive to San Diego and found it very useful. This past summer up the grape vine shook off 25% more in range than I expected,but I was going 75mph

 

[Tempus]

Hmm..was hoping to make the Asheville to Burlington SC trip without stopping on an S60 but I guess not give this info. They really need to place the SCs with the range of the 60 in mind. I see plenty of J1772s along the way on I-40 but the thought of stopping for an hour to gain 16 miles cushion gives me pause.

Is Glen Allen SC to Burlington SC doable on S60 in winter? Anyone been that route?

Glen allen to burlington isnt really doable in a 60 even on a nice day. Its over 200 miles on the highway. Until they put another supercharger between them you'll have to swing through rocky mount.