The Loneliest Road in America

[roblab]

Do you think we could get traction among Tesla owners and other EV supporters for this? CS-100's from Sun Country Highway are more generic, but HPWC's are less expensive. Could we get enough extra support for the generic J1772, or is the lower budget for HPWC's easier to raise? Maybe we could get the HPWC's free as part of Tesla's Destination Charging campaign.

Personal experience: Destination Charging is for charging at a Destination, not for a top up point on the way to a Destination. Fallon is not a Destination. Reno is. This Eternal Truth is from Tesla's own mouth.

I am interested in getting an HPWC or (more acceptable to general public) J1772, 70 or 80 amp charger in at waypoints. My Brother lives in Fallon and I go there several times a year. BUT I stay at a motel and am working with the motel manager to put in a 14-50 plug. I still am interested in getting a top up charger in Fallon, whatever that's worth, 90 miles from Truckee.

 

[dennis]

I've driven this route from Lake Tahoe to Ely about five times. It's beautiful... mountains and valleys. It really is the loneliest road. Hardly any traffic. It usually takes about 5 hours.

I've done it a number of times as well going San Jose to Salt Lake City. On one particularly memorable trip about 25 years ago there was so little traffic I kept our 7-Series BMW at 110-130 mph for a couple of hours, only slowing for the few towns we passed through. Probably could not get away with that kind of driving these days...

 

[GRA]

I've done it a number of times as well going San Jose to Salt Lake City. On one particularly memorable trip about 25 years ago there was so little traffic I kept our 7-Series BMW at 110-130 mph for a couple of hours, only slowing for the few towns we passed through. Probably could not get away with that kind of driving these days...

I'd be very disappointed if the road has now become 'crowded'. On that same return from Carbondale mentioned above, I remember seeing a car's headlights top one of the 7? passes along the way as I crossed the intervening basin, directly ahead and above me. I was curious just how far away he was and just how long the road went absolutely straight not counting the grade, so started timing. I was doing about 70, they were probably about the same, and it was 8 minutes before we met. I don't think I saw another car for the next hour or two.

 

[Cottonwood]

Found this HPWC at Atlantis Hotel & Casino on Plugshare. This helps a lot on the East to West route and provides a nice place to charge before climbing the hill to Truckee. Going the other way from The Atlantis to Austin is a little close but doable in an 85.

If we had HPWC's or CS-100's in Ely and Austin, there would be complete coverage for an 85 with 50+ mph charging.

 

[KJD]

Last weekend we drove our Tesla to Great Basin National Park. It was a lot of fun and the car was perfect for this trip.

Here is a picture of our luxurious suite in Baker NV

On the park road. Wheeler peak in the background.

At the end of the road, by the Wheeler Peak campground.

Lehman Creek

No gas required, Thank You.

On the east side of this parking lot, there are 5 RV charging spots. All with a NEMA 14-50 outlet, just waiting for us to use. :smile:

 

[mspohr]

Glad you made it there.
I wonder why you stayed in the luxurious suite" when you had camping available.
(Did these luxurious suites include ensuite facilities or is that the outhouse on the left?)

 

[KJD]

My wife does not like sleeping on the ground, so we opted for the suite. The out building is the Laundry room, but yes it looks like an outhouse.
I almost forgot to mention the stats for the weekend.
Round trip from SLC to GB and back to SLC,
555 miles
176 kWh
317 wh/mile

It was an easy trip from I-15 and the Nephi Super Charger. We used the NEMA 14-50 outlets in Baker on Friday and Saturday night, so we had a full charge in the morning to start the day. Has anyone else had their EV in Great Basin NP?

 

[evp]

I recently found out that my sister-in-law (well, actually, sister-in-sin) now has a job at a motel in Ely. I'm going to work on her to get a destination charger installed there.

 

[KJD]

I recently found out that my sister-in-law (well, actually, sister-in-sin) now has a job at a motel in Ely. I'm going to work on her to get a destination charger installed there.

Excellent idea. In the past Tesla has been pretty generous in giving out HPWC units for motels. See the thread on what a little advocacy can do here.

Owatonna, MN - Here's what a little advocacy can do

 

[Cottonwood]

I recently found out that my sister-in-law (well, actually, sister-in-sin) now has a job at a motel in Ely. I'm going to work on her to get a destination charger installed there.

Great idea! Send her these links:

• Destination Charging | Tesla Motors
• Destination Charging Contact Form

Tesla will often pay some of the installation costs in addition to providing the HPWC's for free. Sometimes, they will also ante up a ClipperCreek HCS-40 J1772.

 

[KJD]

Now that we have Teslas with range over 300 miles, it seems like a couple of well placed destination chargers and this road would be doable. Nephi UT to Reno NV is 522 miles. How would be the best way to divide that up ?

Ely NV and Austin NV maybe ?

 

[israndy]

Well, it's not just the supercharger network that is staying away from that stretch of road.

Those few pins on the Plugshare map along Hwy 50 are RV campgrounds, like the ones in Baker, NV mentioned above. I wonder how much electricity it takes for Tesla to install a Supercharger along the way. I remember when my sister moved to Tres Piedras, NM the utility company wanted her to pay for running 26 miles of wire to get her on the grid. (She sued and the court got the utility company to pay for the extra cost for cell phone service.) Perhaps a solar-powered Supercharger is what would be required to work in Nevada.

I do love the drive, I did see an accident happen when I was on a motorcycle trip along 50. Coming over the pass I saw a big dust-up at the other end of the basin. And many minutes later when I arrived at the scene the ambulance had already taken everyone to the hospital, yet a wheel on the flipped car was still spinning. Must have been going faster than @dennis did above.

-Randy

 

[mspohr]

Well, it's not just the supercharger network that is staying away from that stretch of road.

View attachment 332741

Those few pins on the Plugshare map along Hwy 50 are RV campgrounds, like the ones in Baker, NV mentioned above. I wonder how much electricity it takes for Tesla to install a Supercharger along the way. I remember when my sister moved to Tres Piedras, NM the utility company wanted her to pay for running 26 miles of wire to get her on the grid. (She sued and the court got the utility company to pay for the extra cost for cell phone service.) Perhaps a solar-powered Supercharger is what would be required to work in Nevada.

I do love the drive, I did see an accident happen when I was on a motorcycle trip along 50. Coming over the pass I saw a big dust-up at the other end of the basin. And many minutes later when I arrived at the scene the ambulance had already taken everyone to the hospital, yet a wheel on the flipped car was still spinning. Must have been going faster than @dennis did above.

-Randy

That's a great drive but I haven't done it since I got my Tesla.
You would probably have to do something like stop overnight in Austin to get a slow top up.
There are RV parks and motels/BnBs that could probably provide a charge.
Austin, Nevada: So much to do. | B&B’s, Motels and RV Parks

I don't think the lack of electricity is the problem. It's the "loneliest road in America"

 

[rhumbliner]

@KJD, I’m a little confused. You show a pic of Baker Fuel & RV and state there are 5 NEMA 14-50 receptacles on the other side of the parking lot, but I don’t see anything on PlugShare. All PlugShare shows is the Border Inn & Casino just outside of Baker and it has only 1 14-50 receptacle.

 

[israndy]

Try checking RV apps, not just EV apps. Not saying *I* know where he is referring to, just that there are other sources of NEMA 14-50 listings than Plugshare.



-Randy

 

[FlyinLow]

@KJD, I’m a little confused. You show a pic of Baker Fuel & RV and state there are 5 NEMA 14-50 receptacles on the other side of the parking lot, but I don’t see anything on PlugShare. All PlugShare shows is the Border Inn & Casino just outside of Baker and it has only 1 14-50 receptacle.

Easy to send PlugShare an update if there are in fact outlets there. On the PlugShare app tap on the icon in the upper left hand corner. Provide details. The info on the app is crowd sourced, so perhaps it just hasn't been added yet by a driver with knowledge of the resource.

Excellent seeing the resourcefulness of the EV community. I'd probably stay in the hotel if it looked clean, or just use "camper mode" and sleep in the car with a memory foam mattress and the seats laying flat and pay for an RV spot for the night.

A fun Route 66 trip in the Model S is in my future, so I enjoy reading about others who are making it work.

 

[SageBrush]

OP wrote that both Austin and Eureka, NV have Best Western hotels with L2 charging but I cannot find the hotels, or in fact any hotels in those towns with EV charging options.

Help please

 

[israndy]

just use "camper mode" and sleep in the car.

Don't update if you use camper mode. V9 of the OS is reported to not have it yet, makes the X/S even MORE like the Model 3

-Randy

 

[daxz]

CGP Grey video: Driving a Tesla Across The Loneliest Road in America

 

[mspohr]

CGP Grey video: Driving a Tesla Across The Loneliest Road in America

Thanks for posting this... I love this road and have driven it many times in ICE cars but haven't worked up the courage to drive it in my Model S yet. This video gives me the courage to do it this summer.