Trip from Ottawa, Canada to Outer Banks, NC

[inottawa]

My friends and I perform a yearly surf trip from Ottawa to North Carolina. This year, I decided to take on the challenge of driving my P85 down and taking an extra day in the process. The route we usually take is just how Google Map lays it out (http://goo.gl/gosgh). Through some initial planning and research on plug share, I'll look to make stops as follows for charging: Syracuse NY, Wilkes-Barre PA (overnight here), Newark DE, somewhere in Delaware or Maryland along the DE1-S / US-113 S, Norfolk VA (overnight again here) and finally into Rodanthe, NC.


I don't suppose anyone has some high current electrons they're willing to share for some fun conversation and/or gifts from the north! (Ottawa has some really good maple syrup!). If not, perhaps some knowledge of any reliable stations in the previously mentioned stops? I have the obvious list from plug share, but if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to pass them my way!

 

[inottawa]

Btw. Left off some dates of when ill be passing through. Will be leaving Ottawa on the 30th of may, and leaving North Carolina the 8th of may.

 

[jthompson]

If you haven't already, load up PlugShare and recargo and Charpoin apps on your smartphone. You, of course know about the Superchargers in Connecticut and Delaware, but if you need to charge in Washington DC, you are welcome to use my HPWC. then you can make it down to Newport News area along I-64, where there are some other Model S owners with HPWCs. That will get you to the Outer Banks!

- - - Updated - - -

If you haven't already, load up PlugShare and recargo and Charpoint apps on your smartphone. You, of course know about the Superchargers in Connecticut and Delaware, but if you need to charge in Washington DC, you are welcome to use my HPWC. then you can make it down to Newport News area along I-64, where there are some other Model S owners with HPWCs. That will get you to the Outer Banks!

Also forgot to mention the Omni Hotel in Richmond VA (it's on plugshare, too) has a 70 amp sort-of HPWC that I used a few weeks ago. With the twin charger setup you will get 43 miles per hour of charge. Call the hotel when you are close and ask for the Valet, then ask if the EV chrger is in use.

 

[inottawa]

but if you need to charge in Washington DC, you are welcome to use my HPWC

Thank you for your generous offer. I was hoping to save myself the 70 miles and drive a little slower straight south from the supercharger in Newark, DE. This would take me through Dover, DE and Salisbury, Maryland. If I decide to take the west route, I'll PM you and sort something out!

If you haven't already, load up PlugShare and recargo and Charpoin apps on your smartphone.

Yup. Most of the stops that I've added to my trip planner spreadsheet, I got from Plugshare. Most of the >30A charging spots are all home outlets. The problem is that most of the people that I'd messaged through Plugshare last week haven't responded.

Also forgot to mention the Omni Hotel in Richmond VA (it's on plugshare, too) has a 70 amp sort-of HPWC that I used a few weeks ago. With the twin charger setup you will get 43 miles per hour of charge. Call the hotel when you are close and ask for the Valet, then ask if the EV chrger is in use.

Awesome, thanks for the heads up.

 

[JohnQ]

Through the Delmarva Peninsula you're looking at either RV campgrounds (there are a few) or owners who can lend a plug. There's a Nissan dealership in Salisbury, I believe, but don't know if they'll let you charge. I do the same trip from CT to Outer Banks every year and take that same route rather than 95. Haven't done so in the S yet and would be interested in your experience.

 

[DFibRL8R]

I can recommend the KOA campground in Virginia beach, stayed there in February and charged at a 50 AMP 14-50 during an overnight stay in one of their cabins. They were helpful and nice, didn't charge extra for charging. Not sure how much they would charge for a few hours of daytime charging if that was what you needed at that point. The campground is 241 miles from the Delaware supercharger. Also Pungoteague Dave (a regular poster on the Tesla forum) has his place on the Virginia eastern shore listed on Plug Share with a phone contact. Good luck and be sure to follow up with your experience.

 

[EdA]

Question: Are you travelling with passengers in the backseat?

I was shot down on a proposal trip from near Boston to VA Beach. The catch is I want to make the trip in one day (_some_ flexibility on the way down).
I'll have 3 passengers + me and people are complaining that the back seat won't be comfortable for such a trip. So I'll be ICE-ing it.

Also, in DC you can charge at the Tesla store (70A) with an appointment.

 

[inottawa]

Through the Delmarva Peninsula you're looking at either RV campgrounds (there are a few) or owners who can lend a plug.

Found a couple RV places on the way through Delmarva, but all seemed to be fully booked (as well as their outlets it would seem). I even found that the Pocomoke Maryland state park has some sites with 30A outlets, but I don't think I want to worry about whether I have the right adapter for my cable.

I can recommend the KOA campground in Virginia beach, stayed there in February and charged at a 50 AMP 14-50 during an overnight stay in one of their cabins. They were helpful and nice, didn't charge extra for charging. Not sure how much they would charge for a few hours of daytime charging if that was what you needed at that point.

I'll be contacting them shortly about just using the outlet. I'll let you know if I find out a policy on daytime charging.

The campground is 241 miles from the Delaware supercharger.

I bit of a stretch to try in one run with 1 passenger and luggage.

Also Pungoteague Dave (a regular poster on the Tesla forum) has his place on the Virginia eastern shore listed on Plug Share with a phone contact.

Was lucky enough to get a hold of Dave, but unfortunately, timing has limited his outlet accessibility

Question: Are you travelling with passengers in the backseat?
I was shot down on a proposal trip from near Boston to VA Beach. The catch is I want to make the trip in one day (_some_ flexibility on the way down).
I'll have 3 passengers + me and people are complaining that the back seat won't be comfortable for such a trip. So I'll be ICE-ing it.

Just 1 passenger and a car full of luggage

Also, in DC you can charge at the Tesla store (70A) with an appointment.

Thanks for the heads up.. I'll give them a call. Looks like I'll probably go the non Delmarva route. A lot more options for charging if we get into a pinch

 

[Doug_G]

I even found that the Pocomoke Maryland state park has some sites with 30A outlets, but I don't think I want to worry about whether I have the right adapter for my cable.

I'm pretty sure those 30A RV outlets are only 110V, so not worth your time.

 

[Tedkidd]

How did the trip go?

 

[EdA]

How did the trip go?

Yeah, I did end up doing a trip down the Delmarva Peninsula from the DE supercharger to VA beach (234 miles) and made it now problem.
2 passengers + luggage on the way down and 3 passengers + luggage on the way back. The speed limit is low on the peninsula and if
you can bear with cruise control at or about the speed limit you should be fine.

Also near VA beach is a Nissan dealer, Whole Foods and a Fisker (!!) charger (which I added to one of the maps).

 

[jthompson]

Also, I added Kitty Hawk RV to PlugShare. The folks were friendly and accommodating ("Oh yeah...we've had several of these electric vehicles here charging"). They operate on a cash basis, too!

 

[aaron.s]

Guys -

Whole Foods in VA Beach has 2 J1772 chargers....

Aaron

 

[EdA]

Guys -

Whole Foods in VA Beach has 2 J1772 chargers....

Aaron

...but be careful, they shut them down when the store closes!
I was burned by this!

 

[inottawa]

How did the trip go?

I completely dropped the ball on posting my trip summary. I went with one other friend and had a rather smooth trip down with no major hiccups (aside from the wind deflector arm snapping for the pano roof). Charged only at Nissan dealerships (who were MORE than accommodating), aside from our first stop in Syracuse, NY. We charged at Destiny USA. This worked out particularly well because there was so much to do there.

Here was our planning spreadsheet for the ride down as an example (with options for each stop):

We were happy to hit that supercharger in Newark, DE. Especially after charging 30A @ 190V. The Nissan dealership in Salisbury, MD even let us use a Sentra to drive to a local mall and hang out for a 5-6 hours! I suppose they did have collateral.

I had to get a 21" tire shipped to where we were staying at OBX because a screw managed to find it's way into the edge of the tire.. (it couldn't have just been in the middle of the tire).

I found the pre-planning REALLY REALLY helped make sure we had kms to spare upon each leg arrival.

Unfortunately, looking at the supercharger map, it seems there's no additional superchargers on our route this year, so I may save the kms and travel with a friend in their car.

 

[jthompson]

Excellent recap! According to the Tesla Supercharger page, sometime in 2014 they will install a supercharger along route 13 in Southern MD ( I am betting Pocomoke City MD). From there it is 106 miles to VA Beach, 183 miles to Nags Head NC.

 

[EdA]

Excellent recap! According to the Tesla Supercharger page, sometime in 2014 they will install a supercharger along route 13 in Southern MD ( I am betting Pocomoke City MD). From there it is 106 miles to VA Beach, 183 miles to Nags Head NC.

That would be so awesome for my "regular" trips to Norfolk/VA Beach.