I’ve been wanting to do this trip ever since I got my car back in February, but have been waiting for the Supercharger network to be built out some more. After the WA chargers debuted, I figured it was time, even though I knew it would be painful making it through northern California and Oregon. Luckily, Woodburn and Fremont opened in the interim. For the record, I have a 85kWh with a single charger only.
Charging stops
Northbound
Tejon Ranch, Harris Ranch, Gilroy, Fremont Superchargers ->
Beachcomber Motel in Fort Bragg, CA (J1772; overnight) ->
Benbow Inn (14-50, 2 hours) ->
Arcata Fire Department (14-50, 5 hours) ->
7 Feathers Casino (J1772, overnight) ->
Woodburn, Centralia, Burlington Superchargers->
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (J1772, overnight)
Southbound
Burlington, Centralia, Woodburn Superchargers ->
7 Feathers RV Park (14-50, 6 hours) ->
Ashland Texaco (J1772, 2 hours) ->
Premiere RV Resort in Redding, CA (14-50, 4 hours) ->
Folsom, Harris Ranch, Tejon Ranch Superchargers
Final stats
2821.5 miles, 900.0 kWh (exactly!), 319 Wh/mi
Details
As expected, Supercharging was a breeze. The only hiccup was at Fremont, where 1 of the 4 stalls was broken and 2 others were giving a rate of ~100 mi/hr (why are there only 4 stalls in Fremont? Can’t use permitting as an excuse here.) Also as expected, other forms of charging suck.
I initially chose Beachcomber Motel because I was planning to take the 101 up using Atascadero or Buellton. Since I was pressed for time, I ended up deciding to take the 5 up instead - plus Fremont had just opened. I would not recommend detouring to the coast from the 5 if time is a concern, because it takes a lot of windy mountain roads to get from the 5 to the coast. The scenery is nice, but I did it mostly at night. Beachcomber was a nice place, they reserved the charger for me but not the parking space next to it, so I had to park in the middle of the lot and block a car to charge (picture below).
Benbow Inn is a beautiful hotel with a nice restaurant, it was a great place to top off.
Arcata FD was a good place to charge - except that I initially put “Arcata Fire Station” into the nav and it took me to the Arcata Mad River Fire Station. I walked around the building a few times until the nice firefighters explained that I had to go to the main Fire Department building.
I was really happy with 7 Feathers – I used the J1772 on the way up overnight but used the RV park on the way back for a faster charge. Nice, cheap rooms plus blackjack is always a good way to kill charging time.
The Fairmont Vancouver has convenient valet charging right in front of the entrance and parking for EVs is free, too. The hotel room seemed pretty expensive, though.
On the way back down, used the Texaco in Ashland and Premiere RV Park in Redding.
Comments
I want to thank Zextraterrestrial for his advice in navigating Humboldt (the Prairie Creek bypass tip was excellent). On the way back, I made it from Seattle to Los Angeles in just over 36 hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but would not do it again without Superchargers (one slow charge overnight would be okay, too.) Once they start building the Superchargers to the east, I will start planning my next road trip to Florida!
Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC
Charging stops
Northbound
Tejon Ranch, Harris Ranch, Gilroy, Fremont Superchargers ->
Beachcomber Motel in Fort Bragg, CA (J1772; overnight) ->
Benbow Inn (14-50, 2 hours) ->
Arcata Fire Department (14-50, 5 hours) ->
7 Feathers Casino (J1772, overnight) ->
Woodburn, Centralia, Burlington Superchargers->
Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (J1772, overnight)
Southbound
Burlington, Centralia, Woodburn Superchargers ->
7 Feathers RV Park (14-50, 6 hours) ->
Ashland Texaco (J1772, 2 hours) ->
Premiere RV Resort in Redding, CA (14-50, 4 hours) ->
Folsom, Harris Ranch, Tejon Ranch Superchargers
Final stats
2821.5 miles, 900.0 kWh (exactly!), 319 Wh/mi
Details
As expected, Supercharging was a breeze. The only hiccup was at Fremont, where 1 of the 4 stalls was broken and 2 others were giving a rate of ~100 mi/hr (why are there only 4 stalls in Fremont? Can’t use permitting as an excuse here.) Also as expected, other forms of charging suck.
I initially chose Beachcomber Motel because I was planning to take the 101 up using Atascadero or Buellton. Since I was pressed for time, I ended up deciding to take the 5 up instead - plus Fremont had just opened. I would not recommend detouring to the coast from the 5 if time is a concern, because it takes a lot of windy mountain roads to get from the 5 to the coast. The scenery is nice, but I did it mostly at night. Beachcomber was a nice place, they reserved the charger for me but not the parking space next to it, so I had to park in the middle of the lot and block a car to charge (picture below).
Benbow Inn is a beautiful hotel with a nice restaurant, it was a great place to top off.
Arcata FD was a good place to charge - except that I initially put “Arcata Fire Station” into the nav and it took me to the Arcata Mad River Fire Station. I walked around the building a few times until the nice firefighters explained that I had to go to the main Fire Department building.
I was really happy with 7 Feathers – I used the J1772 on the way up overnight but used the RV park on the way back for a faster charge. Nice, cheap rooms plus blackjack is always a good way to kill charging time.
The Fairmont Vancouver has convenient valet charging right in front of the entrance and parking for EVs is free, too. The hotel room seemed pretty expensive, though.
On the way back down, used the Texaco in Ashland and Premiere RV Park in Redding.
Comments
I want to thank Zextraterrestrial for his advice in navigating Humboldt (the Prairie Creek bypass tip was excellent). On the way back, I made it from Seattle to Los Angeles in just over 36 hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but would not do it again without Superchargers (one slow charge overnight would be okay, too.) Once they start building the Superchargers to the east, I will start planning my next road trip to Florida!
Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC
