Now that I've had my Model S and have been driving it for some time, I've gotten to know it a little better. I was originally planning to take it to Phoenix for an upcoming trip, but I've come to realize that this would become a rather involved, full day trip and it wouldn't make sense for me to dedicate most of my trip time to charging in RV parks and at 14-50 outlets in hotels considering the length of time of this trip.
I make this drive fairly often and nothing would make me happier than to be able to do it gas free. After Tesla's reveal of their supercharger network map, it seems that they are leaving the I-10 high and dry and concentrating on the I-40 instead. I am now determined to work to help make the first leg of the 10 headed east a reasonable drive.
I am already planning on installing a Model S HPWC somewhere along the path. My ideal location would be in Chiriaco Summit, around 150 miles from Los Angeles and just over 200 miles from Phoenix, both easy trips with the 85 kwh S. However, seeing as the town just got grid power 13 years ago(!) and, according to wikipedia, is run by only 2 people, I'm not sure they would have the resources/willingness to accommodate an charger, even if it is paid for along with the installation.
This leaves the next best possibility in Blythe, CA. With a population of about 20,000 they seem like they would have a better choice of businesses that would be willing to donate a parking spot. It is similarly situated to the previous scenario, about 225 miles from Los Angeles and 150 from Phoenix, but around 240 miles from my starting point near Los Angeles. This should still be do-able, however probably not at the 80 mph with AC blasting that I would love to do!
This is where I could use some assistance. First of all, I know there have been several Roadster owners who have successfully lobbied to have donated Roadster HPCs installed in commercial areas. Could anyone offer any advice as to what steps are needed to proceed? Did you contact municipalities or just the businesses themselves? I thought perhaps I could lobby the city of Blythe to pay for the installation under the motivation of bringing more business to the city while people wait to charge, but perhaps it would be better to lobby an individual business. Thoughts?
My second question is what people's thoughts are on attempting to lobby cities or businesses to install their own HPWC or perhaps the Clipper Creek CS-100. The reason I've been so gung-ho about the Model S HPWC is that it seems to be the standard all future Teslas will use, and it doesn't seem terribly worth bothering with J1772 since Teslas are the only pure BEV cars that are currently capable of making long distance roadtrips as it is. I suppose anything is worth a shot, but if I could get my HPWC installed in Blythe and successfully lobby a city such as Indio (130 miles from LA, 100 miles from Blythe) to install a ~20kw charger, then it could make the trip truly painless and get a great infrastructure started for the 10 Highway.
Those are my current thoughts; I know I've been rambling a bit and they're not terribly organized, but I would love to hear some feedback on this proposal. It seems as though a network of HPCs or 20kw J1772 chargers along the 10 would go a long way towards alleviating the lack of Superchargers, despite not being quite as convenient. Every 150 or so miles does indeed look like the sweet spot (just as the superchargers are aiming for) where one could drive however they wanted in an 85 kwh Model S without range anxiety, and would also let the 60 kwh people have something to go from as well. I'm eager to hear any thoughts, advice, constructive criticism, etc from other owners as well (and especially!) from anyone who has been part of a public charger donation.
I make this drive fairly often and nothing would make me happier than to be able to do it gas free. After Tesla's reveal of their supercharger network map, it seems that they are leaving the I-10 high and dry and concentrating on the I-40 instead. I am now determined to work to help make the first leg of the 10 headed east a reasonable drive.
I am already planning on installing a Model S HPWC somewhere along the path. My ideal location would be in Chiriaco Summit, around 150 miles from Los Angeles and just over 200 miles from Phoenix, both easy trips with the 85 kwh S. However, seeing as the town just got grid power 13 years ago(!) and, according to wikipedia, is run by only 2 people, I'm not sure they would have the resources/willingness to accommodate an charger, even if it is paid for along with the installation.
This leaves the next best possibility in Blythe, CA. With a population of about 20,000 they seem like they would have a better choice of businesses that would be willing to donate a parking spot. It is similarly situated to the previous scenario, about 225 miles from Los Angeles and 150 from Phoenix, but around 240 miles from my starting point near Los Angeles. This should still be do-able, however probably not at the 80 mph with AC blasting that I would love to do!
This is where I could use some assistance. First of all, I know there have been several Roadster owners who have successfully lobbied to have donated Roadster HPCs installed in commercial areas. Could anyone offer any advice as to what steps are needed to proceed? Did you contact municipalities or just the businesses themselves? I thought perhaps I could lobby the city of Blythe to pay for the installation under the motivation of bringing more business to the city while people wait to charge, but perhaps it would be better to lobby an individual business. Thoughts?
My second question is what people's thoughts are on attempting to lobby cities or businesses to install their own HPWC or perhaps the Clipper Creek CS-100. The reason I've been so gung-ho about the Model S HPWC is that it seems to be the standard all future Teslas will use, and it doesn't seem terribly worth bothering with J1772 since Teslas are the only pure BEV cars that are currently capable of making long distance roadtrips as it is. I suppose anything is worth a shot, but if I could get my HPWC installed in Blythe and successfully lobby a city such as Indio (130 miles from LA, 100 miles from Blythe) to install a ~20kw charger, then it could make the trip truly painless and get a great infrastructure started for the 10 Highway.
Those are my current thoughts; I know I've been rambling a bit and they're not terribly organized, but I would love to hear some feedback on this proposal. It seems as though a network of HPCs or 20kw J1772 chargers along the 10 would go a long way towards alleviating the lack of Superchargers, despite not being quite as convenient. Every 150 or so miles does indeed look like the sweet spot (just as the superchargers are aiming for) where one could drive however they wanted in an 85 kwh Model S without range anxiety, and would also let the 60 kwh people have something to go from as well. I'm eager to hear any thoughts, advice, constructive criticism, etc from other owners as well (and especially!) from anyone who has been part of a public charger donation.