I am down in Pagosa, my Model S is in Boulder after some fun track time before shoeing it with its winter tires. Now its time to get the Model S here to its permanent home. Because of schedules, it is working out best for my friend drive my Model S down here today and fly back with me tomorrow. He is a flight instructor that I trust with my airplane (worth more that the Sig Model S), and pretty good with vehicles in general, but not up to speed on electric road tripping. This is not an easy drive, its 295 miles, 3,000 ft net up hill, goes over 4 passes, and usually has head winds. The charge recommendations that I gave him were conservative to avoid any chance of range anxiety. I sent him a detailed e-mail that he recommended that I publish.
Here are those instructions for others to share and comment.
Here are those instructions for others to share and comment.
Here is a quick list of things to think of before you leave for Pagosa tomorrow. Because you will be in and out of cell coverage, you may want to print this out tonight. I have attached PDFs of the Model S Owners manual and road side assistance card. I use iAnnotate for PDFs on the iPad if you want a good app for keeping track many PDFs.
- Leave the car in "Range" Charging for enough time to get to max range (~265 miles rated range) by the time you leave tomorrow. The 120V outlet in the hangar will charge at about 4 miles/hour and the RV outlet in the garage will charge at about 25-28 mph. You can see current miles in the battery on the cars display.
- There is a fat, yellow extension cord with funny twist-lock ends on it, as well as a black shopping bag full of adapters (that you helped me make) in the garage next to the Roadster. This cord and adapters will let us use many sources. You probably won't need it, but I will use these to plug into the Pagosa Hangar 240V outlet. Please bring these with you as well as one of longer, heavy-duty, normal, 3-prong extension cords.
- My suggestions for RV stops are below. Be sure to ask for "50 Amp" service. "30 Amp" service is only 120 Volts and will not do you any good. I recommend that you call each place before you leave and perhaps others. To find others, do a search for "RV Park" on google maps, then call and ask for 50-Amp service. Many RV parks are closed for the season, and some don't have 50-Amp outlets. A 50-Amp plug will charge the Model S at about 25-28 mph. It would be nice if there were J1772 EV charging stations on this route, but there are none on this route, yet.
- Buena Vista - Snowy Peaks RV Park, (719) 395-8481, 30430 North Highway 24, Buena Vista, Colorado 81211 - Very friendly, I have charged the Roadster here once 3 years ago and the S here last month. The last time they charged me for power only, a few dollars. Adds 8 miles to your trip. 20 minute walk to town. Leaving here, if you are going to make it the rest of the way, you probably want a full standard charge of 240 miles in the battery.
- Salida - Four Seasons RV Park, (719) 539.3084, 4305 East US Highway 50 Salida Colorado, 81201 - This place looks perfect, but they never answer my phone calls, maybe you can do better. Adds 9 miles to your trip. 20-30 minute walk to town. Leaving here, if you are going to make it the rest of the way, you probably want a charge of 220 miles in the battery.
- Del Norte - Woods and River RV Park, (719) 657-4530, 25 Alder Street Del Norte, CO 81132 - Very nice, used them with Roadster and the S. One time they charged me $5, and the last time, they refused to take my money. Adds about 0.5 miles to your trip. 10 minute walk to town. This is a great place to get a last charge before you go over Wolf Creek Pass. For the climb at reasonable speed, you want at least 40 more range miles than the distance to go to make it over Wolf Creek. That means you want at least 105 (65+40) rated miles in the battery before you leave this point.
- Use 135 Country Center Dr., Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 as your destination.
- In a pinch, there are safety nets. You can always spend the night in a motel that will let you stretch the extension cord to a regular 3-prong plug and charge at 4 mph; 12 hours at 4 mph is 48 miles in the battery. Also, if you get close, I have an inverter generator that will do the 4 mph thing for you, there are friends on the east side of Pagosa, and the hangar has a 240V outlet.
- Don't drive more than the speed limit, and consider driving 5 under. Believe it or not, the time saved charging will be more than the time saved going faster and will save total trip time. Give yourself all day to do this drive.