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Anybody gone Bay Area to Tahoe yet?

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I'm going on a guys golfing trip in June, so we'll be in and around the King's Beach area. Has anybody done the trip from the Bay Area to Tahoe/Truckee? Would be good info to know where you stopped and for how long.
 
Well that's part of my concern. It's roughly 100 miles uphill from Folsom to King's Beach. I'm not sure I'll have access to a nice fat energy pipe while I'm up there, so whatever charging I do will probably be spent driving around the area. So effectively I have to get from the Folsom SC to King's Beach and back to Folsom on a single charge.

PlugShare shows a charger in Truckee and Colfax, so maybe those would be decent backup options.
 
You can charge at 80 amp (J1772) or 70amp (Tesla HPC/Roadster plug) in Reno, thanks to fellow forum member, Jack B. You'll need either a J1772 adapter or a Roadster HPC - Model S adapter.

Our new Reno office chargers are finally up and running - one 70A 208V J1772 unit for Roadsters and one 80A 208V J1772 unit for the Model S. Both are located at 9855 Double R Blvd, Reno, NV 89521 on the South side of the building. Very close to the South Meadows exit off 395.
 
I also found (and charged at) a J1772 adapted Tesla 70A charger in downtown Davis last night. (4th & G garage, listed on Plugshare. Was open even at 2am. I miscalculated energy usage vs miles to go and needed a boost.)

I have got to get Jack B something nice to thank him for all of the charges I use that he installed or got installed. :smile:
 
I'm planning on going during the mid feb ski week. In a 60kWh car, up to the Hyatt Incline village. I heard that roadsters have charged there before and am hoping they can accommodate me (I'll be staying at the timeshare side not the hotel).

On the way up I'll need to charge, probably at Clipper Creek in Auburn (80A j1772). 145 miles from mid-peninsula, with some elevation gain so hoping a range charge will do it for me. Will try to stick to the slow lane.

Bought rubber mats and snow chains, but if forecast is for a really big storm I'll take my beater passat.
 
I also found (and charged at) a J1772 adapted Tesla 70A charger in downtown Davis last night. (4th & G garage, listed on Plugshare. Was open even at 2am. I miscalculated energy usage vs miles to go and needed a boost.)

I have got to get Jack B something nice to thank him for all of the charges I use that he installed or got installed. :smile:

There is one in Roseville (Stanford Ranch) that he installed. 70amp also. It's just off I80. All listed on recargo.com.
 
if you do a range charge in Folsom on the way up, and are willing to keep your speed at 55 on the way up I'm betting you will get close to rated distance to Kings Beach. Coming down, speed shouldn't be too much of an issue to Folsom. Definitely go cross town from Folsom to I-80. So 204 miles round-trip, less 260 rated/range leaves you 56 miles for reserve and local driving while up there. A 110v plug during day would ice it.
 
We just did the drive from San Francisco -> Truckee. We arrived in Folsom with 137 rated and were there about an hour. I believe we left with a rated range of ~245 (I didn't write it down unfortunately but it was about that). Given that I only had to get to Northstar, I wasn't very careful to drive slowly. I probably went around 65 (maybe 70) and averaged 445 Wh/mi and used 44.3kWh. So I'd say there was roughly a ~40% overhead due to the increase in elevation. We arrived at the Ritz with 88-rated. They only have a 110v plug so luckily we are here a few days. I'll post the results of the way back and I'll try to take better notes. It's not all downhill from truckee down so I'm curious if I do better than rated and can skip the supercharger on the way home.
 
We just did the drive from San Francisco -> Truckee. We arrived in Folsom with 137 rated and were there about an hour. I believe we left with a rated range of ~245 (I didn't write it down unfortunately but it was about that). Given that I only had to get to Northstar, I wasn't very careful to drive slowly. I probably went around 65 (maybe 70) and averaged 445 Wh/mi and used 44.3kWh. So I'd say there was roughly a ~40% overhead due to the increase in elevation. We arrived at the Ritz with 88-rated. They only have a 110v plug so luckily we are here a few days. I'll post the results of the way back and I'll try to take better notes. It's not all downhill from truckee down so I'm curious if I do better than rated and can skip the supercharger on the way home.

Thank you for this report.

Do you happen to know what the temperature was when you did this drive? Were you running your heater or just the seat heaters?

I'm assuming that since you were driving fast that the road conditions were good.

Cheers.
 
I too am curious about this. I should get my S Perf in Feb/March and plan at least one trip up to Lake Tahoe. The place I will be staying is near Heavenly up at 7200 feet and only has 115v outlets available (at some distance from the car). I am considering buying a 10 gauge extension cord (I know Tesla says no extension cords, but 10 gauge should be fine). I calculated that I should have plenty of range and expect I'll be able to regen quite a bit coming back down. I also plan to make several trips between the place I'm staying and lake level during my stay there. I would certainly feel a lot more comfortable if I knew there were charging stations available in Lake Tahoe (Tesla, are you listening?).
 
I doubt they would put one directly in South Lake Tahoe. Better chance of one in Reno.

From one of the other threads, it was calculated that there is approximately a 6-7 mile drop in range for every 1000 ft of elevation gain, and a 4 mile gain when going back downhill. This could be useful for back of the napkin calculations for trip planning.

Link to the thread for reference: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/13068-Charge-required-to-climb-1000-feet
 
Thank you for this report.

Do you happen to know what the temperature was when you did this drive? Were you running your heater or just the seat heaters?

I'm assuming that since you were driving fast that the road conditions were good.

Cheers.

Yeah, it was rather warm and road conditions were really clear. When we were in Northstar, it was in the 40s during the day so I think we barely used the heater. The Folsom location is a very awkward for those going to North Lake Tahoe or towards Reno. GPS had us going through a very residential area to get back on I-80 so hopefully they add a super charger somewhere on I-80. But the extra 25 minutes drive is doable...

On the way back, we didn't need to stop at all. We took a major detour to go to a store in El Dorado Hills and went down and up a canyon (49 and Salmon Falls Road). Even with that detour and not charging in Folsom on the way back we have 50+ rated miles left on the car. I bet you could get from Northstar -> South Bay on a single charge.

I also convinced Cedar House Sport Hotel (http://www.cedarhousesporthotel.com) to install a level 2 Clipper charger. They are planning to install it in the spring. So those driving I-80 who want to overnight will have a really great place to stay.
 
Thank you for this report.

Do you happen to know what the temperature was when you did this drive? Were you running your heater or just the seat heaters?

I'm assuming that since you were driving fast that the road conditions were good.

Cheers.

Yeah, it was rather warm and road conditions were really clear. When we were in Northstar, it was in the 40s during the day so I think we barely used the heater. The Folsom location is a very awkward for those going to North Lake Tahoe or towards Reno. GPS had us going through a very residential area to get back on I-80 so hopefully they add a super charger somewhere on I-80. But the extra 25 minutes drive is doable...

On the way back, we didn't need to stop at all. We took a major detour to go to a store in El Dorado Hills and went down and up a canyon (49 and Salmon Falls Road). Even with that detour and not charging in Folsom on the way back we have 50+ rated miles left on the car. I bet you could get from Northstar -> South Bay on a single charge.

I also convinced Cedar House Sport Hotel (http://www.cedarhousesporthotel.com) to install a level 2 Clipper charger. They are planning to install it in the spring. So those driving I-80 who want to overnight will have a really great place to stay.
 
I also convinced Cedar House Sport Hotel (http://www.cedarhousesporthotel.com) to install a level 2 Clipper charger. They are planning to install it in the spring. So those driving I-80 who want to overnight will have a really great place to stay.

That is awesome, Davidh! We definitely need more hotels with charging, especially since we've read how the car doesn't like to sit out in the cold all night without plugging in.

I'm planning two trips in the next two months, staying first at the Hyatt Incline Village and next at the Squaw Creek resort, and both have assured me that I could plug my car in at night during my stay. Keeping fingers crossed!
 
That is awesome, Davidh! We definitely need more hotels with charging, especially since we've read how the car doesn't like to sit out in the cold all night without plugging in.

I'm planning two trips in the next two months, staying first at the Hyatt Incline Village and next at the Squaw Creek resort, and both have assured me that I could plug my car in at night during my stay. Keeping fingers crossed!

Did Squaw Creek say where on property you could charge your car? My family and I just arrived today (not in my MS), and I don't see anywhere to charge. I might ask at the concierge desk in the morning
 
Just received a very nice email from Dan the valet manager at Hyatt Incline Village who said that they have reserved the charging station for me during my stay. He is briefing all of his guys and are not charging anything extra. He even included a picture of the outlet, a 14-50, 208V 50A single phase. I'm very confident in my trip now and heartily recommend this hotel (and timeshare, which is where we are staying) to all Tesla owners!

Will report back with pics in a few weeks, and rest assured I will bring a stack of bills to thank the staff.
When I'm there I'll ask if they want to be listed on PlugShare.
 
Kipernicus, who did you initiate contact with at Hyatt Incline Village to get to the valet manager? Just the main phone number?

It looks like my car will (somewhat surprisingly) be ready before our mid-Feb trip there, so I'll be looking to use the same outlet. Hopefully we won't have to fight over it between the two of us :)
 
After reading the excellent post on road trips by ChadS, I am starting to think I've been too optimistic about my charging plans. I still need to work through the math a bit more, but originally I thought
1. Belmont to Folsom, 130 miles, relatively little elevation change. Start with a range mode charge (208 miles on 60kWh battery) and no worries about speed (keep it around 70) or heat. Use the supercharger for an hour while eating lunch (and hope there's no line for the SC).
2. Folsom to Incline village, 110 miles but ~2600 meters total elevation gain and temps drop to around freezing. Start with a range charge and drive conservatively (60-65) but keep heat on (wife and kids in car).

Perhaps that's too optimistic?

If I play it safe I would stop in Auburn at Clipper Creek for their 80A charger, but unfortunately it's only 25 miles away from Folsom and not really that much higher elevation-wise, maybe 400 meters. I'd also have to convince the wife and kids that we need a 1 hour bathroom break only half an hour after lunch in Folsom. Maybe I won't need a full hour at Auburn? I'll have to work on the math but maybe someone with more experience will know off the bat:
1. Should I do a range charge or standard charge at the supercharger in Folsom?
2. How long should I charge (if at all) in Auburn? Back to full standard, full range, or just a set amount of time or miles?
There's not much in the way of high speed charging between Auburn and Incline Village, and I'm not really interested in hanging out at an RV park in the cold.

thanks