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4SUPER9

2022 Model S
Jun 6, 2013
3,554
3,578
So Cal
I'm hoping to take my P85 to Mammoth this coming Winter. That depends in part on if the grey dots along 395 get built in time (Ridgecrest?, Lone Pine?, Bishop?). If there is one indeed in Bishop, then I could charge up there and be good for the 42 miles up the hill and back down.

My concern then would be what do I do when up in Mammoth itself? What could I expect from vampire losses each day? Does this worsen in cold temps, or is it better? Most of the places I rent from are condos with outdoor parking and no outlets at all. Would I be okay for a 4 day trip (given that my driving there would be at most 2-3 miles/day)?

I looked at plugshare and didn't find any stations.

Thanks
 
Your best bet would be to plug it in at night, even if it's 110. Many of the condos for rent will have garages. Also, public transportation is really good and you will find you don't need to drive much (if any). As a matter of fact, I use to see lots of fender benders up their from impatient drivers that didn't understand icy conditions. Might be best to park it until you are ready to go home.
 
That's ideally would I would want to do. I have several places to stay when I'm up there. Unfortunately, none of them have garages. As much of a hick-town that Mammoth is, I would figure there should be at least one place to grab a charge. So far, my searches are finding nil.
 
Your best bet would be to plug it in at night, even if it's 110. Many of the condos for rent will have garages. Also, public transportation is really good and you will find you don't need to drive much (if any). As a matter of fact, I use to see lots of fender benders up their from impatient drivers that didn't understand icy conditions. Might be best to park it until you are ready to go home.
Of course, it would be preferable to plug in. However, with a Supercharger in Bishop, I'm not convinced that you'd really need to plug in at Mammoth at all, unless you're staying for a long time. Some charge would be depleted by parking in very cold temperatures, but you wouldn't need much for the downhill return to Bishop.
 
I would love to see them put a supercharger in Lee Vining as well. It's the gateway to Yosemite and it would be easy to drive from Mammoth to "top off" if the weather is eating charge. I think that would allow a LA to Reno trip. A lot of people like to drive from Los Vegas to San Francisco in the summer with stops in Death Valley and Yosemite. It's a beautiful drive.
 
I would love to see them put a supercharger in Lee Vining as well. It's the gateway to Yosemite and it would be easy to drive from Mammoth to "top off" if the weather is eating charge. I think that would allow a LA to Reno trip. A lot of people like to drive from Los Vegas to San Francisco in the summer with stops in Death Valley and Yosemite. It's a beautiful drive.

That would be fabulous. Driving on Tioga Pass in a Model S!:biggrin:
 
Update: Just last week, I met someone who works as a Southern California Edison rep (or liason, or something or other) for Mammoth Lakes. Since I was unsuccessful in locating a single public or private place to charge, I posed the question to her. This was her response:

I spoke with the Town of Mammoth Lakes Engineer and several other Mammoth residents. If made available by the Town, the charging stations would need to be located in a parking lot or structure owned or supported by Mammoth Lakes. Currently they don't have any plans ($) to support this type of effort. Sorry, I wish I had better news for you.

Mammoth can never do anything well. To quote a close friend: "A first class mountain and a second class resort."

According to the Supercharger map, they may get SC's near Ridgecrest and Lone Pine in the fall, but Bishop won't be live until Winter. SC's are not going up so fast regardless it seems. If I charge in Lone Pine, I'll definitely need to charge in Mammoth. I think I may just have to find someone with a garage who'll let me borrow some juice. I would gladly pay for the privilege.
 
If you are staying at a condo complex that has a garage, I've found that ski resorts often have garages with 120v plugs in them, presumably installed for block heaters. You could charge at 12a in them, or, since the ones I've seen are actually 20a nema 5-20 plugs, you could charge at 16a in them with the appropriate adapter.
 
The place I stay at does not have a garage. Also, the parking is no where near the actual condo. I am wondering if there is an accessable outlet somewhere. I'll have to check this summer and get permission from the management. I may need a heavy duty extension cord too.
 
Last week I drove up the 395 to Bishop. The town of Independence and Big Pine has a lot of Solar City activity going on. Big Pine High School all done up in solar. In Independence there was a large parking/solar structure being built by Solar City at the courthouse. Structures and panels already up at the Inyo County Jail. Wondering whether Superchargers might be included? I tried to find someone I could speak to but on the way north but I was too early in the morning, on the way south I was too late.

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Gene, that's some good scouting. Thanks.

A station in Independence may even better than Lone Pine, given that it's just a little further north from the assumed station near Indian Wells. I can't imagine that both Independence and Big Pine would get SC's since they are so close to each other.

There is an RV park in Mammoth that during the winter has 30 Amp hook-up. The 50 Amps are on dirt areas and are closed for the winter. I could see if they'd let me hook up (for a price I assume) and charge overnight, though getting there and back from my lodging would be somewhat of a pain.
 
There is an RV park in Mammoth that during the winter has 30 Amp hook-up. The 50 Amps are on dirt areas and are closed for the winter. I could see if they'd let me hook up (for a price I assume) and charge overnight, though getting there and back from my lodging would be somewhat of a pain.


Depending how long you are in Mammoth, even 120v might be good enough. 3 mph, times say 36 to 48 hours adds up to 108 to 144 miles of charge.
 
Depending how long you are in Mammoth, even 120v might be good enough. 3 mph, times say 36 to 48 hours adds up to 108 to 144 miles of charge.

Agreed. Slow as heck, but I only need 100 miles to get to Lone Pine, only 42 to Bishop, and there is a massive down-hill to start. Bishop is not slated until "winter 2013" which could mean as late as March 2014, and that's if they are on schedule.

Good news: My friend has a home in Mammoth. He has no garage, so I assumed that this would not an option for me. When we met up the other day, he informed me that his driveway has a weatherproofed outdoor outlet. This would be about 5 feet or less from my charge port. He said I'm welcome to use it even if he's not there! Ideally, I'd like to charge where I'm staying so I don't have to take a cab back and forth, but hey, this is available to me and gives me the security I need.
 
Since it looks like Ridgecrest and Bishop are going to be Supercharged, I made a call to Linda Ellsworth who is the owner of a wonderful little motel in Independence. Rey's Den Motel is super clean and very quaint. She has many reviews on yelp and Trip Advisor both at 4.5 stars. I suggested to Linda a couple of NEMA 14-50 outlets would land her some tired Tesla owners traveling the 395 as soon as the Superchargers are online. Linda is totally on our side of the EV vs. ICE debate. She plans to have solar up in 2014. I'm not sure what she pays for KWH so she'd have to charge us something like $10 or $15 overnight (her room prices are very low). She is very receptive to the idea of putting in the 14-50's.

What I think would be a good gesture is that if you are one who plans to travel 395 and can imagine yourself staying in her place in Independence, send her an email now. Kindly, let her know you would be pleased if she installed the outlets. I told her she'd like Tesla folks, some advance encouragement would make her day!

[email protected]
 
Since it looks like Ridgecrest and Bishop are going to be Supercharged, I made a call to Linda Ellsworth who is the owner of a wonderful little motel in Independence. Rey's Den Motel is super clean and very quaint. She has many reviews on yelp and Trip Advisor both at 4.5 stars. I suggested to Linda a couple of NEMA 14-50 outlets would land her some tired Tesla owners traveling the 395 as soon as the Superchargers are online. Linda is totally on our side of the EV vs. ICE debate. She plans to have solar up in 2014. I'm not sure what she pays for KWH so she'd have to charge us something like $10 or $15 overnight (her room prices are very low). She is very receptive to the idea of putting in the 14-50's.

What I think would be a good gesture is that if you are one who plans to travel 395 and can imagine yourself staying in her place in Independence, send her an email now. Kindly, let her know you would be pleased if she installed the outlets. I told her she'd like Tesla folks, some advance encouragement would make her day!

[email protected]

I've never stayed at Linda's place. Actually, I have only stayed on 395 just a couple of times: once when I stayed in Lone Pine prior to a hike through Kearsarge Pass, and another time when going on another hike somewhere else that I can't recall.

When driving to Mammoth, I really don't have a need to stay anywhere along that route, being that I can usually get there in under 5 hours. Once the SC's are in, it seems that the need for 14-50's would be even less so, no? Maybe for other EV's, though those could never make it all the way up the hill regardless.

I tried searching for Inyo, Kern and Ridgecrest permits without success. The Inyo County council minutes do mention some discussion with Tesla about partnering with them for future EV's, but the minutes reflected no other valuable info.
 
When driving to Mammoth, I really don't have a need to stay anywhere along that route, being that I can usually get there in under 5 hours. Once the SC's are in, it seems that the need for 14-50's would be even less so, no? Maybe for other EV's, though those could never make it all the way up the hill regardless.

I drive the 395 often. Sometimes leaving Ventura in the evening. Lone Pine or Independence is just about when I get sleepy, too sleepy to go on.