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Does anyone NOT have a second (ICE) car?

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Barry

Active Member
Aug 9, 2013
2,026
1,809
Colorado
I currently have a rez for a MX which will replace my Toyota SUV. Currently we have a second car, but due to some life changes, I will no longer have the second car available. Does anyone have only an EV? What do you do if you have a day trip where round trip is over ~240 miles and there are no charging stations en route?
 
I had no car, then only a LEAF, and now a Model S and a LEAF (the latter will be sold.)

At your destination or on route, you may be able to find a 240v outlet which can substitute as a charging station. If not, you can occasionally rent another car. If you plan to frequently drive longer than the range and can't find a place to recharge, the current Model S may not be for you.
 
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I have only had a Model S since May 2013. Use it for everything. When there are not superchargers available on longer trips, I have been able to use 14-50 outlets at RV Parks. Sometimes it requires a little patience, but so far, I have not found any trip I could not take in the Model S. Meantime charging stations grow more common by the day. Also the fuel savings have been spectacular! I just returned from a 3 week trip to the West Coast and back (I live in Wyoming). Total fuel cost for the 6020 miles trip = $0.00.
 
My MS is my (our) only car, but I work from home when I'm not flying somewhere, and live in Toronto where public transit is very good (despite what some may like to say). My partner is currently on maternity leave. When she goes back to work, she'll use the subway as she did before.

As far as road trips go, we haven't had to charge anywhere else other than home other than a weekend trip to Ottawa. We have a lot of high powered J1772's up here thanks to Sun Country Highway, so it makes it easy even without SuperChargers (which there are zero - so far).
 
Two car family here. Both cars are electric since May of 2013.
We arranged with our neighbors to swap cars for long trips.
However, we now have superchargers available along our routes.
We also considered renting if our neighbors car was not available.
 
Twice when I was driving my previous car, a Lexus LS460l, I had to transport something larger than the Lexus' minuscule trunk could contain so I rented a pickup truck for the day. Didn't give it a second thought. For some reason, renting a car on the infrequent occasions that some intended use doesn't fit into the Model S's sweet spot seems like a condemnation of the vehicle to some people.

By the way, my Model S has comfortably hauled loads that would have required another pickup rental if I were still driving my Lexus. And in my year of ownership I've never yet had to take a trip that the Model S couldn't handle nicely--admittedly a couple required stops at Superchargers but those are becoming more widespread.
 
Our other car is two electric-assist bicycles, so different purpose entirely. For a day round trip beyond the S's range, we'd arrange to stay overnight somewhere. I will be pissed if/when a situation arises so time-constrained that I have to rent a car. I can't imagine it.


My partner is currently on maternity leave.
3/11/14 Delivery
Congratulations on your new baby! No, the other one, the real new baby. The one with the extremely high maintenance costs, but delivering even more joy than a Model S!
 
My second car is a Chevrolet Volt. I could take it on trips. I only had the 2012 Volt out in the wild one time when I drove it over 300 mi to trade it for a 2014 Volt. Although the Volt has an ICE, it is rarely used. My wife takes it to work about 25 mi and charges it for free at her employer's parking lot.
 
The Model S is my only car. I would rarely drive more than 240 miles in one day not on a Supercharger route.

But my backup would be either borrow a friends car, or rent a car for the day (there is a rental company in the public garage which is where I charge/park.)
 
I have a pickup, but it's my farm truck and sucks gas way too fast, and standard cab doesn't allow me to haul but 1-2 passengers in a family of six. So while technically I have an ICE vehicle, the Model S is my daily and trip driver.
 
We do have a second ICE that my wife drives (a minivan). We have used it exactly twice in the past 12 months in lieu of the S. Once for a beach trip to the Outer Banks, the second a ski trip to VT. We probably could have done the ski trip with appropriate planning (getting an outlet at our destination). The last 12 months have included two trips to TN from CT (900 miles each way) and at least 14 trips to Boston and back (170 miles each way). Your trip patterns may vary, of course.

We'll keep the 12 year old minivan since we often need to transport large items but, if we didn't, I'd be comfortable with the S as the only vehicle with a rental once or twice a year ... once the Eastern Shore supercharger is in (2015) I could probably use the S alone.
 
.../ What do you do if you have a day trip where round trip is over ~240 miles and there are no charging stations en route?
The ‘tree hugger two-stage rocket approach’ – for when there unfortunately isn’t enough time to wait for a charge:

If you can make an arrangement in advance to plug-in your Model S (or roadster) somewhere along your route. And you feel comfortable that this arrangement will be kept when you arrive, then you can drive the first stage in your Tesla, and then at this point switch to a rental for the second leg. On the way back hopefully your charging arrangements have not malfunctioned, and there is now enough charge in your Tesla to drive the last leg back to your original starting point.

There’s of course also the fail-safe variant where success is not dependent on any working plug. Just make the first leg of the trip short enough that there will be enough charge in your battery to get back home when you come back to your Tesla to return your rental. Works regardless if there is a plug or not, and regardless if that plug turns out to be working (or not).
 
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We do have a second ICE that my wife drives (a minivan). We have used it exactly twice in the past 12 months in lieu of the S.

Do you keep a trickle charger on the ICE battery? If you don't the battery may lose so much charge you won't be able to start the car.

Using a ICE only a few times a year risks having the gasoline in the tank separate into gas, ethanol, and a significant amount of water.

Our other car is a Porsche. I want a Roadster. I'm done with ICE cars. I'll never buy one again.
 
Yes, the MS is my only car. A friend of mine still has a BMW 530d, so we exchanged cars once when I had to make a trip to Germany on a route without SuperChargers.

Otherwise I never had a trip which I couldn't do with my S.
 
I have 2 other cars an SUV and Ford truck which I use for dump runs, the SUV is on a trickle charger and has fuel stablizer. I would love to get down to 2 cars, but really need a truck. I hope Tesla builds a truck down the road, then I can be all electric.
Perhaps it could be possible to use a trailer with your SUV for the dump runs. In that case you could sell the Ford truck.
 
Yes, the MS is my only car. A friend of mine still has a BMW 530d, so we exchanged cars once when I had to make a trip to Germany on a route without SuperChargers.

Otherwise I never had a trip which I couldn't do with my S.

^^^ The above is a really good point. If you have
(1) a very nice car like a Model S
(2) friends who
(a) you trust with a Model S
(b) own a gas vehicle you'd be able to use
... you could ask to swap vehicles.

(I think I could handle a temporary swap of my Prius for a Model S.)
 
I've used my Roadster as my daily drive since April 2011, my wife uses Model S since Oct 2012; no additional ICE cars here. We took a rental car on a long trip this time last year before Superchargers were available in the southeast, no rental car needed since.