Tucson to Carlsbad in an S85

smsprague said:

I do a trip from Tucson, AZ to Carlsbad, CA occasionally. Until the Gila Bend, AZ Supercharger opens this is what I am faced with. Also the El Centro, CA Supercharger would make the trip easier. The question is would you attempt this in a S85.

Tucson, AZ (my location) to Yuma, AZ Supercharger – 248 Miles
Yuma, AZ Supercharger to Carlsbad, CA – 197 Miles

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The first leg of your trip would have to be driven at 55 MPH in near perfect weather conditions. If your willing to do that you can drive the Model S. If you had a camp ground with a 14-50 plug you could drive more normally and have lunch while you charge for an hour to make it more enjoyable. Elevation can be tricking, so I would make sure someone has tried the trip from your area.

The second leg of your trip is easy, but remember doing a full charge at the supercharger takes much more time than adding doing a 90% charge.

Just to set your mind at ease I agree with ibcs. Pre-arrange a stop at an RV park if nothing else can be found and call the day before you get there and also when you are on your way to make sure they will allow you to stop there and how much they expect you to pay. If they have no clue ask something like would $5-10 be enough to charge there for an hour or two on a NEMA 14-50?

Read this excellent thread as well
Putting some numbers on the factors that affect range


mod note: I thought this might be better in this regional forum but if you want me to move it back I can.

smsprague said:

I do a trip from Tucson, AZ to Carlsbad, CA occasionally. Until the Gila Bend, AZ Supercharger opens this is what I am faced with. Also the El Centro, CA Supercharger would make the trip easier. The question is would you attempt this in a S85.

Tucson, AZ (my location) to Yuma, AZ Supercharger – 248 Miles
Yuma, AZ Supercharger to Carlsbad, CA – 197 Miles

Click to expand...

I'd break the trip up by getting a charge in Buckeye. Tucson, AZ to Carlsbad, CA - Google Maps

Tuscon to Buckeye - 145 miles
Buckeye to Yuma - 157 miles
Yuma to Carlsbad - 195 miles

Although this is 54 miles further and you will have to deal with Phoenix traffic, until Gila Bend opens, I bet this would be an equal or faster time route, more fun to drive, and create much less range anxiety. For the Yuma to Carlsbad route, it is probably doable if you drive at the truck speed limit and fall in line with them. The route out of the desert over the mountains to San Diego often has some stiff headwinds.

If you need more charge, there are several RV parks along I-8 in the remote, high elevation areas east of San Diego. Also, the sales center at UTC off of I-805 on the north side of San Diego can help you with charging during the day, and the service center north of Miramar Road has 8, 80 Amp HPWC's (useful, if you have dual chargers), available 24/7. The advantage of UTC is that it's a mall with lots to do, the service center is open 7/24, but in a very quiet, lonely industrial area.

Keep grabbing those Joules for your jewel! :wink:

I sent this RV park and e-mail to ask them
Augies Quail Trail RV Park - Gila Bend, AZ 928-683-2850 -

but that might be a good stopping point between Tucson and Yuma.

but what Cottonwood wrote was excellent.

I heard back from John at Augies Quail Trail Park. He said they have 50A outlets (I e-mailed picture of NEMA 14-50 back to double check but haven't heard back) and said he'd charge $5 to charge there so one option at least. Good luck.

liuping said:

The Picacho Peak Travel Center has a 70Amp J1772 charging station (and a CHAdeMO, but we don't have an adapter yet).

It chargers at about 44MPH if you have dual chargers. I stopped there on the way to Tucson from Del Mar and on the way back for about an hour. They have nice gift shop, Dairy Queen and a Subway.

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Nice resource and 198 miles from Yuma makes that a nice alternative if you have dual chargers.

Let's see, add 55 rated miles in 1:15 at Piacho, or do the extra 54 miles going with 15 minutes at Buckeye. Pretty much a toss up, except that with Buckeye, you can drive faster and maybe make the total time a little less.

Choices are getting interesting... :wink:

I was also going to mention Picacho Peak. Even with a single charger, a ~30-45 min stop could alleviate range anxiety...

Another route option would be:
Tucson to Buckeye
Buckeye to Quartzsite
Quartzsite to Carlsbad -- but go over the hill from Indio to Temecula -- via CA-74 and CA-371 (this would also go past the Indio Supercharger location...)

470 miles vs 436 on the "regular" I-8 route...