Roadtrip: Cincinnati to Denver

If you are stuck charging at 30amps both of those locations, it may actually be faster to take the roundabout path through south dakota that the supercharger network follows than it would be to L2 charge on the more direct route. It would be quite a few more miles, but, the last time I ran the math on a coast to coast trip, was the faster route, although at that time 1 of the kansas SC'ers was not yet online.

I, personally would wait until one or two more Superchargers open up on I-70 to drive direct from cincy to den. I would seriously consider heading north to catch the Supercharger Highway...It is awesome!

I would also second waiting. There are rumors that Independence, MO SC is under construction - though no evidence has surfaced yet (and if it is, there is a slim chance of it being completed close to your trip).

I just completed St. Louis - CA and back myself. If you end up going sooner rather than later, here are my suggestions for places to stay in/around KC. On my trip out I overnighted in Leawood, KS (southern suburb of KC) at the Aloft hotel. There is a close by parking garage with free Chargepoint chargers. On my way back and weary of the long drive between KC and STL, I opted to stay in Independence, MO (east of KC proper) at the Higher Ground Hotel (across from Truman's home). There is a free Chargepoint charger a few blocks away in a public/municipal parking lot. Both worked great. As for in STL, there are only a few hotels with either charging or an outlet. The ones that I know of off the top of my head are the Moonrise and the other is the newly opened Magnolia Hotel in downtown St. Louis (they actually have HPWC's available for guests). Tesla service center here in St. Louis might also be able to help with charging. Also, if you pm me, I would be happy to let you use the 14-50 in my garage.

brandonmbeard said:

Unfortunately the date is pretty much set - the wives all flights out there and the guys are driving it.

So I have heard rumors of a SC in Indy? Anyone validate or substantiate these?

Anyone want to rent me their ChaDeMo adapter?

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Indy's SC is still in the planning stage. There is however charging stations in the parking garage of their store location at Keystone and the Crossing with a Champs across the street for a bite. It will probably add 30 minutes driving time to your normal pass through of Indy.

Better have a plan for charging b/w STL and KC as well. There's not really anything in Columbia yet. You'll just need an hour or two on J1772 to make it to KC. Since you don't have twin chargers you're gonna be in a bit of a crunch. There is now a HPWC at the St.Louis service center and a few friendly Tesla owners there that often offer their HPWC. KC has several J1772 chargers, a couple at hotels, so if you get that far in your first day you could spend the night and get topped up before embarking on the final leg.

efusco said:

Better have a plan for charging b/w STL and KC as well. There's not really anything in Columbia yet. You'll just need an hour or two on J1772 to make it to KC. Since you don't have twin chargers you're gonna be in a bit of a crunch. There is now a HPWC at the St.Louis service center and a few friendly Tesla owners there that often offer their HPWC. KC has several J1772 chargers, a couple at hotels, so if you get that far in your first day you could spend the night and get topped up before embarking on the final leg.

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First: have you taken your car out for any kind of long-distance drive yet?
Either using Superchargers, or using L2 charging.

I concur with Rifleman: you would be better taking the longer distance, but actually quicker time, by sticking to the Supercharger route thru South Dakota.
Maybe on the way back you try the more direct route (thru KC and StL), but you will dread having to stop and charge during the day, at either a J1772 outlet, or a NEMA 14-50 at an RV park (faster of those two).
For overnight charging (while you sleep), it is not that big of a deal to use the J1772 or 14-50, but it is not the premium use of one's time to charge that way during daylight hours.

And efusco is correct also.
You will not be able to make it from StL to KC without an intermediate charge somewhere. And you will probably need a supplemental charge from KC to Salinas.
Skipping from Supercharger to Supercharger is fast, because you are generally not worried about running out of range, and your speed can be a bit faster.
Going from L2 to L2 requires a bit more restraint to keep your range (and buffer) numbers up.

purplewalt said:

And efusco is correct also.
You will not be able to make it from StL to KC without an intermediate charge somewhere. And you will probably need a supplemental charge from KC to Salinas.
Skipping from Supercharger to Supercharger is fast, because you are generally not worried about running out of range, and your speed can be a bit faster.
Going from L2 to L2 requires a bit more restraint to keep your range (and buffer) numbers up.

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Actually, a lot will depend on how willing you are to draft and drive a bit slower. Totally doable depending on your exact launch and destination points. As back up, according to Plugshare there is a an RV park east of Columbia, MO that offers charging. Otherwise, there is a Nissan dealership in Columbia that has been kind to Tesla owners in the past.