Any Des Moines area people here? We need an HPWC in DM.

Evbwcaer · Feb 14, 2015

There is no Supercharger scheduled for Des Moines in 2015. Without it, travel north/south on 35 has a gap and Omaha is on an island. I think we need an 80 amp HPWC in Des Moines! I live in Minneapolis and will be making a few trips to Omaha this year.

Does anybody here have connections in Des Moines? There would be very little or no cost for this to a host business using the Destination Charger program.

Thanks.

rsquared99 · Feb 14, 2015

Timberline Campground | Country Camping, City Convenience! This is an RV park in West Des Moines that I put in contact with Tesla to see about installing an HPWC. I don't know that they ever went through with that plan, but an email to them might be helpful.

Evbwcaer · Feb 14, 2015

Thanks rsquared99. I looked up Timberline, it just seems too far out of town to me.

There is a Hyvee that looks good, and they have a history of supporting EV's and Hilton Garden Inn that looks nice, at least preliminarily from Google maps. My brother-in-law lives in Des Moines and it going to do some ground work for me.

I am really surprised looking at the SC map that Des Moines is not a 2015 build, it has north south and east west interstates running through it, and what good is Omaha without Des Moines?
Maybe it has something to do with Iowa not being "nice" to Tesla.

cpa · Feb 14, 2015

The sage Cottonwood has indicated that there are rumors of a Supercharger planned for Council Bluffs near Interstate 29. I am planning to go to Minnesota in several months, and it sure looks doable going north from Topeka to Council Bluffs and then onto Worthington for the Supercharger there. Granted, about 2/3 of your journey is on secondary highways with a lower speed limit, but might be just as fast as going due south on Interstate 35 and then heading west on Interstate 80.

I have not compared the mileage between the two routes as yet.

Evbwcaer · Feb 14, 2015

Minneapolis to Worthington (SC) is 177 miles, Worthington to Council Bluffs is 191 miles. = 368 miles and 5 hours and 51 minutes.

Minneapolis to Albert Lea (SC) is 97 miles, Albert Lea to Des Moines is 148 miles, Des Moines to Council Bluffs is 129 miles. = 374 miles and 5 hours and 34 minutes.

So, if/when the Omaha/Council Bluffs SC is online it would make more sense to take the Worthington route, because it would be shorter geographically and at lower speed, and would not require any time charging at anything less than a SC (a less depleted battery at the best charger). I think it would be faster overall as well.

An HPWC in Des Moines still makes sense to me, because of the corridors it opens and it could be in place much sooner than a Council Bluffs/Omaha SC. Also, if you were stopping for the night, Des Moines ain't bad and you wake up fully charged.

xy46 · Feb 15, 2015

I am working with some local folks in the Quad Cities area right now with the hopes of finding a 24/7 publicly available location to get an 80 amp HPWC installed. There is one there currently in Davenport at a local B&B. The B&B owners are extremely nice and welcomed me to stop by for a charge when I was there in December; however, it's not really publicly accessible 24/7. If we can get a HPWC in the QCA and another in Des Moines, it starts making the trip across Iowa on I-80 potentially more doable until the Superchargers arrive in 2016.

Evbwcaer · Feb 15, 2015

I did email HyVee (1700 Valley West Drive). The Hilton Garden Inn looks like a nice option, they don't list an email so I may call them this week.

B&Bs are easy to work with but yeah, sometimes they are not as accessible, don't have parking, etc. A grocery store is a nice option, a lot of parking, a deli, bathrooms, 24 hours, other things to walk to in most cases.

Evbwcaer · Feb 21, 2015

I did get an email back from Hyvee, pretty generic, but they are considering it.

wws · Feb 21, 2015

xy46 said:
I am working with some local folks in the Quad Cities area right now with the hopes of finding a 24/7 publicly available location to get an 80 amp HPWC installed. There is one there currently in Davenport at a local B&B. The B&B owners are extremely nice and welcomed me to stop by for a charge when I was there in December; however, it's not really publicly accessible 24/7. If we can get a HPWC in the QCA and another in Des Moines, it starts making the trip across Iowa on I-80 potentially more doable until the Superchargers arrive in 2016.

Ideal locations in the QC might include the Northpark or Southpark malls, or the Duck Creek Plaza. All are close to the freeways.

You would also need a location in the Iowa City area to make the QC<->Des Moines run comfortable. I notice Tesla seems to agree and recently added Iowa City to the 2016 map.

As an aside, the local newspaper just wrote a nice article on the couple that own the B+B. I posted a link in the "IOWA Tesla Owners" thread.

xy46 · Feb 22, 2015

wws said:
Ideal locations in the QC might include the Northpark or Southpark malls, or the Duck Creek Plaza. All are close to the freeways.

You would also need a location in the Iowa City area to make the QC<->Des Moines run comfortable. I notice Tesla seems to agree and recently added Iowa City to the 2016 map.

As an aside, the local newspaper just wrote a nice article on the couple that own the B+B. I posted a link in the "IOWA Tesla Owners" thread.

It was a nice article and great to have the local publicity for Tesla in the QCA, not to mention for the B+B. I am glad you thought of posting it here in the forums for others.

All three of those mall locations in the QCA would be great as well as downtown Moline, which is right off I-74 and has a number of restaurants, hotels, and other venues all within walking distance. I have been working with someone at the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce since they have the strongest and broadest connection to the business owners in the region. I am hopeful that they will be successful.

wws · Feb 22, 2015

xy46 said:
... All three of those mall locations in the QCA would be great as well as downtown Moline, which is right off I-74 and has a number of restaurants, hotels, and other venues all within walking distance. I have been working with someone at the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce since they have the strongest and broadest connection to the business owners in the region. I am hopeful that they will be successful.

Realistically, if you are looking at downtowns, downtown Davenport is far more vibrant than the others. Though I must admit, having grown up in the area, anything to help out the Illinois side economy would be great. (Unfortunately Cook County would need to become its own state for this to happen.)

xy46 · Feb 22, 2015

wws said:
Realistically, if you are looking at downtowns, downtown Davenport is far more vibrant than the others. Though I must admit, having grown up in the area, anything to help out the Illinois side economy would be great. (Unfortunately Cook County would need to become its own state for this to happen.)

I agree with your comments about Cook County, LOL. There are pros/cons to both Davenport and Moline. I think they each offer good restaurant and bar choices these days, plus you have museums in both. Moline has the advantage of being right off the interstate, which would make it way more convenient to those traveling through the QCA.

Evbwcaer · Feb 25, 2015

I have not heard anything more from Hyvee, although I am not ruling them out. Just wondering if anybody has other suggestions for a Des Moines destination. Thanks

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