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The few in Boise, where most people have never heard of Tesla

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Rocky_H

Well-Known Member
Feb 19, 2015
9,981
13,474
Boise, ID
Funny, I joined and posted in another thread before I even found that there was an introductions section. Tesla is an odd thing here in Boise. I hear about other areas where Teslas are more common, and they get a lot of looks and attention. It it mainly the opposite on both here. Almost no Teslas, but also most people don't pay any attention to it because they don't know what it is and haven't heard of it. It's kind of the nature of this area that there just aren't many unusual or exotic cars. It's mostly trucks, SUVs and practical cars because most people are about the camping, hiking, skiing, hunting, etc. so sporty cars aren't much of a thing.

Boise has a very chicken and egg relationship with electric vehicles. Idaho has some of the lowest electricity rates in the country, about 8 cents per kwh, so driving an electric vehicle is amazing here. But electric vehicles are just not popular, so there are hardly any, so there are hardly any charging stations, so no one sees or hears anything about them, so they remain unpopular.

About us and our journey to this: My wife and I are late 30's. I have always really liked driving, and I really love the fun of sporty performance driving, but I am such a practical, non-wasteful type of person that the "fun" side has always had to take a second priority to efficiency. I could not ever stand owning a sports or performance or luxury car, because they are wasteful. So in my last 8 cars I have had, I have never had more than a 4 cylinder engine. Fun had to come in moments of go-carts or when I got to drive someone else's cool car. We got a 2002 Prius, and were early on that technology, seeing how sensible that was to boost the efficiency of gas cars. Then, we got a 2005 Civic Hybrid, which we still have. We also have a 2002 diesel Jetta that our daughter drives. If only there could be a car that is clean and efficient that is also fun to drive. I have basically been waiting my whole life for this car to exist, and Tesla finally made it.

So the Tesla is the very first nice car we have ever gotten. We were planning to wait for the Model 3, but our daughter's car's engine gave out, so we passed the Jetta down and found ourselves in the market to replace a car a couple of years too early. We could have gotten something else to temporarily wait for the Model 3, but just decided to go ahead and get a Model S instead of buying/selling something else for three years. It's an S85, and we got it in March 2014, so we've had it for almost a year now. I've taken a couple of trips with it, but still have not gotten to use a Supercharger since we're in the middle of the electric wasteland.

I am kind of a Tesla obsessive. I was reading the forums on Teslamotors.com for about 6 months before registering so I could comment on something. Then, I had been active there for another several months before ordering the car. Even though I don't do many trips, I do often look at the charging locations and checkins on them around the Idaho, Oregon, and Utah areas on Plugshare. I have my 14-50 outlet listed on Plugshare and have enjoyed getting to meet a couple of folks who have come by and used it when traveling through Boise.
 
Pleased to meet you Rocky and David.
I am in Coeur d'Alene but grew up in Boise and usually visit a couple times a year to catch up with relatives.
I should be getting my S85D in late May and plan on making a late summer trip down to the Treasure Valley. Unfortunately the only way right now to get there would involve recharging in Riggins (with a campground's 14-50) for a few hours. However once they get the Baker and Pendleton superchargers in interstate 84 will be a quicker and less stressful route.
If you ever feel the need to visit the prettier :wink: part of the state you can use the SC that's going in now up here (or my 14-50 on Plug Share).
Best of luck evangelizing BEV's down there. I've got my work cut out for me up here too.

John
 
@ Rocky_H:
Welcome to the Forum, and congratulations on your S85.
Looking ahead (according to the Supercharger Map) by the end of 2015, it appears you will have a Supercharger in your backyard.
And you will then be connected to Oregon, Utah and Nevada and then subsequent points further away (even upstate Idaho).

Patience is a virtue (or so I have been told).

Maybe (when the weather is a bit warmer and the roads have cleared up a bit) you try a short trip using either RV parks, or if you can find one, a B&B or hotel that has a Level 2 charger.
If you are fairly adventurous: Northern Nevada (Winnemucca, NV) actually looks to the the closest to you, and maybe you take a trip over to Freemont to visit the Tesla Plant?
 
Thanks for the welcome, all. I joined up over here in large part to make these kinds of regional connections. I've been on the forums at Teslamotors.com for about a year and a half.

David, very nice. Waiting is almost done, huh? Have you talked with any of the other Tesla owners here in town? I know a few. (If you haven't met Kunal, you should, as he coordinates some of those Tesla get-togethers. First Tesla owner in Idaho.)

webbbcam, it's nice to find these kinds of connections at places to go. I haven't been up in the Coeur d'Alene area. I saw the place in Riggins on Plugshare that looked nice. Did you scout that and add it? I don't know if I will head up there at some point, but you are certainly welcome to come by when you are in Boise.

Larry, My wife and I have done white water rafting in Salmon, and it was really amazing. We usually go a little North of Boise once or twice in the Summers. Glad you've gotten to see the Idaho sights.

Purplewalt, yeah, the I-84 route was on the 2014 map and I was a little disappointed when it got moved to 2015, but the routes through the middle of the country did make a lot of sense to prioritize. I was actually talking with someone here on the forum who is in Utah who has talked with the contractors working on the Superchargers in Tooele and Salt Lake City. I don't know how definite this is, but he heard Mountain Home and Burley were the planned locations near here. Don't know of any others.
Our roads have been clear since November down here--really odd Winter this year. Kind of creepy warm with 50 degrees the last several weeks. I just don't have any trips planned.
Regarding trips: I've done a couple of decent range trips using 14-50s in the year we've had the car, without Superchargers. When I first got it, I went down to Ogden Utah, to a detailer to get Opticoat Pro. I left Boise at night and car camped at Anderson Campground, just East of Twin Falls, then made it to Ogden in one shot in the morning. On the way back, I stopped at Anderson again for a few hours in the afternoon.
In the Fall, my wife and I went down to Salt Lake City for a concert. We stayed at the Blue Lakes Inn in Twin Falls on the way down and charged. The way back was a pretty long day, because we didn't do an overnight. We got back up to Twin Falls and spent about 4 hours visiting with a friend while we charged to make it back to Boise.
Closest Supercharger is relative to where I'm headed, and I don't head the Winnemucca direction. I probably won't drive to take the factory tour. Just don't know it's worth that much time off work. The usual places I go are either SLC or Portland for concerts. When they opened the Supercharger in West Wendover Nevada, I realized that with a stop in Twin Falls and then straight South, that would get me into SLC from the West side.

I look forward to getting to know more fine Tesla fans in these forums and in my area.
 
@Rocky_H
Yes, it is a trek to get to Fremont, but the factory tour will allow you to get a bit of Tesla car history and overview for what is actually going on.
IIRC, there were two Roadsters and three earlier version Model S on display.
The videos of the factory pale in comparison to the real thing.
Maybe you wait a bit until the Model X is also in full production before you visit the plant?
(They also have a lot of charging stations right there.)

I am not a huge fan of RV Parks, but until the Texas Island gets connected, that valuable and durable resource will be relentlessly used for my travels.
 
I haven't been up in the Coeur d'Alene area. I saw the place in Riggins on Plugshare that looked nice. Did you scout that and add it?

Nope. I didn't add it to plugshare, not sure who did. I've driven by the RV park lots but have had no need to stop there.
Riggins is about 150 miles from Boise and about 225 miles from Coeur d'Alene. It is basically on a ledge over the Salmon river just wide enough for US95 and a couple of side streets. The River Village RV park is easy to find on the north end of town. According to the comments on Plugshare it's owner is EV friendly and has let others use its 14-50 for free. Riggins' claim to fame is white water rafting tours and fishing (salmon and steelhead). I've seen jet boats in the Salmon as well but not sure where one books those. It would make a fun day trip with a scheduled rafting trip.

John
 
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Now that Boise's SuperCharger is on the map to be completed in a few weeks, my Tesla will be coming through quite often. Do any of you have any more exact info on when it will be open/where it is going to be at?

It's nice to live in a community that has a supercharger, but if I had my preference the supercharges would be in every other city first and mine last - I can always charge at home, and would even if they put a supercharger 10 minutes away...So congrats Boise on getting a SC for me to use!
 
Now that Boise's SuperCharger is on the map to be completed in a few weeks, my Tesla will be coming through quite often. Do any of you have any more exact info on when it will be open/where it is going to be at?

It's nice to live in a community that has a supercharger, but if I had my preference the supercharges would be in every other city first and mine last - I can always charge at home, and would even if they put a supercharger 10 minutes away...So congrats Boise on getting a SC for me to use!

"A few weeks" might be optimistic. I don't know any more details about it. I've tried searching for building permits in Boise, but it hasn't turned anything up. I've checked Meridian, which includes permits for Eagle and Garden City on their site, and I couldn't find anything there, either.
 
Hi there Rocky, this is only be second post here, but you sound quite similar to me.

I'm a few years younger (wife and I are in early 30's) but my view of cars sounds VERY much the same. I'm think within a week we might decide to place our order for a 70D. Time will tell!
 
Hi, Rocky. Mike here. I have also driven practical vehicles all my life, but not quite as efficient. When you have horses and a 16 foot horse trailer, suddenly a three-quarter ton Suburban is "practical." My commuting car has always been smaller and efficient, though. For the last four years, I drove a Honda del Sol conversion with mediocre performance and a 50 mile range.

In February, I decided a Tesla was within reach. I had test driven one in Boise, two years ago and said then my next car would be a Tesla. I bought a used demonstration P85 out of Los Angeles and had it shipped here.

It has been the most amazing car. A day at work is just that much better with a trip in a Tesla on each end of it.

Mike