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Charging in Champaign, IL?

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Hello Midwest! Just ordered a 70D which is scheduled to go into production this week :D

We live in Indianapolis, and our family in Springfield, IL. The new Springfield Supercharger is up and running, but it's 220mi away from our house.

Does anyone know of a good/reliable place to top off in Champaign? I feel like 220 is on the fringe of comfort, and in reality we'll usually take the minivan on this trip with 3 kids, but I'd like to have a place in Champaign that I can quickly stop off at. The 'destination charger' at U of I's hotel lists 'patrons only' - has anyone used that charger for 20-30 minutes without staying the night?
 
Plugshare shows a half dozen J1772 charging stations in Champaign -- do you have the adapter for that?

S/he would get that with the 70D when taking delivery.

Yes, Plugshare would be a good resource to check out. Do call ahead if a station's located within a business's premises as it may have limited access.

Sorry for jumping in from far afield; U of I was where I went for grad school so, had to jump in when I saw Champaign, IL :)
 
I hope someone at Tesla Motors is reading this thread. A Supercharger station in Champaign would be very strategic by splitting the big gap facing E-W travelers such as the OP bjw, as well as those N-S travelers on I-57 facing the gap between Effingham and Country Club Hills (viz. Fezzik's recent post). The SC maps up to 2016 are disappointing by the evident lack of intent for this location.
 
You could always go through Effingham - a bit of a longer way around but would get you there. You could also take I-74 over to Normal, top off, then head south the hour to Springfield.

I have a 14-50 at my in-laws' home west of Terre Haute / south of Champaign, but it would be a bit forward for me to offer it without asking first.

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Sorry for jumping in from far afield; U of I was where I went for grad school so, had to jump in when I saw Champaign, IL :)

I, too, attended U of I for a year or so. :)
 
I hope someone at Tesla Motors is reading this thread. A Supercharger station in Champaign would be very strategic by splitting the big gap facing E-W travelers such as the OP bjw, as well as those N-S travelers on I-57 facing the gap between Effingham and Country Club Hills (viz. Fezzik's recent post). The SC maps up to 2016 are disappointing by the evident lack of intent for this location.

I too am very surprised at the lack of charging and no plans for one in Champaign, as an intersection of I-72/74/57.

I do see Bloomington or even Terre Haute/Lafayette as an option to add a bit of time on. (All 30-45 mins + charging time) Hoping to minimize when we have the 3 kids (4/2/4 months) along with us... which again is going to be infrequent.

70D is rated at 240mi... would any of you ever 'go for it' on a full charge to make it 220mi? Or is that just crazy to a Tesla owner? No real-world experience here with an electric car, but I have used various EV planners. I'm not wanting to go 55mi all the way over, haha!

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Not sure if it helps, but I just filled out "I-57 and I-74 intersection, Champaign, IL" address on this form:

http://teslafactory.wufoo.com/forms/supercharging


with this message:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Champaign,+IL/@40.135411,-88.2457814,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x880cd08dde97691b:0x30f57847b475bfcf


Champaign, IL is a major intersection of I-74, I-72, I-54. Surprised to see it on on the Supercharger Map list as far out as 2016. There is 1 destination charger in town, but for patrons only.


This is a large gap in the East/West route through the midwest.


From Indianapolis, IN supercharger to Springfield, IL supercharger is 220 miles.


And going North/South from Country Club Hills, IL to Effingham, IL on I-57, you're looking at 190 miles with Champaign sitting nearly half way. You could charge cars getting from Southern Illinois up to Chicago and from Indianapolis across to Springfield, and vice-versa, all with 1 supercharger location.


Posts like this will concern potential buyers in the area, especially those of us doing business from the Chicago/Indianapolis area.


http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/43430-Supercharger-Effingham-IL/page7?p=990000&viewfull=1#post990000

And got this confirmation:

Thank you for your suggestion. Our team uses specific energy modeling to determine areas that are the best candidates for Supercharger Stations. Your input is valuable but due to the high volume of suggestions, we will reach out to you or the suggested property only if the site is a good fit for our planned route.
 
Tesla regularly looks at options available to them, and I'm sure they'll look at building more out in the future. We've made several suggestions to them as the St. Louis group, and I know they're considering them.

To your question: Would I do a 220 mile trip on a 240 mile full charge in a 70D? It would be tough, it depends on how you drive. If there's no wind, and you're willing to drive 65, you can probably make it. Instead, I would likely stop for an hour or so at a J1772 charger or RV park to ensure I'd make it, or just consider Indy-Normal-Springfield.

Another alternative is the I Hotel on 1st street in Champaign. They have an 80 amp Tesla connector for guests and patrons, so if you have dual chargers, you can spend about 30-60 minutes there, grab a snack or lunch or something, and have enough to make it. Even a single charger will get reasonable miles while grabbing a snack. 1900 S 1st St Champaign, IL 61820
 
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Tesla regularly looks at options available to them, and I'm sure they'll look at building more out in the future. We've made several suggestions to them as the St. Louis group, and I know they're considering them.

To your question: Would I do a 220 mile trip on a 240 mile full charge in a 70D? It would be tough, it depends on how you drive. If there's no wind, and you're willing to drive 65, you can probably make it. Instead, I would likely stop for an hour or so at a J1772 charger or RV park to ensure I'd make it, or just consider Indy-Normal-Springfield.

Another alternative is the I Hotel on 1st street in Champaign. They have an 80 amp Tesla connector for guests and patrons, so if you have dual chargers, you can spend about 30-60 minutes there, grab a snack or lunch or something, and have enough to make it. Even a single charger will get reasonable miles while grabbing a snack. 1900 S 1st St Champaign, IL 61820

Is that on plugshare? I can't believe I missed it...thanks.
 
I would also be interested in better charging options in Champaign. I have a life long friend that lives in that area and I travel to see him fairly often. Right now I'm pushing him to install a 14-50, but my friends and family don't understand why I keep sending electricians to their houses.:wink: The SC maps don't show anything currently planned for that area. It was a bit of a disappointment for me.
 
I hope someone at Tesla Motors is reading this thread. A Supercharger station in Champaign would be very strategic by splitting the big gap facing E-W travelers such as the OP bjw, as well as those N-S travelers on I-57 facing the gap between Effingham and Country Club Hills (viz. Fezzik's recent post). The SC maps up to 2016 are disappointing by the evident lack of intent for this location.

Agreed. It would be great for people traveling on I57, I74, and I72. I recently traveled between Indianapolis and Springfield, Il. If you don't have a full charge, even in an S85, it's close.
 
Champaign update – new destination charger at Hyatt Place on Neil Street. It's a perfect spot to stop off of 72, eat lunch, then shoot straight back out to the interstate... But I called and they said I would need to pay the guest parking fee of $8.50 to go in the garage. Not worth 15 to 30 miles for me. (Of course, if I'm paying for a flatbed later today nine bucks will sound like a bargain hahaha) Today is my first attempt to go from Northeast Indianapolis to the Springfield supercharger. 220miles. Trip planner initially said -9% battery on arrival. Taking it slow and easy, just pulling in to Champaign with 7% estimated on arrival. 2 hours, 120 miles, 273 wh/mi. This mileage would be similar to leaving from Indianapolis supercharger.
 
Based on Tesla's new maps, it looks like we will finally be getting our Supercharger in Champaign. Jvonbokel started a new thread. We still need to find out the location:

Supercharger - Champaign, IL

Anyway, I took a round trip from Chicago to Champaign last month to see my alma mater, and I needed a top-up before heading back to Chicago. I stopped by the destination charger at I-Hotel, parking is free and their policy is to allow Tesla owners to charge there for free, only thing is you will have to move your car if a hotel guest needs to charge. I had a nice meal at the hotel restaurant while charging. Only problem is charging was extremely slow, the HPCW put about 25 miles/hour on my car, so I had to sit there for 3 hours waiting for enough juice to make back to Chicago, very inconvenient. The new Supercharger is sorely needed.
 
See the Supercharger - Champaign, IL thread. The map was updated again a day later and Champaign disappeared. :crying:

The Champaign location is still there, just scroll down to the map that shows "opening soon". I posted on the other Champaign thread, but my guess is that Meijers would be getting the Supercharger, as the majority of the new Meijers stores tend to be installing them. Either way, Champaign needs one bad, and it really is a crucial stop for travelers coming from all directions.