I am delighted to see that Tesla is evidently prioritizing this route. I plan to make the trip for BC to Iowa at least once a year going forward.
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Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
DrGuest
Member
The Billings, MT Supercharger opened last Friday 7-18-14. I just got an email from Tesla saying it was open and then I called The Big Horn Resort in Billings and the Assistant manager confirmed that it is up and ready!
Bighorn
Top Supercharger
I charged there yesterday. The hotel folk were very excited. Try and touch base with the GM, whom I missed but thanked via email--Ginny. She encouraged me to post to their Facebook page as well. I told them not to expect many visitors, but mentioned that someone from BC would be coming through soon.
DrGuest
Member
Just had the nicest visit with HTK. He just left Bozeman to head East to the Billings a few minutes ago. Every day when I go in my Garage and see my Model S, I am amazed and Grateful. Imagine my amazement having two ModelS in my garage last night! Have a great trip, Hillar and I trust we will meet again.
Be very wary of the 50A 14-50 at Haugan, Mt. (Lincoln's Silver Dollar Bar). I looked it over on Memorial Day weekend and could only find one NEMA 14-50 and it looked to be in pretty sad shape. Was in my ICE so could not test it. I normally stay over night there on my way to Kalispell on the Sunday before Memorial Day and use the 30A RV outlets.
Maybe someone can chime in and verify the NEMA 14-50 is operational.
DrGuest
Member
@Bighorn, Have you taken your Model S up the Beartooth Hwy, Yet? Yesterday, My wife and I were looking to the sky saying , Thank You Tesla Motors! Yesterday we drove to Billings, MT from Bozeman, because Montana's 1st Supercharger in Billings makes Billings and Red Lodge free destinations for us, forever! We had about 80 miles left arriving at the brand new Supercharger. We were just the 3rd car to use it, I know #1 and #2! We had lunch at the Rib and Chop House, were fully charged way before we could be done with our meal. We then drove to Red Lodge, MT and took the Model S up more than 5000 vertical feet to one of the highest and most beautiful highways in the whole US, The Beartooth Highway! Then back to Billings for dinner and the Supercharge and then back home to Bozeman -all day transportation costs were ZERO ! Thank you Tesla Motors!
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DrGuest
Member
Bighorn
Top Supercharger
Gary,
I haven't had the pleasure of driving the Beartooth in the MS yet, though I do love that road. I made a second impromptu trip to Billings on Saturday--ate at Rib and Chop. I've had some good exchanges with the Big Horn Resort GM and Chico Hot Springs had a very positive response to my inquiry about installing chargers. I told them about your local Tesla and that you'd probably be a enthusiastic advocate for local destination charging around the park. After a year, it's just awesome to have a nearby supercharger and I was thrilled to see about Bozeman's permit. I imagine the same build team will get it done post haste.
i also gave the Billings Mercedes floor manager a ride. He was thrilled, but realized there was absolutely nothing he could do for me
I haven't had the pleasure of driving the Beartooth in the MS yet, though I do love that road. I made a second impromptu trip to Billings on Saturday--ate at Rib and Chop. I've had some good exchanges with the Big Horn Resort GM and Chico Hot Springs had a very positive response to my inquiry about installing chargers. I told them about your local Tesla and that you'd probably be a enthusiastic advocate for local destination charging around the park. After a year, it's just awesome to have a nearby supercharger and I was thrilled to see about Bozeman's permit. I imagine the same build team will get it done post haste.
i also gave the Billings Mercedes floor manager a ride. He was thrilled, but realized there was absolutely nothing he could do for me
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Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
It's time to start thinking about how the I-90 corridor will be finished across Montana. Looking at the Tesla map, here is my best guess at the locations. Note that these Tesla maps have been remarkably error prone (subject to change in the past). This does look like a pretty well spaced set of Superchargers. I'd love to see it done in time for an October drive to Oregon/Washington!
See Montana Superchargers - Google Maps for details.
There is also a red dot just east of Billings, but I am not sure why Tesla would put a Supercharger at the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
See Montana Superchargers - Google Maps for details.
There is also a red dot just east of Billings, but I am not sure why Tesla would put a Supercharger at the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
| Supercharger | Distance (mi) |
| Ritzville, WA | |
| Coeur d'Alene, ID | 92 |
| Alberton, MT | 135 |
| Butte, MT | 148 |
| Bozeman, MT | 93 |
| Billings, Mt | 139 |
| Sheridan, WY | 136 |
| illette, WY | 103 |
| Rapid City, SD | 141 |
Bighorn
Top Supercharger
It's time to start thinking about how the I-90 corridor will be finished across Montana. Looking at the Tesla map, here is my best guess at the locations. Note that these Tesla maps have been remarkably error prone (subject to change in the past). This does look like a pretty well spaced set of Superchargers. I'd love to see it done in time for an October drive to Oregon/Washington!
See Montana Superchargers - Google Maps for details.
There is also a red dot just east of Billings, but I am not sure why Tesla would put a Supercharger at the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
Supercharger Distance (mi) Ritzville, WA
Coeur d'Alene, ID 92 Alberton, MT 135 Butte, MT 148 Bozeman, MT 93 Billings, Mt 139 Sheridan, WY 136 illette, WY 103 Rapid City, SD 141
I think Hardin would be a more likely spot between Billings and Sheridan--on my last trip from Billings to Sheridan I think I consumed 225 rated miles, but I was operating under the grandfather clause of "Reasonable and Prudent" speed.
I need to look at a map to see your Alberton spot, but Missoula has been on my presumed list.
Update: How about St. Regis and Missoula instead of Alberton?
This is where the Sheridan charger is most likely to end up:
Taco John's at 2175 Sugarland Dr, Sheridan, WY on Fave
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Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
I think Hardin would be a more likely spot between Billings and Sheridan--on my last trip from Billings to Sheridan I think I consumed 225 rated miles, but I was operating under the grandfather clause of "Reasonable and Prudent" speed.
I need to look at a map to see your Alberton spot, but Missoula has been on my presumed list.
Update: How about St. Regis and Missoula instead of Alberton?
This is where the Sheridan charger is most likely to end up:
Taco John's at 2175 Sugarland Dr, Sheridan, WY on Fave
See Montana Superchargers - Google Maps for details.
I considered Hardin, but it is really close to Billings. Also, the "red dot" seems a little south of the I-90 bend to towards Sheridan.
It is a really important to keep the max distance between Supercharger down in cold, snowy, winter weather. My rule of thumb is 133 miles minus 6 rated miles per 1,000 feet elevation difference between Superchargers. Butte to Coeur d'Alene is more than 2*133, but not much. Butte, even though close to Bozeman, is a very good location at the intersection of I-90 and I-15. Alberton is a pretty small place, but it is about as close as you can get to splitting the distance between Bozeman and Coeur d'Alene. On top of that it has a resort that could be perfect for a Supercharger, River Edge Resort Montana. Finally, the "red dot" in that area does appear to be a little west of Missoula.
These are all guesses and speculations, but it would be nice to see some more I-90 Superchargers pop up soon. I really would like to try the drive in October.
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Bighorn
Top Supercharger
It's fun to speculate. Crow Agency and Hardin are only 13 miles apart and Hardin is far more conducive to a SC locale. I had recommended Hardin to the supercharger team when we had lunch. Wish I were a betting man!
Missoula, with the university, is probably the most EV friendly part of the state, with the possible exception of Bozeman. I agree that Butte is probably in the mix.
I'm not familiar with St. Regis, but there are a couple good candidate spots at the Cowboy Up Montana Roadhouse and the Little River Resort.
I think we will know by October.
I wouldn't count on Tesla to make spacing their top priority - as I'm sure anyone who has traveled between Barstow and Kingman can attest. The west side of Missoula would be ~155 miles from Coeur d'Alene while providing added utility of being near north-south crossroads for people going to Flathead Lake / Kalispell.
Has this been confirmed with Taco John's and/or City of Sheridan?
Has this been confirmed with Taco John's and/or City of Sheridan?
Bighorn
Top Supercharger
No, but based on personal communication with Tesla, our Travel and Tourism board and the local franchisee, it's looking foregone. Still haven't heard about the Gillette location.
evtripper from Missoula to Coeur D'Alene in 0degF requires 242 rated miles. They will account for winter temps and break up that leg, I predict.
Lincoln's Silver Dollar Bar charging report
I charged there yesterday as it's a good stop for a range boost coming out of Missoula to Spokane and the outlet worked fine. It looks bad because the protective cover has been missing for sometime. The charge started at 239 volts and 40 amps, I returned after an hour or so and it had accumulated 30 miles; however the rate had dropped to 30/30 amps. I think this is because the plug was in the direct sun on a 80+ day and I believe if the plug hits 160 degrees the power draw is scaled back.
There is actually another NEMA 14-50 outlet on the other side of the property that still has it's protective cover; so it looks much better and is much tighter to plug into!!! However the voltage is lower at 208 volts and 40 amps.
This other outlet is directly behind the gas station and next to the hotel and the corrals. In trying this outlet I had a damp towel which I draped over the outlet and I charged for about forty minutes; returning to find it charging at 35/35 amps.
While I haven't tried this the Lincoln's Silver Dollar Inn looks like a decent destination after a hard days drive from Seattle going eastbound on I-90, with the Ritzville supercharger as your last high power charge opportunity.
You could also hit the HPWC in Spokane to give you some breathing space; that aja2460 installed at his son Fred's place; which is a good solid charge at 229 volts at 79amps. http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/46447
You could spend the night charging at the Lincoln's Silver Dollar Inn and then be into slow charging until you get to Billings. Maybe with Butte as your next overnight spot if you added some range at the Missoula KOA at the Riverfront RV park. http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/46513
I charged there yesterday as it's a good stop for a range boost coming out of Missoula to Spokane and the outlet worked fine. It looks bad because the protective cover has been missing for sometime. The charge started at 239 volts and 40 amps, I returned after an hour or so and it had accumulated 30 miles; however the rate had dropped to 30/30 amps. I think this is because the plug was in the direct sun on a 80+ day and I believe if the plug hits 160 degrees the power draw is scaled back.
There is actually another NEMA 14-50 outlet on the other side of the property that still has it's protective cover; so it looks much better and is much tighter to plug into!!! However the voltage is lower at 208 volts and 40 amps.
This other outlet is directly behind the gas station and next to the hotel and the corrals. In trying this outlet I had a damp towel which I draped over the outlet and I charged for about forty minutes; returning to find it charging at 35/35 amps.
While I haven't tried this the Lincoln's Silver Dollar Inn looks like a decent destination after a hard days drive from Seattle going eastbound on I-90, with the Ritzville supercharger as your last high power charge opportunity.
You could also hit the HPWC in Spokane to give you some breathing space; that aja2460 installed at his son Fred's place; which is a good solid charge at 229 volts at 79amps. http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/46447
You could spend the night charging at the Lincoln's Silver Dollar Inn and then be into slow charging until you get to Billings. Maybe with Butte as your next overnight spot if you added some range at the Missoula KOA at the Riverfront RV park. http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/46513
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