smogne41
Active Member
For a really complete kit, get the 10-30 and 14-30 adapters as well, so you can use any cloths dryer plug. Those have gotten me several full overnight charges on road trips.
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Do I have to buy and carry extra charger in the car for long trips?
- Thread starter paracha3
- Start date
Also a new MYLR owner, just got back from our first road trip, 600 miles around Oregon and Washington. I planned on using fast chargers, but in hindsight I could have charged slowly and skipped at least one fast charger if I had a mobile connector in the rental house we stayed at for a few days on the Oregon coast. I did have a CCS adapter and used it at an Electrify America faster charger in the Portland area because of an oddly very few number of superchargers in that area. So I'm planning to purchase the mobile adapter for future trips like that. Not sure if I should stick with just the 5-15 and 14-50, or if I should also grab a 10-30 and a 5-20.
smogne41
Active Member
10-30 is for really old cloths dryer installations (3-pin). All modern ones are the 4-pin 14-30. Even in older houses I have only found the 14-30. Get both if you want a complete set, but get the 14-30 if you are just getting one unless you know the places you might be charging are 10-30.
Most of this is based on what you can actually reach. The ones that are going to be useful are 5-15 and 5-20. If you go to RV or campground sites, then maybe 14-50 and TT-30 (have to get that one from EVSEAdapters.com or some other 3rd party site).
The 14-30 or 10-30 are clothes dryer outlets, and those are usually inside the house in a laundry room or even basement. You probably aren't going to even be able to reach that unless you're putting together a whole kit with a 30 or 50 foot extension cord. I've done that once at a rental, with a 30 foot cord, up the driveway, in the doggie door, down the basement stairs, down the hall and to the laundry room. This was back when there weren't a lot of options. It's just not worth bothering with now, so I would skip the dryer adapters.
smogne41
Active Member
In some places it is fairly common to have a washer and dryer in the garage. Not everywhere though.
doghousePVD
My grandfather’s car
I use both my 10-30 and 14-30 regularly (at friend’s and family’s houses), although I use the 14-50 by far the most. I carry a 30ft 14-50 extension cord, which I use very frequently. I could have used a 25 ft and still reached every outlet I wanted.
I only used a 5-15 once, in a possible emergency, but turns out I didn’t need the extra boost anyway.
I only used a 5-15 once, in a possible emergency, but turns out I didn’t need the extra boost anyway.
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doghousePVD
My grandfather’s car
I only asked a “stranger” once. It was at a gas station, I was almost empty, and there was a going to be a looong traffic jam. It was cleared in six hours, but I was afraid it might take longer and we’d have to sleep in the car (Canada). (No, there wasn’t any way around it in less than 500 miles).
I always call the friend/family before arriving.
I always call the friend/family before arriving.
It’s like showing up to a friend or family location wanting food because you are hungry, but being forward enough to say “please feed me.”
Why isn’t it the EV drivers responsibility to charge before or after?
Especially with the amazing supercharger network
I’m heading to my brother’s soon and do the NAV to show up charged or I’ll charge after I leave
Not an old guy here, but my generation took care of things on our own, not a burden to anyone
I guess with the new gen being forward is ok?
“Feed me!”
Little Shop of Horrors Movie
Why isn’t it the EV drivers responsibility to charge before or after?
Especially with the amazing supercharger network
I’m heading to my brother’s soon and do the NAV to show up charged or I’ll charge after I leave
Not an old guy here, but my generation took care of things on our own, not a burden to anyone
I guess with the new gen being forward is ok?
“Feed me!”
Little Shop of Horrors Movie
doghousePVD
My grandfather’s car
What’s your beef? I don’t “just show up”, and don’t demand to be fed or charged.
Why wouldn’t you charge at your brother’s (if he has the electrical infrastructure) and bring a bottle of wine or two? Who wants to sit in a SC when you don’t have to?
I’ve never been invited to a home overnight that didn’t also include a meal or two.
doghousePVD
My grandfather’s car
Yes, EVs are a new paradigm. So is using your friend’s Wi-Fi. Get over it.
I’ve been driving for 50 years and love my X.
I’ve been driving for 50 years and love my X.
@kpanda17 You are being insulting here in your stated assumption that the EV drivers are the ones who demand this and are being rude and forward. I have visited at some friends and family's houses, and did not bring it up because I didn't really need it and could have done something else, but they decided to bring it up an offered it as a courtesy, so I did get out my cord and plugged in where they offered.
We're talking about when someone has already offered the level of hospitality to invite you into their home to sleep there overnight. Would you consider that "forward" to ask if you could consume some of their water to brush your teeth or take a shower? That's not really a different paradigm. It just happens to be a new product that people didn't use a long time ago.
I get it, and I would tend not to bring it up in case someone does feel awkward or weird about it, but if they have brought it up and offered, that's their choice, and now it's a thing and not weird.
And this food analogy is really apt, because if you want to look at relative cost, a meal (which hosts wouldn't even bat an eye at sharing) would be more expensive than an overnight charge from a 120V outlet anyway.
It is interesting how orthodoxy, or normalcy, for many of us starts at our own experience. 2 or 3 generations before the admirably independent boomer generation, a host would have likely expected that their hospitality extended to refueling a visitor's vehicle when visiting their house. They might have even considered it insulting if you didn't want let your horse eat at their place.
But then came those whippersnappers with their infernal-combustion engines.
Back in my day...
But then came those whippersnappers with their infernal-combustion engines.
Back in my day...
Eric33432
Member
If you need charging capability whilst on the road other than a Supercharger, it depends on where you are going. I only use the mobile connector when visiting friends/family or staying at a vacation home.
Since I have had my MX I have charged at two friends houses overnight using their dryer outlet. I did not find it embarrassing to ask, and I offered to pay them (they refused payment). For me it is not trying to get some free energy, rather it saves time because I can arrive at a very low SOC.
I have a 10-30 (older homes, 3 prong) and 14-30 (newer homes, 4 prong) adaptor and a Tesla extension like this:
This allows the MC electronics to stay indoors. Using an extension cord may require the MC electronics to have to be outdoors.
I also use this (with permission) at a vacation rental we go to from time to time.
I have never used the 14-50 which is used at camp grounds, but in houses it is usually used for ranges, so would be hard to use as you would have to pull the range out to get access to the receptacle, unless a 14-50 was installed for charging their EV.
For daily driving I leave all this stuff at home because it is heavy. I only pack it when going on a road trip to visit friends/family or vacation homes. Otherwise I keep the J1772 in the car which I have needed for charging at hotels.
Since I have had my MX I have charged at two friends houses overnight using their dryer outlet. I did not find it embarrassing to ask, and I offered to pay them (they refused payment). For me it is not trying to get some free energy, rather it saves time because I can arrive at a very low SOC.
I have a 10-30 (older homes, 3 prong) and 14-30 (newer homes, 4 prong) adaptor and a Tesla extension like this:
This allows the MC electronics to stay indoors. Using an extension cord may require the MC electronics to have to be outdoors.
I also use this (with permission) at a vacation rental we go to from time to time.
I have never used the 14-50 which is used at camp grounds, but in houses it is usually used for ranges, so would be hard to use as you would have to pull the range out to get access to the receptacle, unless a 14-50 was installed for charging their EV.
For daily driving I leave all this stuff at home because it is heavy. I only pack it when going on a road trip to visit friends/family or vacation homes. Otherwise I keep the J1772 in the car which I have needed for charging at hotels.
1. Not essential at all if you road trip where there are Superchargers (you can check maps of such), although it may be convenient if you want to do some opportunistic overnight charging.
2. 14-50 receptacles may be found in some campgrounds, but campgrounds with power are more likely to offer TT-30 receptacles (30A, 120V, can use an aftermarket TT-30 adapter made to fit the mobile connector or a TT-30 -> 14-30 or TT-30 -> 10-30 adapter plus the Tesla 14-30 or 10-30 adapter to the mobile connector). At houses, 5-15 (15A, 120V) is obviously the most common; dryer receptacles sometimes found in the garage may be 14-30 (new) or 10-30 (old) (30A, 240V). Very new houses may have 5-20 receptacles (20A, 120V) in the garage.
3. The mobile connector will lock to the car while charging and the car is locked, but there is no real security to prevent someone from unplugging the plug adapter from it.
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Eric33432
Member
I just got back from a trip to a very rural part of Alabama, the part between Prattville and Selma, where I visited a friend for 5 nights. While I could have only relied on Superchargers, plugging into his house, using a 6-50 he has for his welding equipment, really saved a lot of time, as we made daily, sometimes twice daily, trips to Selma (25 miles one way) and Prattville (35 miles each way), neither of which places have a supercharger. I would have had to make special trips to Montgomery just to charge as I was there almost a week and driving 100 miles or more each day. Had I arrived at his house with 15 or 20 percent state of charge without the mobile connector would have stranded me there. I was sure to charge up in Montgomery so I arrived with 50% SOC just in case his 6-50 would not work.
According to the Tesla app, I charged 273 kWh while I was there. Besides visiting and catching up with my friend, I helped him with a home improvement project and he was more than wiling to give me the juice. Of course it was discussed prior to my arrival. And he and his wife were very interested in the Tesla experience, and this demonstrated to them that even if you live in a remote area, it is no problem charging an EV for daily driving. One day we had to go into Birmingham, about an hour and a half drive each way, with no problem and no time wasted supercharging.
So, as has been repeated in this thread many times, to have a Mobile Connector or not (with its various adapters and possibly an appropriate extension cord or two), all depends on where you are going. I have a 5-15, 5-20, 10-30, 14-30 and 6-50 adapter for my MC.
According to the Tesla app, I charged 273 kWh while I was there. Besides visiting and catching up with my friend, I helped him with a home improvement project and he was more than wiling to give me the juice. Of course it was discussed prior to my arrival. And he and his wife were very interested in the Tesla experience, and this demonstrated to them that even if you live in a remote area, it is no problem charging an EV for daily driving. One day we had to go into Birmingham, about an hour and a half drive each way, with no problem and no time wasted supercharging.
So, as has been repeated in this thread many times, to have a Mobile Connector or not (with its various adapters and possibly an appropriate extension cord or two), all depends on where you are going. I have a 5-15, 5-20, 10-30, 14-30 and 6-50 adapter for my MC.
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