Midwest to East Coast - again

Stats first: 2986 mi avg 283 wh/mi.

3rd time making this trip in a 20 MYLR from just West of Minneapolis to relatives house near Concord NH via another relative’s place in southern Vermont. Used new superchargers each time and this trip visited magic dock locations for the first time. Batavia NY:

Verona NY:

Looking at the Porsche’s port location it appears they have no choice but to park sideways.

It was red model Y day in Erie PA:

The Eastbound service plaza in Portage IN is poorly designed, there is not enough space to back in easily:

and just for fun here’s sunset in Vermont:

Nothing particularly noteworthy other than the suggestion to avoid the Chicago area during the day if possible. Traffic there has always sucked but is getting worse. i39 to i88 to i355 is currenly a much easier option than i90 to i290 to i294. On the way out I could see on the nav that i80 was stop and go for about 20 miles so I took a pre-planned bypass that went smoothly but involves going a good 10 miles South. No idea how much time it saved (if any) but it was a nicer drive than sitting in freeway traffic:

 

[Earl]

Looking at the Porsche’s port location it appears they have no choice but to park sideways.

The best option would have been to buy a Tesla instead of a Porsche Given that root-cause error it isn't clear that he wouldn't have been able to reach if he had driven straight in but, I guess we can give him the benefit of the doubt and allow that this was the only choice available.

 

[threeputts]

The best option would have been to buy a Tesla instead of a Porsche Given that root-cause error it isn't clear that he wouldn't have been able to reach if he had driven straight in but, I guess we can give him the benefit of the doubt and allow that this was the only choice available.

Damn good looking car though

 

[Spalding]

Seems that in addition to a plug converter, Porsche needs to sell an extension cord.
That actually seems to underscore a poor design choice by Porsche. Charging docks for Electrify America and others I've seen are all located at the head of a head-in parking space, so I'm not sure what public chargers would work conveniently for Porsche - you'd have to pull up sideways to any of them.

 

[Michael24]

Ngl, these might end up in a possible fistfight. Finger cross

 

[ChooseFreedom]

Yeah, I carry a stick of the large sidewalk chalk for occasions just like this (or any time multiple spaces are taken unnecessarily) so I can draw a square around the car and label it "A$$hole Parking". Shame on them.
No way this flies at a busy charging location without someone having words.

 

[threeputts]

Yeah, I carry a stick of the large sidewalk chalk for occasions just like this (or any time multiple spaces are taken unnecessarily) so I can draw a square around the car and label it "A$$hole Parking". Shame on them.
No way this flies at a busy charging location without someone having words.

Well in the Porsche owner's defense there was only one Tesla charging when I got there so it's not like it caused anyone to not be able to charge, there are 12 pedestals there. I'm not sure there was any other way he could reach the plug given where the port is on the Tycan.

Given that there are only 10 magic dock locations in the entire US I don't foresee this as a big issue. Until Porsche adopts NACS as other makes have *and* they don't start putting the charge port in a more accessible location, I wouldn't get worked up over it.

 

[Darmie]

Damn good looking car though

For a spit second, I thought I was looking at a corvette, then I saw the badge. Yes, it's a beautiful car.

 

[Big Earl]

Well in the Porsche owner's defense there was only one Tesla charging when I got there so it's not like it caused anyone to not be able to charge, there are 12 pedestals there. I'm not sure there was any other way he could reach the plug given where the port is on the Tycan.

Given that there are only 10 magic dock locations in the entire US I don't foresee this as a big issue. Until Porsche adopts NACS as other makes have *and* they don't start putting the charge port in a more accessible location, I wouldn't get worked up over it.

Looks like he could have pulled into that far spot and made it work, since the pedestal is on the side of the parking space rather than at the back of it. Perhaps that spot wasn't available when he arrived.

 

[JaxonDM]

That's a downside for Porsche owners.

 

[golfcart]

Yeah, I carry a stick of the large sidewalk chalk for occasions just like this (or any time multiple spaces are taken unnecessarily) so I can draw a square around the car and label it "A$$hole Parking". Shame on them.
No way this flies at a busy charging location without someone having words.

When I read this it just made me think of this South Park episode.

 

[golfcart]

Stats first: 2986 mi avg 283 wh/mi.

3rd time making this trip in a 20 MYLR from just West of Minneapolis to relatives house near Concord NH via another relative’s place in southern Vermont. Used new superchargers each time and this trip visited magic dock locations for the first time. Batavia NY:

Do you use the Tesla Nav or a different route planner? Are you in the "stop every 150 miles and charge for 15 minutes camp" or do you stretch it out and take longer breaks?

 

[threeputts]

Do you use the Tesla Nav or a different route planner? Are you in the "stop every 150 miles and charge for 15 minutes camp" or do you stretch it out and take longer breaks?

I have an idea of what charging stops I’m going to make before I start but there are enough superchargers along this route now that you can be flexible and alter the plan as you go. We usually stop every 100-120 miles for just long enough to use a restroom.

 

[golfcart]

I have an idea of what charging stops I’m going to make before I start but there are enough superchargers along this route now that you can be flexible and alter the plan as you go. We usually stop every 100-120 miles for just long enough to use a restroom.

The tradeoffs with EV charging on road trips are kind of fascinating to me. Since charge rate is not linear across all states of charge there is a big charging time advantage from letting the battery run low then only charging to like 50% but this method also opens you up to unexpected hiccups like stations being full or unexpected traffic. Good point about the number of superchargers, the uncertainty goes down a lot if there are lots of differerent charging options on the route.

 

[Michael24]

The tradeoffs with EV charging on road trips are kind of fascinating to me. Since the charge rate is not linear across all states of charge there is a big charging time advantage from letting the battery run low then only charging to like 50% but this method also opens you up to unexpected hiccups like stations being full or unexpected traffic. Good point about the number of superchargers, the uncertainty goes down a lot if there are lots of differerent charging options on the route.

Just 5 years ago, I’m one of the people who was watching on the sideline since we drive a lot and the supercharging station was still limited. Fast forward to today and just got my 3 and S last month, I'm impressed with the current and future supercharging network. I've seen existing stations that's being upgraded with additional stalls or to V3. I won't be surprised in 2 years road trips will be easier than ever. It is just a matter of time especially since most manufacturers will start using NACS.