This is a long story. One about the maiden voyage of my Model S - a family road trip to Niagara Falls: good, bad & ugly.
THE GOOD
Experiencing the Tesla lifestyle. That's what I keep telling my wife supercharger stops are for. Going at a more relaxed pace, some food and/or shopping along the way, all petro and carbon emissions free. We've done a few trips which required a supercharger stop, which we factored into our plans, and we both enjoyed the breaks. Now it's time for a real test... Family road trip from Boston suburbia to Niagara Falls Canada for a few days, plus a day trip to Toronto.
The route was straightforward, essentially 90 all the way. Model S plotted the superchargers brilliantly. Basically a break every 2 hrs or so, as follows:
I appreciate five star hotels, and there are several big and beautiful casino resort style hotels to choose from. However, we chose a (3 star?) hotel which advertised Tesla charging stations: Quality Hotel. They had two Tesla chargers, and one standard EV charger. Worked out wonderfully. Free parking, semi-reserved space (overflows are allowed to park in EV spots), free 48Amp charging. Served as a great hub. Hotel was decent as well. Good service, breakfast included, very good rates, wifi, clean comfortable rooms - and we even had a view of the falls from our balcony - Bonus! I’d stay there again.
For a day trip, we cruised to Toronto 160mi (round trip) to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. What a shrine that is! I didn't need to charge, but the Hockey Hall of Fame had designated EV spots with chargers. So we snapped on the adapter, and charged-up.
That's the good. Superchargers in all the right places. Great routing by nav.
Syracuse was somewhat lacking. Chargers were fine, just not much to do there. You have a holiday inn convention center, taco Bell, and a drug store.
THE BAD
On the way to Niagara, I was about 14 miles from the Buffalo New York supercharger, when a wrench was thrown into my plans. There was much debris on the road. I manage to navigate through it cleanly, or so I thought. Tire pressure alert appears on dash: 40psi, 30psi, 20psi... I pullover to the shoulder and watch it deflate. Everyone's roaptrip nightmare just hit me.
A 13mm wrench - yes, literally a wrench - found its way into my rear driver-side tire.
That minefield took out three other cars.
The hook:
Called tesla roadside assistance. NY requires a police dispatched truck. 911. Flatbed on the way. Now I get to use that toe hook that keeps bouncing around in my rear hatch. How does one attach this? The hard copy manual only shows the nose cone procedure - but I have a refreshed nose. I pulled up the manual on the touch panel, and found the right procedure for the car. Interesting design. You have to pop a panel off to expose the hole, which you can hand screw the hook into.
My advise to all of you. Take the time to figure this out in your garage now - it'll take you 10 minutes in a normal state of mind. Trust me - you do not want to try and figure this out stranded on the side of a highway with semi’s flying by. It is nerve racking. Then there is the tow mode setting, which keeps the car in neutral, preventing the car from automatically putting itself into park. Fortunately I knew about this.
The tire:
Flatbed arrives, car is loaded, off we go. It was around 5PM, and the authorized Tesla garage was closed (all garages were starting to close), so we had to scramble. As you all know, we do not have a spare tire or donut, AND my tire was not fixable. Tesla recommended trying the Firestone, which was at the same mall as the super charger, and it was still open.
They didn’t have 19” tires, and said they could order one and have it in a day or two. I’m out. We headed a bit down the road to Goodyear. Still open. Great. I have the Goodyear Eagle Touring on my car. Manager comes out, looks at the tire and says, huh… never heard of that one before. Not good. I’m out. In the meantime, the tow truck driver was calling around and found a shop a little further down the road which had a set of 19” tires (not goodyears, but we have a match size-wise): Mavis Discount Tire, here we come.
So not only do we not have a spare, or a donut, or even a tire repair kit… we have rare tires.
Not good when you're far away from home, and in less populated areas.
Thats the bad.
What makes them so rare? There’s the size, but beyond that I learned when they popped the tire off, the inside of tread wall is lined with a foam. Presumably to decrease road noise. Interesting. I wonder how that impacts tire repair kits that spray slim on the inside?
THE UGLY
We arrive at the tire shop, and the MS is being unloaded from the flatbed. Wooden 2x6 planks are used by the wheels to prevent it from bottoming out. The tire shop mechanics (kids really) were really excited about seeing the MS, came over to help out. Big grins. They assisted with the boards, only to carelessly whack the driver door with one... Punching two sizable dings into it.
Ouch!
Aluminum panels folks.
I was stunned. Disbelief. Heartbreak. Talk about making a bad situation worse. The kid ran away, never to be seen again.
On a positive note, the manager came over and took responsibility. He and corporate handled the situation professionally, and within 7 days I had a check in hand to cover the costs of the repair.
Moving on:
With the new tire installed, I was free to continue my family roadtrip. We hit the super charger in Buffalo, and while waiting got a MUCH needed beer, and some Buffalo wings at Duffs Famous Wings (when in Buffalo...). Then got the hell out of there.
The ordeal setback the plan by 4 hours, a temp tire, a matching tire (installed once I got back home), and both the car and Tesla lifestyle came away with some battle scars.
We made it over the boarder to Niagara Falls Canada, and the rest of the trip went without a hitch.
THE GOOD
Experiencing the Tesla lifestyle. That's what I keep telling my wife supercharger stops are for. Going at a more relaxed pace, some food and/or shopping along the way, all petro and carbon emissions free. We've done a few trips which required a supercharger stop, which we factored into our plans, and we both enjoyed the breaks. Now it's time for a real test... Family road trip from Boston suburbia to Niagara Falls Canada for a few days, plus a day trip to Toronto.
The route was straightforward, essentially 90 all the way. Model S plotted the superchargers brilliantly. Basically a break every 2 hrs or so, as follows:
- Home
- Albany +153mi 2.5hrs
- Syracuse +139mi 2hrs
- Buffalo +136mi 2.5hrs
- Niagara Canada (destination) +28mi 30mins
I appreciate five star hotels, and there are several big and beautiful casino resort style hotels to choose from. However, we chose a (3 star?) hotel which advertised Tesla charging stations: Quality Hotel. They had two Tesla chargers, and one standard EV charger. Worked out wonderfully. Free parking, semi-reserved space (overflows are allowed to park in EV spots), free 48Amp charging. Served as a great hub. Hotel was decent as well. Good service, breakfast included, very good rates, wifi, clean comfortable rooms - and we even had a view of the falls from our balcony - Bonus! I’d stay there again.
For a day trip, we cruised to Toronto 160mi (round trip) to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. What a shrine that is! I didn't need to charge, but the Hockey Hall of Fame had designated EV spots with chargers. So we snapped on the adapter, and charged-up.
That's the good. Superchargers in all the right places. Great routing by nav.
- Quick charges.
- Things to do while charging.
- Destination charging.
- The car was always ready to roll before we were.
- No range anxiety.
Syracuse was somewhat lacking. Chargers were fine, just not much to do there. You have a holiday inn convention center, taco Bell, and a drug store.
THE BAD
On the way to Niagara, I was about 14 miles from the Buffalo New York supercharger, when a wrench was thrown into my plans. There was much debris on the road. I manage to navigate through it cleanly, or so I thought. Tire pressure alert appears on dash: 40psi, 30psi, 20psi... I pullover to the shoulder and watch it deflate. Everyone's roaptrip nightmare just hit me.
A 13mm wrench - yes, literally a wrench - found its way into my rear driver-side tire.
That minefield took out three other cars.
The hook:
Called tesla roadside assistance. NY requires a police dispatched truck. 911. Flatbed on the way. Now I get to use that toe hook that keeps bouncing around in my rear hatch. How does one attach this? The hard copy manual only shows the nose cone procedure - but I have a refreshed nose. I pulled up the manual on the touch panel, and found the right procedure for the car. Interesting design. You have to pop a panel off to expose the hole, which you can hand screw the hook into.
My advise to all of you. Take the time to figure this out in your garage now - it'll take you 10 minutes in a normal state of mind. Trust me - you do not want to try and figure this out stranded on the side of a highway with semi’s flying by. It is nerve racking. Then there is the tow mode setting, which keeps the car in neutral, preventing the car from automatically putting itself into park. Fortunately I knew about this.
The tire:
Flatbed arrives, car is loaded, off we go. It was around 5PM, and the authorized Tesla garage was closed (all garages were starting to close), so we had to scramble. As you all know, we do not have a spare tire or donut, AND my tire was not fixable. Tesla recommended trying the Firestone, which was at the same mall as the super charger, and it was still open.
They didn’t have 19” tires, and said they could order one and have it in a day or two. I’m out. We headed a bit down the road to Goodyear. Still open. Great. I have the Goodyear Eagle Touring on my car. Manager comes out, looks at the tire and says, huh… never heard of that one before. Not good. I’m out. In the meantime, the tow truck driver was calling around and found a shop a little further down the road which had a set of 19” tires (not goodyears, but we have a match size-wise): Mavis Discount Tire, here we come.
So not only do we not have a spare, or a donut, or even a tire repair kit… we have rare tires.
Not good when you're far away from home, and in less populated areas.
Thats the bad.
What makes them so rare? There’s the size, but beyond that I learned when they popped the tire off, the inside of tread wall is lined with a foam. Presumably to decrease road noise. Interesting. I wonder how that impacts tire repair kits that spray slim on the inside?
THE UGLY
We arrive at the tire shop, and the MS is being unloaded from the flatbed. Wooden 2x6 planks are used by the wheels to prevent it from bottoming out. The tire shop mechanics (kids really) were really excited about seeing the MS, came over to help out. Big grins. They assisted with the boards, only to carelessly whack the driver door with one... Punching two sizable dings into it.
Ouch!
Aluminum panels folks.
I was stunned. Disbelief. Heartbreak. Talk about making a bad situation worse. The kid ran away, never to be seen again.
On a positive note, the manager came over and took responsibility. He and corporate handled the situation professionally, and within 7 days I had a check in hand to cover the costs of the repair.
Moving on:
With the new tire installed, I was free to continue my family roadtrip. We hit the super charger in Buffalo, and while waiting got a MUCH needed beer, and some Buffalo wings at Duffs Famous Wings (when in Buffalo...). Then got the hell out of there.
The ordeal setback the plan by 4 hours, a temp tire, a matching tire (installed once I got back home), and both the car and Tesla lifestyle came away with some battle scars.
We made it over the boarder to Niagara Falls Canada, and the rest of the trip went without a hitch.
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