Worst (and Best) superchargers (Mammoth, CA is awful)

[ThePirate]

In the UK forum there is a forum there is a post "Worst and Best Superchargers". We might just hope that Tesla would see one for the US and occasionally act on it??? Maybe someone could make this a sticky topic?

Here's my kudos and complaints in CA-----------

To be fair, many SCs are very good - fast, convenient, and well placed. That's why most of us bought these, and thank you to the people who made them happen so well. (Central valley has great ones, there is a suprisingly excellent one in Weaverville, CA, a pretty remote place, but lotsa recreation there.Also very convenient good ones outside of Joshual Tree National Park.)

Much to my suprise, I found this is not always the case.

It's impossible to express how bad the Mammoth, CA chargers are. This is at like the most humongous ski area anywhere, Mammoth Mountain, and there are no superchargers for 98 miles from the North, where San Francisco area people come from. We *really* depend on this. But it's just so awful.

At first one is "seduced" by this place because it is designed for convenient "drive-thru" rather than back-in charging. However, when I did try to charge there...
... the only open charger had a faulty connector. So, wasted time on that, and had to wait for the next one. Then...
...I never got more than like 60kW, though I was very low. so, I tried to change to another one...
... turned out NO ONE in the lot was getting more than 62 kW. Nearly an hour to get to 90% !!! (OMG Why did I blow the money on a Tesla? That's like Nissan Leaf charge time! Yes, OF COURSE I pre-conditioned, and in fact, this charge was during summer.)

So, this location is typically with long wait times, in the summer - I can't even imagine after the lifts close in winter - and restricted charging, but then all chargers are shared power and very, very, very slow. I just don't get how Tesla would totally blow it for charging at a ski resort - just where you would want to impress ICE owning passengers driving with their EV-owning buddies into getting one for themselves. That would simply * NEVER* happen at Mammoth, quite the opposite - seeing the frustration on the T owner's face and anger over a 1 hour charge would kill any nascent EV desires real quick.

Tesla, you do good on most, really you do and we appreciate it. But if you don't want to lose all the potential skier customers in CA, you've got to throw out every one of these awful, terrible, slower than molasses, worst-of-the-worst chargers and replace them with twice as many new, non-shared chargers. (And would it kill you to put in some 250kW units in Gardnerville and Lee Vining as well?)

-TPC

 

[ucmndd]

There are two chargers in Mammoth. If you were using the old V2 one on Tavern rd, 60-70kw is the best you can expect when the site is full.

If speed is important use the brand new V3 site on Old Mammoth rd.

The original site was a very early install, all the way back in 2015. Way ahead of the curve.

 

[ThePirate]

There are two chargers in Mammoth. If you were using the old V2 one on Tavern rd, 60-70kw is the best you can expect when the site is full.

If speed is important use the brand new V3 site on Old Mammoth rd.

The original site was a very early install, all the way back in 2015. Way ahead of the curve.

OMG - I had no idea. Thanks so much for this. (Though it's a little crazy to have two in one town a couple blocks from each other, one really terrible and the other good.)

 

[ucmndd]

OMG - I had no idea. Thanks so much for this. (Though it's a little crazy to have two in one town a couple blocks from each other, one really terrible and the other good.)

It’s not too uncommon… seems like it’s generally easier and more cost efficient to add another v3 site as opposed to ripping out / retrofitting a V2.

 

[ucmndd]

I’ve gotta say, I admire your dedication trekking all the way to Mammoth from the Bay Area to ski… that’s quite the slog.

I live about 50 miles from Mammoth as the crow flies but when the passes are closed in the winter it’s a ~7 hour drive to get there.

 

[threeputts]

(and best) is in the thread title so…..

All the V3s at the Indiana and Ohio turnpike service plazas. Can’t get faster on/off than rest areas and you were going to stop there anyway. These are as fast and convenient as you can get.

 

[Supcom]

Worst supercharger I've used is Perry, OK. Stuck in the corner of a gas station parking lot amongst the semis. Bad concrete all around. And the store onsite is old and very dumpy. I usually find myself using the site when I visit Stillwater, OK.

150 kW stalls. Usually trash around the place with no receptacle. No windshield squeegee near the chargers.

The only saving grace for this site is that it's there. OK does not have good coverage, so every site is critical. And, the site always has plenty of open stalls. But, now that I have a CCS adapter, I'll try the Francis Energy chargers in Stillwater next time I go up there.

 

[beatle]

I think in general the worst supercharger sites are those that require you to pay for parking, and those that do not have any 24x7 services. Fortunately these are both relatively rare IME. When I find a site like this, I wonder if they were the only option. If so, I say they're better than not having a charger at all.

 

[ThePirate]

That's the point - I don't go to mammoth for skiing. I go to Lee Vining for climbing. Ya, it's more than 6 hours in winter, but OMG the drive is GORGEOUS. Not just around mono lake, but the Carson valley region is quite beautiful.
-TPC

I’ve gotta say, I admire your dedication trekking all the way to Mammoth from the Bay Area to ski… that’s quite the slog.

I live about 50 miles from Mammoth as the crow flies but when the passes are closed in the winter it’s a ~7 hour drive to get there.

 

[davewill]

I guess I was so happy to have charging there at all, that I wasn't inclined to stare that old nag in the teeth. The real answer for a destination like Mammoth is to have L2 charging at the places people stay or where they park to ski, climb, etc...

BTW, I don't go there to ski, either. I'm much more interested in the fantastic hiking in the area.

 

[Earl]

I was going to say that the good thing about the old Mammoth Lakes was the Bleu Handcrafted Foods market and restaurant across the street but from web searching, it seem that has closed. That was a good place to eat and the slow charging only gave you time to enjoy your meal.
Too bad. I guess that is a bad station now.

 

[DblOSmith]

Worst is a tie for me.

Lake City, FL (V2, 6 stall) - Decent location, some eateries, but it's back in a dark corner, there's always a trash-nado swirling, and every time I've been there, multiple stalls were broken or derated to 30kW so that there is a wait. It's literally a limp to the next station... station and might as well be wall connectors. I don't know if Tesla is about to decommission it and therefore they don't care, but just an awful experience every time.

East Point, GA North (V4, 16 stall) - This is a brand new install and it's surprising to be on this list. I've been there 4 times. Every time I've had a charging error. Either it won't recognize that an charger is plugged in and do nothing, or it'll get caught in a flashing blue communications loop and fail to start charging. One time, it even refused to unlock the cable from the car (by the cable or by the screen) and I stuck trying to pull the cable out for 10 minutes. This happened on multiple stalls each of the 4 times I've gone, and twice, I've gotten fed up and moved to the V3 up the street to charge. I've reported it via phone or by survey each time. Hopefully they figure it out because the V3 is always full and often has a line.

Brinkley, AR (V3, 8 stall) - I'm sorry if anyone lives in Brinkely, AR, but the whole place looks bombed out. Like the city stopped improving after the great war. There are some food places around, but they are DISGUSTING. Do not go to the Chinese place. In a word, it's just sad. A very sad and depressing charging stop.

 

[DblOSmith]

I have some favorite stops.

• Bucees - that goes without saying, clean, fantastic bathrooms, food, shopping, dog facilities, and things to do. Even on deep charges, I've never had to wait for the car. Only complain is that they're so far away and uncovered. I wish they would just extent their 100 gas pumps and canopy to include vehicle charging.
• Estes Park, CO - GORGEOUS scenery, in the parking lot of the fantastic Stanley Hotel with great food/coffee, some of the best breakfast I've ever had, and wildly friendly people. The site says it's pay to park now, but it wasn't when I went last year. Even still, WORTH. Pay the money.

While I'm here... I agree that more stations that making charging ubiquitous would be great. ...but I hope they switch from charging stations as a necessity, to charging as a destination in themselves. Based on views, on activities, locations. For example, I'd love to see charging hubs with great food trucks, and maybe live shows. I think it'd be a nice entrepreneurial move to offer car washes, window cleans, tire inflations for a small fee at busy superchargers. In places like Shawnee Mission Park, in Lenexa, KS.... Beautiful lake with lots of things to do and the huge dog park. There should be more than 3 chargepoint 7kW chargers. A couple of 30amp wall connectors would be perfect for spending a nice day at the park. If you build it, they will come.

 

[Leftlane22]

Another vote for Bucee’s as the best - on my drive from San Antonio to Ft Worth I go by 3 locations that have between 24-48 stalls each, and they are never busy. Plus they have the cleanest restrooms ever for a convenience store and you can easily spend 30 minutes browsing, eating, shopping, whatever there. They also have several locations between SA and Houston, so my main highway drives up 35 or east on 10 are totally covered.

 

[Samurai51]

Another vote for Bucee’s as the best - on my drive from San Antonio to Ft Worth I go by 3 locations that have between 24-48 stalls each, and they are never busy. Plus they have the cleanest restrooms ever for a convenience store and you can easily spend 30 minutes browsing, eating, shopping, whatever there. They also have several locations between SA and Houston, so my main highway drives up 35 or east on 10 are totally covered.

Yeah, my only knock on Bucee's is sometimes they get SOOOO crowded. But I love the 24/7 amenities.

Worst for me is Shreveport. I've already mentioned it in two other posts on TMC. So I won't belabor it. Freeway access is wonky and it's in the far corner parking lot of a dying shopping mall that doesn't have a food court. The nearest convenience store and fast food are not a short walk away.

2nd worst is Baton Rouge Airline Highway. It would be fine if the convenience store in the same strip mall had not closed down. So you're stuck with a Taco Bell (the two times I've used this charger were mid-morning and TB wasn't open) or the grocery store with a small kinda run down bathroom...but it is clean. There is a Murphy USA convenience store, but you'd have to cross very busy Airline Highway at a not-pedestrian-friendly intersection. Honestly, I'd have to consider urinating in a bottle rather than risk walking into that intersection -- especially at night.