First Mach-E road trip using Superchargers and NACS!

[azerik]

Be interesting to see how practical that is (i.e. how big and heavy it is, and cumbersome to carry and use).

May not be any worse than carrying parking ramps though. ?

Actually saw some curb ramps many years back. If one is skilled enough putting 1 tire up on the curb might help. They were about the size of parking chocks.

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[Vulnox]

An extension cable would be great. While the main cable is liquid cooled that is mainly just to allow for better longevity and not needing a thicker cable which would make them even harder to manage. If they used a slightly thicker cable in an extension for 2 feet it should still be plenty easy to manage. Only worry would be how much weight that might hang on the charging port between the extension and adapter.

 

[dbsb3233]

agreed.

my usual travel is in the backroads of oregon/california/washington so having as many options to charge is important. traveling south from central oregon on Hwy97 the first DCFC with more than 50kW actually open to me is on the edge of winter range. i glare at the two Rivian Adventure chargers i pass along the way and longingly at the Superchargers until i get to the one working charger at Mt Shasta and hope there isn't a Bolt/Leaf already there. meanwhile, there are two separate superchargers AND a Rivian Adventure sites available at Mt Shasta too that i can't use.

yes, i knew this all before getting my MME. ?

i'm definitely looking forward to improvement but have a clear view of what i have now.

I assume you heard, but Rivian is planning to open their network to everyone later this year too.

 

[timbop]

According to the official Tesla FAQ website regarding NACS charging, Tesla is working on an extension cable:

Does the Supercharger cable reach all EVs?
Most Supercharger cables at NACS Supercharger sites should be able to reach your EV charge port, however, in some cases you might have to park over the line in order to charge comfortably. Avoid parking diagonally to reach the cable and try to obstruct as few charge posts as possible. Charge port locations vary by EV model, which requires cable sharing between adjacent stalls at many sites. Tesla is rapidly deploying our latest V4 Supercharger post which reaches all EVs in the same Supercharger stall. Additionally, we encourage all vehicle manufacturers to standardize charge port locations to the rear driver side or front passenger side.

We are working on an NACS to NACS extension cable, which will be available for purchase in the future.
https://www.tesla.com/support/supercharging-other-evs#cable

Tesla says a lot of things. Don't hold your breath, as it would need very thick leads or some kind of heat sink

 

[kodiakng]

I assume you heard, but Rivian is planning to open their network to everyone later this year too.

yes, as i noted, i'm looking forward to improvement and NEVI funds will fill in gaps too. i'll also use up my capacious storage to make other options available in the meantime. short of a generator and gas can in the trunk... ?

 

[manicsubmersion]

Tesla says a lot of things. Don't hold your breath, as it would need very thick leads or some kind of heat sink

I simply reposted information that I found on the Tesla website. Yes, I have read multiple comments in other posts and on other websites, why an extension cable is not possible/practical, and I was surprised to see this on the official Tesla website. I believe the NACS adapter and most likely the Tesla (NACS) plug have thermal sensors, so an extension cable, at least for the MachE maximum charge level may be possible/practical. Not sure for some of the newer vehicles that will accept higer voltage/amperage without some throttling of the charger itself.

 

[superdave80]

I really wish the adapter had been built at a 90 degree angle (instead of straight out), and up 30-ish degrees (to clear the charge port cover) to improve the 'reach' of the charging cable.

 

[timbop]

I really wish the adapter had been built at a 90 degree angle (instead of straight out), and up 30-ish degrees (to clear the charge port cover) to improve the 'reach' of the charging cable.

Wouldn't that mean the charge port flap is in the way? They designed the adapter for all CCS cars, so they had to do it in a way that wouldn't possibly have an issue with the flap on any car

 

[superdave80]

Wouldn't that mean the charge port flap is in the way? They designed the adapter for all CCS cars, so they had to do it in a way that wouldn't possibly have an issue with the flap on any car

" and up 30-ish degrees (to clear the charge port cover) "

 

[dbsb3233]

They designed the adapter for all CCS cars, so they had to do it in a way that wouldn't possibly have an issue with the flap on any car

Yep. All cars/manufacturers, some of which have their ports in locations where an elbow would need to go the other direction.

 

[timbop]

" and up 30-ish degrees (to clear the charge port cover) "

rivian opens up, IIRC. Also, some are on the right front so a 90 degree angle to the left would point it away from the SC.

Regardless, they did NOT make it angled so why are we arguing?

 

[superdave80]

Regardless, they did NOT make it angled so why are we arguing?

I guess only you could answer that...

 

[timbop]

I guess only you could answer that...

good point.

You're right man - they should have angled them that way so they're more convenient for us.

 

[leeman]

We took the FIRST road trip by a Mustang Mach-E using the NACS adapter and Tesla Superchargers! We checked out the LARGEST Supercharger in the world and the 4 stall EA station across the freeway. We also stopped at some other Superchargers and tried a V3 station that wasn't listed as available to us just to see if it would work (spoiler alert, it did not).

This is cool and all but it's kind of a bummer when Ford says it out to all these bloggers and then the everyone else has to wait they probably didn't even have to sign up for it it probably just showed up

 

[dbsb3233]

This is cool and all but it's kind of a bummer when Ford says it out to all these bloggers and then the everyone else has to wait they probably didn't even have to sign up for it it probably just showed up

Those are prototype adapters for testing that have to be returned soon. Otherwise they're in the same boat as the rest of us for waiting on the real ones. Although it did come with an NDA not to say anything about it before last Thursday's release date, so it did act as a heads-up that something was happening that day. An ancillary perk for helping test them and giving Ford a bunch of free marketing on social media, if you will.

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