Tesla super charging stations almost worthless?

[agoldman]

this would have easily been solved if Ford arranged to have proper extensions of some sort shipped with the adapters.

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[Eric_C_Boston]

On the first road trip I did have to figure things out at a crowded station, but realized that I could use the pull-in one meant for Teslas towing a trailer. Interestingly I have been to a couple of Tesla sites at food places where one of the chargers were ICEed. I do have to scope things out, but it is like scoping things out at a EA station (head in or back in?). I had problems at EA stations where someone is using the "wrong" charger because the one for their stall is broken.

 

[AZBill]

Yes, for me charge rate seems higher so it will get to 80% faster.

Your charge rate will always drop like a rock at 80%, but I feel the Tesla station consistently stays above 100kW+ power delivery up till the 80% drop. EA seems to dip below 100kW much sooner. Keep in mind there's a ton of different variables at play here, so maybe I'm just luckier at Tesla

Tesla chargers are not faster than other brands, the car controls the rate. I have done a long charge at Tesla and the MME was down to 70kw at 80%. It will be higher, even on EA, if you start the charge at a higher SoC.

Personally I have seen a Tesla charger that was only outputting 35kw, just like some of the EA experiences. I also have charged my R1T and Hummer at Tesla stations in the heat, and they do not handle heat well at all, they drop the charge rate to 110-120kw even at low SoC. People with an MME will not notice this, since the charging rates of the car are always this low. My Hummer will charge at 125kw even above 80%.

Normal peak rate for the R1T is 210-220kw, for the Hummer it is 300-360kw with 800V, but Tesla is limited to 400v, so max rate is 185kw.

My R1T and Hummer both have indications when the charger is limiting the rate, so it is obvious when the charger is not keeping up.

 

[CameraCarl]

Maybe I'm lucky, but the two places where I use a supercharger have the chargers spaced far enough apart that I can put the nose of my MME in between them and still occupy only one parking space. At a third supercharger site there is a truck/trailer spot where I parallel park right next to the charger. And, once again, I'm probably lucky where I travel, but I rarely see more than two or three Teslas charging at an 8 charger site.

I only wish that my Ford Plug and Charge app would validate my Tesla Supercharger certificate (which has been "pending" for three months) so I don't have to log in to the Tesla app when I go there.

 

[hack-e]

Here is one station in NJ that I was particularly worried about being able to use since it had a concrete base for a sign right in between the only two free stations, but as the photo shows, I was still able to reach:

I was definitely worried about high curbs on my long trip since I had experienced 1 high curb situation prior to my trip (where I parked sideways). I even bought those mini-ramps at the last minute and threw them in my under-trunk, but I never had to take them out.

 

[nlions]

So I have used a few super charging stations the last few weeks and it’s not easy. All of the stations close to me have really short cords and I have had to block two spots at a time at some really busy places.

There has also been two times that I could not charge even with some spots open because of the lack of reach of the cable. So I guess this isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all.

So they do make an extension cable which apparently required a HELOC to purchase but I wondered if anyone has actually used one like this?? EVBASE CCS1 EV Extension Cord for Non-Tesla EVs Charging on Tesla "Mag - EVBASE-Premium EV&Tesla Accessories

 

[MarkP213]

Thought I would throw this in the mix.

We just got 8 V4 Superchargers installed in our small town of barely 5000 population. While I charge at home exclusively on solar, I had to try out these new chargers. Some were sideways and some were flat oriented. With the new longer cord (3 meters) of these V4's, the MME works at either of them without having to take up two spots.

Flat oriented charger, pulled up to it with about 18" to spare within the parking lines.

Side oriented charger with car close to the right side of the charger about 10" clearance. Cord has to be draped across the hood.

Side oriented charger backed in.

This is great news! Thanks for sharing.

 

[RickMachE]

this would have easily been solved if Ford arranged to have proper extensions of some sort shipped with the adapters.

If one existed that was approved, they would. It doesn't, so they didn't. And it won't be free, it will be hundreds of dollars.

 

[Arsenic17]

All of the Tesla stations I have been to have been ghost towns. Maybe one or two other Teslas there in 10-20 stations. You have to pull uncomfortably far forward and hopefully there is no pole/curb for the front bumper of the GT to hit....

Worthless though? Come on dude. Cut the hyperbole.

 

[ToOldForThis]

This is from the Tesla Web Site. Note the area I highlighted in the Red box:

 

[ipca204]

this would have easily been solved if Ford arranged to have proper extensions of some sort shipped with the adapters.

they are backlogged for MONTHS on the adapters alone. You are right, surely adding an extension cable "of some sort" would have sped this up!

 

[david_quick]

This is what the vast majority of the Tesla chargers I have used looked like. No problem if you block a spot. I used their network for the majority of my 3000 mile road trip and it was never a problem. I never ran into a site the I couldn’t charge at.

 

[ipca204]

for those worried about clearance at The tesla chargers..... pick one..
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=low+prof...1:rsFIrYgVHf24icPfJMBl/BpohNjN7Y4VMDLCyEoaNEE

 

[RickMachE]

This is from the Tesla Web Site. Note the area I highlighted in the Red box:

Been there for over a year I believe.

 

[milepost1]

This is what the vast majority of the Tesla chargers I have used looked like. No problem if you block a spot. I used their network for the majority of my 3000 mile road trip and it was never a problem. I never ran into a site the I couldn’t charge at.

Already ran into 2 non tesla taking 2 spots ea. That is 4 of the 8. 2 teslas waiting. (Drivers not happy) but what to do if you are in line we have to wait till 2 spots next to ea other are open. Teslas in line won't wait while we wait for 2 spots.

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