ajmartineau

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I've used a generic (made in China) Tesla Tap on a trip through northern California. It worked fine. I've never heard of anyone having trouble with one.
If I owned one, the only thing I would be concerned with would be someone stealing it.
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dbsb3233

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That would be great to know it worked. I'd be bummed to end up staying somewhere with the expectation of using a destination charger and then finding Tesla Tap didn't work. Lots of hotels in the West have destination chargers. Many times there is also at least one J1772 charger but the power is lower and more chargers avoid having the one you want being used or out of service.
I'm still struggling to find worthwhile hotel charging on some of the routes I've been researching. I can find some, but the problem is it's at hotels that cost at least $50/ni more than I would normally pick. Meanwhile an EA charge is around $15-$18.

Hotel charging has some advantages, like charging to 100% instead of 80%, and not having to sit around waiting for it. But OTOH it's usually harder to find info about (are they free? behind valet? are they working? more than one in case it's full?). I'd hate to book a room there for $50+ extra because of the charger only to find "Oh, that hasn't worked in 3 weeks" or "Sorry, another customer already has it for the night".

Gonna be some growing pains with all this. Probably be one of those "It's great when it all works right, but it often doesn't" things.
 

generaltso

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Gonna be some growing pains with all this. Probably be one of those "It's great when it all works right, but it often doesn't" things.
I've been learning a lot by watching @OutofSpecKyle 's numerous road trip videos. He usually calls the hotel ahead of time to confirm the charger is working and asks them to block the space for him. He usually arrives with a cone blocking the charging spot for him, so that seems to work pretty well.
 

ajmartineau

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Yes it can be hard to find information! We all need to use Plugshare and post what's going on with all the chargers near us and those on our adventures.
In August I took a trip into an area with only L2 charges. They all worked fine but it had been months since anyone did a check-in. I stopped at an extra 9 chargers for a five minute charge just to verify they all worked. It was a fun sightseeing tour, but not something I will repeat soon.
It's easy to add a new station on Plugshare.
 

dbsb3233

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I've been learning a lot by watching @OutofSpecKyle 's numerous road trip videos. He usually calls the hotel ahead of time to confirm the charger is working and asks them to block the space for him. He usually arrives with a cone blocking the charging spot for him, so that seems to work pretty well.
That might work, but damn, shouldn't have to go through extra mess like that. I just wanna book a hotel online and not mess with having to phone them too.

And I think I'd feel funny blocking off a spot with a cone. I guess it makes sense to keep anyone that's not actually using the charger from blocking it, which is probably the main intent. But there could be other BEV drivers that need to use it too, and it seems a little presumptuous try and "claim" the charger when you car's not there.

I dunno. Not really a big deal I guess, but more "mess" to deal with. "Easy" is more preferable than "mess". ☺
 


generaltso

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That might work, but damn, shouldn't have to go through extra mess like that. I just wanna book a hotel online and not mess with having to phone them too.
Yeah, there’s no question that electrification still has a ways to go.
 

Jim Glass

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And no way to see the charging speed from inside the car. That seems like a glaring omission. I really hope they add that ASAP.
Just wonder if you can see the charge rate on your phone app?
 

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[/QUOTE]
1. I loved my volt and love my bolt (no issues whatsoever in 3+ years).
2. I occasionally use a DC fast charger (40amp home charger is usually sufficient). My recollection is the Bolt does the same thing - slows way down when it is 80-90% charged. I assumed this was a safety/longevity feature and never thought of it again.
4. If I can hop ~200 miles per DC charge in my Mach-e, that will take me anywhere.
 

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I'm still struggling to find worthwhile hotel charging on some of the routes I've been researching. I can find some, but the problem is it's at hotels that cost at least $50/ni more than I would normally pick. Meanwhile an EA charge is around $15-$18.

Hotel charging has some advantages, like charging to 100% instead of 80%, and not having to sit around waiting for it. But OTOH it's usually harder to find info about (are they free? behind valet? are they working? more than one in case it's full?). I'd hate to book a room there for $50+ extra because of the charger only to find "Oh, that hasn't worked in 3 weeks" or "Sorry, another customer already has it for the night".

Gonna be some growing pains with all this. Probably be one of those "It's great when it all works right, but it often doesn't" things.
Maybe that's because you normally pick hotels that charge by the hour :oops:;)

Of course, in some places EA still charges by the minute ?
 
 




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