LA to Vegas trip?

[Luna34]

Has anyone done the trip from LA to Vegas? 2wd ext range battery here. Planning on leaving my house with 90-95% charge. Then charging in Barstow or Baker to make it with plenty of juice to Vegas. Problem is when in Vegas, it seems like charging options are limited to be able to make it back to baker or Barstow. That damn Tesla adapter can't get here soon enough. Not a fan of Teslas but gotta admit they got their charging network down. Around the strip it seems like they have a ton of charging options. Unfortunately the hotel I'm staying at doesn't have any of our type of plugs.

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[21st Century Pony]

We've done the reverse... Las Vegas to LA. Be forewarned: Las Vegas DC Fast charging points were absolutely swarmed and oversubscribed in July 2022 (our time there). Just as bad as the LA Basin seems to be, except there were fewer choices.

I'd look for 240V Level 2 hotel charging points across Las Vegas or perhaps Tesla Destinations with the additional cost of a TeslaTap.

Good Luck!

 

[The Electric Duo]

We've done it several times, and you are right Barstow or Baker are the best stops on the way there or back. You are also correct in that Vegas chargers are always really busy. When we went in January, we ended up parking at Resorts World. They have a few Autel Level 2 chargers there that worked great. We were there for CES so we just took the Vegas Loop to the Convention Center. They do have idle fees so be careful. It is only $3.75 per hour but it can add up.

If you want to see more about our trips, I made a Vegas Road Trip playlist with 4 of our Vegas videos.

 

[VegasWeezy]

Has anyone done the trip from LA to Vegas? 2wd ext range battery here. Planning on leaving my house with 90-95% charge. Then charging in Barstow or Baker to make it with plenty of juice to Vegas. Problem is when in Vegas, it seems like charging options are limited to be able to make it back to baker or Barstow. That damn Tesla adapter can't get here soon enough. Not a fan of Teslas but gotta admit they got their charging network down. Around the strip it seems like they have a ton of charging options. Unfortunately the hotel I'm staying at doesn't have any of our type of plugs.

The first two responses sum it up perfectly. I have also made the same trip, but from Vegas to LA and back, as I live in Las Vegas. Your best bet if you're staying on or near the strip is to find one of those Level 2 options.

If you're going to be on the West side of the city though, the two DCFC options that have seemed to be the least crowded have been the EA station located near I-215 & W Flamingo (in a Target parking lot), and the EA station on the Northwest side at I-215 & Cheyenne (in a Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lot). If you were planning to visit Red Rock Canyon then these two locations are either on the way or not too far out of the way.

But in general, the DCFC stations in Vegas have tended to be heavily trafficked and it's very common to see multiple cars lined up waiting.

 

[RickMachE]

Wondering why you're not leaving your house with 100%?

You would think Las Vegas would be a great place for a Magic Dock location, but nope.

 

[lwilliams0514]

Has anyone done the trip from LA to Vegas? 2wd ext range battery here. Planning on leaving my house with 90-95% charge. Then charging in Barstow or Baker to make it with plenty of juice to Vegas. Problem is when in Vegas, it seems like charging options are limited to be able to make it back to baker or Barstow. That damn Tesla adapter can't get here soon enough. Not a fan of Teslas but gotta admit they got their charging network down. Around the strip it seems like they have a ton of charging options. Unfortunately the hotel I'm staying at doesn't have any of our type of plugs.

I have been to Vegas from LA many times. Yes the charging situation is freaking horrible but I have learned that there are some reliable ones and not so reliable. The chargers near a Target seem to be best bets. Also the one by Walmart on the West end of vegas near the airport is also a good one when not being used. There are a row of them by the outlet mall near las Vegas Premium outlets that are a good bet late at night.

Best time to go charge is later at night. After 10pm. People are partying or otherwise busy so its much easier. The further away from the strip the better the charger.

Good luck!

 

[mdolan92869]

Did it last April, started at 100%, stopped in Barstow and ate lunch while charging. Stopped in Baker for a quick charge while I used the facilities. Had no luck at the South Premium Outlets in Las Vegas, ended up going to the ones at The Arroyo Market Square - Walmart Supercenter. Pulled right in, but it was a bit crowded with normal parking. But it was a year ago, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

 

[uclavic]

I've done it mulitiple times (from LA to Vegas). Getting to Vegas is no problem. It's the re-charging while you're in Vegas that is the pain in the ass. If you're staying at some of the MGM properties check with the valet and see if they can charge your vehicle. I've had so-so luck charging at the publicly available L2 chargers at MGM properties. Too many times there are people who are idiots and leave their fully charged EV just sitting there for what seems like days on end. The other thing you can do is go over to Durango Casino (newly opened Stations Casino property out to the southwest) and use their Tesla chargers. They have the Tesla universal chargers set up over there. Its the same charger that I have in my garage. Just make sure you have the Tesla app and an account setup to make this as painless as possible.

 

[Trick.Mach-E]

Has anyone done the trip from LA to Vegas? 2wd ext range battery here. Planning on leaving my house with 90-95% charge. Then charging in Barstow or Baker to make it with plenty of juice to Vegas. Problem is when in Vegas, it seems like charging options are limited to be able to make it back to baker or Barstow. That damn Tesla adapter can't get here soon enough. Not a fan of Teslas but gotta admit they got their charging network down. Around the strip it seems like they have a ton of charging options. Unfortunately the hotel I'm staying at doesn't have any of our type of plugs.

We do this trip once or twice a month on the weekend but from the Central Coast to Vegas. These days we do it more in my Taycan than our Mach-E and we have to do a quick stop in Mojave to make it to Barstow or Baker. With Barstow you are at a Wal*Mart and the 8 chargers could be full but all the times we stopped there it was never full but the chargers could have issues... the same as being full. We like Baker as we have never seen it full and you have the option of paying for a $10 ice-cream cone from DQ!

Our issues with Vegas always came down to full chargers and having to wait... especially on weekends. So be prepared to wait if you are leaving on a Sunday afternoon. However now that we have charger installed in our home in Vegas that is no longer an issue

 

[Chrisbriding]

Have done this trip easily. One thing that works to our benefit is we usually travel mid week so avoid the weekend rush thing.

I've never seen the chargers at the Premium Outlets in Barstow functional, however, there is a nice set up across the 15 at the Loves Truck Stop which is where we usually charge.

Our families are on the west side of Vegas so we usually use a DC fast charger at a grocery store near family then top off using the Level 1 charger overnight.

We like to start the trip with 100% charge.

 

[Luna34]

Thank you everyone for your advice. Sorry it took me a while to get back to you all. I messed up and booked a hotel without charging. They only have a tesla Supercharger station right behind it. However they also have a Tesla Destination charger. I believe this is the slower AC chargers. Does anyone know if this works on our cars with an adapter? If it does, I'm willing to order the adapter from Amazon

 

[Luna34]

We've done the reverse... Las Vegas to LA. Be forewarned: Las Vegas DC Fast charging points were absolutely swarmed and oversubscribed in July 2022 (our time there). Just as bad as the LA Basin seems to be, except there were fewer choices.

I'd look for 240V Level 2 hotel charging points across Las Vegas or perhaps Tesla Destinations with the additional cost of a TeslaTap.

Good Luck!

So the Tesla Destination chargers do work on our cars? I'll order the adapter ASAP...

 

[Luna34]

Wondering why you're not leaving your house with 100%?

You would think Las Vegas would be a great place for a Magic Dock location, but nope.

Because we are still charging with 120v level 1 at home ? we are getting by, so not in a rush to install a 240 plug. But hopefully later in the year.

 

[Luna34]

I have been to Vegas from LA many times. Yes the charging situation is freaking horrible but I have learned that there are some reliable ones and not so reliable. The chargers near a Target seem to be best bets. Also the one by Walmart on the West end of vegas near the airport is also a good one when not being used. There are a row of them by the outlet mall near las Vegas Premium outlets that are a good bet late at night.

Best time to go charge is later at night. After 10pm. People are partying or otherwise busy so its much easier. The further away from the strip the better the charger.

Good luck!

I've been to those outlets before. I'm planning on getting there in the early afternoon on Friday, so I'm hoping it's not too busy. But we will see.

 

[Luna34]

I've done it mulitiple times (from LA to Vegas). Getting to Vegas is no problem. It's the re-charging while you're in Vegas that is the pain in the ass. If you're staying at some of the MGM properties check with the valet and see if they can charge your vehicle. I've had so-so luck charging at the publicly available L2 chargers at MGM properties. Too many times there are people who are idiots and leave their fully charged EV just sitting there for what seems like days on end. The other thing you can do is go over to Durango Casino (newly opened Stations Casino property out to the southwest) and use their Tesla chargers. They have the Tesla universal chargers set up over there. Its the same charger that I have in my garage. Just make sure you have the Tesla app and an account setup to make this as painless as possible.

Yeah thats my worried about. Re-charging enough to get back to at least baker or Barstow without having to worry. The tesla chargers, would this be the destination charger? There's one right behind my hotel. I'm open to buying the lectron adapter and doing that instead.

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