Bend OR to Temecula CA - Trailer Friendly Chargers list

[rhumbliner]

Just completed our winter trip towing our 28' AS from Bend to Temecula and back. Instead of a trip report I wanted to list the charging sites we found that are trailer-friendly. This is an 1800 mile round trip and I wanted to minimize the number of times we would have to drop the trailer in order to charge. We didn't necessarily need to charge at all of these sites but here's what we found:

Cresent OR - RAN w/pull thru
Chemult OR - NACS; the pull-thru was snowed in but the site was empty so we could block a few stations
Klamath Falls OR - RAN w/pull thru
Mt Shasta CA - RAN w/pull thru; behind the Best Western
Redding CA - NACS; behind the Holiday Inn; 44 sites and rarely busy
Redding CA - RV park;stopped for the night and charged fully overnight
Williams CA - NACS; across the street from Granzella's; pull straight in from the North side
Sacramento CA - RAN w/pull thru; downtown; didn't need it so we avoided it
Sacramento CA - NACS; Delta Shores shopping center, tight but doable; busy but no one complained
Santa Nella CA - RAN; Hotel Mission de Oro w/pull thru
Santa Nella CA - RV Park
Harris Ranch CA - NACS; access back of charger from RV parking area
Button Willow CA - RAN w/pull thru
Valencia CA - RV park
Pomona CA - NACS; behind Winco; I blocked a lane of the parking lot but folks didn't mind; not busy cuz there is another bank of 24 NACS charger in the same parking lot
Penchanga CA - RV park; our home for the month of January

We tow with our Gen 1 R1T dual-motor max pack and found that we can comfortably charge every 120 miles with anywhere from 20-40 miles to spare. Any further and our bladders become the limiting factor.

Williams CA

Delta Shores

Harris Ranch

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[JamuJoe]

Good travels. We have over 8000 miles towing our 28’ Airstream, with very few inconveniences in charging. Using the NEMA 50 pedestal in campgrounds for an overnight charge is super convenient. Here we were at a RAN in Forks, WA.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Just completed our winter trip towing our 28' AS from Bend to Temecula and back. Instead of a trip report I wanted to list the charging sites we found that are trailer-friendly. This is an 1800 mile round trip and I wanted to minimize the number of times we would have to drop the trailer in order to charge. We didn't necessarily need to charge at all of these sites but here's what we found:

Cresent OR - RAN w/pull thru
Chemult OR - NACS; the pull-thru was snowed in but the site was empty so we could block a few stations
Klamath Falls OR - RAN w/pull thru
Mt Shasta CA - RAN w/pull thru; behind the Best Western
Redding CA - NACS; behind the Holiday Inn; 44 sites and rarely busy
Redding CA - RV park;stopped for the night and charged fully overnight
Williams CA - NACS; across the street from Granzella's; pull straight in from the North side
Sacramento CA - RAN w/pull thru; downtown; didn't need it so we avoided it
Sacramento CA - NACS; Delta Shores shopping center, tight but doable; busy but no one complained
Santa Nella CA - RAN; Hotel Mission de Oro w/pull thru
Santa Nella CA - RV Park
Harris Ranch CA - NACS; access back of charger from RV parking area
Button Willow CA - RAN w/pull thru
Valencia CA - RV park
Pomona CA - NACS; behind Winco; I blocked a lane of the parking lot but folks didn't mind; not busy cuz there is another bank of 24 NACS charger in the same parking lot
Penchanga CA - RV park; our home for the month of January

We tow with our Gen 1 R1T dual-motor max pack and found that we can comfortably charge every 120 miles with anywhere from 20-40 miles to spare. Any further and our bladders become the limiting factor.

Williams CA

Delta Shores

Harris Ranch

I haven't towed with my T unless you count trees off of roads. I've been to a number of those sites just doing road trips and The MT Shasta one stands out as the most trailer friendly because of the expansive parking lot and it's location. It's nice too that the there are superchargers in the same lot kitty corner to the RAN's

 

[rhumbliner]

Good travels. We have over 8000 miles towing our 28’ Airstream, with very few inconveniences in charging. Using the NEMA 50 pedestal in campgrounds for an overnight charge is super convenient. Here we were at a RAN in Forks, WA.

Wow! You’ve been putting on some tow miles! In addition to Temecula we’ve been all over Vancouver Island but have nowhere near 8000 miles.

I might point out that we removed the A/C units from our AS. Andy over at CanAm RV has been towing his 25’ AS with a Model 3 from Ontario to Florida for several years now and claims he gains a 10% bump in range by removing those. So I decided to try it. I don’t have any before/after tests to verify his numbers but I’m happy with my range and I have a firm policy of not camping anywhere hot enough that I might need A/C. ?

 

[KootenayEV]

Wow! You’ve been putting on some tow miles! In addition to Temecula we’ve been all over Vancouver Island but have nowhere near 8000 miles.

I might point out that we removed the A/C units from our AS. Andy over at CanAm RV has been towing his 25’ AS with a Model 3 from Ontario to Florida for several years now and claims he gains a 10% bump in range by removing those. So I decided to try it. I don’t have any before/after tests to verify his numbers but I’m happy with my range and I have a firm policy of not camping anywhere hot enough that I might need A/C. ?

I've been considering removing the A/C from our 20' Flying Cloud (for the same reasons!) - how did you go about doing this?

 

[rhumbliner]

I've been considering removing the A/C from our 20' Flying Cloud (for the same reasons!) - how did you go about doing this?

Well, the hardest part is working atop the thin aluminum roof. I was fortunate in that I store my AS outdoors under the overhang of a large shed so I was able to rig up a pulley system to lift the units.

I removed the bolts attaching the units to the frame and then lifted each unit just enough that I could disconnect the electrical connectors. Be careful to label these because mine weren’t and they are simple butt plug connectors — there are no unidirectional connectors.

After that I lifted the units up high enough that I could drive out from underneath them and then lower them to the bed of my truck. Each unit weighs 90 lbs so it was nice getting ~200 lbs off the highest point of the trailer. Now I can zip around tight curves at almost 25 mph without tipping. ?

I should also point out that once I removed the A/C, my fancy thermostat was no longer powered — power is routed thru the A/C. That wouldn’t be a problem but I use my propane furnace all the time and it doesn’t function without a thermostat. I solved this by installing an analog heat-only thermostat on the refrigerator wall. This requires removing the refrigerator and tapping into the thermostat wire that runs below the seat. Now I have heat.

As an aside, I found using the A/C units for heating (they are heat pumps after all) totally useless. They blow out hot air from the top vents and then suck that same hot air right back into the return ducts. I had times where our feet were freezing and air at eye level was 80º.

 

[KootenayEV]

Well, the hardest part is working atop the thin aluminum roof. I was fortunate in that I store my AS outdoors under the overhang of a large shed so I was able to rig up a pulley system to lift the units.

I removed the bolts attaching the units to the frame and then lifted each unit just enough that I could disconnect the electrical connectors. Be careful to label these because mine weren’t and they are simple butt plug connectors — there are no unidirectional connectors.

After that I lifted the units up high enough that I could drive out from underneath them and then lower them to the bed of my truck. Each unit weighs 90 lbs so it was nice getting ~200 lbs off the highest point of the trailer. Now I can zip around tight curves at almost 25 mph without tipping. ?

I should also point out that once I removed the A/C, my fancy thermostat was no longer powered — power is routed thru the A/C. That wouldn’t be a problem but I use my propane furnace all the time and it doesn’t function without a thermostat. I solved this by installing an analog heat-only thermostat on the refrigerator wall. This requires removing the refrigerator and tapping into the thermostat wire that runs below the seat. Now I have heat.

As an aside, I found using the A/C units for heating (they are heat pumps after all) totally useless. They blow out hot air from the top vents and then suck that same hot air right back into the return ducts. I had times where our feet were freezing and air at eye level was 80º.

What did you do to patch the hole left inside and out? Photos? Or do you have a separate thread somewhere that shows it? (sorry for the hijack - interesting topic to me!)

Back on-topic, I've been compiling a list of stations in BC that I've used that are fine with a trailer and am intending to make a blog post about it.

 

[JamuJoe]

Wow! You’ve been putting on some tow miles! In addition to Temecula we’ve been all over Vancouver Island but have nowhere near 8000 miles.

I might point out that we removed the A/C units from our AS. Andy over at CanAm RV has been towing his 25’ AS with a Model 3 from Ontario to Florida for several years now and claims he gains a 10% bump in range by removing those. So I decided to try it. I don’t have any before/after tests to verify his numbers but I’m happy with my range and I have a firm policy of not camping anywhere hot enough that I might need A/C. ?

Yes, we enjoyed the new R1T on two major cross country trips last year. Towing with our R1T (dual motor performance max pack) is just a lot more fun than using our RAM 2500. As far as trailer friendly charging sites, I find such pretty scarce with a 28 footer in tow , but I’m happy with trailer possible sites. I’ve had to unhitch for public charging only twice. Sometimes I may block a few parking slots at a Walmart EA location, but most people are more curious than annoyed. I hope the attitude of acceptance doesn’t diminish under the current regime. Oops, no politics?‍. I think our A/C units will remain. Unfortunately, they, as well as two awnings, do detract from Airstream aerodynamics. I was early with a deposit on a Pebble Flow.

 

[KootenayEV]

Yes, we enjoyed the new R1T on two major cross country trips last year. Towing with our R1T (dual motor performance max pack) is just a lot more fun than using our RAM 2500. As far as trailer friendly charging sites, I find such pretty scarce with a 28 footer in tow , but I’m happy with trailer possible sites. I’ve had to unhitch for public charging only twice. Sometimes I may block a few parking slots at a Walmart EA location, but most people are more curious than annoyed. I hope the attitude of acceptance doesn’t diminish under the current regime. Oops, no politics?‍. I think our A/C units will remain. Unfortunately, they, as well as two awnings, do detract from Airstream aerodynamics. I was early with a deposit on a Pebble Flow.

OOohh!! If you get the Pebble, I, and I'm sure many others, will be very interested in your experiences.

 

[rhumbliner]

Back on-topic, I've been compiling a list of stations in BC that I've used that are fine with a trailer and am intending to make a blog post about it.

I very much look forward to reading that list.

 

[rhumbliner]

What did you do to patch the hole left inside and out? Photos? Or do you have a separate thread somewhere that shows it? (sorry for the hijack - interesting topic to me!)

I used 3M heavy duty double-sided tape and some Lexel to secure ⅛” plexiglass from Lowes. Cheap, simple and so far water tight and I have 2 new skylights.

 

[rhumbliner]

Sometimes I may block a few parking slots at a Walmart EA location, but most people are more curious than annoyed. I hope the attitude of acceptance doesn’t diminish under the current regime. Oops, no politics?‍.

My experience (and hope) exactly.

 

[rhumbliner]

I was early with a deposit on a Pebble Flow.

I’m also curious how you’ll like it. I initially loved the idea of the Pebble but the bed is a dealbreaker for me. We lived on a boat every summer for 20 years, 4 of which was on a boat with no side access — just from the bottom. That feature alone caused us to trade that boat in for one with a larger suite.

 

[JamuJoe]

I’m also curious how you’ll like it. I initially loved the idea of the Pebble but the bed is a dealbreaker for me. We lived on a boat every summer for 20 years, 4 of which was on a boat with no side access — just from the bottom. That feature alone caused us to trade that boat in for one with a larger suite.

That is our major concern as well, which I’ve expressed to Pebble. We won’t make our final decision until we physically see a production unit and assess that bed. We’ve had boats and trailers which lacked access on both sides of the bed, and don’t care to get into such a situation again. We love the space of our 28’ Airstream after moving up from a 23’, but there is so much about the Pebble that is enticing that I want to give it a chance.

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