Tesla Chargers - Reach issue

[SwampNut]

I nearly always park creatively. On a curb at the end, behind the charger, whatever. This is an end spot and the truck is on a curb.

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[Motoarzon]

SIMPLE. Pull forward into a regular spot about "1/3rd" to the right. Pull up as close as you can within 6in or so and the connector will reach no problem. Reason why 1/3rd? This way you don't take up "2spots" and get the evil eye as an ahole if the station is busy. By being over the line on the right side by only a few inches or a foot at most the space is still big enough and available for a Tesla to squeeze in and charge. They back in so the driver getting out on the other side won't risk door dinging your Rivian.

 

[CharonPDX]

If @A2ZEV is a reputable company, and they claim to be, they will never sell an extension. Every connection increases the resistance, regardless of the quality of the cable or connector.

If it's an active cable, it's going to require an external power source. Could even be a 9V battery or something. It's still going to have to be enormously thick to allow the full current that a Tesla station can provide. The fun part for me? This means losing the "advantage" that Tesla NACS has over CCS, because the cable will have to be stupidly unwieldy to be functional.

Tesla should have just prioritized changing their compatible stations over to V4, like Rivian has been doing for their 1.5 stations. I'm glad RJ didn't decide to just fire the entire RAN team.

Tesla did say that they will release a first-party extension cord. I would expect it to limit maximum current, though.

 

[CharonPDX]

I nearly always park creatively. On a curb at the end, behind the charger, whatever. This is an end spot and the truck is on a curb.

Charging in my Tesla a couple weeks ago, four of the sixteen dispensers were out of service. This was a style that had high parking spots on one side, another eight on the other, "back to back" (when Teslas charge, "nose to nose" if two Rivians)

My Tesla told me the four stalls on the "left end" of one side were out of service as I pulled in, so I picked one of the free ones on the "all eight work" side.

A Rivian then pulled in, parked at one of the four broken units. Of course Tesla doesn't seem to have the API integration allowing Rivians/Fords/etc to get the pop-up message "Stalls 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D out of service" as you get there, so the Rivian had no way of knowing.

But it ended up because of the staggered alignment of dispensers, the Rivian driver just used the working dispenser for the empty stall on the opposite side. Not even sure they realized the dispenser that a Tesla would have used in their stall was out of order. Good thing the stall opposite (next to me) was empty.

(Google Maps screenshot, my annotations: Green box = me charging a Tesla, yellow box = Rivian using dispenser from stall next to me (blue line) Red "X" showing out of service dispensers, for four end stalls on bottom.)

 

[VSG]

Of course Tesla doesn't seem to have the API integration allowing Rivians/Fords/etc to get the pop-up message "Stalls 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D out of service" as you get there, so the Rivian had no way of knowing.

The UI may be different but all the same information is there in your Rivian. I'm looking at a Tesla supercharger now in the app and in my in-vehicle navigation. It shows 10/24 chargers available, and clicking on the charger details shows exactly which ones are "Available" (in green), "In use" (in gray), or "Out of order" (in orange). At this station, three are out of order and 11 are in use.

I like it that Rivian shows the same charger status information, in the same way, for all the supported networks that make this information available. Which is all except EA right now. That makes it easy to check to see what's open before you take the exit to get to the charger.

 

[CharonPDX]

The UI may be different but all the same information is there in your Rivian. I'm looking at a Tesla supercharger now in the app and in my in-vehicle navigation. It shows 10/24 chargers available, and clicking on the charger details shows exactly which ones are "Available" (in green), "In use" (in gray), or "Out of order" (in orange). At this station, three are out of order and 11 are in use.

I like it that Rivian shows the same charger status information, in the same way, for all the supported networks that make this information available. Which is all except EA right now. That makes it easy to check to see what's open before you take the exit to get to the charger.

Huh, never noticed that. Although it does take extra effort to see it. In a Tesla, it just pops up as you approach the station.

 

[Gasmiser12]

My creative spot of the day; charging my Rivian and dump trailer @ Pismo Beach, CA Tesla Superchargers. Slightly up on the curb and end spot

 

[waitingonanr1s]

Solvang (our hotel had a Tesla charger that was free to guests but would not work with our R1S)

Sounds like a destination charger - you need an AC adapter for those (TeslaTap). Plugging in your level 3 adapter to those can actually cause damage to the vehicle, so you don't want to do that in the future.

Never had a supercharger that was marked as compatible in the app not initiate - not sure what was going on there. I have seen sites where there are two generations of superchargers though (technically shown as separate adjacent sites in the app) - some compatible and some not. They were mapped in the app properly but it was confusing when I saw it.

 

[SANZC02]

Sounds like a destination charger - you need an AC adapter for those (TeslaTap). Plugging in your level 3 adapter to those can actually cause damage to the vehicle, so you don't want to do that in the future.

Never had a supercharger that was marked as compatible in the app not initiate - not sure what was going on there. I have seen sites where there are two generations of superchargers though (technically shown as separate adjacent sites in the app) - some compatible and some not. They were mapped in the app properly but it was confusing when I saw it.

Not sure why a hotel would not set a Tesla L2 charger to be open to all but there is a configuration on them (not sure if all but many) that by default is set to Tesla vehicles only. It is possible this one was not configured for non-Tesla vehicles.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

Not sure why a hotel would not set a Tesla L2 charger to be open to all but there is a configuration on them (not sure if all but many) that by default is set to Tesla vehicles only. It is possible this one was not configured for non-Tesla vehicles.

Could have been that too, but it's not common in my experience - I've had no problem charging with my TeslaTap at the 5 or so destination chargers I've encountered over the years. Judging from his post, it sounds like he may not have been aware he needs a separate adapter. It's not all that clear when you're new to this that you need separate AC and DC Tesla adapters for L2 and L3.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Issue of cable reach isn't black or white. It's much more nuanced since not all Supercharger sites are laid out the same. I've seen ones where the dispenser is in the middle at the head of the space. I've seen ones that are at front but offset to the right. There are also ones with or without another row of parking on the other side. There are also locations where there are one or two dispensers to the side of the space and right on the line between two spaces. There are even locations where there is a combination of some or all of the above.

Not sure why a hotel would not set a Tesla L2 charger to be open to all but there is a configuration on them (not sure if all but many) that by default is set to Tesla vehicles only. It is possible this one was not configured for non-Tesla vehicles.

Ignorance. Remember, for a long time Teslas were overwhelming majority of EVs on the road. These places installed the Tesla chargers and left configuration up to the installer. Hotel management staff involved and installer didn't have to account for other brands of EVs. And, most likely were not EV owners themselves or knowledgeable about them. The other thing is staffing turn over, which is high among hotels. Current staff may not even have control over configuration of the chargers.

 

[iamnid]

Well, I can see that you're telling the truth about carrying your adapter only for an emergency. In SoCal (where I see you are located), they are VERY OFTEN crowded.

 

[Gasmiser12]

Nice Rivian Adventure pull through with trailer today.
Manteca, CA (280 Lifestyle Street).

 

[comtns]

When I bought my Tesla a few years ago, Superchargers were the best and seemingly most numerous fast charging option. Since trading it in for my Rivian earlier this year, there are a lot of other reliable, easy fast charge options, like Rivian's own fast chargers (I used four locations in my trip around Colorado, and didn't need to use any other network (though I did briefly more out of nervousness than true need)), ChargePoint (now just a tap with the phone, and it starts charging; you do need the app but no need to unlock the phone, open the app, nor configure it for a particular vehicle, like it needed the last time that I used it), and there are others.

As some have mentioned, older Tesla Superchargers aren't options for non Teslas anyway, like my favorite at Poncha Springs next to the deli with great Reubens on gluten free. The older Supercharger are also the ones with the shortish cords I found (when I had my Tesla). So it's probably less of an issue than you imagine.

My Rivian had more fast charging options on this trip (and very easy ones, mostly plug and charge, at worst tap and charge) than my Tesla had on similar trips in past years. At least near me, fast charging and away-from-home slow charging are both getting easier and easier all the time. (I do worry about some locations getting full. The Salida RAN was full, when including my vehicle, on two charging occasions, even with four fast chargers, and that location only allowing Rivians. Other locations were quite empty...for now. I hope that location gets more, or they add a location in Buena Vista/Twin Lakes/Leadville/Hartsel, or another network adds fast charging near Salida/Poncha Springs. Or Tesla upgrades their Poncha Springs location to V4 so others can use it; under half full still when I go by, and the deli sandwiches are quite good.)

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