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Additionally: You Can’t Depend on NACS Superchargers for Cross-Nation Journey in Appropriate Non-Tesla EVs
In case you reside in northern Wisconsin, you see the “huge” brand-new Fast Journey gasoline stations/comfort shops all over the place. They’re locations the place you should purchase a gentle drink, a gallon of milk, and/or a sizzling meal and many others., and many others. while you’re filling up your automobile with gasoline. We now have related huge comfort shops/gasoline stations in Utah beneath the Maverik model. Rumor has it that these stations make little or no on the gasoline, however huge earnings on the comfort retailer. When you’ve got noticed the worth of a sweet bar or a bag of sunflower seeds in these locations, you perceive how that works. Though, the worth of milk and bread rivals that at Walmart. If this works for gasoline stations the place you spend 5 minutes filling up your automobile, how a lot better ought to it work for EV charging stations, specifically Superchargers, the place you’ve entry to effectively heeled clients for 20 to 40 minutes whereas they’re charging?
Surprisingly, we’re fortunate to get a clear restroom at a lodge 20 yards away or a grocery store 200 yards away or a TJ Max 300 yards away, and infrequently even a real comfort retailer proper subsequent to the Superchargers. Even trash cans and window cleansing fluid, squeegees, and paper towels are very uncommon. Perhaps this is sensible to maintain leg thrombosis at bay, however it might probably’t make enterprise sense. Perhaps this makes enterprise sense for the 8-stall Supercharger in Rawlins, Wyoming, the place we seldom see one other automobile charging. However for the normally busy 32-stall Supercharger in Beaver, Utah, or the normally totally occupied 48-stall charger in Baker, California, there needs to be a possible gold mine of consumers to faucet.
The primary place I’ve seen this totally exploited is on the “small” 16-stall Supercharger in Nephi, Utah. The Supercharger in Nephi has 8 stalls on both facet of a industrial constructing which stood empty for two or 3 years. That constructing is now occupied by Cody’s Gastro Storage restaurant, which actually is aware of goal its clients (see the menu within the photograph above, additionally excerpted under).
The Cody’s 10 Minute Tesla Menu reads partly as follows:
- Falcon Fruit & Yogurt
- Battery Enhance Breakfast Burrito
- Mannequin 3 Breakfast Sandwich
- Cyber-Cluck Hen or Turkey Wrap
- Mannequin 3 Quarter Pounder
- ELON-Gated Ham or Turkey Hoagie
- Powerwall Pork Sandwich
Then there’s the GIGAFACTORY GLUTEN FREE MENU, which incorporates hoagies, wraps, and sandwiches.
These individuals are clearly very Tesla EV educated and have a terrific humorousness. My spouse ordered hen wings and fries from the common menu, and when it was gradual arriving, they threw in free chips and salsa. That is on the identical Supercharger the place I noticed my first non-Tesla EVs charging. See the Mannequin 3 and Y line up on the drive-through chargers within the photograph under.
My spouse, our small canine and I’ve commuted backwards and forwards 5 instances from Utah to northern Wisconsin over the past 5 years, so we’re most conversant in the Superchargers over that route: what to anticipate and what to not anticipate. We normally drive south a bit, then west to Minneapolis, then southwest to I-90. We cross South Dakota on I-90, then drop southwest by way of the Black Hills into Wyoming. We cross the remainder of Wyoming on I-80, which takes us southwest once more into Utah and Salt Lake Metropolis. Happily, the Superchargers are by no means spaced rather more than 100 miles aside over this complete convoluted route. This final fall, we dropped all the best way south to Madison, Wisconsin, to go to my brothers, then southwest to Cedar Rapids Iowa, then the remainder of the best way on I-80 by way of Iowa and Nebraska to hitch our common route by way of Wyoming on I-80. On these routes, we by no means fear about charging. We simply drive our most well-liked shortest route and there has all the time been a functioning Supercharger with obtainable stalls at each cease. Under, I’ll deal with two topics: 1) What sort of facilities we discover on the Superchargers en route, and a pair of) How most of the V3 and V4 250 kW “NACS” Superchargers we discover en route that can be utilized by non-Tesla EVs. Query: Can a non-Tesla EV use all of the Superchargers on the route? The reply is not any!
Northern Wisconsin to Southern Utah: Supercharger and Vacation spot Charger Facilities
We’ve taken the I-90/I-80 hybrid route quite a few instances, so we’re extra conversant in the facilities on that route.
Observe: The brand new 250 kW V3 and V4 chargers useable by non-Tesla EVs are in daring. Tesla has put in quite a few greater velocity V3 and V4 250 kW Superchargers which can be utilized by different EVs in the previous few years. Many of those stuffed the longer gaps within the community. Others have been upgraded for routes with heavy site visitors. Nevertheless, there are lengthy stretches the place you solely have the previous chargers, which may’t be used with non-Tesla automobiles. Backside line: On the lengthy cross-country routes I’ve traveled. should you aren’t driving a Tesla you possibly can’t rely on a Tesla (NACS) Supercharger the identical means you possibly can rely on an everyday Supercharger if driving a Tesla. On these journeys there are vital stretches by way of South Dakota on I-90 and all of Wyoming on I-80, with solely the older Superchargers that may’t be utilized by non-Tesla EVs. This doesn’t imply that non-Tesla EVs can’t journey these routes, however they must depend on CCS chargers which typically have fewer stalls per charger and have decrease reliability.
Each Routes
- Three Lakes, Wisconsin (our summer time dwelling base)
- Wausau, Wisconsin (clear restrooms, Hilton Backyard Inn — 400 toes)
- Stevens Level, Wisconsin (out of the best way on path to Minneapolis)
I-39/I-94/I-90/I-80 Route (once more, stations that can be utilized by NACS-compatible non-Teslas are in daring)
- Menomonie, Wisconsin (grocery store — 400 toes)
- Oakdale, Minnesota (grocery store — 400 toes)
- Bloomington, Minnesota
- St. Peter, Minnesota (quick meals — 1000 toes)
- Worthington, Minnesota (our in a single day cease two miles from the Supercharger — quick meals 300 toes away)
- Mitchell, South Dakota (Culver’s quick meals — 2 miles)
- Chamberlain, South Dakota
- Murdo, South Dakota (the one Supercharger I’ve ever seen with waste baskets and windshield washing gear subsequent to the stalls and a real “western themed” comfort retailer inside 75 toes)
- Wall, South Dakota (Wall Drug Retailer/restaurant — 300 toes)
- Custer, South Dakota (in a single day at Bavarian Lodge with Vacation spot Charger. Supercharger 300 toes from downtown eating places)
- Lusk, Wyoming (4 gradual 120 kW chargers, in a single day at Pioneer/Greatest Western Motel/restaurant throughout the road from the Supercharger)
- Casper/Evansville, Wyoming (comfort retailer — 200 toes)
I-39/I-80 Route (detour over Madison, Wisconsin)
- Observe: On this route there was all the time a clear restroom inside 100 yards, however I don’t keep in mind particular facilities in any other case
- Madison, Wisconsin East City Mall (Barnes and Noble, and many others.)
- Dubuque, Iowa
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Grinnell, Iowa
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Grand Island, Nebraska
- Lexington, Nebraska
- Gothenburg, Nebraska
- Kearny, Nebraska
- North Platte, Nebraska
- Ogallala, Nebraska
- Sidney, Nebraska
- Cheyenne, Wyoming (4 previous 120 kW chargers, 7 miles off I-80 however close to a mall)
- Laramie, Wyoming
Each Routes
- Rawlins, Wyoming (Burger King — 1000 toes)
- Rock Springs, Wyoming (mall with TJ Max — 750 toes; restaurant open after 4 p.m. — 75 toes)
- Evanston, Wyoming (Hampton Inn Lodge with clear restroom — 75 toes)
- Draper, Utah (Arctic Circle quick meals inside 75 toes)
- Lindon, Utah (our dwelling base)
- Nephi, Utah (Cody’s Gastro Storage — 20 toes)
- Beaver, Utah (Starbucks — 75 toes; Dairy Queen — 400 toes; Mexican restaurant — 1.5 miles)
- Cedar Metropolis, Utah
- Saint George, Utah (our southern Utah dwelling base)
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