Ford/GM/Superchargers... the ELEPHANT in the room......

[fritter63]

Other concerns aside... why is nobody talking about this?

Supercharging spaces are already pretty tight and it can be difficult to open doors all the way even in Model 3. Most Tesla users are pretty considerate about that, but given the general inability in the general public (my opinion) to handle simple parking in a lot, let alone BACKING into a spot.....

WE NEED THOSE PARKING SPACES to be about 1 foot wider on new installs!

 

[CyberGus]

Let them dent their doors on my 3mm stainless

 

[ÆCIII]

Even with my other concerns posted in another thread, I must say I've not seen many crowded supercharger locations at all (so far) in my experience. In fact just this last Memorial Day weekend on a return road trip, was the first time (in four years) that I've ever seen a supercharger location full.

It was a convenience store location that had eight stalls. I backed into the only remaining open stall and watched two other cars pull up and wait about 5 to 10 minutes before others were leaving.

But, those stalls were fairly tight and I did have to be careful holding my door to make sure it did not ding the adjacent Tesla. I've had to be careful in tight spacing at a couple other locations too, because even though they were not 'full', with each car being considerate and taking one stall of a pair (they were V2 locations), sometimes you're the one that arrives later and must back in between two cars with the width spacing sometimes tight.

So I see the OP's point with stall width spacing being an issue with V3 stalls or V2 stalls, depending on how full the charging location is.

But, I'm also not in California or places where the stalls may be getting crowded much more quickly.

I do hope the spacing remains a prime consideration. I would be curious to know what the exact spacing is of stalls in the prefabricated sets (the ones with a transformer and four stalls each) that Tesla are making and putting at some locations. Anybody near any of those with a measuring tape?

- ÆCIII

 

[Diehard]

I have done only a few public charging to see how it works with different vendors with my Lightning and at every location, it was VERY tight. I would not be surprised if the adapter came with an extension cable but I still think it would be challenging if the location is full. I see using superchargers may be 5 times a year tops.

 

[PilotPete]

Other concerns aside... why is nobody talking about this?

Supercharging spaces are already pretty tight and it can be difficult to open doors all the way even in Model 3. Most Tesla users are pretty considerate about that, but given the general inability in the general public (my opinion) to handle simple parking in a lot, let alone BACKING into a spot.....

WE NEED THOSE PARKING SPACES to be about 1 foot wider on new installs!

With the lack of consideration for others that most people appear to have, I’m worried about all those Chevy Bolts taking up a 250kw supercharger spot for their 50kw (MAX) Bolt., for hours…

 

[Crissa]

With the lack of consideration for others that most people appear to have, I’m worried about all those Chevy Bolts taking up a 250kw supercharger spot for their 50kw (MAX) Bolt., for hours…

Well, a), if they're there for hours they'll get a huge idle fee; but b) if they're there charging for hours, there's something wrong with the charger. They only have a 65kWh nameplate pack and generally only quick-charge half of it.

-Crissa

 

[PilotPete]

Well, a), if they're there for hours they'll get a huge idle fee; but b) if they're there charging for hours, there's something wrong with the charger. They only have a 65kWh nameplate pack and generally only quick-charge half of it.

-Crissa

Hyperbole mode was fully engaged.

 

[intimidator]

Other concerns aside... why is nobody talking about this?

Supercharging spaces are already pretty tight and it can be difficult to open doors all the way even in Model 3. Most Tesla users are pretty considerate about that, but given the general inability in the general public (my opinion) to handle simple parking in a lot, let alone BACKING into a spot.....

WE NEED THOSE PARKING SPACES to be about 1 foot wider on new installs!

I agree, they are pretty tight.

Tweet Elon.

 

[Rockvillerich]

With the lack of consideration for others that most people appear to have, I’m worried about all those Chevy Bolts taking up a 250kw supercharger spot for their 50kw (MAX) Bolt., for hours…

There aren't that many Bolts out there, the batteries are small, and they've been discontinued, so I don't worry that much about them. A Lightening with a large battery will probably take as long to charge. Yep, adding other vehicles will be a bit of a pain until the number of chargers becomes high enough to accommodate mass adoption. If I'm not mistaken there were similar issues with gas stations back in the early 1900's.

 

[fritter63]

I agree, they are pretty tight.

Tweet Elon.

nah, I’ll just wait for Business Insider to pilfer the content of this thread and write a FUD article about it. ?

 

[Greshnab]

With the lack of consideration for others that most people appear to have, I’m worried about all those Chevy Bolts taking up a 250kw supercharger spot for their 50kw (MAX) Bolt., for hours…

interesting since all use of tesla chargers requires the teesla app or api; i wonder if they have built and will start using a minimum requirement for a charger.. so for example you can only use a class 4 charger if your car supports it..

 

[JRu]

I read with Ford and now GM joining Tesla qualifies for a good amount of federal grant money, hopefully to expand the supercharger network and add more drive through stalls.

 

[israndy]

Yeah, I think it's not only the money that will allow more supercharging infrastructure, it's the getting GM and Ford to stop trying to get legislators to make laws that work against Tesla

 

[rodmacpherson]

Other concerns aside... why is nobody talking about this?

Supercharging spaces are already pretty tight and it can be difficult to open doors all the way even in Model 3. Most Tesla users are pretty considerate about that, but given the general inability in the general public (my opinion) to handle simple parking in a lot, let alone BACKING into a spot.....

WE NEED THOSE PARKING SPACES to be about 1 foot wider on new installs!

The spots are the same as most other parking lots around here, (Costco excluded) but I agree, not because GM or Ford drivers are worse at backing in, heck, most pickup drivers back in BECAUSE normal spaces are too narrow to park nose in with a pickup. The reality is we will have larger vehicles at the charging stations soon (cybertruck included) and wider spaces make sense.

What really makes the most sense to me is lining them up like gas pumps with an aisle between (like a Costco gas station) so that trucks and SUVs pulling trailers can just pull up, but also people can maneuver around vehicles that are currently hooked up.

 

[rodmacpherson]

What really makes the most sense to me is lining them up like gas pumps with an aisle between (like a Costco gas station) so that trucks and SUVs pulling trailers can just pull up, but also people can maneuver around vehicles that are currently hooked up.

Like this... except instead of only 2 pumps per line, 4-8 per line in larger stations. because people will be at the charger longer than at a gas pump. This is the main reason to have that aisle down the middle, so no one ends up stuck behind someone, and it is easy to move away from a charger so someone else can pull up.

There are only a handful of Tesla stations big enough to consider this kind of setup right now, but as more big stations are built at highway stops, this makes more and more sense.

A good start though would be to have one or two pull through chargers designated for vehicles that are towing, and lots of regular parking space type spots for those who are not towing.