Hello All,
I'm just starting to consider renting a Tesla S for a week in November
around Thanksgiving.
It's a bit of a story as to why I'm thinking about it, but the short of
it is that coming to the SF Bay Area then will be a Filipina visitor
that I have come to know through a coworker who is married into the
Filipino community here in the Bay Area. This Filipina works at a
professional-level government position in Manila, but through our many
conversations (recommendation: buy phone stock!, no just kidding, we're
working on getting the Skype, Facetime, or viper scene going), it is
pretty apparent she knows little or nothing about energy or EVs in
particular. I would like to remedy that ;^>.
I had figured I would rent the Tesla a couple of days before her arrival
at SFO in order to become somewhat familiar with the car, learn the
charging protocol, etc. Instead of having my co-worker and his wife
drive us down to the airport to pick up our visitor in their car, I
would drive them down in the Tesla. The Tesla S should have plenty of
room for four people and our visitor's baggage. Should easily be able
to handle the roundtrip distance of some 60-100 miles (by the time I get
home). Our visitor would be staying at my co-worker's and his wife's
place in Richmond. My co-worker at one time owned a Prius hybrid, and
expresses an interest in such cars and EVs, so I think he would be
interested in the Tesla and being able to ride in one.
I have a 120V/20A charging circuit in my apartment carport. I think the
Tesla is capable of charging off of 120V, although it is a slow process,
and the pack is large (80kwh), so I couldn't really hope to put a full
charge into it overnight, but I could make a decent dent. I understand
there is Level 2 charging at SFO, so presuming it is available and more
or less convenient, would try to make use of it for the 1-hr or so time
we would be waiting for and picking up our visitor.
Our visitor has also professed an interest in going out to Pt. Reyes for
some beach and hiking time. This is about a 60-80 mile roundtrip from
my location in Marin, and if I went to Richmond to pick her up on the
same trip would add in another 30 or so miles. I think the Tesla S
should be able to handle this without much trouble.
The stress test would happen when I take her to the Sierra crest for her
first experience with snow. Say some snowshoeing or cross-country
skiing. It's a 7000' elevation gain from the Central Valley floor to
the top up I-80 with some steep grades. Probably 100 miles from Sac to
the Donner Summit area. I figured after driving from the Bay Area to
Sac (90 miles each way), I would avail myself of one of the Tesla
superchargers to put the pack at 100%. I believe there is Level II
charging up near the crest, and a short boost of an hour or so might be
enough to sustain travel nearby to a snowshoeing or ski area. I am
concerned that if we overnight up there, it will be cold, and from what
I have seen, the lithium packs (like the battery in my cellphone) don't
do well when the temperature drops. It could go below 0 degF, but in
November, it's probably not as cold as a month or two later. Of course
on the return, we would get a good chunk of energy back regen-ing down
I-80. One more quick boost at Level III at Sac for the drive back home.
I've been driving my own conversion for some 19 years now, having pushed
it out about a 40-60 mile radius from my home over the years, including
the 55-mile drive to Stanford University for the 1997 SVEAA Rally
without charging and having some left over for a few laps. But this
Tesla dream/fantasy is on new territory for me, so my questions to the
Tesla gurus are:
1) Is it possible to rent an S? I don't recall specifically seeing
rental places for S's, but I haven't been watching that closely, since I
never had the occasion. Likely rent/day (I'll bet it's a good $100/day
if not more)? Accessible location from Marin (I have to get my bod to
the rental location via bus or something)?
2) Is that Sierra trip a likely "go" or is it a potential fiasco?
Charging infrastructure is one of my pet interests, but I am no Bruce
Parmenter with his level of knowledge and experience. I think the Tesla
should easily be able to handle the Bay Area trips, and I would aim to
keep the car in the range 20-80%, which I'm really concluding is best
for the pack, with only using the pack's full capabilities for the
Sierra trip.
My purpose in all this is to not only expose myself to new EV technology
and infrastructure, where I might be going in not too many more years,
but also to impress the Filipina with it, not the least of which is so
that she takes her impressions home and talks about her great EV
experience in that faraway land of California!!
Thanks,
Chuck
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