I know this is not a big deal for most of you after 5 or 6 years of Primes being on the road...but where I am in the Mid West it is still rare to see another Prime. Yesterday I saw a red Prime in my hometown. The 1st one I have seen in the wild for about 2 years. Had a Missouri plate on it.
"Rare" is really a regional term for this car. Where I live, I don't have a day I don't see at least a few PPs either on the road or parking if I go out. I did not see many Tesla when the PP first came out, but now I am seeing more. I just don't know where and how they are charging them.
I've see 5 or 6 Prius Primes since the came out. Could see that many Teslas in a week. Actually spotted two Porsche Taycans on my commute route. Likely at home.
I see a red one every day several times of course thatās in my garage. Being in Chitown Iāve seen other ones maybe five times in three years. I blame my dealer.
Aside from the state park, there seems to be plenty of charging spots in Maine, or just across the border on Plug Share.
When we were in Maine and New Hampshire on our recent vacation, I saw more Primes each day than I typically see here in a year.
Yeah, but they are only L2 level or even L1. Superchargers are far sparse only on the I-95 corridor and nonexistent in northern 2/3 of the state where I live. CCS and CHAdeMO situations are worse. None exist in northern 3/4 of the state AFAIK. Tesla people must be planning the trip meticulously so that they spend a night at a destination charger location every time they need to fill the battery. I don't know how long it takes to fill a long-range battery filled by L2, but I can't imagine stopping every 300 miles and spending overnight. I often do close to 800 miles round trip in a single day, which is very difficult to do even with a longest-range Tesla. Pic showing the locations of SuperStations in Maine.
Maine isn't exactly a big state. Portsmouth to Fort Kent is 365 miles, and there is several Superchargers along that route. Passing through is easy. When visiting, a Tesla could probably roam up to a hundred miles away from the hotel with destination charger, and still have a full pack by the next day. Exploring that wilderness area is likely out of a BEV's ability now, but checking out the rest of the state isn't going to be difficult.
As I said, they must be planing the trip meticulously so that they will not be caught with an empty battery. Since you mentioned Fort Kent, to where I have made a day trip in the past. Here is where that location is. Unless you plan to hop across the Canadian border to the nearest CSS stations, the closest CSS charger on the US side is over 250 miles away. You can not make a day trip to there and back on any BEV on a market today. If driving Tesla, then there is a Supercharger station in Medway which is 127 miles from Fort Kent. Still, it would be difficult to make a day trip on standard range M3 if you only had 80% SoC at the last SuperCharger station. Pic showing the location of CSS stations from Plug Share.
Why not cross the border? Though I expect most people taking a Model 3 on trips have a long range model with over 300 miles of range. If you are in the Augusta area, there are several destination chargers in the coastal region there. At Level 2, a Model 3 can charge 25+ miles per hour. Use the Superchargers to get to where they are going, and Level 2 is good for overnight charging while there.
For one thing, the border was closed for most of the last year and this year. It is only recently that it became crossable. But AFAIK, there still are very strict measures to cross the border such as proof of vaccination AND a negative COVID test result within 72 hours (the test must be PCR, not a rapid antigen test). I am not saying it is impossible. I have seen enough out-of-state Teslas on the road this summer, that's maybe 4-5 total in three months or so. So I know it is doable. I am just saying it must take a lot of planning. Even the destination charger is not always available at the place where a room is vacant. Most lodging where tourist flocks during vacation season in my state take well-advanced planning to secure it. If they have to restrict the lodging to a place with destination chargers, that makes it even harder to plan the trip.
How many RV parks are in Maine? Teslas can plug directly into those outlets. How many out of state trips don't require planning?
How many RV parks are in Maine? Teslas can plug directly into those outlets. How many out of state trips don't require planning? You were wondering where they were charging. If they were keeping to the southern area of the state, there is plenty of charging available according to PlugShare, and that doesn't necessarily cover every option.
I have no idea, I never used RV. But that is a good point if those Tesla visitors are spending the night in the RV campground, then that may explain where they are charging. As for the question of the number of out-of-state trips not requiring planning, why do you expect I know the answer? Common sense tells me if I am to make an out-of-state trip, I make advance planning as to where to stop and eat and fuel and sleep. For a gas car or PHEV, the planning is much easier even if I am visiting a far remote area, I would think. BTW, from what I have heard, finding a vacant RV camp lot is harder than finding a vacant motel in my state in summer. Some of the campgrounds reservation is filled one year in advance. Southern Maine is by large considered to be part of Massachusetts. LOL I do not live in that area. Go north of Bangor, now you are entering real Maine. That's the region I have seen Tesla on the road and am wondering how and where they are charging their cars.
There are six Primes (including mine) within a five minute walk from my house. I travel 320km/day, 5 days a week, and I see a minimum of ten per day, sometimes up to double that many. At work, there are 8-10 in the parking lots every day (along the row of chargers last Monday at work, there were five including mineāfour of them parked side by side). The Prime is anything but a rare sight in Quebec.
Opposite here (expected). I think most times I go out driving I see at least 2. In the parking garage at work I usually see 6 or 7 of them any given day. I've never been able to get more than three in a line on the freeway, though. One day I'll be in a line of 4 or more