How's your non-Tesla Supercharger experience at busy stations going?

It’s only going to get worse over Thanksgiving. I dread it.

I’ve charged my Rivian at Superchargers a few times, but since I live in a rural area, the stations are usually empty or have just a couple of cars. The one time I pulled up to a busy one, a Y was parked in a ‘pull-through’ spot for EVs with trailers (but they didn’t have a trailer). Thankfully, they moved to a regular spot when one opened up, so I could park there. It all worked out. The non-Tesla chargers in my area are much slower, less reliable, and more expensive, so Supercharger access is a huge benefit.

Tesla can tell what make and model a car is from the VIN, so they should be able to figure out which non-Tesla vehicles are taking up two spots and adjust their numbers.

Amelia said:
Tesla can tell what make and model a car is from the VIN, so they should be able to figure out which non-Tesla vehicles are taking up two spots and adjust their numbers.

Is the VIN actually passed with the Supercharger protocol? I know it’s not with Plug&Charge, but not sure about Superchargers.

Amelia said:
Tesla can tell what make and model a car is from the VIN, so they should be able to figure out which non-Tesla vehicles are taking up two spots and adjust their numbers.

Tesla only gets the VIN if it’s a Tesla vehicle. CCS chargers have to work around a lot of issues since every manufacturer does things differently. The chargers try to identify the vehicle based on how it responds, but it’s not always perfect.

@Peggy
Tesla knows the make and model from the app, though. They don’t need the VIN to know an F-150 or R1S is blocking a second spot.

Amelia said:
Tesla can tell what make and model a car is from the VIN, so they should be able to figure out which non-Tesla vehicles are taking up two spots and adjust their numbers.

They can’t fix this, but self-driving cars are supposed to be ready in two weeks?

Amelia said:
Tesla can tell what make and model a car is from the VIN, so they should be able to figure out which non-Tesla vehicles are taking up two spots and adjust their numbers.

They could just use the app to map which stall you’re using and hide the blocked one from other users. But they don’t.

Tesla should just offer extension cords so non-Teslas can charge without blocking stalls.

izael said:
Tesla should just offer extension cords so non-Teslas can charge without blocking stalls.

The V4 chargers have longer cables. I found one by accident last week and only had to use one stall for my Rivian.

@Ronald
Is there a way to filter for V4 chargers? I’d love to avoid places where I’d have to block a spot.

zendaya said:
@Ronald
Is there a way to filter for V4 chargers? I’d love to avoid places where I’d have to block a spot.

There aren’t many yet, and I don’t think you can filter for them.

zendaya said:
@Ronald
Is there a way to filter for V4 chargers? I’d love to avoid places where I’d have to block a spot.

You can try https://supercharge.info/. There’s a filter for stall type, but it’s not always 100% accurate.

izael said:
Tesla should just offer extension cords so non-Teslas can charge without blocking stalls.

Without liquid cooling, an extension cord wouldn’t handle more than 200 amps or so.

@jabali
If the extension is short, the wire can be thicker to handle the current.

izael said:
@jabali
If the extension is short, the wire can be thicker to handle the current.

V3 chargers overheat with liquid cooling already. Adding a longer cord without proper cooling would just make it worse.

@jabali
I haven’t seen any overheating issues mentioned in forums. If the extension is built correctly, it should be fine.

izael said:
@jabali
I haven’t seen any overheating issues mentioned in forums. If the extension is built correctly, it should be fine.

Rivians and Fords often see V3 chargers overheat because they pull more current than Teslas. Longer cords would likely make the problem worse.

@jabali
I’ve got a Rivian on order, but haven’t seen this mentioned in the forums. Maybe it’s a vehicle issue, not a charger one.

izael said:
@jabali
I’ve got a Rivian on order, but haven’t seen this mentioned in the forums. Maybe it’s a vehicle issue, not a charger one.

It’s the charger, not the vehicle. Here’s an article on it: Hot Temps Derate Tesla Superchargers for Rivian, Ford EVs - RivianTrackr