Taycan Turbo from SF to South Lake Tahoe….nonstop?

[noev]

Anyone done this trip and have feedback?

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[daveo4EV]

I would be surprised given the uphill - but I konw people in Tesla's do it on the way back because of downhill…
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[daveo4EV]

ABRP says you can go from SF to Donner Pass Supercharger (but can't use it) - from 100% to 6% - arriving with 6% with an uphill segment is a bit dicey - I'd suggest a quick 10 min charge somewhere along the way to take the edge off.

 

[noev]

Thanks for the help and insight. I am supposed to go in 2 weeks and have been exclusively driving my newly-acquired 2020 Taycan Turbo for the last 2 months and was wondering how it would fare. Backup is my 992 C4s which I haven't driven in 3 months but will probably take to Tahoe just to avoid the anxiety!

 

[daveo4EV]

lots of charging stops along the way - no real big deal - coming back should be a breeze (downhill)…

 

[Jonathan S.]

My brother has lived in various parts of Lake Tahoe for many years (Soda Springs) and often sees Teslas stranded by the side of the highways awaiting a tow!

But if driving to South Lake, given the Supercharger in Placerville, no reason to suffer that fate.
Even the EA in Placerville gets decent reviews (for EA).

Unfortunately, neither charging station is within walking distance of the In-N-Out Burger, which IIRC from when my brother lived in South Lake and would pick me up at SFO, is the only other reason to stop in Placerville.

 

[noev]

My brother lives in South Lake Tahoe and often sees Teslas stranded by the side of the highways awaiting a tow!

But given the Supercharger in Placerville, no reason to suffer that fate.
Even the EA in Placerville gets decent reviews (for EA).

Unfortunately, neither charging station is within walking distance of the In-N-Out Burger, which IIRC from when my brother would pick me up at SFO, is the only other reason to stop in Placerville.

Dude, In-N-Out + charging infra will always be a winning combo.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Dude, In-N-Out + charging infra will always be a winning combo.

That might render tolerable even waiting for the sole CHAdeMO plug to charge a Leaf!

And indeed such a possibility exists:
https://www.plugshare.com/location/362204
... but with 10 CCS units (and the usual worthless number of twice the plugs), even at the usual EA working %, might not have to wait long.

 

[lubricious]

I've driven to Tahoe from Los Gatos (South Bay) several times. For South Tahoe, would stop at Placerville. For Truckee or Incline Village, would stop at Auburn. You never know what accident awaits where you'll be stuck in traffic. Often won't need to charge in Tahoe as you regenerate quite a bit coming down from the Sierras, and will make a charge anywhere from above points to Sacramento once to make it back home.

And to add, the car is a joy to drive in the mountains! Happy driving!

 

[luv4eternity]

im suppose to be going to tahoe this weekend for kayaking (santa clara to North lake tahoe). i was gonna drive but decided to take my friends tesla model3 because of FSD. im too tired to be driving for 4 hours. rather let the car do all the work. But , if i was to take the taycan, id stop at Auburn for the mountains and probably one more on the way back

 

[j.w.s]

Anyone done this trip and have feedback?

I'm about to make the same trip - I'm heading to North Tahoe along highway 80, 206 miles total. Here's how to make it easy and very stress free:

Plan for quick charging sessions, for free with EA, before you need them and timed to your breakfast/lunch/dinner/coffee schedule.

Leave super early and Zoom on up to the Electrify America in Auburn about 120 miles from SF. Grab breakfast and coffee at Starbucks or some tacos from across the street, or the diner down the road, while you very quickly top back up to say 80%. You'll be done charging before you are done enjoying your breakfast.
Continue the remaining ~80 miles to Tahoe, arriving with say 40% charge remaining.

On the way home, quickly top up to 70-80% in Truckee as you depart - there are several food and drink options there. Then do another quick top-up charge timed with your meal or bathroom break at one of the at least twelve EA locations right off the highway on your route home, picking a stop based on reported reliability and - importantly - the availability of food and snacks at that location.

That's a total of three top-up sessions, each of which could be 10-20 minutes, but will probably be longer because you timed them to align with meals etc. They'll fee like zero minutes since you're never sitting around waiting. You'll probably never drop below 70 miles remaining range, so no range anxiety.

 

[bsclywilly]

Sounds like Taycanfest is happening in Tahoe these next couple weeks. See y’all up there!

 

[ithinkmac]

I go from East Bay (30 miles closer to Tahoe than SF) to Reno / Tahoe quite a bit. Leave Bay Area @ 100%, make it to Truckee EA usually with 10 miles or less, lead foot. 4S CT. Not sure if Turbo will make it up without a stop well before getting into he mountains.

-ThinkMac-

 

[bob66hall]

Granted, I'm well beyond my "gainfully-employed" years, but why stress (by gambling on your "range")? As "j.w.s." said above, take an extra coffee/pee/snack/meal /just-look-around-at-the-beauty break, while "topping off." I now live full-time in the Tahoe area, and I appreciate the views and fresh air daily. It's not a race [please], and there are no gold medals awarded for arriving with just 10 miles left in the tank. Carpe diem...

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