Lightning Charging Test at First True V4 Tesla Supercharger Open to Non-Teslas

[Cbowe]

We took a Ford Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV to the first true Tesla V4 Supercharger open to non-Teslas, then met up with Tom Moloughney from State of Charge to test a Lucid Gravity at the same site. Lightning went as expected Silverado never seemed to ramp up as it should and we decided to wait til midnight for the Gravity to maximize its charging.

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[Heliian]

The cable actually reaches!

I used one on Friday night, Parry Sound, Ontario. AND... it's in a mall parking lot with food options and some stores. Will be my go to from now on, as long as it isn't busy.

The lightning doesn't charge fast enough to actually take advantage of the higher speed but it sure is nice not having to jump a curb or go off roading around the back side of the stalls just to plug in.

I'm going to start carrying a shovel though, so much snow this year.

 

[Cbowe]

The cable actually reaches!

I used one on Friday night, Parry Sound, Ontario. AND... it's in a mall parking lot with food options and some stores. Will be my go to from now on, as long as it isn't busy.

The lightning doesn't charge fast enough to actually take advantage of the higher speed but it sure is nice not having to jump a curb or go off roading around the back side of the stalls just to plug in.

I'm going to start carrying a shovel though, so much snow this year.

Yeah that part is amazing!

 

[K6CCC]

The cable actually reaches!

The V4 pedestals are nice with the longer cable. Unfortunately we can't benefit from the higher charge rate.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but so far, in the 11 months that I have had my Lightning, I have only once been unable to charge at a Tesla V3 SuperCharger due to the shorter cables - and I did not need the charge... I looked at my spreadsheet and I have charged 14 times at a SuperCharger. Six of those were V4 (five at the same location - Barstow, Calif.). Of the remaining eight, in several cases I was able to park to the right of the farthest right pedestal, and a couple had the pedestal to the side of the parking stall rather than the end so the cable reached, and lastly on a couple I tied up two spaces by parking in one space and using the pedestal that was actually for the space to my left. None of those last ones were busy so tying up two stalls was an issue. The one time I could not charge was an eight stall charger in Ventura, Calif. that was all full except one stall in the middle of the row, so there was nothing I could do. Fortunately charging there would have been just a convenience while eating lunch across the street.

 

[Cbowe]

It’s tough when there is only 8 at a v3 I do get anxious hoping I won’t block anyone. When I roadtrip I try to target the big sites if possible but it isn’t always

 

[K6CCC]

It’s tough when there is only 8 at a v3 I do get anxious hoping I won’t block anyone. When I roadtrip I try to target the big sites if possible but it isn’t always

Me too. Prior to my October trip (detailed in this thread: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/just-under-800-mile-trip-in-california.31816/ ) I did a fairly large amount of research. Regularly checked status of every Tesla, E.A., and Rivian charger along the route. Looked at Google Earth and Street View so I knew what and where the chargers were. Looked at check-ins on PlugShare.com. Then when I did the trip (it's an annual event), I found every one of those chargers even if I did not need it, mainly because I'm OCD and like doing stuff like that, but also I now know right where to go if I need them on a later trip.

 

[DavidS]

I’m hoping for the day this all becomes unnecessary.

 

[K6CCC]

I’m hoping for the day this all becomes unnecessary.

It's getting there...

 

[Cbowe]

Me too. Prior to my October trip (detailed in this thread: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/just-under-800-mile-trip-in-california.31816/ ) I did a fairly large amount of research. Regularly checked status of every Tesla, E.A., and Rivian charger along the route. Looked at Google Earth and Street View so I knew what and where the chargers were. Looked at check-ins on PlugShare.com. Then when I did the trip (it's an annual event), I found every one of those chargers even if I did not need it, mainly because I'm OCD and like doing stuff like that, but also I now know right where to go if I need them on a later trip.

This is so next level man! That’s awesome

 

[Cbowe]

I’m hoping for the day this all becomes unnecessary.

Are you thinking because everything will be NACS or because chargers will be everywhere or both?

 

[DavidS]

Are you thinking because everything will be NACS or because chargers will be everywhere or both?

I’m hoping we get ubiquitous charging with chargers that work. Like gas stations. Between Tesla and Ionna and EA getting better, it seems like we are both making progress and so far away at the same time. I’m picking 2028 as a time that both charging infrastructure and batteries hit a point where people buying a car won’t have to worry about where they can charge or owning a garage to store their car on cold nights, etc etc.

 

[Cbowe]

That would be amazing for sure!

 

[astrand1]

We took a Ford Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV to the first true Tesla V4 Supercharger open to non-Teslas, then met up with Tom Moloughney from State of Charge to test a Lucid Gravity at the same site. Lightning went as expected Silverado never seemed to ramp up as it should and we decided to wait til midnight for the Gravity to maximize its charging.

What happens at midnight charge wise that’s different than any other time?

 

[Scorpio3d]

Are y’all just getting V4’s now or just the superfast version?
I posted a pics over a year ago??
January 4, 2025!

 

[Cbowe]

What happens at midnight charge wise that’s different than any other time?

That was just went the Superchargers were empty finally. Because they load share across all the vehicles plugged in, if we wanted to pull 400+ kW we had to make sure no more than 2 other EVs were also plugged in or the cabinets might not have enough power to give the Gravity what it needed. That’s why I wasn’t able to get the Silverado to get to 300kW like it should have there were 5+ Teslas already charging so not enough power left unfortunately.

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