Portable solar trickle charger

[slorav4]

Thanks for info - did not know there were chargers at rest stops here, will have to look up which ones. Range and charging speed of the RAV without a JDemo make it impractical to drive SD->SF or SD->LV, but with a charge along the way SD->LA or SD->TJ might be doable.

I notice the Yetis are lighter than I thought, although manhandling one in and out of the hatch would still be a chore. Problem is, with the only J1772 on the outside, when you got where you were going and hooked it up you'd come out 2 hours later to find it missing. And it's only 120@12A.

I don't think any are operational yet. Should be coming up through the fall. Prunedale is going to have jdemo next month I believe.
On our SantaCruz to San Luis Obispo with J1772 we made it with a stop in Salinas (Lowes off the 101 has about a dozen new chargers). Though we used the Parking Structure downtown next to Movie Theater with 2 ChargePoint 6.1kW (Saw Jurassic World). Last stop at The King City Keefer's Inn ChargePoint 7.24kW.
The only charger in Soledad detected the RAV4 but wouldn't start the Charge.

We picked up a http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=99 for our next trips to do some 40amp charging and not waste time on 6.6kW or less. I live local to the seller and was able to pickup and just info from time talking to him was worth the purchase price. Unit feels VERY sturdy! Was a bit worried beforehand about running 40amps through an "adapter", but no worries now. The RAV could probably run over this thing without damaging it.

JdeMO will likely be next if these rest stop chargers happen and aren't always full. Think some locations are only planned to have one vs the six like Prunedale is getting.

 

[asavage]

We picked up a http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=99 for our next trips to do some 40amp charging and not waste time on 6.6kW or less.

It's funny how they call it a "Tesla Tap 50A" but that the sticker on the J1772's connector states 32A.

 

[slorav4]

We picked up a http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=99 for our next trips to do some 40amp charging and not waste time on 6.6kW or less.

It's funny how they call it a "Tesla Tap 50A" but that the sticker on the J1772's connector states 32A.

http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=8
"Even though our Tesla to J-1772 adapters are Rated at 32AMPS at 240VAC (7.68KW) I have personally tested one to 74AMPS at 240VAC (which is the maximum that a 2017 Tesla with the largest charger can pull). The Adapter did not heat up but the J-1772 adapter that comes with every Tesla got a little bit warm."

Pretty much what he told me in person. The different versions 32/40/50/80 just had different gauge cables feeding from the adapter to the J1772 from what I could tell.

 

[AgingHippie]

We picked up a http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=99 for our next trips to do some 40amp charging and not waste time on 6.6kW or less. I live local to the seller and was able to pickup and just info from time talking to him was worth the purchase price. Unit feels VERY sturdy! Was a bit worried beforehand about running 40amps through an "adapter", but no worries now. The RAV could probably run over this thing without damaging it.

JdeMO will likely be next if these rest stop chargers happen and aren't always full. Think some locations are only planned to have one vs the six like Prunedale is getting.

The adapter looks sturdy, but I have yet to see even one Tesla supercharger anywhere in town, and for $260 I need to know about at least one place I could use it. 6kw isn't full on, but it's a lot better than the 1.4kw you can get from a standard outlet (if it doesn't trip the breaker).

 

[davewill]

The adapter looks sturdy, but I have yet to see even one Tesla supercharger anywhere in town, and for $260 I need to know about at least one place I could use it. 6kw isn't full on, but it's a lot better than the 1.4kw you can get from a standard outlet (if it doesn't trip the breaker).

The adapter linked above is specifically NOT for Supercharger access, only for regular AC powered Tesla connections. There is no way to access Superchargers except with a Tesla vehicle. There is security to prevent it.

 

[asavage]

The adapter looks sturdy, but I have yet to see even one Tesla supercharger anywhere in town, and for $260 I need to know about at least one place I could use it. 6kw isn't full on, but it's a lot better than the 1.4kw you can get from a standard outlet (if it doesn't trip the breaker).

For clarity (because it's easy to get confused by the variety of standards* in play), and if any of the below is incorrect, please jump in and correct me:

The RAV4EV's charge port is J1772
In North America, the Tesla's charge port is proprietary.

That adapter allows one to use a Tesla destination "charger" (really, an EVSE) (AC, not the Tesla Supercharger's DC) to charge a vehicle with a J1772 charge port.

While that adapter would physically connect to your RAV4EV and a Supercharger's cable, Tesla Superchargers will not turn on for a non-Tesla vehicle, so no adapter will allow a Supercharger to be used with a non-Tesla vehicle (until a licensing arrangement is worked out; several are rumored to be in the works.)

(In Europe, the Tesla's charge port is IEC 62196 Type 2 connector (which is not CCS))

Clear as mud?

* "I love standards . . . so many to choose from!"

 

[slorav4]

The adapter looks sturdy, but I have yet to see even one Tesla supercharger anywhere in town, and for $260 I need to know about at least one place I could use it. 6kw isn't full on, but it's a lot better than the 1.4kw you can get from a standard outlet (if it doesn't trip the breaker).

The cheaper 40amp version should be fine for the RAV4. He just gave me a 50 for the 40 price since its what he had handy when I showed up.
You can find Tesla Destination Chargers with https://www.plugshare.com/ We have a fair amount of them around here in wine country.

 

[slorav4]

We also got this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BM1XT4Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 L1/L2 16amp travel charger that does charge quite a bit faster than the stock cable even on 120V. Need to be careful of anything else plugged into the circuit but at least we can get a useful overnight L1 charge when traveling.