Work carpark has BYO Type 2 charging, 6 bays per level — what length actually lives in the frunk full-time without being a pain?
Building I work in has an EV bay setup I didn't expect — six BYO Type 2 charging bays per level in the basement carpark, no cable supplied, you plug in your own. I want to keep a cable permanently in the Model Y frunk so I'm never caught out, but haven't landed on a length yet.
5m Type 2-to-Type 2 seems like the obvious cheap option but I've read enough EV threads to know bay layout varies more than people expect — angled parking, pillars in weird spots, chargers mounted at one end of the bay instead of centred. 10m covers basically any layout but it's heavier and takes up more frunk space than I'd like for something that's meant to just live there.
Anyone actually measured this properly instead of guessing? Want the shortest length that reliably reaches without turning into a project every time I park.
Filed under: Type 2 Cables & Portable EVSE
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8 answers
8 ANSWERS
@petey_fxJuly 24, 2026
Run a 7.5m for exactly this reason, been carrying it across a few different carparks for two years now. 5m catches you out the moment the charger's mounted at the far end of the bay instead of the middle, which happens more than you'd expect in older commercial buildings. 10m's overkill for anything except really wide or angled bays.
Did you actually go out and measure reach distances across a few different bays first, or was 7.5m more something you landed on by trial and error over time?
Trial and error, first cable I bought was a 5m and it caught me out twice in one month. Bought the 7.5m straight after and haven't had an issue since across four different buildings.
@trent_b87July 27, 2026
Weight difference between 5m and 10m in the same gauge is more than people assume once you're carrying it daily, not just occasionally. A properly rated 10m in decent copper is a genuine few kilos. Living in the frunk full-time, that's dead weight on every single drive, not just charging days.
A few kilos sitting in a frunk isn't going to touch range or handling, feels like overthinking a boot item to me. Weight's a bigger deal on the car itself, not what's parked in storage.
Wasn't talking about range, just that it's genuinely annoying to lug in and out if you ever do need to shift it, and that adds up daily rather than occasionally. Different complaint to the one you're answering.
@jonno1985July 27, 2026
Carry a 10m myself but that's touring gear, different use case to a daily work carpark — I need it reaching from odd angles at caravan parks and roadhouses, not just a marked bay. For a fixed commute carpark I'd go shorter, no reason to lug touring-length cable for a predictable spot every day.
@just_lurking22July 24, 2026
does the extra 5m on the 10m cable actually matter for frunk space, or is it more the weight that's the annoying part day to day?
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