DC to Pittsburgh and back

Travel Buddy and I went to Pittsburgh from DC on Memorial Day weekend to see family. On the way out of DC we were in stop and go traffic until Hagerstown. It took us 3 hours to drive a distance that - without traffic - takes us 1.5 hours.

I had planned to stop in Breezewood to charge at the Rivian spot at The Gateway, but Travel Buddy needed to eat. She’s 11 now and outgrowing all clothes, so we needed a chick fil a quickly. It was 6 PM, we were “wasting” a stop, but you have to feed the Mogwai before midnight so you don’t get a gremlin.

We ate mor chikin and continued. Although we didn’t have to stop, we did drop in on the Sheetz in Bedford. My family doesn’t have home charging so I like to arrive with at least 30%. And besides, it’s tradition. We went in to pee, grab desert, and ended up chatting with a fellow father of two daughters and an EV9 owner. We chatted for about 10 minutes, so I charged a bit more than I wanted to. We lit out for the territories when all stalls were full. I didn’t want my chit chat to be the reason someone had to wait on a holiday weekend.

In Pittsburgh, we had breakfast at First Watch in South Hills Village so that I could charge at the EA. The station was totally empty on Saturday morning, so I didn’t feel bad taking the spot. When we finally got back to the car, it was at 95%. I was happy that there wasn’t an 85% limit there so that Travel Buddy and I could enjoy a leisurely breakfast with my folks. I did keep an eye on the vacant stations in my EA app and would have moved it if the bays were filling up.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Science Center in Pittsburgh. It’s got a giant model train room, an International Space Station experience, and an intestine that you can pull out of the wall to see how long your intestines are (this is a hit with 11 year old children). You can also dance with a skeleton version of yourself, like a Grateful Dead fan or Social Distortion fan, depending on your age and mood. Travel Buddy was very confused by when I sang, “When she begins to rock, honey, I begin to roll…” while pretending to hold a martini glass.

We had more adventures around the city, played some tennis at my old high school, and had dinner with the family. Basically, we were bopping around the city.

When parked in the driveway, I plugged into a standard household outlet and was surprised to see, on Sunday for our departure, that we were at 100%. It really is all about time. If you can just leave it plugged in…

That we were at 100% meant that we could drive straight home without any charging stops.

It might be worth mentioning here that the Ford nav was better than Apple Maps. It was super accurate. Apple was too conservative. I understand why they might build it that way: better to be blamed for a charging stop than a stranded vehicle. I still want the Ford app to be better, but if you’re traveling a route that you know well, it’s the one to use.

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I understand how a quick weekend trip might seem unworthy of a travelogue, but I worry that the short one stop getaway is underrepresented.

I think it matters to talk about short trips, the kind most of us do on a more regular basis. I really sought them out when I was trying to imagine myself owning an EV.

Driving east from Pittsburgh on the Pennsylvania Turnpike involves a nearly 1600 foot increase in elevation from New Staton to Somerset. There is a Tesla V3 station at the GetGo station just off the Turnpike in New Station. It is strongly recommended to add charge to your battery pack before traveling further east.

Billyk24 said:

Driving east from Pittsburgh on the Pennsylvania Turnpike involves a nearly 1600 foot increase in elevation from New Staton to Somerset. There is a Tesla V3 station at the GetGo station just off the Turnpike in New Station. It is strongly recommended to add charge to your battery pack before traveling further east.

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This is true. The gap between Bedford and New Stanton is a problem. There are three planned charging stations to be excited about on the turnpike. The Wendy’s in Somerset, the Coen Market in Donegal and the westbound New Stanton rest area.

If you look at the DOE energy infrastructure map, you can see why the gap exists. The East/West transmission lines roughly follow I68 in Maryland. I wonder if MD wins the EV coordinator for east west travel south of Philadelphia.

I also look forward to the Grantville, MD Pilot station on 68. There are currently some slower spots in places like Frostburg, but PFJ would be a welcome addition.

dan_meh said:

I think it matters to talk about short trips, the kind most of us do on a more regular basis. I really sought them out when I was trying to imagine myself owning an EV.

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Nice writeup. Remember that for lots of folks, this IS a long trip that would make folks worry about EV driving.

dan_meh said:

This is true. The gap between Bedford and New Stanton is a problem. There are three planned charging stations to be excited about on the turnpike. The Wendy’s in Somerset, the Coen Market in Donegal and the westbound New Stanton rest area.

If you look at the DOE energy infrastructure map, you can see why the gap exists. The East/West transmission lines roughly follow I68 in Maryland. I wonder if MD wins the EV coordinator for east west travel south of Philadelphia.

I also look forward to the Grantville, MD Pilot station on 68. There are currently some slower spots in places like Frostburg, but PFJ would be a welcome addition.

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Daniel,

Great writeups. They resonate with me. I grew up in Brookside. When I was in junior high and grade school we use to play baseball on a makeshift diamond on Gillfillan's Field. By the time high school rolled around Gillfillan's Field had been turned into South Hills Village, and later the big fancy trolley barns for the T were added between the Village and Brookside.

I haven't made the trip in the Mach E yet. But I've done it many times in an ICE car. I live in western Fairfax County. My preferred route to the South Hills is 66W to 81, around Winchester up to Hancock, MD, 68W to Keyser's Ridge and down to Uniontown and up the Mon Valley expressway and then catch 88 up to USC, Bethel, and Whitehall area. I've done the turnpike to New Stanton and across 70 to 51 too, but I like the other way better.

I think my route is doable with the Mach E. It might not be the fastest route with the fastest charging, but I think it could work. I need to make that trip this summer with the MME. Last time I did it was in '23, in July, with the ICE RDX, since swapped for the MME, for my brother's 90th birthday party. (I was just a young pup then, 77.) It was a fantastic gathering of the clan. Neither of us is getting any younger so I need to get up there before the clock strikes midnight for one of us.

Again, a great write up Daniel. Thanks much,

Richard

PS: I like Pittsburgh, I could live there again ... but we need to get the Stillers QB situation sorted out ...

I’d love to make this trip with a 2025, side by side. I’ve been wondering about the real world impact of the heat pump, and I think this trip is a good test. It’s a reasonable distance, you have elevation gain, a charging gap, and cold temperatures (in the winter, of course).

In the winter, in my 2024, I don’t feel comfortable skipping a stop. It’s not just about the absolute range, though the absolute range is the most significant factor. It’s also that the charging stations are more open. It’s so much easier to stop in the winter (setting Thanksgiving aside). And in really cold conditions, does the heat pump help?

Later in the summer, I might post to find a 25 owner, who, in the interest of science, would be willing to take a road trip.

I am curious, Daniel, how much the range - m/kwh, were affected by the hilly driving around the ‘burgh compared to the relatively flat lands of NoVA. Did you notice any significant difference? If you live in Pittsburgh and charge at home it’s a nonissue. It’s just curiosity on my part.

dan_meh said:

This is true. The gap between Bedford and New Stanton is a problem. There are three planned charging stations to be excited about on the turnpike. The Wendy’s in Somerset, the Coen Market in Donegal and the westbound New Stanton rest area.

If you look at the DOE energy infrastructure map, you can see why the gap exists. The East/West transmission lines roughly follow I68 in Maryland. I wonder if MD wins the EV coordinator for east west travel south of Philadelphia.

I also look forward to the Grantville, MD Pilot station on 68. There are currently some slower spots in places like Frostburg, but PFJ would be a welcome addition.

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I 68 is significantly more difficult to travel with the constant vertical changes of hundreds of feet.

rreddy3 said:

I am curious, Daniel, how much the range - m/kwh, were affected by the hilly driving around the ‘burgh compared to the relatively flat lands of NoVA. Did you notice any significant difference? If you live in Pittsburgh and charge at home it’s a nonissue. It’s just curiosity on my part.

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I didn’t pay much attention, honestly. The bigger factor is probably the speed. Pittsburgh, famously, doesn’t have a beltway and has slow, narrow streets. I think I was probably averaging 20 MPH around the city ?. Not literally, but it felt that way.

What I did notice was the Mach E ride quality. Oof ?… the brick/cobble roads and potholes! My dad is hilarious. He knows every pothole and his attitude is like, “well it’s your fault for not knowing about the pothole on the right side of the half lane on Liberty Ave near Rohrich Cadillac.” ?

Billyk24 said:

I 68 is significantly more difficult to travel with the constant vertical changes of hundreds of feet.

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True. The elevation change is visible on the drive. What is harder to see is the transmission infrastructure.

If you look at the GIS data, you can see lines running through Maryland, roughly along 68. You see a big blank spot in the New Stanton to Bedford run along 76/70.

So the interesting question (to me, at least) is whether terrain or infrastructure matters more. If you’re a state and you want my out of state money (you want that sweet sweet trade advantage!) then Maryland has the terrain disadvantage and the infrastructure advantage. Can they capitalize on the infrastructure advantage? Not to mention the no-toll advantage.

Put another way, if there were a charging stop at every exit on 68, supported by the massive kilovolt advantage, would 30 more minutes of charging be worth the price of mind that “there’s always a stop for me?” And, “I know I can pull in below 20% without anxiety that I can find a well timed stop?”

Time will tell, but the invisible advantage exists. See green circles in the screenshot.

Billyk24 said:

I 68 is significantly more difficult to travel with the constant vertical changes of hundreds of feet.

Click to expand...

True. The elevation change is visible on the drive. What is harder to see is the transmission infrastructure.

If you look at the GIS data, you can see lines running through Maryland, roughly along 68. You see a big blank spot in the New Stanton to Bedford run along 76/70.

So the interesting question (to me, at least) is whether terrain or infrastructure matters more. If you’re a state and you want my out of state money (you want that sweet sweet trade advantage!) then Maryland has the terrain disadvantage and the infrastructure advantage. Can they capitalize on the infrastructure advantage? Not to mention the no-toll advantage.

Put another way, if there were a charging stop at every exit on 68, supported by the massive kilovolt advantage, would 30 more minutes of charging be worth the price of mind that “there’s always a stop for me?” And, “I know I can pull in below 20% without anxiety that I can find a well timed stop?”

Time will tell, but the invisible advantage exists. See green circles in the screenshot. And the + signs are battery ? storage. So advantage to Maryland there, too.

rreddy3 said:

Daniel,

Great writeups. They resonate with me. I grew up in Brookside. When I was in junior high and grade school we use to play baseball on a makeshift diamond on Gillfillan's Field. By the time high school rolled around Gillfillan's Field had been turned into South Hills Village, and later the big fancy trolley barns for the T were added between the Village and Brookside.

I haven't made the trip in the Mach E yet. But I've done it many times in an ICE car. I live in western Fairfax County. My preferred route to the South Hills is 66W to 81, around Winchester up to Hancock, MD, 68W to Keyser's Ridge and down to Uniontown and up the Mon Valley expressway and then catch 88 up to USC, Bethel, and Whitehall area. I've done the turnpike to New Stanton and across 70 to 51 too, but I like the other way better.

I think my route is doable with the Mach E. It might not be the fastest route with the fastest charging, but I think it could work. I need to make that trip this summer with the MME. Last time I did it was in '23, in July, with the ICE RDX, since swapped for the MME, for my brother's 90th birthday party. (I was just a young pup then, 77.) It was a fantastic gathering of the clan. Neither of us is getting any younger so I need to get up there before the clock strikes midnight for one of us.

Again, a great write up Daniel. Thanks much,

Richard

PS: I like Pittsburgh, I could live there again ... but we need to get the Stillers QB situation sorted out ...

Click to expand...

Pittsburghers like to reminisce, so here is my donation.

I bought my 2021 MME In August and one week later drove it to the South Hills from New Jersey.

That was a memorable week. I did it alone because I didn’t know the car that well.

I drove the turnpike to PGH and there were only two charging stations along the turnpike. (none on the turnpike)

I would say it added two hours to the trip at that time.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long to get a spot at the charging stations.

PGH at that time had plenty of Level three charging stations.
I spent my first eighteen years in PGH but have lived across the river from Philadelphia for fifty years. E A G L E...iggles.

I made the run in April in the Lightning, Ellicott City to PPG Arena for da Pens. Stopped in Breezewood in both directions for the otherwise-required environmental breaks and to pickup/dropoff my rider and topped up in each direction, for only about as long as the other tasks required. Although there are not many L3 in between, it's an easily doable trip if you plan just a bit. I could have made it 100% to downtown, but then would have needed to charge while in town, before or after the game. This way worked very well.

Art said:

Pittsburghers like to reminisce, so here is my donation.

I bought my 2021 MME In August and one week later drove it to the South Hills from New Jersey.

That was a memorable week. I did it alone because I didn’t know the car that well.

I drove the turnpike to PGH and there were only two charging stations along the turnpike. (none on the turnpike)

I would say it added two hours to the trip at that time.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long to get a spot at the charging stations.

PGH at that time had plenty of Level three charging stations.
I spent my first eighteen years in PGH but have lived across the river from Philadelphia for fifty years. E A G L E...iggles.

Click to expand...

Wow… times have changed! I do it without really worrying and no extra time!

And that’s only 4 years!