Anyone go from Electric back to ICE?

[Deleted member 4669]

Apologies, off-topic, but could you elaborate on this? We were thinking of driving our Mach-E to RI this August and staying there for several days. I looked briefly at PlugShare and it seemed like there were some fast charging options, at least around Warwick.

there is one in Warwick It’s supposed to have 2 chargers but only 1 was working. Several other fast chargers were showing on the maps but none of them were really fast chargers so we had to drive up to Warwick to charge and wait around for the 1 charger to be free. We were staying on the southern coast about 25 mins away so we wasted a couple hours that afternoon trying to charge up. Being that we were only there for 1 night it blew up our plans, we missed a dinner reservation had to go someplace else missed a couple other things we had planned. Not a huge deal but I guess I didn’t plan that out very welll. Needless to say when we went to main a couple weeks ago we took my wife’s Jeep to avoid any potential issues.

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[RickMachE]

I haven't tested that option yet; I'm curious as to whether the users of those hookups (RVs mostly?) would get upset that an EV is using it as a charging station. Anyone experience this situation yet?

I believe at most campgrounds you can't simply plug in, you have to get approval from the office to do so (unless you are occupying a campsite). You can't just drive in and plug in to charge and then drive away hours later.

We used one at a campground in March, arranged ahead of time, we rented a cabin but parked the Mach-E at a campsite overnight the first night to charge up.

 

[babgvant]

I haven't tested that option yet; I'm curious as to whether the users of those hookups (RVs mostly?) would get upset that an EV is using it as a charging station. Anyone experience this situation yet?

I have done this at a couple places. Both times I called ahead of time to determine how they worked it out (PlugShare often has these details as well) and that they were NEMA 14-50 receptacles. One place (a hotel with RV parking) it was complimentary, the other I agreed to pay $10 to charge the car.

 

[babgvant]

So not sure where this is going to land, but interested if anyone else has done the switch back.

When I got my Mach-E my wife was OK with it, for me, but then after we had it a few months she traded her ICE car for an EV6.

While there are compromises, and ways you need to change your behavior to get a better experience, on net it's just so much better than driving an ICE car. Can't imagine going back.

 

[hayzl313]

Having driven a few rental cars for 3 weeks while my MME was being fixed, I can confirm I never want an ICE car again. I did get to try out a Polestar (didn't love it) but even that was better than the others. I missed tapping the gas and moving as opposed to the grunt and struggle to accelerate. To be fair, rental cars are put through hell by various drivers and the cars varied and were no comparison to the mach-e but I don't think even a comparable ICE would make me go back. Good luck deciding what to do!

 

[csilvest]

"A few hours more" could be 9 - 11 more... Campground outlet/L2 charger is good for overnight on a trip, or an emergency only.

This is true if you try to charge the battery up to or near capacity. If you can locate a fast charger not too far away (say 30 miles), you can just spend enough time L2 charging (like a few hours with the mobile charger to get an extra 40 miles of range) to make it to the fast charger. This was my plan B on a trip that has a distance between reliably available fast chargers that was right at the probable range of the car. There was another fast charger along that stretch safely within the range, but it appeared to be intermittently down.

 

[dracisk]

there is one in Warwick It’s supposed to have 2 chargers but only 1 was working. Several other fast chargers were showing on the maps but none of them were really fast chargers so we had to drive up to Warwick to charge and wait around for the 1 charger to be free. We were staying on the southern coast about 25 mins away so we wasted a couple hours that afternoon trying to charge up. Being that we were only there for 1 night it blew up our plans, we missed a dinner reservation had to go someplace else missed a couple other things we had planned. Not a huge deal but I guess I didn’t plan that out very welll. Needless to say when we went to main a couple weeks ago we took my wife’s Jeep to avoid any potential issues.

Gotcha, thank you. Yeah, even though RI is tiny it would be annoying to drive 25 minutes only to find you couldn't charge. We'd be staying in Warwick if we went.

 

[Deleted User 981389]

I'll chime in here as I've bought two ICE vehicles after buying the GTPE. First we still have the GTPE and will only trade it for another BEV in the future. The next purchase was a 10 year old FJ Cruiser that gets horrible mileage but it's an awesome vehicle and will last 400K+ miles, plus who doesn't like having 3 front wiper blades. This was purchased as a backup to the MME for if/when it brakes down. The latest purchase was a new F150 EcoBoost. I'd like a Lightning however the MME issues tell me that I need to wait a few years.

 

[jgrissom]

I have owned a Tesla Model X for just over 2 years - my first EV. I really love the car. I have recently taken it from SE Wisconsin to Naples, FL with absolutely no issues whatsoever. The Tesla supercharging network is fantastic.
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In November, of ‘21, I purchased a Bronco for my daughter (college student at University of Alabama). I never loved the car - totally impractical (especially for a college student). Yesterday, I traded my Bronco in for the MME GTP in cyber orange - there is no comparison between the 2 cars. The dealer gave me $5k more than I paid for the Bronco on trade and I am happy to be rid of it. To be fair, the Bronco was fun to drive on a nice day, but not as a daily driver.

I personally could not go back to an ICE vehicle, but my wife drives a Chrysler Pacifica. I purchased an Acura RDX A-Spec for my daughter and I am way happier with that car for her.

 

[MICO]

Charging infrastructure was severely inadequate a couple years ago.

If you can’t find a charging station in todays market, you don’t have the correct app on your phone or just can’t use the MME navigation system
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE
OPEN YOUR EYES!

 

[Billyk24]

If you can’t find a charging station in todays market, you don’t have the correct app on your phone or just can’t use the MME navigation system
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE
OPEN YOUR EYES!

"They are everywhere" let me see: plugshsre reveals a dcfc ccs in Mackinaw City, Michigan that may oy may not work with multiple negative reports. The next closest dcfc ccs charger is 144 miles away with multiple negative reports on reliability. The only other dcfc ccs charger is 50 miles away in Norway, and has been working at 1/2 speed for 10 months with no end in sight. No other dcfc ccs chargers in the UP of Michigan

 

[DYohn]

Driving plug-ins singe 2013 and BEVs since 2016. Never going back.

 

[21st Century Pony]

If you can’t find a charging station in todays market, you don’t have the correct app on your phone or just can’t use the MME navigation system
THEY ARE EVERYWHERE
OPEN YOUR EYES!

The availability of (non-Tesla) DC fast charging stations really still depends on your state. There are practically none in my son's state of Kentucky or in West Virginia, which is the most direct route between his house in Louisville and my house in Northern Virginia... so we have to add a 150+ mile loop thru Ohio and Indiana now to visit each other. Of course, in time this will change.

 

[unlimited]

I haven't tested that option yet; I'm curious as to whether the users of those hookups (RVs mostly?) would get upset that an EV is using it as a charging station. Anyone experience this situation yet?

If you pay for the spot, they can't say much.

 

[sotek2345]

For my wife and I, we are going BEV as fast as we can. She will never get another ICE vehicle and I will be trading my Raptor for my Lightning as soon as it gets here. I will be selling my GT350 next summer. I may chose to pick up a classic muscle car at some point for car shows and light weekend cruising, but that is about it.

My daughter has a VW bug for her first car and my son will likely have a ICE for a first car in ~3 years (just to keep first car costs down), but will probably switch to EV after that - up to them.

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