The charging infrastructure really sucks.

[steveg95]

I took a trip from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to my brother's place in Madison, WI. We had 5 adults In the vehicle. On the way up, our expected ending battery percentage was rising slowly. Made it to Madison with 27% battery. Checked on chargers and only found 1 high speed DC charger anywhere close. It was at a Walmart. We pulled in and all slots were full with two people waiting. We waited about 40 minutes to get plugged in. Charging was going pretty well. Unfortunately, I assumed we could make it back with the same level of charge and only charged to 85%. I've been told it's not great to charge above 80% on the DC chargers.

We took off from Madison and it was much warmer. We were using more battery per mile and the mapping software recommended we stop at a dealer that had a high speed charger in Dubuque, IA. When we arrived, there was only one connection and another Mach e was using it. He said it was charging really slowly. We found a level 2 at another dealer and started charging. After an hour, we decided to go for it. I probably could have just made it, but the software was suggesting another stop. It was at a camp for disabled kids, in the middle of no where. 50 Years ago I had helped my Dad and brothers build some of the cabins at the camp, so we decided to make one more stop. Unbelievably, they had a very nice high speed charger. We charged for 20 minutes so we had a cushion to make it home.

So, 2 1/2 hours to get to Madison, almost 6 hours to get home. The upside was that My wife and I were traveling with our three adult daughters. The five of us hadn't been on a road trip by ourselves since before husbands and grand children. It was great spending the time with them and we saw some beautiful countryside going to the charger at the camp.

That said, I can't wait until the Tesla charges are available and we get more chargers in the midwest.

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[generaltso]

Unfortunately, road tripping in an EV still requires pre-planning.

 

[Scooby24]

Unfortunately, road tripping in an EV still requires pre-planning.

And even pre-planning won't make it a pleasant experience as there may be people waiting as was the case for OP. I won't road trip in mine until Telsa charging is fully opened up for us. Level 2 charging isn't an option for a road trip except for overnight charging.

 

[superdave80]

Checked on chargers and only found 1 high speed DC charger anywhere close.

Looking at Plugshare there are several more DC charging locations in the city, three of them fairly close to the Walmart you charged at.

and the mapping software recommended we stop at a dealer that had a high speed charger in Dubuque, IA.

Which mapping software are you using? The MachE built-in? That is know to have, eh, some issues. Your trip looked to only be 164 miles, so you probably didn't actually need to charge to get home (unless there was a lot of headwind in this direction).

But to your original point, yes, DC charging infrastructure needs lots and lots of work.

 

[Mach-Lee]

There was a strong south headwind yesterday of about 15 mph, so that probably killed your range. You do have to pay attention to wind speeds and directions when trip planning because an unexpected headwind can really throw off your plans.

 

[silverelan]

Don’t worry about DC fast charging over 80% degrading your battery. If you’re like most people, you mostly charge at home so any degradation effect is minimal. Secondly, the MME extended range pack charges between 40-45kW from 80% to 93% so it’s not the worst thing in the world to stay a few extra minutes beyond 80% (unless cars are waiting).

 

[Mirak]

There was a strong south headwind yesterday of about 15 mph, so that probably killed your range. You do have to pay attention to wind speeds and directions when trip planning because an unexpected headwind can really throw off your plans.

It’s fun that in the year 2023 we can treat every road trip like a sea captain! Happy yarr or sad yarr?

 

[Mirak]

I took a trip from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to my brother's place in Madison, WI. We had 5 adults In the vehicle. On the way up, our expected ending battery percentage was rising slowly. Made it to Madison with 27% battery. Checked on chargers and only found 1 high speed DC charger anywhere close. It was at a Walmart. We pulled in and all slots were full with two people waiting. We waited about 40 minutes to get plugged in. Charging was going pretty well. Unfortunately, I assumed we could make it back with the same level of charge and only charged to 85%. I've been told it's not great to charge above 80% on the DC chargers.

We took off from Madison and it was much warmer. We were using more battery per mile and the mapping software recommended we stop at a dealer that had a high speed charger in Dubuque, IA. When we arrived, there was only one connection and another Mach e was using it. He said it was charging really slowly. We found a level 2 at another dealer and started charging. After an hour, we decided to go for it. I probably could have just made it, but the software was suggesting another stop. It was at a camp for disabled kids, in the middle of no where. 50 Years ago I had helped my Dad and brothers build some of the cabins at the camp, so we decided to make one more stop. Unbelievably, they had a very nice high speed charger. We charged for 20 minutes so we had a cushion to make it home.

So, 2 1/2 hours to get to Madison, almost 6 hours to get home. The upside was that My wife and I were traveling with our three adult daughters. The five of us hadn't been on a road trip by ourselves since before husbands and grand children. It was great spending the time with them and we saw some beautiful countryside going to the charger at the camp.

That said, I can't wait until the Tesla charges are available and we get more chargers in the midwest.

Past 80% the charging slows considerably, and past 90% it drops to L2 speed. You were right to stop at 85%.

You have to check PlugShare to locate chargers and get their most updated status. The Ford map blows. Not your fault for not knowing this. Your story is exactly why DCFC can be a pain in the rear.

Glad you found the silver lining! Though I hope your wife and daughters enjoyed the odyssey as much as you did. ?

 

[steveg95]

Past 80% the charging slows considerably, and past 90% it drops to L2 speed. You were right to stop at 85%.

You have to check PlugShare to locate chargers and get their most updated status. The Ford map blows. Not your fault for not knowing this. Your story is exactly why DCFC can be a pain in the rear.

Glad you found the silver lining! Though I hope your wife and daughters enjoyed the odyssey as much as you did. ?

I've been using PlugShare, ChargePoint and Electrify America apps. Unfortunately, there just aren't many good chargers in the midwest. We live in Cedar Rapids. I have my own charger, so it isn't a big deal, but when I search PlugShare for charges of at least 50Kwh, it shows three. One is at a private business. One has been installed for almost a year, but has never worked once when I've tried it.

 

[Logal727]

Unfortunately, road tripping in an EV still requires pre-planning.

It's honestly not that much more than an ICE trip. But yes.

 

[steveg95]

Looking at Plugshare there are several more DC charging locations in the city, three of them fairly close to the Walmart you charged at.

Which mapping software are you using? The MachE built-in? That is know to have, eh, some issues. Your trip looked to only be 164 miles, so you probably didn't actually need to charge to get home (unless there was a lot of headwind in this direction).

But to your original point, yes, DC charging infrastructure needs lots and lots of work.

You are correct. I failed at using PlugShare correctly. I've now figured out the filters and am getting a lot better information out of it.

 

[Teslaeata]

Unfortunately, road tripping in an EV still requires pre-planning.

Must be a US thing.

Don’t know about Europe where I used to live ?

But the seemingly one thing which is good and works in the UK is the charge point infrastructure; another 400-mile road trip today and no problem finding a charge, no queues?

 

[glenthompson]

Depending how long you were at your brother's house, did you consider charging there? A 15amp outlet should get you about 3-4 miles of range per hour. Might have been enough to give you more flexibility. Get your brother to put in a 50 amp outlet so you can charge and he will have it when he gets an EV.

 

[Evan]

If you do go back to Madison in the MME, instead of going to EA there is a shell recharge station (Madison Charging Hub), near downtown. Insanely cheap, $5 per hour of fast DC charging, and most of the stations work.

 

[Toy_collector]

I was going to point out that on East Washington Ave towards the capital there is a huge charging hub that is never full and always works. Also, don't trust the car to tell you when to charge, when it's warm outside you have 90 KwH of energy for a full battery so you can watch how much you are using and how many miles you have to your destination to determine if you need to charge. The car is way too conservative.

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