You can't road-trip in an EV...hold my beer

[21st Century Pony]

Road tripping an EV is really easy.

Step 1: Have nowhere to be and all the time in the world to get there.
Step 2: Have a dedicated gas powered tow vehicle with car trailer following you. Bonus points if the tow vehicle has a generator and can charge the EV while towing it so you can eventually let it back off of the trailer waiting for the next inop charger stranding event to load it back onto the trailer.

So long as you follow those 2 very simple steps, you'll have a completely uneventful trip.

...or come ride with me to New England next week. Sans a dedicated gas chaser with a rescue trailer. If we get stranded (not yet in my 60k miles in the Mach E) we can get into the bourbon in the frunk and tell tall tales

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[21st Century Pony]

I hope things improve for you all over the pond very soon?

It's actually not that bad with the exceptions of Southern California and Las Vegas, and it's already getting better.

 

[Mirak]

All these Mach E road trip posts are pretty much the same:

Scenario 1- bragging that they made it with either no or minor issues.

Scenario 2- issues

Best case scenario is something major didn’t go wrong……..but it still took significantly longer to get to your destination. ?‍

You forgot Scenario 3: “I have XYZ totally random and isolated use case where it actually makes sense to stop for 30-45 minutes every 1.5 hours during a long road trip.”

But otherwise spot on.

 

[21st Century Pony]

...stopping for 40 minutes every couple hours is somehow a good thing.

Actually, stopping for 40 minutes and getting out of the car and ambling about (and not/not sitting in the car playing silly Synch entertainment games or watching our small screens) is a very good idea whether driving an ICE car or an EV - ask any medical doctor general practitioner.

What's the adage about taxi drivers dying from the waist down? ...because they rarely get out of their cars because they just can't, due to the nature of their jobs?

Movement is life, and all that.

 

[Mirak]

All those videos do seem to be overcompensating by trying to dispel real problems with EV road trips and charging.

 

[Hammered]

You are correct, it is not the car, it is the crappy charging network present now in the US.

Oh, it's certainly the car. Current EV ranges suck, the mach-e sucks at charging, charging infrastructure sucks. 40 minutes charging for every 2 hours of driving is just pathetic. That's assuming you can even make it 160 miles between chargers. 15 minutes of charging for every 240 miles / 3 hours is the minimum I'd deem acceptable.

 

[Mirak]

Actually, stopping for 40 minutes and getting out of the car and ambling about (and not/not sitting in the car playing silly Synch entertainment games or watching our small screens) is a very good idea - ask any medical doctor general practitioner.

What's the adage about taxi drivers dying from the waist down? ...because they rarely get out of their cars because they just can't, due to the nature of their jobs?

Movement is life, and all that.

Lol maybe what we really need to boost EV sales is for the Biden admin to market it as a health push.

“Get out on the open road! (But don’t forget to stop once an hour for 30 minutes to get your steps in!)”

 

[Hammered]

...or come ride with me to New England next week. Sans a dedicated gas chaser with a rescue trailer. If we get stranded (not yet in my 60k miles in the Mach E) we can get into the bourbon in the frunk and tell tall tales

I'd just take the powerboost to go up there and with 600 miles to the tank we wouldn't have to be stranded in an EV ?

 

[21st Century Pony]

Lol maybe what we really need to boost EV sales is for the Biden admin to market it as a health push.

“Get out on the open road! (But don’t forget to stop once an hour for 30 minutes to get your steps in!)”

I don't think medical doctors would change their opinion on this no matter if we elected (you pick any name here) as president.

And I think the post above said "every couple of hours".

 

[21st Century Pony]

I'd just take the powerboost to go up there and with 600 miles to the tank we wouldn't have to be stranded in an EV ?

Chacun a son gout. You'd miss out on my drivin' whiskey though.

 

[mkhuffman]

I do. Stress is a good part of life. Think of the flatline type of life without stress... at the gym, at work, at play or just "living". Zzzzz.... Clams have no stress Stress in non-catastrophic amounts makes us grow and become better people.

Yes, but if you can avoid stress, you should. IMO.

When I am traveling with my wife the public charging stress is magnified 2X. It is lot easier to deal with an unexpected problem when there is nobody else with me. She won't travel in my MME due to the public charging problems we have had together.

And I don't blame her. Her 3-row ICE SUV has a lot more room and is a lot more comfortable. Should I expect her to give that up just to have a worse trip experience? No freaking way.

 

[nvabill]

Oh, it's certainly the car. Current EV ranges suck, the mach-e sucks at charging, charging infrastructure sucks. 40 minutes charging for every 2 hours of driving is just pathetic. That's assuming you can even make it 160 miles between chargers. 15 minutes of charging for every 240 miles / 3 hours is the minimum I'd deem acceptable.

You are right, all of the above in addition to a crappy charging network.

 

[MellowJohnny]

No, I get the point, I just disagree with the premise.

You, and most people pushing the idea of road tripping in an EV, try to pitch the same idea-

That stopping for 40 minutes every couple hours is somehow a good thing.

Yes, I agree that it’s a state of mind. But it’s not a good thing.

In a gas car, you only stop for 40 minutes if you WANT to. In an EV you stop for 40 minutes because you HAVE to….. every time.

You can fill the time with bathroom breaks, crossword puzzles or cat naps. But you won’t be able to convince many people this is ideal.

You could have napped in your gas car, but you wouldn’t because you don’t have to.

+1

The only road tripping I've done is 600km Toronto -> Montreal run. The first 30 minutes stop is fine - grab some breakfast, toilet, back in the car. The 2nd stop is a pain in the ass. After a quick bathroom break I want to get going again, but I can't. I accept it, but I don't always like it.

And when my mother called me in September at 7:00 pm telling me my father had emergency surgery and was given a slim chance and surviving the night I was in my ICE at 7:15 and drove through the night stopping only for a single 5 minute splash 'n go. Would *never* have taken the Mach-E.

Granted 90% of my driving is in the Mach-E, but there are still plenty of ICE use cases at this point, for me at least.

 

[Mach1E]

Actually, stopping for 40 minutes and getting out of the car and ambling about (and not/not sitting in the car playing silly Synch entertainment games or watching our small screens) is a very good idea whether driving an ICE car or an EV - ask any medical doctor general practitioner.

What's the adage about taxi drivers dying from the waist down? ...because they rarely get out of their cars because they just can't, due to the nature of their jobs?

Movement is life, and all that.

Wow, you are really stretching the argument now. ?

So now it’s healthier to drive an EV because it makes you stop more often?

Ask the same doctor about your previous comment that “stress is better for you.” ?

 

[thekat03]

Actually, stopping for 40 minutes and getting out of the car and ambling about (and not/not sitting in the car playing silly Synch entertainment games or watching our small screens) is a very good idea whether driving an ICE car or an EV - ask any medical doctor general practitioner.

What's the adage about taxi drivers dying from the waist down? ...because they rarely get out of their cars because they just can't, due to the nature of their jobs?

Movement is life, and all that.

Yup. Primary care provider here. Driving an EV is healthy. Much better for our lungs, and our circulation. Everyone should stop every 2-4 hours to get out and stretch their legs, regardless of what they're driving, because deep vein thromboses are no fun at all. Some may find driving an EV long distances more stressful, and they probably shouldn't do it then.

Personally, I find it less stressful in part because of the built in slightly longer rest breaks to clear my head and move around, and in part because I know what kind of issues I may run into, and know how to calculate probable range and find decent charging stops on the fly. I had to cat nap last time I drove my Prius from Ohio to Maine, because the monotony of the NY Thruway with minimal stops was making me sleepy, and I actually haven't had to cat nap on charging stops yet, even doing that same drive straight through on multiple occasions. No, it's not as fast as fossil fuel cars, and doing everything else I do while road tripping my Mach-E is not for everyone, but it works for me, and I think it's worth the drawbacks to drive an EV as my primary car, and have my husband have his own EV as well. I recognize we are a bit crazy to go full EV in the US with required road tripping a few times a year at minimum, but we love our EVs, and hope that our pushing the limits of the infrastructure will help make it easier for future EV drivers, as infrastructure grows to fill demand.

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