6400 miles, 27 states

[dbsb3233]

Just got home from our longest road trip yet (from CO). We're retired with lots of time on our hands, and tend to set "bucket list" items for ourselves. We've also become a bit of nostalgic US history nerds so our destinations are often history-related. A few years ago we visited our first presidential library (Reagan's) and decided to make it a mission to visit all the rest over time to fill out our "passports". There's 13 official ones. Visited 7 more last year on two different trips (CA, then TX (3), AR, MO, KS). Had 5 left (GA, NY, MA, MI, IA) for this trip. Took us through parts of the country we've never been to, so we decided to check that off the bucket list too... Visiting the remaining 15 states we haven't seen to make it all 50.

So with that agenda in mind, I planned a route (that also included 9 Caesars hotel/casino properties since we happen to get free rooms there ). It was an aggressive schedule for an 18-day trip, with a ton of driving. But that's half the fun of road tripping, just enjoying the scenery along the way. Here was the route:

In addition to the Carter, FDR, JFK, Ford, and Hoover presidential libraries, we added:

• Lincoln's home and state library
• Gateway Arch
• Andrew Jackson's Hermitage
• Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway
• Kitty Hawk
• USS Wisconsin in Norfolk
• James & Dolly Madison's Montpelier
• Antietem National Battlefield
• Independence Hall
• Corning Museum of Glass
• Niagara Falls
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation + Rouge Factory Tour
• A whole bunch of casinos

As usual, the Mach-E was a champ (we road trip a lot). Very few issues. The latch on the eyeglass holder in the roof broke (just hangs down and won't close now). Android Auto has been a bit flaky after recent updates. Won't stay on satellite view, often reverts to the 3-box default view instead of full-screen map like I prefer. Got another rock chip/crack (the 4th on this windshield, after replacing the original in late 2021 after a full crack). But otherwise the car just keeps doing what it should. It's a great road-tripper. Quiet, comfortable, good range, and feature-rich. And roomy enough for 2 people to collect a lot of souvenirs (junk) along the way.

Charging went quite smoothly. 36 EA charges, 11 Tesla, 2 Francis, 2 Chargepoint, 3 hotel L2 overnights, and a handful of 1-2 hour casino L2 top-ups along the way. I don't have my adapter yet but someone here was kind enough to loan me their spare A2Z, which worked just fine. No major issues at any station, even EAs. There's always some 2nd attempts there (move over to a different charger), but overall EA seems to be getting a lot more dependable.

Sponsored

 

[Stanmckinney]

I would love to see on your map the chargers you used.

 

[rreddy3]

I would love to see on your map the chargers you used.

Awesome trip???ride on with your pony car!!

 

[Billyk24]

Lot of charging stops to compare Tesla Superchargers to the CCS brands in regards to the charging curve. My limited experience has been flawless with Tesla stations but a mixed bag with the CCS brands.

 

[RickMachE]

I would love to see on your map the chargers you used.

Why? PlugShare.

 

[dbsb3233]

I would love to see on your map the chargers you used.

I'd embed the charge log to list them for you but I can't find a way to download in it in one fell swoop. For the most part you can figure out many of the stations I used though, roughly every 100-120 miles along the marked (green) route.

The two Francis chargers were in MO when we got off I-70 on a smaller highway going from KC to Springfield IL. The CPs were Ft Morgan CO and St Louis. Everything else (DCFC) was either EA or Tesla. In NY state the EA stations were branded as EVolve NY, but they were still EA in every respect, including using P&C and getting my discount rate.

A few states still use per-minute pricing. That's especially cheap in NE. I was paying like $3-$8 for ~50kw there. Gotta be losing a bundle on that.

 

[Tampamike]

One question, one comment:

Did you beat the house?

The current state of CCS charging ain’t bad. Two recent roadtrips for me, Tampa to KW and back, 12 DCFC’s and only one charge fault at EA - moved to different plug with success (Hyundai pulled in right after and charged on that first plug - go figure.) Otherwise, two EVGo’s w P&C, two Florida P&L and 6 EA’s w P&C without a glitch. Only one stop had a crowd. I guess everybody is using the Tesla SC’s and there’s time for maintenance on the others.

 

[dbsb3233]

One question, one comment:

Did you beat the house?

The current state of CCS charging ain’t bad. Two recent roadtrips for me, Tampa to KW and back, 12 DCFC’s and only one charge fault at EA - moved to different plug with success (Hyundai pulled in right after and charged on that first plug - go figure.) Otherwise, two EVGo’s w P&C, two Florida P&L and 6 EA’s w P&C without a glitch. Only one stop had a crowd. I guess everybody is using the Tesla SC’s and there’s time for maintenance on the others.

I didn't, but my partner did thanks to an $8000 royal flush that offset my losses and all the trip expenses.

We did run into 2 full EA stations, but fortunately both had SCs just a few blocks away.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Just got home from our longest road trip yet (from CO). We're retired with lots of time on our hands, and tend to set "bucket list" items for ourselves. We've also become a bit of nostalgic US history nerds so our destinations are often history-related. A few years ago we visited our first presidential library (Reagan's) and decided to make it a mission to visit all the rest over time to fill out our "passports". There's 13 official ones. Visited 7 more last year on two different trips (CA, then TX (3), AR, MO, KS). Had 5 left (GA, NY, MA, MI, IA) for this trip. Took us through parts of the country we've never been to, so we decided to check that off the bucket list too... Visiting the remaining 15 states we haven't seen to make it all 50.

So with that agenda in mind, I planned a route (that also included 9 Caesars hotel/casino properties since we happen to get free rooms there ). It was an aggressive schedule for an 18-day trip, with a ton of driving. But that's half the fun of road tripping, just enjoying the scenery along the way. Here was the route:

In addition to the Carter, FDR, JFK, Ford, and Hoover presidential libraries, we added:

• Lincoln's home and state library
• Gateway Arch
• Andrew Jackson's Hermitage
• Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway
• Kitty Hawk
• USS Wisconsin in Norfolk
• James & Dolly Madison's Montpelier
• Antietem National Battlefield
• Independence Hall
• Corning Museum of Glass
• Niagara Falls
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation + Rouge Factory Tour
• A whole bunch of casinos

As usual, the Mach-E was a champ (we road trip a lot). Very few issues. The latch on the eyeglass holder in the roof broke (just hangs down and won't close now). Android Auto has been a bit flaky after recent updates. Won't stay on satellite view, often reverts to the 3-box default view instead of full-screen map like I prefer. Got another rock chip/crack (the 4th on this windshield, after replacing the original in late 2021 after a full crack). But otherwise the car just keeps doing what it should. It's a great road-tripper. Quiet, comfortable, good range, and feature-rich. And roomy enough for 2 people to collect a lot of souvenirs (junk) along the way.

Charging went quite smoothly. 36 EA charges, 11 Tesla, 2 Francis, 2 Chargepoint, 3 hotel L2 overnights, and a handful of 1-2 hour casino L2 top-ups along the way. I don't have my adapter yet but someone here was kind enough to loan me their spare A2Z, which worked just fine. No major issues at any station, even EAs. There's always some 2nd attempts there (move over to a different charger), but overall EA seems to be getting a lot more dependable.

We appreciate you sharing this with us. We look forward to hearing about many more trips to come.

 

[RickMachE]

This thread is clearly fiction. Everyone knows you can't take an EV on a trip.

 

[dbsb3233]

A few pics along the way...

 

[dbsb3233]

 

[dbsb3233]

 

[RickMachE]

That fake bell is cracked.

 

[dbsb3233]

Sponsored