Advice for driving into West Virginia?

[dan_meh]

I sometimes drive into West Virginia from the DC area. I have yet to do it in the Mustang Mach-e, but I’d like to. I think I could have some fun on those roads (go ahead, sing the song). But there’s very little charging infrastructure. So… any insider information?

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[LocoEngineer]

Use ABRP(A Better Route Planner) to map your route. Make sure you have a DC and AC NACS adaptor. With the right planning, you should be good to go.

I did a similar thing two years ago in my Polestar 2 to the Smoky mountains. Yes, I had to plan the route carefully, but it was doable. Today, with Tesla open to our EVs, it would be much easier.

 

[RickMachE]

Yes, ABRP. Sorry, no pictures of unrelated vehicle.

 

[dan_meh]

I enjoy pictures of all vehicles!

Thank you for the advice.

 

[dan_meh]

I did a similar thing two years ago in my Polestar 2 to the Smoky mountains. Yes, I had to plan the route carefully, but it was doable. Today, with Tesla open to our EVs, it would be much easier.

Thanks! Your success is a confidence booster.

 

[LocoEngineer]

Thanks! Your success is a confidence booster.

If you tell me where you'd like to go, what you'd like to see, I could help you with a route. I'm very familiar with great roads in WV. I've ridden motorcycles and driven sports cars all through the state.

 

[dan_meh]

I want to go up into Canaan Valley and Seneca Rocks area. I know I can’t teleport through Dolly Sods, but those are the places that I want to check out.

 

[LocoEngineer]

I want to go up into Canaan Valley and Seneca Rocks area. I know I can’t teleport through Dolly Sods, but those are the places that I want to check out.

There are Tesla superchargers that work for us in Woodstock and Harrisonburg VA, as well as a Red station in Elkins WV. Between those three, you should be able to play around the Seneca Rocks area.

 

[rreddy3]

I want to go up into Canaan Valley and Seneca Rocks area. I know I can’t teleport through Dolly Sods, but those are the places that I want to check out.

I am going to Snowshoe tomorrow and decided to take the ICE Mazda instead of the Mach E. As you know, cold weather is not kind to BEVs.

I have taken the car to Blackwater Falls State Park. Great park in upper end of the Canaan Valley. BWF and CV both have L2 charging. I believe they both replaced aging Tesla destination chargers with new J1772 units. Four in each park. I chareged at BWF no problem.

There is a Sheetz in Stephens City with EA (I rhink EA) with four L3 480v chargers. I charged 18 m, 33kwh and 93 miles. No brainer to get back to Centreville/Chantilly area. You can cut cross country to/from the Sheetz, which is right off 81, to 55/48 on over to Wardensville to get to the four lane to Davis at the top end of CV.

As Noted by LocoEngineer, there are 4 Red E chargers in Elkins, at Elkins Ford Land. When I was playing around with routes, the Ford navi selected Elkins Ford Land as a charging stop.

In VA, and the I 81 corridor, high speed charging is pretty much a non issue. But, in WV, high speed charging is the exception. As you know, most of WV is pretty remote, Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. And I think the only flat land in the state might be in Canaan Valley or an occasional rail yard?. The only high speed charging I have found anywhere somewhat near, near being a relative term, to CV, Dolly Sods, or Seneca Rocks are the 4 at Elkins Ford Land.

I do plan to take the MME to Snowshoe in the summer to get a feel for that trip. Of course the range will be different in warm weather.

Good luck with your journeys! I have a thread from a week or so ago asking about charging suggestions for the Snowshoe trip. I think 3 people expressed thoughts including at least one person from NoVA. You might be interested in their comments.

 

[glenthompson]

Until we got access to Tesla superchargers I was quite reluctant to even consider a trip across WV in the MME. A bunch of the chargers in the the Charleston area are at car dealers which makes me concerned about access after hours. I think it's more doable now.

 

[dan_meh]

Thanks! I would love a fast charger at somewhere like Moorefield. I emailed Sheetz to see if there’s a way to nominate locations. Moorefield could be on the way to Snoshoe and Davis.

Good point to try it in the summer! I’ll report back when I try it.

 

[rreddy3]

Thanks! I would love a fast charger at somewhere like Moorefield. I emailed Sheetz to see if there’s a way to nominate locations. Moorefield could be on the way to Snoshoe and Davis.

Good point to try it in the summer! I’ll report back when I try it.

There are some L2s in Moorefield, but those aren’t what we need to facilitate in route charging. There is a large Sheetz in Moorefield just off 48. That’s where I jump off and head on down to Snowshoe. That Sheetz would be a nice location for L3 charging. It is almost exactly half way to Snowshoe from where I live. Petersburg would be fine with me too. I think Moorefield makes more sense from a business case as it’s in a sweet spot on Corridor H for traveling across that part of WV.

 

[dan_meh]

I’m hoping to pit the Moorefield Sheetz and Royal Farms against each other ?. A little friendly competition…

 

[dan_meh]

Update for those who care: I have now followed up with Sheetz and Circle K corporate and location (Sheetz doesn’t franchise but Circle K does).

Circle K was the more promising interaction. If you would like to add your voice, you can write a polite message here: https://www.circlek.com/contact

And if you want to call the Circle K, please wait a week or two before you call. They are so kind that I don’t want to pester. I found it useful to tell them how often I drive through Moorefield and that each stop would be about half an hour of dwell time. The slower charging speeds in the MME are an advantage here. We can do our thing for the community ?.

I also invited the general manager to drive up to timberline to see how many Rivian‘s were hanging about. I saw no MME vehicles there but lots of Rivian R1S ?

 

[Gixxer750]

We do the drive through WV a few times a year going from the Carolinas up to Canada. Prior to access to the Tesla network (Princeton and Fairmont), we would struggle to do it without an overnight stop. Now, with the Tesla stops and the newly opened chargers at Tamarack, it is easy peasy to go North/South. Finally...

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