mccdeuce
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2021
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 157
- Reaction score
- 167
- Location
- Millersville, MD
- Vehicles
- 2019 VW e-Golf, 2022 MME Cal RT1 IBSM
- Thread starter
- #1
TLDR: The MME is a great family car to take on a road trip. Shorter legs can be planned around getting out of the vehicle to take advantage of some free Level 2 and getting a chance to run around and burn off some toddler energy.
Week long family vacation, decided to take the MME RT1 (Monkey) for our first road trip. Familiar with EVs planning/charging as we also have an e-Golf. Overall trip plan, MD to Chapel Hill, NC for a wedding, to New River Gorge, WV for some nature/adventure, to Roseland, VA for camping and beer and finally back home.
Early morning on the 20th left home from Millersville MD (near BWI) at 0600 to get around DC before the traffic. Getting a toddler into the car and all the stuff left 30 minutes late so got stuck in some traffic... Headed south to Richmond for a stop at a local bakery for some cinnamon rolls and coffee and to try out a LVL 3 charger for the first time in the MME. I wanted to have a good feeling on the Monkey's ability to LVL 3. Outside temp was a perfect 70F and avg speed of 63mph: 140 miles averaged 4.2 miles/kW.
EVGo bank of 4 at a Publix, first one yielded a fault; second one, fired up straight away and provided the 50kWh as advertised. Didn't need the electrons but the bakery was completely worth the stop and I appreciated the knowledge that it worked. Disappointed that EVGo is still using pricing as per min vs per kW.
Headed south to Chapel Hill on I-85 and temperature started to rise quickly peaking at 102F. Ultimately, stopping short at the Durham Public Library to let the little guy running around inside as playgrounds were going to be too hot. Free level 2 Chargepoint. 6 easy spots, 6 kWh: charging alongside another MME, MY and BMW i3 (which is not my taste in car designs). Outside temp was a hot avg 98F and avg speed of 70mph: 155 miles averaged 2.7 miles/kW.
Headed for a quick hop over to our hotel in Chapel Hill. AC Hotel by Marriott Chapel Hill Downtown. Hotel staff told me 2x J-1772 plugs and 2x Tesla plugs. PlugShare showed J-1772 plugs. On arrival there was 4 Tesla plugs and only ICE cars parked in the spots. They apparently had recently "upgraded" the J-1772 to Tesla. With a little help from the forum, I learned that my use of PlugShare was also incorrect. I had restricted locations turned off, which once enabled showed the hotel plugs labeled as Tesla and the J-1772 plugs were in fact in the building adjacent that had free parking after 8pm. A TeslaTap would have been nice, but it had not arrived before we left. Free level 2 Chargepoint. 8 easy spots, 6 kWh. Just moved the car back to the hotel during the day.
First bit of damage to the car. Wedding venue, gravel parking lot, had a large rock marking the curb that I clipped and caught the aero cover of the Route 1 wheels. Cracked one of the pieces. We will see how long my repair job will hold it. The more interesting part is the torque of the lug nots, maxing out my wrench at 150 lb-ft.
Sunday morning we left Chapel Hill for the New River Gorge, WV. First stop Pilot Mountain State park for a little afternoon hike. Free level 2 Chargepoint. 4 easy spots, 6 kWh. Outside temp was 85F and avg speed of 70mph: 102 miles averaged 3.4 miles/kW. Our time in WV would be Level 1, so we stopped at an EA station in Wytheville, VA before crossing the border to ensure that we arrived with plenty of "electrons still in the tank" EA Stations were at a SHEETZ just off the interstate. 2x 350kWh and 2x 150kWh plugs. Plug and Charge worked flawlessly first time, and took 21kW off my initial EA pass. Disappointed highest rate I saw was 105 kWh despite being hooked up to a 350kWh spot and charging up to max of 75%. Outside temp was 93F and avg speed of 70mph: 160 miles averaged 3.2 miles/kW with a little more elevation gains.
Charging at our cabin over the next few days was painful at Level 1. But it worked and we were not driving far over the next few days adding on average 35 miles per night. Could have done Level 2 if I could have adjusted the max current, preferably through a programmable EVSE. But we got to 85% before we departed.
Departing Wednesday afternoon, we headed to Devils Backbone Basecamp Brewpub for a night of tent camping. Before arrival I had discussed with DB Campground to pay $10 extra for an RV hookup spot (14-50) in addition to our tent site. Perfect for middle of the week with not many people. Outside temp was 85F and avg speed of 60mph: 160 miles averaged 3.2 miles/kW.
Final leg home Outside temp was 80F and avg speed of 68mph: 190 miles averaged 3.6 miles/kW.
BlueCruise. I like it a lot, once I got out of heavier traffic. Being on I-95, it was not too comfortable to utilize with the frequent trucks and rude people constantly weaving in and out of traffic. I equate BC to power paint rolling. Doesn't save me time but saves me energy. I was a lot less fatigued driving long portions with BC.
1-Pedal. Drove in 1P with Unbridled for the whole trip. Only adjusting was how I disabled cruise control. Traditionally, I would have tapped the brake to disengage. This causes a bit of a lurch with 1P on until you can get your foot back on the accelerator. I am now using the X on the steering wheel, but it is a shift in muscle memory.
Efficiency. High heat also caused a dip in miles per kW as did hills/ascents and my wife's lead foot.
Charging. We stopped at 2 LVL3. One at a grocery store and bakery +5. The other at a gas station. -1. Free LVL2 around activities is awesome. Hopefully, as the tech improves we can see more free/cheap LVL2 at places we want to be anyway. WV has very limited LVL 2 and LVL 3 spots in the area we were in. Good planning makes it not a factor.
Frunk. We kept the camping gear in the Frunk, so it was separate from the rest of our stuff and could ignore it for when we didn't need it without having to sort through what was in the Trunk at each stop and it was great on pack up when the gear was wet.
Gave her a wash after the trip. My son wanted to help.
Week long family vacation, decided to take the MME RT1 (Monkey) for our first road trip. Familiar with EVs planning/charging as we also have an e-Golf. Overall trip plan, MD to Chapel Hill, NC for a wedding, to New River Gorge, WV for some nature/adventure, to Roseland, VA for camping and beer and finally back home.
Early morning on the 20th left home from Millersville MD (near BWI) at 0600 to get around DC before the traffic. Getting a toddler into the car and all the stuff left 30 minutes late so got stuck in some traffic... Headed south to Richmond for a stop at a local bakery for some cinnamon rolls and coffee and to try out a LVL 3 charger for the first time in the MME. I wanted to have a good feeling on the Monkey's ability to LVL 3. Outside temp was a perfect 70F and avg speed of 63mph: 140 miles averaged 4.2 miles/kW.
EVGo bank of 4 at a Publix, first one yielded a fault; second one, fired up straight away and provided the 50kWh as advertised. Didn't need the electrons but the bakery was completely worth the stop and I appreciated the knowledge that it worked. Disappointed that EVGo is still using pricing as per min vs per kW.
Headed south to Chapel Hill on I-85 and temperature started to rise quickly peaking at 102F. Ultimately, stopping short at the Durham Public Library to let the little guy running around inside as playgrounds were going to be too hot. Free level 2 Chargepoint. 6 easy spots, 6 kWh: charging alongside another MME, MY and BMW i3 (which is not my taste in car designs). Outside temp was a hot avg 98F and avg speed of 70mph: 155 miles averaged 2.7 miles/kW.
Headed for a quick hop over to our hotel in Chapel Hill. AC Hotel by Marriott Chapel Hill Downtown. Hotel staff told me 2x J-1772 plugs and 2x Tesla plugs. PlugShare showed J-1772 plugs. On arrival there was 4 Tesla plugs and only ICE cars parked in the spots. They apparently had recently "upgraded" the J-1772 to Tesla. With a little help from the forum, I learned that my use of PlugShare was also incorrect. I had restricted locations turned off, which once enabled showed the hotel plugs labeled as Tesla and the J-1772 plugs were in fact in the building adjacent that had free parking after 8pm. A TeslaTap would have been nice, but it had not arrived before we left. Free level 2 Chargepoint. 8 easy spots, 6 kWh. Just moved the car back to the hotel during the day.
First bit of damage to the car. Wedding venue, gravel parking lot, had a large rock marking the curb that I clipped and caught the aero cover of the Route 1 wheels. Cracked one of the pieces. We will see how long my repair job will hold it. The more interesting part is the torque of the lug nots, maxing out my wrench at 150 lb-ft.
Sunday morning we left Chapel Hill for the New River Gorge, WV. First stop Pilot Mountain State park for a little afternoon hike. Free level 2 Chargepoint. 4 easy spots, 6 kWh. Outside temp was 85F and avg speed of 70mph: 102 miles averaged 3.4 miles/kW. Our time in WV would be Level 1, so we stopped at an EA station in Wytheville, VA before crossing the border to ensure that we arrived with plenty of "electrons still in the tank" EA Stations were at a SHEETZ just off the interstate. 2x 350kWh and 2x 150kWh plugs. Plug and Charge worked flawlessly first time, and took 21kW off my initial EA pass. Disappointed highest rate I saw was 105 kWh despite being hooked up to a 350kWh spot and charging up to max of 75%. Outside temp was 93F and avg speed of 70mph: 160 miles averaged 3.2 miles/kW with a little more elevation gains.
Charging at our cabin over the next few days was painful at Level 1. But it worked and we were not driving far over the next few days adding on average 35 miles per night. Could have done Level 2 if I could have adjusted the max current, preferably through a programmable EVSE. But we got to 85% before we departed.
Departing Wednesday afternoon, we headed to Devils Backbone Basecamp Brewpub for a night of tent camping. Before arrival I had discussed with DB Campground to pay $10 extra for an RV hookup spot (14-50) in addition to our tent site. Perfect for middle of the week with not many people. Outside temp was 85F and avg speed of 60mph: 160 miles averaged 3.2 miles/kW.
Final leg home Outside temp was 80F and avg speed of 68mph: 190 miles averaged 3.6 miles/kW.
BlueCruise. I like it a lot, once I got out of heavier traffic. Being on I-95, it was not too comfortable to utilize with the frequent trucks and rude people constantly weaving in and out of traffic. I equate BC to power paint rolling. Doesn't save me time but saves me energy. I was a lot less fatigued driving long portions with BC.
1-Pedal. Drove in 1P with Unbridled for the whole trip. Only adjusting was how I disabled cruise control. Traditionally, I would have tapped the brake to disengage. This causes a bit of a lurch with 1P on until you can get your foot back on the accelerator. I am now using the X on the steering wheel, but it is a shift in muscle memory.
Efficiency. High heat also caused a dip in miles per kW as did hills/ascents and my wife's lead foot.
Charging. We stopped at 2 LVL3. One at a grocery store and bakery +5. The other at a gas station. -1. Free LVL2 around activities is awesome. Hopefully, as the tech improves we can see more free/cheap LVL2 at places we want to be anyway. WV has very limited LVL 2 and LVL 3 spots in the area we were in. Good planning makes it not a factor.
Frunk. We kept the camping gear in the Frunk, so it was separate from the rest of our stuff and could ignore it for when we didn't need it without having to sort through what was in the Trunk at each stop and it was great on pack up when the gear was wet.
Gave her a wash after the trip. My son wanted to help.
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