Anyone else find themselves charging longer than needed because of fear that future charge stops might not be successful?

[kdonnel]

I just returned from a relatively short road trip that required two charging stops in each direction. At the first stop in each direction I charged for about 15-20 minutes longer than needed to make sure I had enough energy to get to a second, third, or even fourth charging option at the next stop.

That is 15-20 minutes of unnecessary time added to the trip because of my distrust in the charging infrastructure.

If on a longer road trip, I am sure I would continue the practice and end up adding lots and lots of time to the trip.

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[AZBill]

On all my long trips I have used EA chargers. I look at availability on their app and check Plugshare as well. So when I leave a charger, I am confident the next one is working. On my last trip returning to Phoenix from LA, I had two legs that were 120 miles and 100 miles, there is no way I was going to charge long enough to make both those legs without stopping. I would have had to charge to 90% at that first stop, and that would have taken too much time. In fact it ended up that at both those charging stops they were all working and all full (lines at both), so I would have tied up a charger longer, impacting other EV drivers.

 

[AhardFSU]

I just returned from a relatively short road trip that required two charging stops in each direction. At the first stop in each direction I charged for about 15-20 minutes longer than needed to make sure I had enough energy to get to a second, third, or even fourth charging option at the next stop.

That is 15-20 minutes of unnecessary time added to the trip because of my distrust in the charging infrastructure.

If on a longer road trip, I am sure I would continue the practice and end up adding lots and lots of time to the trip.

I'm on a trip at this moment and I didn't charge up longer than needed. I looked the last week of comments on Plug Share to get a feel for the charging stop. Now if I was doing a trip where the last week of Plug Share comments weren't great for the charger I needed to use, then yes I would have built in some extra charging cushion.

 

[kdonnel]

I'm on a trip at this moment and I didn't charge up longer than needed. I looked the last week of comments on Plug Share to get a feel for the charging stop. Now if I was doing a trip where the last week of Plug Share comments weren't great for the charger I needed to use, then yes I would have built in some extra charging cushion.

It seems like all the charge stations that are most convenient on road trips I have taken are poorly rated in Plugshare, rated 4 to 6. There are alternative stations generally 20 to 30 miles away in the wrong direction which would add 40 to 60 miles to the trip if I needed to use them.

 

[RickMachE]

I just returned from a relatively short road trip that required two charging stops in each direction. At the first stop in each direction I charged for about 15-20 minutes longer than needed to make sure I had enough energy to get to a second, third, or even fourth charging option at the next stop.

That is 15-20 minutes of unnecessary time added to the trip because of my distrust in the charging infrastructure.

If on a longer road trip, I am sure I would continue the practice and end up adding lots and lots of time to the trip.

As noted, if you look at PlugShare the day of, and just as you leave the prior location, you can avoid concern.

In addition, many stops are required, period, even if you charge longer at a prior stop. ABRP often has me charging to 57% at one stop (from 10%), and then to 60% at the next stop (from 10%). But if you do the math, the 50% you're getting at the 2nd stop is greater than 100% total, so you still need to stop.

Example:

57% + 50% = 107%, therefore, 2nd stop is required.

 

[RickMachE]

It seems like all the charge stations that are most convenient on road trips I have taken are poorly rated in Plugshare, rated 4 to 6. There are alternative stations generally 20 to 30 miles away in the wrong direction which would add 40 to 60 miles to the trip if I needed to use them.

I can tell you from my experience that going north from Atlanta is great. Going south from Atlanta is a cluster.

 

[kdonnel]

I can tell you from my experience that going north from Atlanta is great. Going south from Atlanta is a cluster.

Correct.

 

[llinthicum1]

IMO, for many consumers thinking about buying an EV, the lack of a charging infrastructure is the biggest concern. With exception of Tesla super chargers, the charging network is simply not good and not reliable. And that's being kind. To make things worse, I don't see it getting better. That makes today's EVs basically city cars. And that's assuming you can charge at home. I'm very skeptical that 2030 / 2035 will be the date for all new cars to be EVs. Watch for that date to be pushed out further.

 

[astronut325]

I solved this by simply not using the Mach-E for any trip that will require charging. Way less headache. I absolutely want to use the Mach-E but every single charging station I’ve used on a trip had multiple broken charging points. F*** that.

 

[RickMachE]

IMO, for many consumers thinking about buying an EV, the lack of a charging infrastructure is the biggest concern. With exception of Tesla super chargers, the charging network is simply not good and not reliable. And that's being kind. To make things worse, I don't see it getting better. That makes today's EVs basically city cars. And that's assuming you can charge at home. I'm very skeptical that 2030 / 2035 will be the date for all new cars to be EVs. Watch for that date to be pushed out further.

That may be your opinion, but I think you're wrong. I think that the majority of consumers have no clue about the charging infrastructure, buy an EV, then maybe find out about it IF they go on a trip. Many own EVs and have never ventured out on a trip.

I solved this by simply not using the Mach-E for any trip that will require charging. Way less headache. I absolutely want to use the Mach-E but every single charging station I’ve used on a trip had multiple broken charging points. F*** that.

You're missing out. Driving a long trip with BlueCruise handsfree is magical.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I charge to 80-85% at most road trip stops. The chargers I use for road tripping are all widely separated, by 150-200 miles. I don't mind the few extra minutes to charge. I will skip a charging stop if I don't need the bio break or the physical movement. If I leave my last stop at 85%, I have that option.

 

[Mach_Enrique]

I charge about 5-10% over what the onboard Nav says it needs to get to the next station to make sure I have enough buffer if I need to drive around due to a problem or drive faster than it thinks I will. It make a big difference going from 65-70mph vs. 80 (I just road tripped accross Utah with 80 mph speed limits and did not go to 85 to avoid over-draining of battering plus wanted to use BlueCruise (which ROCKS on long desert highways but turns off over 81!).

Usualy minor dawdling (extra bathroom trip or buying a snack) before leaving gets me 5% higher that I meant too so I usually end up 5% plus over target without trying.

 

[CompilerBreak]

I try to charge to 80% or more every time, I do check ahead for broken chargers but on more than one occasion they've just been flat out full. I have no intentions of queuing up for who knows how long to charge, so I use that buffer to just roll onto the next one. Some exceptions of course, if it's late or early and I know it won't be crowded I might do a quicker top off.

 

[Tampamike]

On a long trip with multiple charge stops required, charging to less than 80% only benefits you if you’re next stop has free charging, like a hotel, or lower cost charging, like a per-minute state or your garage. If that isn’t the case, then you might as well charge to 80% and carry the extra trons in case you need them sooner rather than later. It’s going to take a certain amount of charge whether you put it in at stop 1 or stop 2 or stop 3. Granted, you could overdo it and end up making an additional, unnecessary stop. If my navigation says to charge to 67%, then I’m charging to 80%.

 

[TGIF]

I charge to 80-85% at most road trip stops. The chargers I use for road tripping are all widely separated, by 150-200 miles. I don't mind the few extra minutes to charge. I will skip a charging stop if I don't need the bio break or the physical movement. If I leave my last stop at 85%, I have that option.

Ditto. I plan my route on ABRP, check status on PlugShare then take off. I usually charge back to 80% on my first stop even if a lower SOC is recommended, then continue to stop at the recommended stops from there on out, charging back to 80% each time. This keeps me with a little extra range through the day with a minimum of extra time.

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