Circumnavigating North America in a Mach-E - Trip Report Summary

[Mopey]

This fall I delivered my low mileage (9887 miles) early build (VIN 1406) 2021 Mach E GTPE to younger family in the Seattle area. In choosing my route from central Alaska to the Pacific Northwest, I naturally decided to drive across Canada and via the east coast, Florida and south Texas.

Rather than give a long winded description, I figure most people just want the numbers, so:

Miles 11,336
Days:53
Average Miles per kWh (includes charging overhead losses): 2.33

Recharges: 96
1st Time Plugin Success: 93
Times I had to wait to charge. - 0
Total kWh Used: 4,872.3
Free Charges: DC-6 AC-8 (521.1 kWh)
Total Charging Cost: $1671.37
Average Charging Cost (includes Free): $0.34
Average US vs. Canada Cost (in US$) (excludes Free): Canada $.28 vs. U.S. $.42
Average Tesla Cost per Kw (with Membership): Canada $.36, U.S. $.37

Number of AC Charges\Level 1 or 2: 14
Charging Company Breakdown: Tesla DC-49 (19-Canada,30-US), Tesla Destination AC-6, Electrify America-9, Flo-6, BC Hydro-5, Rivian-4, Others-17 (EV Connect, Cadillac, Shell, Universal Green, Mercedes, GreenLots, EVGO, Epic, Unknown or Private)

Car Configuration: AWD, fully loaded, Tires: 245/45R-20 Continental Viking Contact XL winter tires + identical full size spare, Starlink Mini on magnetic mount on roof. All car software up to date via FDRS.

Driving Weather: Unbelievably near perfect - Everyday sunny and calm with only about 2 hours total of rain in 53 days!!

Route Planning: Preplanned on Google Maps aided by ABRP, Chargeway and Tesla Apps. Enroute Navigation using Ford Nav loading only the preplan selected next charging stop. Two month memberships in Blue Cruise, Electrify America and Tesla

Reliability: Despite the fact the car had two previous warranty replacements of the HVB junction box, the car performed problem free. I did replace the 3.5 year old, 12v battery beforehand and had to replace the windshield at the end of the trip (it did have two small cracks beforehand that grew over the 2 month trip).

Highlights: Banff Park, Niagara Falls (Canada side), Kitty Hawk and a SpaceX Starship launch in south Texas (where else can you get within 3 feet of the world's biggest rocket)

Other: DC Chargers in Yukon territory were sparse, usually one per location and only 50kW but they were all free. The Starlink Mini in the magnetic roof mount provided great entertainment value during charging stops and essential piece of mind during the extensive areas with no cell coverage. The RFID cards from Flo and BCHydro are nice to have for backup charger activation in remote areas. The range remaining estimates in the Ford Navigation was actually quite accurate - there was typically a 5 to 10 mile buffer when compared to actual battery state (see the next paragraph for how I knew the actual battery state)

Finally, FORD! Please add an option to display the actual kWh remaining in the battery!!! It's already available via Car Scanner App and having that information via the Car SCanner app page I built prevented a panic when I had to drive down to under 5 miles remaining on 2 occasions.

My car was photographed following the Starship during rollout to the launchpad. Also a Cybertruck two ahead. The rollout was a true American spectacle. Besides me, following behind were 30-40 cars, an old guy on a tricycle, and kids were running alongside. This photo was taken by a guy on a motorized skateboard. Throw in a juggler and a couple of clowns and we would have had a real circus.

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[Colorado MME GT]

Wow! What an adventure. 11k miles! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. It's a reminder that EVs are fully functional vehicles and not a curious alternative to ICEs.

As an aside, I am jealous that you made it to Starbase to see a launch. I definitely need to get down there. I'll be attending the Artemis II launch at KSC in the spring. In my 23 MME GT, of course.

 

[Mopey]

The Starship launch definitely the highlight. I'll be going back (flying) to watch a launch and double catch next year.

 

[cyeung]

This story is totally worth a feature, @Ford Motor Company!

 

[Colorado MME GT]

The Starship launch definitely the highlight. I'll be going back (flying) to watch a launch and double catch next year.

We can do an MME meet-up. Just need V3s to be successful. Where did you take that picture from? Margaritaville Beach Resort?

 

[Mopey]

We can do an MME meet-up. Just need V3s to be successful. Where did you take that picture from? Margaritaville Beach Resort?

I stayed next door at The Sapphire condominiums. They share a garage that has 5 free Tesla destination chargers.

 

[jwalther]

What a trip! Gotta say I'm confused though. . .you delivered (sold?) your car, and more than doubled the mileage getting the car to the new owner?

 

[Maui]

The Starship launch definitely the highlight. I'll be going back (flying) to watch a launch and double catch next year.

Where did you end up charging in south padre?

 

[Ford Motor Company]

This story is totally worth a feature, @Ford Motor Company!

@Mopey you should submit this to the Ford comms team! http://go.ford/evstory

 

[Mopey]

What a trip! Gotta say I'm confused though. . .you delivered (sold?) your car, and more than doubled the mileage getting the car to the new owner?

I didn't sell it. I gave it to a young member of the family who lives at a second home I own in Seattle.

 

[Mopey]

@Mopey you should submit this to the Ford comms team! http://go.ford/evstory

I'll see if I can build it into a proper story for you.

@Ford Motor Company
In exchange for the story, will Ford agree to add the HVB's actual kWh remaining to the driver display or the main display?

 

[Mopey]

Where did you end up charging in south padre?

There are 5 free level 2 Tesla destination chargers in the Margaritaville Hotel\Sapphire condos garage (if you are staying there). If you don't have a Tesla-J1772 adapter, one of the chargers does have a J1772 connector. If you aren't staying there, there is a level 2 Chargepoint in the public lot across the street. There is an older, Tesla-only, high speed charger nearby.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Very cool account. Thanks for sharing. I wish I could take two months off to drive around

 

[Stevieh459]

Love reading these posts. One quick question I have in general for posts like these:

What would you say was your average drive time and distance between stops?

I'm assuming you are doing around 80%-10% average discharge @ around highway speeds 70-80mph.

 

[Mopey]

Love reading these posts. One quick question I have in general for posts like these:

What would you say was your average drive time and distance between stops?

I'm assuming you are doing around 80%-10% average discharge @ around highway speeds 70-80mph.

At first, I was limited by the few DC charging options and the distance between the chargers, so I tended to charge whenever a charger was there regardless of charge state and I would charge to the 90%+ range. After a few days the charging options became more plentiful and I shifted to pre-picking my chargers to give me 2.5 to 3 hour driving segments.. The amount I charged to was based upon the distance and kWh required to get to the next charger that I would select while charging.

By Day 4 or 5, I was so comfortable with the process and the accuracy of the kWh of battery remaining reported by the Car Scanner app that I didn't give the possibility of running out of juice a second thought. I really never used the percentage of battery charge since I had found a way to read the battery's actual kilowatt hours remaining thru Car Scanner app. While charging, I would just read the distance to the next charger I'd selected and divide by the average miles per kilowatt hour I'd been averaging. - usually 2.2 to 2.6. That would be the exact minimum kWh I needed to charge to assuming I was going to be driving at similar speeds over similar terrain. Rather than continually doing math while driving, I would just crosscheck the driver's display of battery miles available vs. the distance remaining that the nav system reported. It may sound complicated but it quickly became second nature.

A shout out to Yukon Territory and British Columbia for the excellent job they've done over the last two years adding to their charging infrastructure

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