Completed another trip. Always have a backup plan and a backup to your backup...

[RickMachE]

Michigan to Hilton Head to Florida (3 destinations) to Michigan. Around 2,700 miles.

Initial Issues / Observations (more to come):

- BC 1.4 can come now, second trip completed, over 7,500 miles, since it was supposed to come last summer.

- EA network has gotten worse as others have said. Used several FPL chargers in Florida, a few ChargePoint, and GM / Pilot in KY and tried in Michigan.

- I was going to rave about new Pilot chargers. Covered, trash cans, squeegees... Until...

- Always have a backup plan, and a backup to your backup... We have 197 miles from our last EA in Ohio. It was snowing and windy. I was cold, helped a woman in a Bolt move through 3 EA chargers before she could successfully charge. Instead of 95% as in past years, left with 85%, because I knew that I could top off at new Pilot / GM location 40 miles from home. Due to rain, wind, and then snow, pulled into Pilot with 5% left. After repeated attempts to charge failed, called EVGo (they manage the network). Apparently they had a systemwide failure last evening sometime, and no matter how you activated a charger, it failed...

So, with 7.7kW remaining (per CarScanner), I drove 40mph with hazards on the 12 miles to my backup backup location, a 62.5 ChargePoint. Two chargers, one charging and one with a Bolt sitting for 4.5 hours. The occupied charger was a Mach-E that said he was done and left. Plugged in with 1% displayed, 3.x kW left. Bolt was a fleet plate, I left them a note and unplugged them, so charge would show available (parking sideways to Bolt should allow hose to reach). Pic below...

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[RickMachE]

Also, for those who might say "don't unplug the car", I can't type what I want to say on this forum.

 

[MellowJohnny]

You have nerves of steel Rick. Winter is why this stuff needs to be taken more seriously. Sitting around waiting for a charger on a nice Summer evening is quite different six months later.

Once the Supercharger network is available I really wonder what's going to happen to networks who can't get their act together. Chapter 11 for some of them....

Our province-wide, semi-Government run network is a joke right now, and I for one will likely not be back once I can charge at a SC.

 

[RickMachE]

You have nerves of steel Rick. Winter is why this stuff needs to be taken more seriously. Sitting around waiting for a charger on a nice Summer evening is quite different six months later.

Once the Supercharger network is available I really wonder what's going to happen to networks who can't get their act together. Chapter 11 for some of them....

Our province-wide, semi-Government run network is a joke right now, and I for one will likely not be back once I can charge at a SC.

HA! I should have stayed at the EA location to 95%, still would not have made it, but would have got to the backup easier. And, should have checked the backup, it had dropped it price from what I remember people posting, and was actually cheaper than the Pilot location that didn't work.

Rain, snow and wind definitely impact range. Have to go through my notes, but I think we got 2.1 on that last leg. And the final charger was at a closed gas station, although there were open places nearby if we needed shelter.

There are no Tesla SuperChargers from the O_io border all the way to the A2 area, so that would have been of no help. But, there are some between the 197 mile away EA charger in O_io, so could have hit those, yes.

 

[21st Century Pony]

Who dares, wins. Happy New Year to you and all Michiganders!

 

[MellowJohnny]

HA! I should have stayed at the EA location to 95%, still would not have made it, but would have got to the backup easier. And, should have checked the backup, it had dropped it price from what I remember people posting, and was actually cheaper than the Pilot location that didn't work.

Rain, snow and wind definitely impact range. Have to go through my notes, but I think we got 2.1 on that last leg. And the final charger was at a closed gas station, although there were open places nearby if we needed shelter.

There are no Tesla SuperChargers from the O_io border all the way to the A2 area, so that would have been of no help. But, there are some between the 197 mile away EA charger in O_io, so could have hit those, yes.

Maybe we all need to start travelling with a balloon and a wool sweater - then simply stick your finger in the charge port to discharge the static electricity. Should be good for a few miles at a time!

 

[stealthytolkien]

This gave me chills while reading. I’m glad you’re okay.

We did a USA east to West coast trip with a dog in my bottom of the barrel Model 3 in March (dead of the winter) and it was near flawless. Slush, snow, freezing rain, you name it. Every single supercharger, when we made it there, was functioning. And we always got there between 5 and 10 percent SoC. Was it inconvenient due to severe loss of range due to the cold? Yes. But was it reliable? Yes.

We did an almost similar road trip later on with our hybrid SUV and we felt an instant sense of relief and happiness throughout the trip. Night and day compared to the EV trip.

And since we now have moved away from owning a Tesla, we decided to use the MME strictly as a daily driver and never do road trips that require more than one charging stop each way in it (especially because it cannot use Superchargers yet).

We have two cars, thankfully, and I think that USA EV infrastructure is simply not there yet for any EVs, let alone a non Tesla, to embark on a long road trip “without planning”. The last two words being key. It doesn't matter if 90% of our driving is under the full EV range, because the 10% still carries a significant risk if the household doesn't own a gasoline car as a backup today. Future remains gloriously unknown.

Again, glad you made it safe. Good post.

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