Contemplating first road trip. Seattle -> Los Angeles. Tips / Pointers / Recommendations?

[eddieparker]

Thinking of taking the Mach E (GTPE) on a two week road trip in August, starting in Seattle and ending somewhere in California (Los Angeles? San Diego?). Stopping a bunch along the way and staying a few nights at interesting points.

Curious if any of you have any useful feedback (tips on using your Mach E as a road trip vehicle, sights to see, things to keep in mind, etc)?

We normally "fill up" at home, so we'll finally get to use our blue oval 'free' points. I think my NACS adapter or whatever won't be ready until September 2024 apparently, so I dunno if I should buy one before then or there's plentiful charge adapters on the way.

As I write this I wonder if it'll make more sense to plan to stay at certain hotels so I can charge fully, since I'm assuming it's not very common to find air b&b's that let you use their electric charging station...

Anyhow - any thoughts are appreciated!

Sponsored

 

[smunro622]

Honestly any trip I do I throw it in the Ford app and let it plan it out and find the charging stations. I push to navigation usually Waze and go from there. I do research hotels with free charging, I do carry a Tesla destination charger adapter to J1772 for this. Also 50 ft heavy extension cord and travel charger also… hopefully you should have your CCS1 to NACS adapter to make things easier.

best of luck don’t sweat it just plan it out and I do charge longer at lunch as every 4 hrs I do get out and stretch my legs

 

[B177y]

CA, OR, and WA interstates probably have some of the best charging infrastructure available in the US. I've done Port Angeles, WA to Salem, OR round trip on I-5 and there were plenty of CCS capable stations. EVs are popular and plentiful in these parts. Fighting crowds will likely be the biggest issue.

Like @smunro622 said, use the Ford gps to plan it out for you. Added bonus is that you will get pre-conditioning of the battery for faster charging when you use the Ford GPS, that's not available with other GPS apps.

If you want some more complicated trip planning, try the ABRP app or https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ on your desktop/laptop. You still need to navigate with the Ford app to get the battery pre-conditioning.

Also use Plugshare to verify the condition of chargers and read reviews if you have any doubts. That's good advice no matter where you are going on any EV road trip.

If you're staying off interstates and doing secondary roads like 101, Hwy 1, etc., planning will be more necessary to verify charger availability. My experience is that on secondary roads off the interstates, chargers are less frequent. Since it's the West Coast though, that's all relative, as our secondary roads are pretty well stocked with charging.

Ignore the GOM (mileage guess o meter) and pay attention to the battery percentage. Personal experience is if the Ford GPS says to stop, then stop and charge. I have had a close call when I thought I could make it to the next charger without stopping at the suggested one. Pay attention to the suggested chargers charging speed as the Ford app sometimes suggests level 2 chargers or slower. Use the charge speed search filters if needed.

Bottom line... Have fun. You'll love driving the MME on a road trip!

 

[Deleted member 19354]

Honestly any trip I do I throw it in the Ford app and let it plan it out and find the charging stations. I push to navigation usually Waze and go from there. I do research hotels with free charging, I do carry a Tesla destination charger adapter to J1772 for this. Also 50 ft heavy extension cord and travel charger also… hopefully you should have your CCS1 to NACS adapter to make things easier.

best of luck don’t sweat it just plan it out and I do charge longer at lunch as every 4 hrs I do get out and stretch my legs

Also Apple Maps if you use iOS. But yes let Ford GPS do its thing.
I’ve done the Everett Portland many times. Federal Way has EA as well as the Walmart in Lacy. Not a lot of options between Olympia and Centralia. There is several BP Pulse in Centralia. Should be good to Portland if not the River Mall in Kelso has EA. Avoid Portland and take the 205 around Portland

save travel!

 

[RickMachE]

Do not use the Ford app. Use ABRP, verify locations with PlugShare.

Consider buying an adapter from A2ZEV. They have a package for both Supercharger adapter and destination adapter. Use coupon SaveOnA2ZEVAdapter for the best price.

 

[geftsnowball]

This worked well for me my last trip.

1. ABRP + Plugshare to map out a preferred route. This should give you a rough idea of how often you need to stop. Make sure to add in any extra side stops to get an even better idea of possible range.
2. Set route to next charger using Ford Navigation (battery preconditioning). Disable alerts/nav directions if you go with #3.
3. (optional) Use your favorite nav app on mounted phone (Google/Apple maps). I set my entire trip navigation here, not just the next charge stop. I prefer AndroidAuto Google Navigation over Ford's. Disable wireless app projection in the Ford connectivity settings if you use AndroidAuto or Carplay. If you have active navigation here it will kill the Ford navigation (currently necessary for battery preconditioning?).
4. At each charging stop, double check your next charging stop (Plugshare) and set it (or a new one) as your destination in the Ford Navigation.
5. Repeat.

Personally, I feel like it would be a poor decision to not grab the Tesla DCFC adapter (if you have one on order that won't come in time I'd grab the A2Z) as it will give you so much more flexibility in the routes you can take and provide backups if there are non-Tesla charging station issues (or maybe you just don't want to wait in line for that 4 stall EA station and want to go to the nearly empty 20 stall Tesla station a mile away).

 

[Tampamike]

Treat hotel chargers as a bonus, not a necessity. They’re sometimes full by the time YOU arrive.

 

[Hati12]

Do not use the Ford app. Use ABRP, verify locations with PlugShare.

Consider buying an adapter from A2ZEV. They have a package for both Supercharger adapter and destination adapter. Use coupon SaveOnA2ZEVAdapter for the best price.

Don’t overthink it; enjoy the scenery. Electrify America is fully apportioned along the Interstate 5 corridor from San Diego to Seattle. If you roll along at 60 to 70 mph and slow down on hill climbs, you should get over 3 miles per kilowatt hour. Stop every 2 hours to charge, stretch legs, use restrooms, and snack. Sorry that you probably will not have your Tesla adapter until after your trip, as then it would even be easier. I am doing Los Angeles to Portland in June and will be using the same EA stations as you. I can’t wait and I am a very senior citizen.

 

[geftsnowball]

Electrify America is fully apportioned along the Interstate 5 corridor from San Diego to Seattle.

It would be a crime to not dip onto the 101 for at least part of that!

 

[ebeponyan]

Curious if any of you have any useful feedback (tips on using your Mach E as a road trip vehicle, sights to see, things to keep in mind, etc)?

Anyhow - any thoughts are appreciated!

Here are a couple of past reports (largely from either side of I-5) that may interest you:

2023 Olympic Peninsula to Monterey on 101, back via Chico and Bend

2021 Seattle through Death Valley (and beyond)

Also more detail on 101

Just glancing back through these threads, it's amazing how much the NACS adapter changes the charging landscape for the better. I'll have to make a couple tasteful edits. One more note from recent experience, the EA chargers in Vancouver are considerably cheaper than those in Portland.

 

[RickMachE]

Don’t overthink it; enjoy the scenery. Electrify America is fully apportioned along the Interstate 5 corridor from San Diego to Seattle. If you roll along at 60 to 70 mph and slow down on hill climbs, you should get over 3 miles per kilowatt hour. Stop every 2 hours to charge, stretch legs, use restrooms, and snack. Sorry that you probably will not have your Tesla adapter until after your trip, as then it would even be easier. I am doing Los Angeles to Portland in June and will be using the same EA stations as you. I can’t wait and I am a very senior citizen.

I just did 5,300 miles last month and 1,700 last week. Planning is the key to success. Not using ABRP and PlugShare is a path to failure.

 

[JeffGo]

Also Apple Maps if you use iOS. But yes let Ford GPS do its thing.
I’ve done the Everett Portland many times. Federal Way has EA as well as the Walmart in Lacy. Not a lot of options between Olympia and Centralia. There is several BP Pulse in Centralia. Should be good to Portland if not the River Mall in Kelso has EA. Avoid Portland and take the 205 around Portland

save travel!

Capital Mall in Olympia has had EA for a long time.

 

[Deleted member 19354]

Thinking of taking the Mach E (GTPE) on a two week road trip in August, starting in Seattle and ending somewhere in California (Los Angeles? San Diego?). Stopping a bunch along the way and staying a few nights at interesting points.

Curious if any of you have any useful feedback (tips on using your Mach E as a road trip vehicle, sights to see, things to keep in mind, etc)?

We normally "fill up" at home, so we'll finally get to use our blue oval 'free' points. I think my NACS adapter or whatever won't be ready until September 2024 apparently, so I dunno if I should buy one before then or there's plentiful charge adapters on the way.

As I write this I wonder if it'll make more sense to plan to stay at certain hotels so I can charge fully, since I'm assuming it's not very common to find air b&b's that let you use their electric charging station...

Anyhow - any thoughts are appreciated!

Also

Capital Mall in Olympia has had EA for a long time.

oh yeah? Great! I’ve used the BP Pulse at the Arco a few times

 

[djwildstar]

Thinking of taking the Mach E (GTPE) on a two week road trip in August, starting in Seattle and ending somewhere in California (Los Angeles? San Diego?). Stopping a bunch along the way and staying a few nights at interesting points. Curious if any of you have any useful feedback (tips on using your Mach E as a road trip vehicle, sights to see, things to keep in mind, etc)?

My wife as a Mach-E GTPE and I drive an ER Lightning. I'm in charge of trip planning, and what I typically do is to use three apps: ABRP (A Better Route Planner), PlugShare, and FordPass, in roughly that order.

I use ABRP to plan out the overall trip, including likely charging stops. I like ABRP for this because it can handle much longer and more-complicated itineraries than FordPass can. The paid version of the app also allows me to put in details about my vehicle and driving style (for example, I can tell it to assume that I'm driving 10% over the speed limit). I can also set a minimum charge level (like 15%) to ensure range in case my selected charger doesn't work.

Using the rough plan from ABRP, I figure out where I'll be stopping for the night. Using PlugShare, I look for hotels that have chargers -- either J1772 or Tesla. Using a TeslaTap or similar adapter, I can charge from most Tesla Wall Connectors and Tesla Destination Chargers. I also check PlugShre so that I know where the nearest fast charger is located, in case I'm unable to charge overnight. Once the stops are planned, I put them into ABRP along with the overnight charging data, and have it re-plan the trip.

This will give me a new plan, typically with one fewer on-the-road fast-charge per day. I review the planned charging stops and tell ABRP to avoid the ones that are unreliable, unlikely to be accessible (car dealerships), and the like. If there are any changes at this point, I iterate and re-run the plan-and-adjust routine until I'm happy with the result. I save that plan in ABRP.

Once the plan is saved, I go through it day-by-day and enter each day's plan into FordPass. This lets me call up the day's drive from the vehicle's touchscreen and load it into the navigation system. I personally like using Ford navigation, and it also has the bonus that it automatically preconditions the battery for fast charging as you get close to each stop. If you prefer other options (Apple Maps, Google Maps), you can use the same tactic to pre-load each day's drive into your favorite navigation app.

Before leaving on the trip, make sure that you have the apps loaded and registered for all of the charging networks you're likely to use. FordPass and plug-and-charge have Electrify America and Tesla networks covered. If you'll be using any others (like ChargePoint, etc.) make sure you have their apps installed, have registered for an account, and have your payment information up-to-date.

Then we drive ...

 

[Totallyford]

Thinking of taking the Mach E (GTPE) on a two week road trip in August, starting in Seattle and ending somewhere in California (Los Angeles? San Diego?). Stopping a bunch along the way and staying a few nights at interesting points.

Curious if any of you have any useful feedback (tips on using your Mach E as a road trip vehicle, sights to see, things to keep in mind, etc)?

We normally "fill up" at home, so we'll finally get to use our blue oval 'free' points. I think my NACS adapter or whatever won't be ready until September 2024 apparently, so I dunno if I should buy one before then or there's plentiful charge adapters on the way.

As I write this I wonder if it'll make more sense to plan to stay at certain hotels so I can charge fully, since I'm assuming it's not very common to find air b&b's that let you use their electric charging station...

Anyhow - any thoughts are appreciated!

On our 4th yr of ownership. Have always used ford pass to plan trips then send the trip to the cars nav. It has always worked perfect. With that said, I always use plugshare to locate a second charger nearby just in case there's an issue with the first. You should have no issues since you're driving I 5, lots of chargers. Have a nice trip.

Sponsored