Do I dare drive from MA to South Carolina?

RobbyPlymouth

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I could use some advice from seasoned Mach E owners. I've had my 2022 Mach E Select AWD for a month. I love the car, as does pretty much everyone who's seen it. My range at 100 percent in about 220 miles. I have a 220-volt charger in. my garage - $1,400 to install - and I don't much worry about range because my longest typical round-trip is 90 miles. I did try an Electrify America Level 3 charging station here in Plymouth. It worked fine. In February, my wife and I plan to drive to Hilton Head SC for a month. That's 1,000 or so miles, and normally two full days of driving. We've done it in my wife's Lexus RX-350, with three pit stops for gasoline. I'm inclined to make this coming trip in the Mach E. On FordPass, the computer picked SEVEN recharging spots between here and SC. Has anyone done a long East Coast trip like this? Any advice, hints, suggestions welcome! Many thanks, Robby
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MacherAWD

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Also in New England, also with a Select AWD. If I was you I would do it hands down, assuming you dont mind the extra hassle of charging. That said, I have 2 kids, 6 and 8, so I would have less time to make a trip like that, and they are a pain, so in winter for me I would take our ICE, but without kids, retired, I would take the MME. We use ours to maine, canada, NYC, but Dec-Mar we will probably use the ICE for even those trips.
 
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RobbyPlymouth

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Thanks. I figure about 3.5 hours of charging time. Which is okay, I think, if I can synch those stops with potty breaks, fast food and driver changes. I'm worried about a) how much range I'll lose in the cold; and b) the horror stories I've seen about charging stations that don't work.
 

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I wouldn't hesitate to make the drive. I had some regrets doing a long trip at -20F which really hurt my range but no other issues. Charge to 100 before you leave and stay at a hotel with Level 2 so you can start day 2 at 100%. You may be able to get away with two short fast charges both days. Plan 1 longer one around lunch and then a quick top off.
 

MacherAWD

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Thanks. I figure about 3.5 hours of charging time. Which is okay, I think, if I can synch those stops with potty breaks, fast food and driver changes. I'm worried about a) how much range I'll lose in the cold; and b) the horror stories I've seen about charging stations that don't work.
I tried level 3 last weekend at walmart, an all around breeze. That was the 2nd time I have level 3'd in 7years of EV driving (had to cademo my Leaf once). Winter, with heat and highway, I would guess max 150miles of highway range, at 70mph, but we will see, could be less honestly.
 


WyldStallyn

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I just noticed you said February. You may need additional fast charging with range but I wouldn't worry too much about charger availability.
 
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RobbyPlymouth

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Thanks. I'm a newbie at EVs. Do hotels have overnight charging? Level 2 or Level 3?
 

BostonPete

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I wouldn't hesitate to do it... I did a trip from Waltham to Maryville, TN and back (total of 3k miles) in March and it was great, I did stop for a night along the way found a hotel with a Tesla Destination Charger and was able to top off overnight which was great.

I used up all of my free Kwh so I paid the $4 for the EA plus and the only issue I had was I never got a single EA Station to recognize my phone to start charging automatically. I even called EA they walked me through it and it still didn't work so I just manually started the charging from the Phone / App each time and never had a single issue.

So as long as you can charge where you are going then I would do it in a heartbeat. The distance driven / time worked out perfectly for me, stop to charge, get out walk around / grab a drink / coffee and BIO Break.
 

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If you haven't already, load A Better Route Planner and PlugShare on your phone. ABRP is great for planning, and PlugShare gives you current feedback on working chargers.
 

ChasingCoral

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You'll have no problem with that route. The I-95 corridor has lots of chargers. I've done MD to SW Florida (Marco Island) twice, MD-IN, and MD-NY.

The big issue will be where do you plan to charge when you are at Hilton Head? PlugShare only shows one DC "Fast" Charger on the island and it's a 24 kW charger. Lots of L2s though.

There are folks who have taken their Mach Es to Hilton Head before. You might want to search the Forum for their threads.
 

RickMachE

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A non-issue. Your charging time will drop considerably with hotel charging overnight, and leaving home and the hotel with 100%. Of course, as noted, charging on HHI is challenging.
 

OWG

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I could use some advice from seasoned Mach E owners. I've had my 2022 Mach E Select AWD for a month. I love the car, as does pretty much everyone who's seen it. My range at 100 percent in about 220 miles. I have a 220-volt charger in. my garage - $1,400 to install - and I don't much worry about range because my longest typical round-trip is 90 miles. I did try an Electrify America Level 3 charging station here in Plymouth. It worked fine. In February, my wife and I plan to drive to Hilton Head SC for a month. That's 1,000 or so miles, and normally two full days of driving. We've done it in my wife's Lexus RX-350, with three pit stops for gasoline. I'm inclined to make this coming trip in the Mach E. On FordPass, the computer picked SEVEN recharging spots between here and SC. Has anyone done a long East Coast trip like this? Any advice, hints, suggestions welcome! Many thanks, Robby
Just made a trip from Central Mass to Kinston NC, about 300 Miles short of your one-way distance and despite nothing good ever happening to me in South Carolina, I would not hesitate to drive my Mach-E to Hilton Head.

Road tripping in an EV is different rhythm than an ICE vehicle. While in a ICE vehicle it is Gas-n-go. With the longer duration required for a charge, I actually prefer the more leisurely pace.

For my 1,700 mile roundtrip in a Extend range AWD I had 12 charging stops. Chargers along the I-95 corridor are plentiful and US-278 to HH seems sparsely supported with Level 3 chargers according to PlugShare.

The pain points along the route are as always NYC and DC and apps like A Better Route Planner (ABRP) allow for planning charging stops above and below those congestion centers.
 
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RobbyPlymouth

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Thanks so much for all the useful wisdom, folks. Enormously helpful!
 

SeaKayaker4Life

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Our family did a Portland, ME to Myrtle Beach, SC round trip last March and had no problems. Electrify America has been totally reliable for us (visited more Wal-Marts on that trip than in the previous ten years) but we did use a couple of other chargers.

If you don’t have one I recommend getting a Tesla L2 adapter (TeslaTap or Lectron) as it can give you access to Tesla Destination chargers in a pinch (or at a hotel — I’ve stayed at three hotels with Tesla chargers in the last 9 months). Worth repeating: these adapters do not work for Tesla Superchargers.

Definitely use the A Better Route Planner app to give you an idea of where you’ll need to stop, but be flexible and adapt to real-world conditions (you may be able to get to the next fast-charger and save some time, or it may be freezing out and you need to stop early). The app also tells you what food/services are nearby so you can pick the best stop for your needs.

Have fun and enjoy!
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