First road trip with lessons learned

[Tetburyman]

I have read with interest many trip accounts here. I add mine hoping it may help someone planning to make, as I was, their first long EV trip.

Trip was from Puget Sound to Santa Rosa, CA via 101 along the coast, then over to Sacramento, and finally back up I-5 to home.

On the trip down we had no definite stopping points or schedule other than ending in Santa Rosa and getting to Astoria the first day. I did some research via ABRP before going and noted various charging locations, but since we didn’t know when or where we would stop, it was of limited utility.

I had problems at all the smaller, “off-brand” chargers I tried. They require an account that is confirmed by a text or email back to you with one-time validation PIN. The emails and texts either never came or came hours later. Worst, by the way, was a Shell recharge station just NW of Smith River, CA. Chargers wouldn’t work and plug wouldn’t come out. (After a lengthy call, they were sending a tech - from 2 hours away!) Plug finally came out after about 30 minutes for no particular reason. No Shell, no more ever. After those problems, I decided to only charge with companies I had used successfully in the past, Chargepoint and EA, plus Tesla if necessary [given their excellent charging rep on this forum]. That approach worked well. Once I knew where we would be stopping, I found a charger I could use, usually in Walmart or Fred Meyer parking lots.

In addition, we stayed at 2 hotels with free L2 chargers, both Teslas, that worked great. Free fueling! A wonderful perk.

I supposed while traveling I-5 home it would be easy to find places to charge, as it was. I overestimated the ease of charging on 101 through Oregon, though. Lots of places to charge, but many have a process too cumbersome and poorly administered to use.

Our ’24 XR RWD Premium proved an excellent touring vehicle, particularly on the interstate. Smooth, quiet, comfy, excellent climate system, great road manners.

My lesson’s learned:

1. Stick to proven charging companies that have worked for you in the past, if possible

2. Learn to use the various apps - ABRP, Plugshare, etc. - well before you go tripping. I was too sanguine about my ability to use them and it bit me as we traveled.

In short, good trip in which the issue was not range anxiety, it was charger anxiety. I’ll know next time.

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[WallyS56]

I live in Blaine, Washington and have covered nearly 10,000 miles in roadtrips in my 2024 since last summer. Here’s my simple rule: prioritize Tesla-join and use their app for planning charging stops (turn off Plug & Charge on Ford app to get discount); use EA as a backup.

 

[RickMachE]

I have read with interest many trip accounts here. I add mine hoping it may help someone planning to make, as I was, their first long EV trip.

Trip was from Puget Sound to Santa Rosa, CA via 101 along the coast, then over to Sacramento, and finally back up I-5 to home.

On the trip down we had no definite stopping points or schedule other than ending in Santa Rosa and getting to Astoria the first day. I did some research via ABRP before going and noted various charging locations, but since we didn’t know when or where we would stop, it was of limited utility.

I had problems at all the smaller, “off-brand” chargers I tried. They require an account that is confirmed by a text or email back to you with one-time validation PIN. The emails and texts either never came or came hours later. Worst, by the way, was a Shell recharge station just NW of Smith River, CA. Chargers wouldn’t work and plug wouldn’t come out. (After a lengthy call, they were sending a tech - from 2 hours away!) Plug finally came out after about 30 minutes for no particular reason. No Shell, no more ever. After those problems, I decided to only charge with companies I had used successfully in the past, Chargepoint and EA, plus Tesla if necessary [given their excellent charging rep on this forum]. That approach worked well. Once I knew where we would be stopping, I found a charger I could use, usually in Walmart or Fred Meyer parking lots.

In addition, we stayed at 2 hotels with free L2 chargers, both Teslas, that worked great. Free fueling! A wonderful perk.

I supposed while traveling I-5 home it would be easy to find places to charge, as it was. I overestimated the ease of charging on 101 through Oregon, though. Lots of places to charge, but many have a process too cumbersome and poorly administered to use.

Our ’24 XR RWD Premium proved an excellent touring vehicle, particularly on the interstate. Smooth, quiet, comfy, excellent climate system, great road manners.

My lesson’s learned:

1. Stick to proven charging companies that have worked for you in the past, if possible

2. Learn to use the various apps - ABRP, Plugshare, etc. - well before you go tripping. I was too sanguine about my ability to use them and it bit me as we traveled.

In short, good trip in which the issue was not range anxiety, it was charger anxiety. I’ll know next time.

Glad to see #2. Too many people blame the vehicle, not their lack of knowledge and experience. The more you travel, the more knowledgeable you become. Regardless of not knowing where or when you were going to stop, ABRP, combined with PlugShare, would have helped you out IMO.

Yes, in general, Shell is awful. Note that Shell Recharge is no more, it's all Shell.

Many networks are part of Ford's BlueOval Charge Network, and you don't need their apps.

 

[moritzes]

I live in Blaine, Washington and have covered nearly 10,000 miles in roadtrips in my 2024 since last summer. Here’s my simple rule: prioritize Tesla-join and use their app for planning charging stops (turn off Plug & Charge on Ford app to get discount); use EA as a backup.

Parenthetical is key! Didn't know that on my first extended trip yesterday (700+ miles). Break-even on $12.99 Tesla membership varies, but for my trip it was around 280 miles. Oops. Cost me an extra $30-40 including membership.

 

[Flint302]

Great write up. Thank you for putting that on the board.

 

[Sawdusty]

Interesting. I just completed a road trip this past weekend, although it was only a few hundred miles, not thousands like yours. I've done this a few times but for the first time ever, I was unable to charge at a Tesla station. In fact it didn't even show up in the Tesla app, probably because I have my vehicle details in the app and apparently I'm not compatible, even though I have the adapter. I was looking for somewhere to top off before hitting the road for our return trip (only about 235 miles) and saw a bank of about 12 Tesla stations; I drove over and only one was available so I pulled in but kept getting an error message. Eventually another bay opened up so I tried there but still no luck. I know that not all superchargers will be compatible but that was the first time I encountered it.

When I started driving, Google Maps said I'd have to pull off and charge up about an hour from my home, but as I continued to drive the remaining range percentage kept going up. So about halfway home I cancelled the nav and reopened it, and lo and behold suddenly it said I'd make it with about 15% charge remaining, so I didn't need to top it off after all.

 

[WallyS56]

Interesting. I just completed a road trip this past weekend, although it was only a few hundred miles, not thousands like yours. I've done this a few times but for the first time ever, I was unable to charge at a Tesla station. In fact it didn't even show up in the Tesla app, probably because I have my vehicle details in the app and apparently I'm not compatible, even though I have the adapter. I was looking for somewhere to top off before hitting the road for our return trip (only about 235 miles) and saw a bank of about 12 Tesla stations; I drove over and only one was available so I pulled in but kept getting an error message. Eventually another bay opened up so I tried there but still no luck. I know that not all superchargers will be compatible but that was the first time I encountered it.

When I started driving, Google Maps said I'd have to pull off and charge up about an hour from my home, but as I continued to drive the remaining range percentage kept going up. So about halfway home I cancelled the nav and reopened it, and lo and behold suddenly it said I'd make it with about 15% charge remaining, so I didn't need to top it off after all.

To, I guess, mollify Tesla owners, there are ‘Tesla Only’ Supercharger stations; using the Tesla app will show you this in the description of the location- Google maps won’t. This is why it’s best to use the proprietary apps for providers. I also prefer PlugShare for locating chargers other than Tesla and EA.

 

[Sawdusty]

To, I guess, mollify Tesla owners, there are ‘Tesla Only’ Supercharger stations; using the Tesla app will show you this in the description of the location- Google maps won’t. This is why it’s best to use the proprietary apps for providers. I also prefer PlugShare for locating chargers other than Tesla and EA.

I used the Tesla app the day before to find compatible stations and this one didn't show up, and while I was standing there by my car wondering why I was getting an error message, I checked the app again. It still said the closest compatible Tesla charging station was about 15 minutes away, but in the opposite direction of how I needed to get home. It just didn't appear at all, much less to tell me that it was a Tesla only station.

 

[WallyS56]

I used the Tesla app the day before to find compatible stations and this one didn't show up, and while I was standing there by my car wondering why I was getting an error message, I checked the app again. It still said the closest compatible Tesla charging station was about 15 minutes away, but in the opposite direction of how I needed to get home. It just didn't appear at all, much less to tell me that it was a Tesla only station.

Hmmm. I guess, because you enter the make of your car on their app, that they don’t show the non-Tesla Superchargers now. PlugShare does, I believe. I haven’t taken an extensive trip since June.

 

[RickMachE]

Hmmm. I guess, because you enter the make of your car on their app, that they don’t show the non-Tesla Superchargers now. PlugShare does, I believe. I haven’t taken an extensive trip since June.

Most apps, including PlugShare, allow you to hide incompatible locations. PlugShare has a Hide Tesla Only setting. GoogleMaps hides it when you enter vehicle and that you have an adapter, as does ABRP.

Tesla app, when car and adapter are entered, has hidden incompatible locations since Feb 2024 at least.

 

[Sawdusty]

[QUOTE="RickMachE, post: 1017599, member: 5324]
Tesla app, when car and adapter are entered, has hidden incompatible locations since Feb 2024 at least.
[/QUOTE]

This confirms my assumption, thanks.

 

[WallyS56]

Most apps, including PlugShare, allow you to hide incompatible locations. PlugShare has a Hide Tesla Only setting. GoogleMaps hides it when you enter vehicle and that you have an adapter, as does ABRP.

Tesla app, when car and adapter are entered, has hidden incompatible locations since Feb 2024 at least.

That’s what I thought.

 

[rsas8991]

I recently complete a road trip from NYC to Boston MA and back. I used ABRP Premium connected through Apple Play, along with an ODBLink CX dongle. I reset the SOC in the app to match my starting percentage displayed in the dash. Throughout the trip the SOC never matched the dash display. I had added the car into the app. I was under the impression with the ODBLink CX I should be feeding live data to the app. Has anyone else experienced the same thing. Am I doing something wrong. ABRP is much better then the Ford Nav and offers many more charging options, however I would find it that much better if it was tracking the correct state of charge which would help me deicide where to charge as I go. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ericNdfw]

I recently complete a road trip from NYC to Boston MA and back. I used ABRP Premium connected through Apple Play, along with an ODBLink CX dongle. I reset the SOC in the app to match my starting percentage displayed in the dash. Throughout the trip the SOC never matched the dash display. I had added the car into the app. I was under the impression with the ODBLink CX I should be feeding live data to the app. Has anyone else experienced the same thing. Am I doing something wrong. ABRP is much better then the Ford Nav and offers many more charging options, however I would find it that much better if it was tracking the correct state of charge which would help me deicide where to charge as I go. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I did my first ABRP + OBDLink CX road trip yesterday. I had the same problem at the beginning of the trip until I realized that there was a red "OBDLinkCX disconnected" warning. At a stop light I made sure I was connected via the iOS Bluetooth settings and then ended up having to force-quit ABRP on the phone and restart it to get it to show the green "Connected" notation.

The rest of the trip, it worked like a champ. Re-connecting every time I got back in the car and, yes, it shows a ton of data including accurate SOC percentage.

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