Great app for finding charging stations on road trips

[RickMachE]

It’s so clunky using all of these different apps! Why can’t we have a single app that combines route mapping, charging station info & availability, plus nearby amenities?

Many apps have features that people never use, as someone just pointed out.

I agree with this, especially the nearby part. I was doing the return trip from Indy to Detroit recently and took 24 East which has a number of exits. Apple Maps and ABRP kept recommending this 50kW charger at a GMC dealer, which I didn't love but I only needed about 10% to get home so I wasn't going to fight too much and I needed to stop for lunch anyway. But getting a clear idea of what all is around means stopping to look around on apple maps or google maps, make sure it's in walking distance, etc.

I would love if ABRP just had a "show me what food/snack locations are within a 5 minute walk of each stop".

This is the aspect of road tripping an EV that can actually be better than ICE in some ways since with ICE you have to stop at the gas station, wait at the pump while it fills, then drive to wherever you want to get food. I am eager for the day I can just pull up to an EV charger, plug in, an walk away right into a convenience store or wendy's or whatever. Most of my road trip charging stops are only 15-20 minutes which is about how long our stops for gas and food are with ICE on road trips. We just need better amenities options near chargers.

It’s getting better with the different charging brands expanding. I can usually walk to get food at almost every place I stop. I get fresh sandwiches at Publix, BK, Arby’s, Panera, Moe’s, etc. Pilot truck stop had a Steak and Shake in the building and then of course there’s Buc-ee’s. You could live there for a while if you wanted. Interestingly, some of the Tesla chargers are in really odd spots, at least two of which I wouldn’t want to go to at night and one I kinda felt a little uneasy in the daytime. Even the WalMarts usually have some kind of food nearby, but not all. This ,ast trip, there was only one stop I made that had nothing.

I find it interesting the different habits of travelers. Some seem to eat a lot, searching for food at every stop. Some treat convenience stores as destinations (Wawa, Buc-ee's). When we travel our stops are bathroom breaks and refueling breaks. We generally pack our lunch and snacks. Dinner, when EV tripping, is designed to fall near a refueling time, so we can charge overnight at the hotel and eat at a brewery (all of our trip evenings seem to end by a brewery, can't explain it)... I can't tell you the last time we bought fast food.

The amenities I'm looking for our clean bathrooms.

Been to several Buc-ee's, one with 252 gas pumps. Very nice restrooms. Tried the coffee and was very disappointed.

We'll be doing a fall trip to the UP for a few days. Right now across 2 evenings and 3 days I seem to have lined up a brewery for each dinner, and one lunch. For every museum my wife finds I have to counteract with a brewery.



We've done 25 states and thousands of miles in our EVs. Done the MI to FL drive numerous times including previous to EVs.

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[Vulnox]

It’s getting better with the different charging brands expanding. I can usually walk to get food at almost every place I stop. I get fresh sandwiches at Publix, BK, Arby’s, Panera, Moe’s, etc. Pilot truck stop had a Steak and Shake in the building and then of course there’s Buc-ee’s. You could live there for a while if you wanted. Interestingly, some of the Tesla chargers are in really odd spots, at least two of which I wouldn’t want to go to at night and one I kinda felt a little uneasy in the daytime. Even the WalMarts usually have some kind of food nearby, but not all. This ,ast trip, there was only one stop I made that had nothing.

Yeah my hope is it keeps improving as well. When I was driving to Indy from Detroit I stopped at an EA and Tesla install that was new at a Meijer in Ft Wayne. The only other person charging at any of them was another Mache. Having a Meijer is nice and they generally seem easier to get into and out of than WalMart, usually because Meijer does a decent job of staffing their checkouts. But I think the only other place within walking distance was a KFC.

 

[Vulnox]

Many apps have features that people never use, as someone just pointed out.




I find it interesting the different habits of travelers. Some seem to eat a lot, searching for food at every stop. Some treat convenience stores as destinations (Wawa, Buc-ee's). When we travel our stops are bathroom breaks and refueling breaks. We generally pack our lunch and snacks. Dinner, when EV tripping, is designed to fall near a refueling time, so we can charge overnight at the hotel and eat at a brewery (all of our trip evenings seem to end by a brewery, can't explain it)... I can't tell you the last time we bought fast food.

The amenities I'm looking for our clean bathrooms.

Been to several Buc-ee's, one with 252 gas pumps. Very nice restrooms. Tried the coffee and was very disappointed.

We'll be doing a fall trip to the UP for a few days. Right now across 2 evenings and 3 days I seem to have lined up a brewery for each dinner, and one lunch. For every museum my wife finds I have to counteract with a brewery.



We've done 25 states and thousands of miles in our EVs. Done the MI to FL drive numerous times including previous to EVs.

My habits vary depending on the trip. When doing the Indy to Detroit one it's usually two adults and two young kids. I usually aim to leave at a time where we can stop and eat to stretch our legs a bit and let the kids move around.

When we do longer trips, so more than 5 hours total travel time, it's usually a lot more packing food and the like because I don't want a 10 hour drive to turn into a two day affair. Still stop to stretch the legs but less likely to stop and spend much time eating.

When we are traveling just my wife and I again more I suspect things will be more like what you describe, either just eating what we pack or if we stop it will be more of a destination along the way.

 

[mdolan92869]

I agree with this, especially the nearby part. I was doing the return trip from Indy to Detroit recently and took 24 East which has a number of exits. Apple Maps and ABRP kept recommending this 50kW charger at a GMC dealer, which I didn't love but I only needed about 10% to get home so I wasn't going to fight too much and I needed to stop for lunch anyway. But getting a clear idea of what all is around means stopping to look around on apple maps or google maps, make sure it's in walking distance, etc.

I would love if ABRP just had a "show me what food/snack locations are within a 5 minute walk of each stop".

This is the aspect of road tripping an EV that can actually be better than ICE in some ways since with ICE you have to stop at the gas station, wait at the pump while it fills, then drive to wherever you want to get food. I am eager for the day I can just pull up to an EV charger, plug in, an walk away right into a convenience store or wendy's or whatever. Most of my road trip charging stops are only 15-20 minutes which is about how long our stops for gas and food are with ICE on road trips. We just need better amenities options near chargers.

You'd love the EA charger in Pecos, Texas. It's in the parking lot of a Sonic Burger. I stopped there, found an empty stall, plugged in the car, ordered my lunch, ate my lunch while charging, got out and tossed the trash, by then the car was about done too, unplugged and back on the road. Best. Charge. Ever.

 

[Vulnox]

You'd love the EA charger in Pecos, Texas. It's in the parking lot of a Sonic Burger. I stopped there, found an empty stall, plugged in the car, ordered my lunch, ate my lunch while charging, got out and tossed the trash, by then the car was about done too, unplugged and back on the road. Best. Charge. Ever.

A couple years ago before they opened the Fort Wayne, IN EA stations your best option was to take the Ohio Turnpike on our Detroit --> Indy route, unless you wanted to chance one of the dealership 50kW stations that is, and that was a sweet stop. EA and Tesla stations at one of the turnpike service stations and inside the service station they had Burger King, Sbarros, Starbucks, a convenience store, restrooms of course, and so on.

That kind of stop was about perfect and when people would make comparisons to gas vehicles and refills I always thought of that because that experience was better than any we had with an ICE vehicle because it was just park, plug in, walk away, eat and use the restroom, and the car was more than enough charged to get to the destination. The car taking 15-20 minutes to get the charge needed vs an ICE vehicle where it takes 5 isn't so much of a discrepancy when you are doing other stuff in the EV example.

Now if you're someone that likes to drive straight through with the shortest stops it doesn't work as well, no doubt, but I haven't been in such a hurry that 10 minutes or there mattered much compared to how much better I felt after getting out to walk after three hours of driving.

 

[Tampamike]

Many apps have features that people never use, as someone just pointed out.




I find it interesting the different habits of travelers. Some seem to eat a lot, searching for food at every stop. Some treat convenience stores as destinations (Wawa, Buc-ee's). When we travel our stops are bathroom breaks and refueling breaks. We generally pack our lunch and snacks. Dinner, when EV tripping, is designed to fall near a refueling time, so we can charge overnight at the hotel and eat at a brewery (all of our trip evenings seem to end by a brewery, can't explain it)... I can't tell you the last time we bought fast food.

The amenities I'm looking for our clean bathrooms.

Been to several Buc-ee's, one with 252 gas pumps. Very nice restrooms. Tried the coffee and was very disappointed.

We'll be doing a fall trip to the UP for a few days. Right now across 2 evenings and 3 days I seem to have lined up a brewery for each dinner, and one lunch. For every museum my wife finds I have to counteract with a brewery.



We've done 25 states and thousands of miles in our EVs. Done the MI to FL drive numerous times including previous to EVs.

Some trips are different than others. Sometimes I (my wife) plan ahead and bring food and sometimes I get something on the road. Nice to have options for when the plan comes apart (traffic) or was never very together to begin with.

 

[Dear_OP]

Sadly I do notice somewhat similar with non-SCs. And many of them are located in weird places. I came across a quad of Flo chargers that are located at a dingy backlane of a scruffy commercial area. I dare kept going...
Why O why non-Tesla chargers are so disappointing. Can you please get your acts together???? ?

 

[Tampamike]

Sadly I do notice somewhat similar with non-SCs. And many of them are located in weird places. I came across a quad of Flo chargers that are located at a dingy backlane of a scruffy commercial area. I dare kept going...
Why O why non-Tesla chargers are so disappointing. Can you please get your acts together???? ?

There are Tesla SC’s in some less than optimal locations as well.
On the bright side, most of the new installs from the bigger companies, in the US at least, like Electrify America, EvGo, GM and ChargePoint are going in at decent locations like major truck stops and major commercial areas.

 

[Snakebitten]

The Tesla station that I did my inaugural adapter test session at seemed odd, and it was in broad daylight.
While I was charging, I read some reviews. A common comment amongst reviewers was how creepy the location was, especially for night use.

The test session went well and I shortly thereafter did my first DCFC trip in the Mach-E. I had read so many things about faulty DCFC chargers, but I have yet to have an issue with Tesla SC even if they are in a seemingly rough part of town.

 

[Dzrhino]

iExit doesn't seem to have any way to default to only EV charging. Am I missing anything?

 

[PonyTail]

We've used iExit for years when we're RVing. I just noticed recently that they added electric charging stations. The nice thing about it is that it tells you everything else that's at the exit and where it is at the exit so you can see if the charging station is near a restaurant or something else that you want to visit while you're charging.

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