Is plugshare the way to go?

[Kachook]

Hi, all. We are finally taking a road trip with our MME. Is plugshare the best app to use to map routes that include charging or is ABRP better? Or would I be fine using the updated Maps through Apple Carplay? Thoughts?

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[AZBill]

I use the built in Nav, but look at PlugShare for the charger ratings and recent history. If you see a rating under 10, look at the comments and then see if there are backups nearby.

 

[ebeponyan]

Hi, all. We are finally taking a road trip with our MME. Is plugshare the best app to use to map routes that include charging or is ABRP better? Or would I be fine using the updated Maps through Apple Carplay? Thoughts?

Treat ABRP as a second opinion on the built-in navigation for simple trips. ABRP is nice for more complex plans, say, to charge longer in order to have a meal or account for L2/overnight charging at intermediate stops. PlugShare comes in to find destination chargers, and also to help verify charger reliability and build out back-up plans if necessary.

If you know you want to stop at a particular destination, use PlugShare to scout for chargers. If you're just going from A to B, the built-in navigation will generally be fine. ABRP gives you more freedom to build complex plans spanning multiple destinations/days.

As for actually navigating the planned route, ABRP is much better at macro than micro, and you'll be much better off using built-in or google maps.

 

[Tampamike]

I don’t use ABRP. I tried it and didn’t like it. If I’m on a road trip, I know that primary chargers will be Electrify America, so I start there, using their app to scout out EA chargers between point A and point B. I then use PlugShare to check on the status of the chargers that I want to use. Click on “show all reviews” and you’ll get a pretty good picture of the operational stays, I.e., chargers 1,2,3 are working and 4 is down.

If there aren’t convenient EA chargers then I use PlugShare to find alternatives. So, before I get in the car I have a pretty good idea of where I am going to charge. I then put the destination in the car and let it figure it out on its own as a second opinion. Sometimes it agrees with me, sometimes it has a viable alternative and sometimes I go “WTF?” If it wants to go where I want to go then I let it. If not, then I just change the destination to the first charger that I want to go to and off we go.

Plugshare is good for finding chargers when you want to go off the beaten interstate path. Use it for plan B, plan C and plan D (I’ve gotten that far before!) Just remember though, when you’re heading to a hotel for the night, just because you can make it there doesn’t mean you can make it out. Know where the next available charger is the next day and whether you need to charge one more time before arrival.

 

[connoisseurr]

Echoing other comments about ABRP. I tried it, and it wasn't for me. I've actually been using Apple Maps, since we can now integrate EV data from the vehicle through CarPlay to the phone. Apple Maps does a decent job about routing with charging. I then verify charger data integrity with PlugShare, to see if any outages were reported, etc.

 

[RickMachE]

Use GoogleMaps first to find the possible routes without charging. Then, when you use ABRP or Ford Nav, you will see how many miles / route changes are being added for charging.

Look up each stop on PlugShare, then recheck during trip.

Several forum members took substantial detours, even driving in the wrong direction, by not comparing Ford Nav to GoogleMaps.

We plan the trip in ABRP on a PC for ease of use. Ford is impossible to restrict to EA chargers only. We use Ford Nav in the car, ABRP on one phone, GoogleMaps on the other.

We have driven many thousands of miles in this manner. Returning from a 1,050 round-trip tomorrow.

 

[AhardFSU]

I use Plug Share to verify what charges outside of EvGo and Electrify America are in a particular area. I also use Plus Share to read the most recent reviews on chargers as a way to verify which ones have or don’t have a problem.

If I need to know which chargers are in use, I’ll use the company’s app to verify usage. EvGo has a nice in use indicator.

For navigation I will pre-plan using ABRP, which I pay for. I like that you can factor in granular details for your route.

Once I’m in the car, my primary nav app is Google Maps. I tried to use and like the built in nav as well as Apple Maps, but none of could even find one of the main streets in my neighborhood. Only Google Maps has that street. So I will not use Apple Maps or the built in nav.

 

[alexgorod]

For navigation I will pre-plan using ABRP, which I pay for. I like that you can factor in granular details for your route.

Once I’m in the car, my primary nav app is Google Maps

Do you enter your next charging stop from ABRP into Google Maps to navigate to it? Have you tried to use ABRP navigation in the car?

I'm planning to go to my first trip later this week and trying to figure out what plans C, D etc I need to worry about

 

[MONDO]

As others said, Plugshare is perfect for finding and previewing the status of charge stations. I spent time and used the trip planner to map out a recent 600+ mile road trip. Well, that plan fell apart before I even made it to my first charge stop as my 7 month old son had different plans for our stop locations. Plug share app does not adjust routes for you when plans change.

Once we got to our destination (Norfolk/ Virginia Beach), Plug Share was awesome for finding charge locations. In Norfolk, I was able to get a 50->100% charge at a mall at a 50KW DC station for $1. The charger was very finicky, and I was able to see in station location’s comments that the charge cord had to be propped up on a bollard in order for it to work properly.

On the return trip, however, I had a few “must stop” locations picked out in Maryland/ Delaware. At the time, Chargepoint locations were all out of order. I found that out when scouting the charge stops the night before we were to leave. Plug share preloaded trips worked well here. Had I just followed Ford’s nav, I would have been screwed.

I could not get the hang of ABRP. Ford‘s nav worked pretty good overall for most of my trip.

 

[hybrid2bev]

I use ABRP to plan the general framework of the trip. Gives a guide for approximately how much and where to charge. Check PlugShare just before and during the trip to recon the next charger (see which station to use/avoid).

Before the trip I'll go into the Ford Navigation and save each Electrify America station on the route into my 'Saved' places (type in the address and click Go, then save). I rename them for easy reference later when typing in the 'Where To' search box. All the saved charging stations start the "EA" and the city. (i.e. EA Bowling Green or EA Athens). So when typing in the Where To box I start with EA and the big list of charging stations shows up in the suggestions, makes it very fast and easy to set the next destination. While in route I only plug in the next EA station into the Ford Nav. One charger at a time to avoid any confusion or re-routing. While charging I'll plug in the next stop in the Nav, check the distance and compare to the GOM (manually adjusting the calculations for elevation and wind).

I've had trouble with the phone navigation apps like Google Maps or Apple maps freezing or being laggy so I may miss a turn. So I prefer to use the onboard Nav.

 

[AhardFSU]

Do you enter your next charging stop from ABRP into Google Maps to navigate to it? Have you tried to use ABRP navigation in the car?

I'm planning to go to my first trip later this week and trying to figure out what plans C, D etc I need to worry about

I figure out which chargers I’d like to stop at and then let ABRP figure out if it’s realistic for me to make it to the charger I’ve picked. I haven’t tried to use ABRP in the car. I use it to give me an indicator as to whether my predetermined preference for the route can be achieved.

 

[Stevey]

I use PlugShare to plan my trips using their web site and save the route. I can then pull up the route using the PlugShare Android Auto app and select the first charging stop. The route is then brought up in google maps for navigation.

 

[timbop]

I use a combination of ABRP from planning and plugshare to validate how reliable chargers are and to find hotels with chargers.

Here's a little tutorial: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ning-with-abrp-abetterrouteplanner-com.12504/

 

[Kachook]

Thank you, all, for your input. It has been extremely helpful. If I get stuck, I'm blaming y'all. Just kidding.

 

[SuperRob]

Heard about an app called Chargeway on Twitter a few weeks back. Might be worth keeping an eye on.

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