Newbie Road Trip 101?

[superdave80]

If you do decide to lease a MachE and go on a road trip, make sure you have the Tesla DC charger adapter first. This will open up WAY more DC charger locations that are more reliable and make planning trips easier.

Sponsored

 

[Space_Pony]

I've tried to figure out a way to filter chargers by price on Plugshare. For example I would like to filter out all chargers over .40/kwh on Plugshare but came up blank. You would think if free chargers are able to be filtered, then other pricing could be filtered. Is there an app that will do this or do you have to review each dcfc for pricing on Plugshare? Some like Tesla don't even have prices listed on PS.
I gave up on ABRP because they don't have some of the local chargers listed and no prices, so they aren't reliable and important data is missing.
As far as I know all electricity is the same so if a charger is priced at .35 a couple blocks from one priced at .64, I would aim for the cheaper one if the speed was comparable.
I guess I got used to using gasbuddy.

 

[CameraCarl]

Thanks for your help. We took delivery on a red Mach-E Premium yesterday. I'm looking forward to learning all the ins and outs of charging. It should be an adventure.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Thanks for your help. We took delivery on a red Mach-E Premium yesterday. I'm looking forward to learning all the ins and outs of charging. It should be an adventure.

Fabulous!

I'm late to the party on this thread but have two observations after a year and a half:

1) If your road trips are "the same" most of the time - trip to see the grandkids in the summer for example - then once you do it it's pretty much the same each time. You get to know the route and the chargers that work well and are near things you want to be near. I road trip to Montreal all the time and hit the same chargers (give or take) each time. On my last trip I decided to venture off the beaten path a bit and looked for alternatives to the usual suspects so that in my head I knew where Plan B was. For that trip I now don't need apps - maybe PlugShare to see if they are working well and if they are busy - but not to find chargers. I do use the Ford Navigation app to plan stops because that's the only;y way to prepare the battery for a DC fast charging stop. The "preconditioning" of the battery makes a noticeable difference in how fast the car will charge.

2) I have fond memories of my Dad planning our summer vacations in the late 70s and early 80s with nothing more than maps of Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York, and a phone book. I'd argue it was harder to plan back then than it is now. Once you get comfortable with using some of the popular apps (and the Ford Nav), people will be asking *you* for advice.

2.5) Others have mentioned the Tesla adapter - definitely get one.

Good luck! Enjoy!

 

[naekk]

I put this tutorial together a couple of years ago and the ABRP software has changed some, but you'll get the basic idea of planning a road trip. Keep in mind I am very much a planner (my wife would say I'm nuts), but if you think of it as a game like doing a crossword or sudoku it's kind of fun.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...brp-abetterrouteplanner-com.12504/post-305239

Timbop! Thanks for this link. I am a tech project manager and love to plan and just geek out on “the game” of driving my mme too. My family calls me their weird, techie mom, who’s a lot of fun! Hahaha

 

[MellowJohnny]

Timbop! Thanks for this link. I am a tech project manager and love to plan and just geek out on “the game” of driving my mme too. My family calls me their weird, techie mom, who’s a lot of fun! Hahaha

The world has it all wrong - it's the non-geeks who are weird...

 

[timbop]

Thanks for your help. We took delivery on a red Mach-E Premium yesterday. I'm looking forward to learning all the ins and outs of charging. It should be an adventure.

Welcome to the party!

Some of these might be helpful (they're older but should still apply):
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...c-vehicles-from-technology-connections.21534/
https://www.macheforum.com/site/posts/242483/
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ulate-how-far-your-mach-e-can-really-go.6104/
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/electric-car-charging-how-long-does-it-really-take.284/

 

[HuntingPudel]

<SNIP>
and I am from the Rand McNally age, where you needed to cross reference how far between cities and make sure you’re had enough gas. With EV it’s more about ABRP to measure mileage and efficiency, then PlugShare, to confirm the chargers are reliable and sufficient speed. Plus checking, which hotel you want to rent and whether they have an EV charger available, and if it is reliable or not.

Rand McNally? I still have gas station maps that we got for free from Chevron or Shell. ??

I agree that planning makes the trip easier. When I went up the coast to get my dog, my sister was happy to know what the stop schedule was like. ??

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Rand McNally? I still have gas station maps that we got for free from Chevron or Shell. ??

I agree that planning makes the trip easier. When I went up the coast to get my dog, my sister was happy to know what the stop schedule was like. ??

You are just a bit my senior. But even in the early 90s, crossing Nevada or the Dakotas without a plan and a map was ballsy.

Sponsored