No More Road Trips

[silverelan]

… and then you arrive pretty close to empty and have to find another charger. And then you do it again on the way home. Those parts often get left out. Also 20 minutes to pee and grab a coffee?

Yeah dude, dwell times are longer than you think they are. 15-20 mins is normal. In fact, it's so normal that entire business empires have been built around that amount of time to stop and refuel.

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[n2585722]

True that! Having to stop every 150-180 miles is kind of bizarre.

I went on a 175 mile round trip in my GTPE on a single charge on the freeway and it has a 75mph speed limit on it except in the urban areas and there it is still 65mph. I started at 86% and ended at 17%. So unless you have a GT you should be doing better than 150-180 miles unless it is in cold weather. Any long trip I would take would be in one of the summer months so that should not be an issue.

 

[Scarpia]

I agree with OP.
We haven't been doing long road trips in the last few years, but the uncertainty of availability due to stations being out of order and/or occupied make it unappealing. It's a better situation now that Superchargers are in the mix, but the short cords are a real problem. Hopefully in the next few years, it continues to improve, but until then we'll take one of the ICE cars.

 

[2FlyMache]

I agree with OP.
We haven't been doing long road trips in the last few years, but the uncertainty of availability due to stations being out of order and/or occupied make it unappealing. It's a better situation now that Superchargers are in the mix, but the short cords are a real problem. Hopefully in the next few years, it continues to improve, but until then we'll take one of the ICE cars.

The short cords aren’t an issue. I had no problem getting close of them

 

[rreddy3]

I was going to come back with all the reasons why this is wrong, but decided I can sum up the OP's take in one sentence:

My wife has... finally put her foot down.

In other words, he's not tossing in the towel, she told him he's tossing in the towel...

I can almost guarantee you that if you had simply purchased a Tesla SuperCharger adapter, you would have had a much different experience. Yes, it does matter WHERE you travel (some states have no Tesla SuperChargers), but in some areas (West Virginia, parts of Canada) it is a game changer.

We've done 25 states and a province of Canada since 2021 between the Mach-E and the Lightning, and only this year did we have the SuperCharger adapter. On a 5,300 mile trip to California, and a 4,700 trip to 8 national parks across 10 states, no SuperCharger adapter. This year we used it on a trip through Canada to Vermont, where it was a game changer in Vermont, which has a dearth of fast charging of any type, but more Tesla Superchargers.

As to wait - every SuperCharger location I have been to has at least 8 charges, some have more, some many more. I have been to 2 or 3 EA's with more than 4 chargers, usually it's 4, and usually 1 or more is broken. Even the newest locations have at least one broken.

Tesla Superchargers by and large are also FASTER, specifically they deliver closer to what the car asks for than the EA chargers. No, I haven't done the same session in the same temps and compared, but relaying my experience.



Nearly all of this could be alleviated with a SuperCharger adapter. Think of all the aggravation that could have been avoided (WIFE YELLING AT YOU) had you spent less than $200...

I will state I am not a Musk fan, I am very anti-Musk, but I'm also anti-inconveniencing myself, so when there is a better choice I take it.

I believe you nailed the reasoning.

 

[Scarpia]

The short cords aren’t an issue. I had no problem getting close of them

How does that explain the many posts I've read where it is an issue?

 

[Jeff-NoVA]

I've done one 500 mile+ road trip, in the summer no less. It wasn't bad, but I never had to wait for a charger and I was not in a hurry. Still, I tried to keep my speed down to 70 or less (getting passed by other traffic). If the MME charged faster it would have been helpful. Next gen, hopefully.

 

[Sikkun]

How does that explain the many posts I've read where it is an issue?

While I have not showed up at a station I couldn’t get close enough to a short cord. I have pulled up to stations I could not charge because there were not 2 open spots to take.

It being a problem is going to highly depend on the area you live/stop in. Some people have only been to super chargers with 30 stalls and think they are all like that.

 

[GrantK]

Headed from the SF Bay Area down to Austin this weekend, then back again the following weekend.

My Pilot is all round a better car for that trip, no way I get convinced otherwise ?

 

[Blue highway]

Chargers not working (sometimes spending-10-20 minutes trying different stations) , driving to alternate locations, sometimes out of the way, waiting for chargers to become free, then because of these delays getting stuck in bad traffic. Nightmare.

... except that Tesla chargers are never broken... not a nightmare.

 

[Blue highway]

States had to submit plans in order to be granted the money. It takes time to figure out how to spend that money and get it approved by the feds. And then it take a while to do the actual construction of the NEVI funded sites, including getting permits at the local level.

I am a major EV advocate, but I'm kinda surprised anybody is defending the timescale or the results of NEVI. The time this has taken is inexcusable and the results are so close to nothing as to be indistinguishable.

21...22...23...24... NEVI has thus far been a poster child for government ineptitude.

 

[devmach-e]

I am a major EV advocate, but I'm kinda surprised anybody is defending the timescale or the results of NEVI. The time this has taken is inexcusable and the results are so close to nothing as to be indistinguishable.

21...22...23...24... NEVI has thus far been a poster child for government ineptitude.

I think most people have no idea how glacially things move when it comes to government funding, especially when spread out over 50 states, and billions of dollars are up for grabs. Coupled with watchdogs who are scrutinizing every penny being spent.

 

[RickMachE]

... except that Tesla chargers are never broken... not a nightmare.

Except that's a myth.

 

[T18C97]

I think at this point charging infrastructure must find its own way in the marketplace without much government involvement. The possible exception to that would be rural locations which might need some subsidies.

Should the government also stop providing funds for mass transit?

 

[T18C97]

I’ve done a 4200 mile road trip in my Lyriq, haven’t had one since we also got the MME. Before doing it the wife wasn’t too sure about taking a BEV vs the ICE which we still had. But after doing it she said it was totally fine and enjoyed it. Yea the WalMart tour was a bit of a pain but the walk to the bathroom was good for giving our rear ends a rest. Looking forward to next year since we can now use Tesla which we could with GM back then.

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