No More Road Trips

[Sikkun]

150-180 miles is 2 hours of freeway driving . We don’t need to stop every two hours to stretch our legs or use the restrooms. When we stop with an ICE we can get gas for 400 miles of travel, stretch legs, use restrooms and be on our way in 5-10 minutes - not the 20-30 (or often more) minutes with the EV.

So you drive 90+ mph, only ever have to pee, and apparently never get any food (even fast food isn’t happening in 5-10 minutes).

That is a choice also.

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[dbsb3233]

I can beat you. My first road trip was free because I used free EA charging compliments of Ford, although I'm sure I actually paid for it with purchase of the car.
I could also beat you with ICE by using the company car with company credit card.
You're comparing apples to oranges. We can't always find a free L2 charger to use.
A more reasonable way to compare would be to use an average price of DCFC on your trip and calculate cost per mile as we do with ICE.

I wouldn't say that (only count DCFC). Obviously a company car with free gas is a rare exception. That doesn't apply to 99% of people. And the free kWh that come with the car purchase is an obvious caveat. Of course that's free to use up first.

Clearly we're talking about the gas vs charging equation for the vast majority after their free kWh have expired. And L2 is usually in the mix for most people after that, especially at home (without AC charging where I live, I wouldn't even consider buying a BEV). Even if you can't find acceptable hotels with L2, you still usually have the initial 200 miles or so of home L2 to start the trip. That's significant.

And many people do find L2 along the trip as well. For my most frequent 1700 mile trip, roughly 800 miles are covered from free/cheap L2 instead of DCFC.

 

[Blue highway]

Never…I’ve seen the SuperCharger next to Atlanta airport be half down more than once…..it’s not like searching the Tesla app and finding stalls down is impossible. Like this one.

yeah, and you had to search for that...

I think a lot of this is very location dependent. I'm in Southern Oregon, and have not had major issues with charger access on road trips. And I have not yet used my NACS adapter, which should improve things in a pinch.

However, I have NOT yet taken a trip through far Northern Oregon. It would be useful if you could provide folks more info about WHERE you've experienced the big delays that have soured your experience. Portland area, or Seattle area, perhaps?

I'll note one learning experience I had. I stopped at the Vacaville, CA EA station around 10pm on weeknight. No reason to expect it to be busy. One charger was down, the other seven were occupied (not bad at all for EA!), but thankfully somebody pulled out just as I was going to give up. As I charged, I walked around and observed: three of the stations were occupied by ID4s, one was at ~85% and another over 90% charge. A little further observing found that nearly every vehicle was occupied by someone just sitting in the drivers seat, and some appeared to be rideshares (Uber, Lyft, etc.). I've seen other posts about this, I think what you have in and on the fringes of some major metro areas is an unhealthy combo of ID4 owners getting every electron they think they deserve, and rideshare drivers camping out while awaiting their next ping (many are both, of course). I now plan my trips to avoid stations like that.

You will have to come visit us in northern Oregon... the DCFC situation is generally better than in the south (more chargers)

Gas station thinking is going to take years to go away... I am beginning to think we need a blinking light of shame on chargers... once they are above ~85% they change color for everyone to see...

 

[Sikkun]

yeah, and you had to search for that...

By search you mean check a station I have stopped at multiple times? Yes?

 

[RickMachE]

I don't see an advantage taken EV on long trips. With the lower mileage and the price of charging from home it cost about the same as an ICE car. Say gas is 3.00 gallon, my ICE get 30 mpg. Charging on the road say average is .45. so 3.00 divided by .45 is 6.7. so then take 6.7 X 3 mpk which is high more like 2.5. but at 3 would be 20 miles for the same price for my 30 mpg. Plus I can stop anywhere when I want. I don't have to wait in line or to charge. Don't have to get off hwy to find a charger. Around town I save a lot with EV charging at home. I pay .09 a kwh. Big savings around town. On a trip not so much.

1) Quiet drive.
2) More power.
3) Tech including handsfree driving (that may or may not be on your gas vehicle).

 

[Blue highway]

By search you mean check a station I have stopped at multiple times? Yes?

I've been using them for a few years... never seen more than one Super charger dispenser down at a station... EA, I've never seen all the dispenser working in a single location.

The T uptime figure of 99.x% is bs... because of the way it is calculated but it is >90%+

how far is it to another supercharger near ATL? 200 yards? clearly insurmoutable

Kinda brings back memories... I've flown more than a million miles out of Hartsfield

 

[doogie63]

1) Quiet drive.
2) More power.
3) Tech including handsfree driving (that may or may not be on your gas vehicle).

On hwy with cruise control set at 70 mph. So where does the more power come in to play? Quiet I understand, but then again I have the wind noise problem on my Mach-E. Handsfree if you want to pay $800 a year, but think that dropped some now.

 

[bbulkow]

Everyone has a different threshold, I guess, but taking up two spots or having to park sideways fits my definition of a "problem".

Maybe a different threshold, but have you done it? I was a little nervous first time, but then i notice there is usually at least one other non Tesla with the same issue, so it's just how things are at these stations now.

I make a point of stopping at non busy stations tesla stations. They show up nicely on the tesla app.

While it might be A problem, it is so much less problem than showing up at a station with one or two chargers and wondering if i will have to wait 30 minutes or not charge, i categorize as not a problem. ?

 

[RickMachE]

On hwy with cruise control set at 70 mph. So where does the more power come in to play? Quiet I understand, but then again I have the wind noise problem on my Mach-E. Handsfree if you want to pay $800 a year, but think that dropped some now.

When you go to pass.

I have 3 years of handsfree on both vehicles, and then I will pay the monthly option when/if I take a trip.

 

[bbulkow]

And of course there's sometimes an opportunity to grab one that doesn't require 2 spots, First choice is the one on the far right if there's enough space to park just right of it. Or if the left end is an open lot, nose in sideways. And some have at least one charger that stick out along side the spot.

Or, if someone has already taken the far right, you park next to them. Arguably they took the extra spot and you didn't, or you both took a half.

Tesla has also said they are working on it and made a lot of stations accessible, although their numbers are pretty braggy and hard to translate into reality.

 

[milepost1]

After 3.5 years of ownership I’ve finally tossed in the towel with lengthy road trips. The poor mileage under freeway conditions, unpredictable charging infrastructure, wait lines for charging, and the Walmart parking lot ambiance makes for a longer and unpleasant experience. My wife has been putting up with this up to now, but has finally put her foot down. Not doing it ever again.

This is for trips 300 miles or more. Great car for around town and shorter trips.

I have taken many road trips way over 300 miles. 3,000 being longest. Just drove 500 miles on hwy 3 in canada, 20's snow and ice 0 issues charging. Drove seattle to Phoenix and back twice Used to be nerve racking. But now most places have chargers. I find it a relaxing way to travel. However not relaxing for everyone. So not sure of point. If your uncomfortable going over 300 miles don't go over 300 miles. There are still sketchy areas but improved 1000% over last 5 years. I don't even plan charging unless going to remote area.

 

[bbulkow]

After 3.5 years of ownership I’ve finally tossed in the towel with lengthy road trips. The poor mileage under freeway conditions, unpredictable charging infrastructure, wait lines for charging, and the Walmart parking lot ambiance makes for a longer and unpleasant experience. My wife has been putting up with this up to now, but has finally put her foot down. Not doing it ever again.

This is for trips 300 miles or more. Great car for around town and shorter trips.

Obvs a lot of different strokes here, i will add mine and shutup.

My road trip cases are less than about 500 miles each way. More, I fly. I did one long roadtrip just for the joy of roadtrip.... 06 maybe? Even sf to la, i fly.

My particular mache is, i think, the best for roadtrips. The premium seats are quite good. The sound system is better than my ice car, as is the cruisecontrol, as is the wind noise, as is the infotainment. I have the ER battery (which charges faster and has more range). I have the rwd for a touch more range on top. It seems i get an honest 250 miles 10 to 80 percent, although i like stopping at 3 hours. That's NOT at 75mph! 67 is my cruise control speed.

I will take the extra 10 to 15 percent of time these days, being a little older, because tacos. Mmmm road food. Unless i need to haul a trailer, that's why the Honda is hanging around. With a tarp over it because it is getting started about once every two months just to shake the rats out and warm it up and get some fresh(er) gas into it.

I remember back when i did 1000 mile days coast to coast. Now i fly and grumble when i have to take a connection. Want to get somewhere quick? Driving is not the way... But i hear yall.

Pre supercharger it was more like an adventure, even for my (limited) use case. With supercharger, with Google maps integration and ford public charging app, it's just a car.

Car camping would be a no brainer. Glass roof, climate control, air bed in the back, big inverter, ive been thinking of rigging for that in 25....

 

[milepost1]

I generally agree, it's great for around town but not trips over 1 stop & charge. I would add that holidays are a no-go for road trip charging, but if I'm planning to charge weekdays it's usually OK even if 1-2 charges are broken in most locations (grrr...). On holidays It's always a long wait, uncertain charging situation. It makes a simple drive way more stressful.

Yes holidays are a drag. Only traveled on holiday once. That i won't do again. Lol

 

[dbsb3233]

yeah, and you had to search for that...


You will have to come visit us in northern Oregon... the DCFC situation is generally better than in the south (more chargers)

Gas station thinking is going to take years to go away... I am beginning to think we need a blinking light of shame on chargers... once they are above ~85% they change color for everyone to see...

It should be self-correcting for travelers. Newbies may not realize at first but they'll quickly find out that it's taking forever to get from 80% to 100%. Once they do, they'll realize that's not gonna work for road trips. Part of the learning curve.

The real problem is locals (especially those with free unlimited charging plans) who tie up the DCFC station a block from where they live or work or eat regularly, because they can. And rideshare drivers, and anyone buying a BEV when they don't have L1/L2 charging where they sleep or work. More than a tiny% of drivers DCFCing full-time will ruin all this. L1/L2 charging has to be the overwhelming majority of all EV charging for this to work.

We're already seeing the problems that causes in big California cities. It's a preview of what we'll see in most cities around the country if we try to let full-time DCFC become the norm for many. (And yes, I know that means recommending apartment renters without L2 DON'T buy BEVs (yet). Which is exactly what I'm saying. It's a really bad idea until we get way more L2 into apartment parking.)

 

[WallyS56]

After 3.5 years of ownership I’ve finally tossed in the towel with lengthy road trips. The poor mileage under freeway conditions, unpredictable charging infrastructure, wait lines for charging, and the Walmart parking lot ambiance makes for a longer and unpleasant experience. My wife has been putting up with this up to now, but has finally put her foot down. Not doing it ever again.

This is for trips 300 miles or more. Great car for around town and shorter trips.

Hmmmm. Did a 4,670 mile trip and only had to wait in line once (Los Angeles). Encountered three broken EA chargers, but there were plenty of operating ones available at those stations. Superchargers are the game changer.

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