One way ticket to Casper...

[SeanMc]

First, a big thank you to this forum and everyone who's sharing their experiences with the MME. The combined effect really helped with our purchase and confidence making the transition to a full EV.

After months of dithering between the MME and Tesla model Y, we took one more drive in the Mach-E and it was decided. Not sure whether it was the ride itself, the screen in front of the steering wheel, the buttons (!), the fact that almost every other EV on the road right now is a Tesla, or the better looks; but we placed our order in early April. Yep, right about the time that Ford stopped even pretending to schedule build dates. After a few weeks of refreshing the Ford site each day hoping to see progress, I started searching cars.com within an ever-widening radius. Most of the cars listed there were dealer demos not available yet, or pre-orders for other customers and also not available. But each time I chatted with a dealer, I let them know I'd grab one in our configuration if they could get it. Finally, a cancelled order to our specs came available in Casper, WY!

Then, the question was how to get it from Casper to Salt Lake City. The dealer was willing to have it shipped and could have made that easy to do; but we've had mixed success with having cars shipped without damage. Plus, I didn't mind the thought of a little adventure. Thus, the title for this post. Flew in late Thursday afternoon and picked up the car that evening (with the obligatory extended warranty sales-pitch ordeal as we completed the financing paperwork), then headed west.

This is where the combined experience on this forum helped so much. I'd familiarized myself with PlugShare and the other apps, and looked up charging options along the way. Unfortunately, central Wyoming is about the worst place to have a non-Tesla EV. No fast charging anywhere, that I could find. Fortunately, the Hampton Inn in Riverton offers free EV charging (as long as giant diesel trucks haven't taken the prime parking space by the side doors). There were a nervous few minutes getting that charger to start working, as it needed to be positioned <just so> or it wouldn't charge. Figured it out, and woke up the next morning around 80% state of charge.

Next stop was a Ford dealer in Rock Springs with a slow charger. I'd called ahead to confirm they had one and wouldn't mind me stopping by. At least it was free; and I was lucky enough to not be on a specific timeframe. Had a long breakfast break then some laptop time in their lobby while the car got back up to enough charge to feel relatively comfortable making it to my first fast charger, a free station at the Summit County Courthouse in Coalville, UT.

Of course, those who have driven I-80 westbound through that part of Wyoming will be familiar with the headwinds which can be brutal. It was a hot day, but I lucked out and it was relatively calm. It was fun (?) watching the GOM and navigation apps tracking my progress - go up a mountain pass and it looks like I might not make it; go down and now I've got a few more miles to spare. In the end, rolled in to the fast charger without much battery to spare, but made it. Last leg into Salt Lake was no problem after that.

Since then, we've driven the heck out of Flash (the boys insisted on this name). Approaching 4500 miles with multiple in-state road trips and we're very happy. Not sure why this is the case, but Utah has decent fast charging coverage via EA stations. Enough to get us to our familiar places and home again, anyway. Thanks again to those of you who have shared your experiences and indirectly supported ours.

Sponsored

 

[engnrng]

First, a big thank you to this forum and everyone who's sharing their experiences with the MME. The combined effect really helped with our purchase and confidence making the transition to a full EV.

After months of dithering between the MME and Tesla model Y, we took one more drive in the Mach-E and it was decided. Not sure whether it was the ride itself, the screen in front of the steering wheel, the buttons (!), the fact that almost every other EV on the road right now is a Tesla, or the better looks; but we placed our order in early April. Yep, right about the time that Ford stopped even pretending to schedule build dates. After a few weeks of refreshing the Ford site each day hoping to see progress, I started searching cars.com within an ever-widening radius. Most of the cars listed there were dealer demos not available yet, or pre-orders for other customers and also not available. But each time I chatted with a dealer, I let them know I'd grab one in our configuration if they could get it. Finally, a cancelled order to our specs came available in Casper, WY!

Then, the question was how to get it from Casper to Salt Lake City. The dealer was willing to have it shipped and could have made that easy to do; but we've had mixed success with having cars shipped without damage. Plus, I didn't mind the thought of a little adventure. Thus, the title for this post. Flew in late Thursday afternoon and picked up the car that evening (with the obligatory extended warranty sales-pitch ordeal as we completed the financing paperwork), then headed west.

This is where the combined experience on this forum helped so much. I'd familiarized myself with PlugShare and the other apps, and looked up charging options along the way. Unfortunately, central Wyoming is about the worst place to have a non-Tesla EV. No fast charging anywhere, that I could find. Fortunately, the Hampton Inn in Riverton offers free EV charging (as long as giant diesel trucks haven't taken the prime parking space by the side doors). There were a nervous few minutes getting that charger to start working, as it needed to be positioned <just so> or it wouldn't charge. Figured it out, and woke up the next morning around 80% state of charge.

Next stop was a Ford dealer in Rock Springs with a slow charger. I'd called ahead to confirm they had one and wouldn't mind me stopping by. At least it was free; and I was lucky enough to not be on a specific timeframe. Had a long breakfast break then some laptop time in their lobby while the car got back up to enough charge to feel relatively comfortable making it to my first fast charger, a free station at the Summit County Courthouse in Coalville, UT.

Of course, those who have driven I-80 westbound through that part of Wyoming will be familiar with the headwinds which can be brutal. It was a hot day, but I lucked out and it was relatively calm. It was fun (?) watching the GOM and navigation apps tracking my progress - go up a mountain pass and it looks like I might not make it; go down and now I've got a few more miles to spare. In the end, rolled in to the fast charger without much battery to spare, but made it. Last leg into Salt Lake was no problem after that.

Since then, we've driven the heck out of Flash (the boys insisted on this name). Approaching 4500 miles with multiple in-state road trips and we're very happy. Not sure why this is the case, but Utah has decent fast charging coverage via EA stations. Enough to get us to our familiar places and home again, anyway. Thanks again to those of you who have shared your experiences and indirectly supported ours.

Thanks for the post and details! Welcome to the MME generation!

 

[Lathrop]

Yes, living in WY is an adventure for non-Tesla. I can't get to Utah or to Montana without a long coffee break, even crossing Nebraska is a challenge. There are no fast chargers "yet" that I know of however EA has installed one in Cheyenne but my most recent drive by is that it is still fenced out after six weeks and not in operation, go figure as it will be used once up and running and they just missed Cheyenne Frontier Days and >200,000 people in town. For those of you driving through on 80 or 25 it is located at a Target at the Mall off Del Range Blvd. What is coming: in probably 18 months or more there is going to be fast charging stations installed first on the interstates and then on the two lane corridors such as those leading to Yellowstone. And Tesla is making noise about opening up their Walls to all, stay tuned.

 

[TruWrecks]

I was talking to EA last night and I recommended 2 more chargers along I-80 to the tech. She submitted the recommendation to the deployment team.

Whenever you call EA about a charger you are at, you can also discuss problem areas that restrict travel due to lack of fast charging. They want this feedback.

Sponsored