Terrible road trip experience

[SpaceEVDriver]

Just about home from a 2300 mile road trip that has been absolute misery (the driving has been awful).

We took a trip from Northern AZ to the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas to watch the eclipse.

But because we were caravanning with a couple who drive gas, my partner decided we should too, "to avoid inconveniencing them."

The ride in the Tacoma was uncomfortable, loud, and stressful; we arrived exhausted.

We spent more than $600 on gas. We'd spent more on gas on the first fillup--just an hour from home--than I had spent to get to OK on the last eastbound trip I took in the Mustang.

Every gas station was crowded and we had to wait in line at almost every stop. Most had at least one or two pumps out of order. We rarely spent less than 30 minutes at a stop. We made a stop every 150-200 miles. Had to fill up every morning or late at night before going to bed instead of just plugging in overnight.

Every charging station we passed was nearly empty.

We hit huge traffic slowdowns on the interstate, so I got to watch my fuel gauge climb down while going absolutely nowhere.

My only conclusion is that gasoline vehicles are just terrible for road tripping. They're loud, inconvenient, EXPENSIVE, and overall only good for...I don't know what they're better at than BEVs

Anyone want a Tacoma? It's going up for sale by this weekend. Going to reactivate that Rivian or Lightning order.

Sponsored

 

[machev]

Sorry you had a terrible road trip and it was a good reminder that challenges ICE cars face.

On Sunday I drove 5 hours one-way to Rochester in my Mach E. Left home at 100% and drove past every busy service area on I-90. Charged overnight back to 100% at my hotel. The traffic home right after the eclipse (big disappointment due to the clouds) wasn’t good and the service stops entrances were backed up. Drove 4 hours nonstop to Massachusetts to charge at an EA spot, 8 stalls, and only one other EV there, another Mach E! Only charged for 10 minutes to ensure I could get home. Spent less time “fueling up” compared to all the ICE cars and simply plugged overnight and ready for work today.

Not all places in the northeast have the needed infrastructure yet for EV’s but there’s plenty of chargers in New York and this trip was easier, cheaper and better compared to an ICE car

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I mean the industry has to up its game with providing an expansive and reliable gas station network…. Otherwise, no one will buy gas anymore!

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I mean the industry has to up its game with providing an expansive and reliable gas station network…. Otherwise, no one will buy gas anymore!

I was surprised they haven't opened more pumps since they know well ahead of time that there would be a surge in customers.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Sorry you had a terrible road trip and it was a good reminder that challenges ICE cars face.

On Sunday I drove 5 hours one-way to Rochester in my Mach E. Left home at 100% and drove past every busy service area on I-90. Charged overnight back to 100% at my hotel. The traffic home right after the eclipse (big disappointment due to the clouds) wasn’t good and the service stops entrances were backed up. Drove 4 hours nonstop to Massachusetts to charge at an EA spot, 8 stalls, and only one other EV there, another Mach E! Only charged for 10 minutes to ensure I could get home. Spent less time “fueling up” compared to all the ICE cars and simply plugged overnight and ready for work today.

Not all places in the northeast have the needed infrastructure yet for EV’s but there’s plenty of chargers in New York and this trip was easier, cheaper and better compared to an ICE car

Our trip would have been way easier and cheaper is we had taken the Mustang.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Dayum. That sounds truly awful. I've yet to take a really long drive but if hunting for a charger and waiting while charging is the worst thing I'd have to deal with on the road, I think I'd have it pretty good.

Seeing more of both Rivian's and Lightnings on the road here in NH. Get one of each ?

 

[Hammered]

Yeah, my hybrid F150 is the road tripper. 600 miles to a tank, shuts off in traffic. Imagine how much worse it would have been if you took the EV, all that plus some. I was going to go to AR for the eclipse but had other things come up and the cloud coverage wasn't promising. Had my aux tank ready to carry another 600 miles worth in the bed with me as a contingency. I've owned 1 taco before which was enough. They're great teenager/early 20s vehicles. Comfort and economy aren't on the list of their attributes. That's more of a poor vehicle purchase than anything to do with ICE.

I also don't convoy, it's almost as bad as stopping every 2 hours for EV charging.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Yeah, my hybrid F150 is the road tripper. 600 miles to a tank, shuts off in traffic. Imagine how much worse it would have been if you took the EV, all that plus some. I was going to go to AR for the eclipse but had other things come up and the cloud coverage wasn't promising. Had my aux tank ready to carry another 600 miles worth in the bed with me as a contingency. I've owned 1 taco before which was enough. They're great teenager/early 20s vehicles. Comfort and economy aren't on the list of their attributes. That's more of a poor vehicle purchase than anything to do with ICE.

I also don't convoy, it's almost as bad as stopping every 2 hours for EV charging.

I've done most of this trip in the Mustang before. It was a much, much better drive in the Mustang. I had been saving up for a Lightning or R1T, but am going to go ahead and make the trade ASAP. Once I'm done with the gas cars, I only ever have to go to a liquid fuel station for the tractor, and that'll be only a few times a year. Will trade the tractor for electric in a few years when their prices are down and my savings is up.

 

[DoogleMac]

Sorry to hear your experience!
Im doing almost the same 2200 mile trip from southern AZ to AR to go fly fishing. I suspect there will be snags along the way, but I will use your experience to console myself as I enjoy the high tech ride.

 

[stealthytolkien]

I respectfully disagree (to a great extent). With a screaming baby and a dog in the back, on almost all occasions, a hybrid that shuts off in traffic has been objectively better for our long trips than the MME that a) charges way slower than say, Tesla. And b) relies on a rather unreliable network.

I said I disagree to a great extent with your meta point, but not completely because your situation, was vastly different than most situations one would encounter on a trip.

Sure, if I were going to see a once in a century event visible only from certain areas, I would probably plan a bit differently, and maybe even go with an EV just assessing the area where I’m going to.

I can’t challenge the expensive part. Non hybrid big cars are guzzlers. But this whole noisy rough exhaustion stuff sounds a bit exaggerated to me. Perhaps get a better gas / hybrid car! Tacoma is built for off road adventures isn’t it?

 

[Mirak]

Our trip would have been way easier and cheaper is we had taken the Mustang.

If by easier, you mean 4-5 hours longer both directions, sure. I'm sure your ICE travelling companions would have loved stopping every 200 miles to locate a random charging station and sit there for 30-40 minutes. You could have spent those stops extolling to them the benefits of EV road tripping! :rollseyes:

Also, if you stopped every 150 to 200 miles in an ICE, I don't know what to tell you. Go see a doctor?

 

[MW1515]

We also just finished a road trip of similar mileage and saw the eclipse in Ohio which was amazing. We took our Odyssey minivan, which was the right choice for our family of four. However I agree it was painful to see how much we paid for gas on the trip. And we did pass a service station on the way home after the eclipse in PA that I think was the only one for a long time that had a 80 car backup of people waiting to get gas and some people wandering around outside their cars! I was very thankful I didn't need gas at that moment, it would have added another hour or more to our trip! Plus, now I need to schedule an oil change for the Odyssey after that long trip...

 

[Hammered]

I think OP just upset they missed april fools so they're coming out with this now. Nobody here even remotely going to buy the whole 2k mile road trip with ICE being 'bad' vs EV and its very specific route planning requirement and specific infrastructure requirement. Poor vehicle choice and company can ruin anything. The seating of the tacoma is just bad. Only with this years model did toyota decide to rectify it. I was born at night, just not last night.

OP you'd fit in with the tesla cult. Cognitive dissonance is hilarious. 500 miles with no adas, $100k fail. LOL

 

[Dear_OP]

It really depends what you are travelling on. Not sure what is the state of the trucklet. I rode in my friend's 3-year old TRD Taco and it really wasn't as comfortable even compared to my 10yo BMW wagon. I would imagine a comparatively priced and age ICE SUV would be quite nice without the range anxiety.

I made a trip calculation from Vancouver to Kelowna BC. It would require at least one EV stop before going up the Coquihalla. Under winter conditions, I'd make 2 stops. With an ICEV, it would be non-stop regardless of season and able to make scenic detours without a moment's thought.

 

[azerik]

Even the short trip from Phx to Flg in my Lexus is annoying. Sure my MME rides a touch stiffer but the lack of everything you mentioned, just, is so much better in the MME. I went down to Tucson over the weekend. Nice weather, no hvac needed (though the seat heaters on the way back home late sunday). Pushed through and avoided the EA stations making it there and back without charging, and BCHF working nearly perfectly. Heck even the mirror wind noise in my car is gone. It was a damn pleasant ride I say. (Eibach springs made it much better but man GolfLinks to the Avation Hwy, the blacktop is like speed bumps. 100 speed bumps merging onto that 'hwy' lol.)

Sponsored