The truth about Electrify America's progress and Traveling with the Mach E

[timbop]

So that means 12 to 14 stops over 5 days, but you have very short trip days and I would think that you would be able to recharge fully at night, so I have a problem with that number of stops when I've planned 11 stops in 3 days down to Florida for little over 2300 km/1400 mi?

I'm just going by ABRP for a SR RWD MME, although tweaking a little bit for longer meal breaks and shorter midday stops (less than 80%). My plan has minumum arrival charge of 15%, which is why the first 8 minute stop at chesapeake house is there. The route didn't have a convenient hotel with L2 charging every night, but where it did I will use them and the aquarium has free L2 chargers in the parking garage. I am also going by way of Atlanta, and there is a short bit of a return leg in the stops to get from port canaveral to the train station in sanford where we'll pick up the auto train for the return trip home. Since ABRP's window doesn't show all the stops on one screen, here's the spreadsheet I exported before the EA chargers were downgraded - in case you're curious or skeptical. Also note that there a noncharging stop because my wife misses steak-n-shake so I put a stop in the plan (valdosta GA). The port canaveral stop is a placeholder in case there is phantom drain during the week long cruise:

Sponsored

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

I'm just going by ABRP for a SR RWD MME, although tweaking a little bit for longer meal breaks and shorter midday stops (less than 80%). My plan has minumum arrival charge of 15%, which is why the first 8 minute stop at chesapeake house is there. The route didn't have a convenient hotel with L2 charging every night, but where it did I will use them and the aquarium has free L2 chargers in the parking garage. I am also going by way of Atlanta, and there is a short bit of a return leg in the stops to get from port canaveral to the train station in sanford where we'll pick up the auto train for the return trip home. Since ABRP's window doesn't show all the stops on one screen, here's the spreadsheet I exported before the EA chargers were downgraded - in case you're curious or skeptical. Also note that there a noncharging stop because my wife misses steak-n-shake so I put a stop in the plan (valdosta GA). The port canaveral stop is a placeholder in case there is phantom drain during the week long cruise:

Well I guess planning a trip is has different has the route and the way we are thinking of doing it, thank you for your clarification and I'm sure it will help some understand the importance of planning a road trip with an EV.

 

[timbop]

Well I guess planning a trip is has different has the route and the way we are thinking of doing it, thank you for your clarification and I'm sure it will help some understand the importance of planning a road trip with an EV.

Oh absolutely it takes much more careful planning to minimize wasted time compared to an ICE. As I said this is an early version of the trip, before I tweaked it a little bit more. Some of the considerations I used:

1. Aligning meal times with charging stops that had close enough decent places to eat. While one CAN eat at a Walmart McDonald's or Sheetz, I looked for something a little better that was also within a short walking distance of the charger.
2. To accommodate #1, I sometimes overrode where ABRP scheduled a stop
3. I often changed how much I charged at given stops so that mealtime charging was longer/higher SOC, making the in-between stops a little shorter. The intention is not having to rush through the meal to go unplug the car, and of course shorter midday breaks where there's nothing to do but sit and wait.
4. I located suitable hotels nearby the last DCFC charging point of the day, preferably with an L2 charger. I left the EA charger in the plan in case the hotel's limited L2 chargers were already occupied. I figured if necessary I could charge the car while the wife was at the hotel pool (happy wife = happy life).
5. At overnight stops I added a little extra charge to try to go from breakfast->lunch with no/minimal stopping.
6. Because I am a pessimist, I set the min arrival SOC to 15% in case of traffic, broken chargers, etc. I figured that would be enough to get me to an alternate moderately-fast DCFC charger or L2 if absolutely necessary.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Or ... you can just buy a Hyundai Kona EV (good luck with that) and get 600 miles range (at 20 mph). Just think of all the time you'll save charging.

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ric-goes-more-than-600-miles-if-you-go-20-mph

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Oh absolutely it takes much more careful planning to minimize wasted time compared to an ICE. As I said this is an early version of the trip, before I tweaked it a little bit more. Some of the considerations I used:

1. Aligning meal times with charging stops that had close enough decent places to eat. While one CAN eat at a Walmart McDonald's or Sheetz, I looked for something a little better that was also within a short walking distance of the charger.
2. To accommodate #1, I sometimes overrode where ABRP scheduled a stop
3. I often changed how much I charged at given stops so that mealtime charging was longer/higher SOC, making the in-between stops a little shorter. The intention is not having to rush through the meal to go unplug the car, and of course shorter midday breaks where there's nothing to do but sit and wait.
4. I located suitable hotels nearby the last DCFC charging point of the day, preferably with an L2 charger. I left the EA charger in the plan in case the hotel's limited L2 chargers were already occupied. I figured if necessary I could charge the car while the wife was at the hotel pool (happy wife = happy life).
5. At overnight stops I added a little extra charge to try to go from breakfast->lunch with no/minimal stopping.
6. Because I am a pessimist, I set the min arrival SOC to 15% in case of traffic, broken chargers, etc. I figured that would be enough to get me to an alternate moderately-fast DCFC charger or L2 if absolutely necessary.

I do exactly the same thing and I always have Plugshare open beside ABRP because I think it's easier to find hotels with it I find, so if none available where I want to stop I check the nearest city before or after my night stop whish and usually you can find something. Also with Plugshare I like the fact that you can set a radius for the mi/km you want to do for each leg of the trip and have the possibility to choose your stations in a better way I think then with ABRP and also having pictures of the stations and a score by users, but ABRP is better in predicting SoC and other things because it reads the road elevation for exemple better.

 

[dbsb3233]

Or ... you can just buy a Hyundai Kona EV (good luck with that) and get 600 miles range (at 20 mph). Just think of all the time you'll save charging.

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ric-goes-more-than-600-miles-if-you-go-20-mph

Or just a Hyundai Kona (ICE). 400 mile range (at 70 MPH), 3 minute refuels. Saves way more time refueling. ?

 

[ChasingCoral]

Seems to me that you're making that decision a tad bit early. Its only August and you're talking about a road trip next year? (more than likely spring/summer next year?) Just a few more chargers may go in before that time, EA could get more reliable, tons of things could change between now and then that would affect your decision...

Just say'in.

I'm seeing that thought pattern a lot in here: People with no experience owning an EV and just saying "welp my estimate/calculation/etc. says this isn't doable so I'm just going the throw in the towel". Having had 2 BEV's now and 1 PHEV...wait until you actually have the car in hand and have driven it for a few weeks before you completely give up on the whole BEV thing...sheesh

Off soapbox...again...

I agree. We've even road-tripped with our 30kWh Leaf. Charging is just something you plan for. Unless I'm hauling boats or things like that, I definitely plan the Mach E to be our road-tripper.

 

[EVer]

I have road tripped my model 3, but for the moment if push came to shove I would take my truck. My model 3 is good for most anywhere I’d want to take it, but with my truck I don’t have to stick to a plan, and I prefer ad hoc travel.

 

[polzovotel]

Guys, the discussion here is interesting, but unless we will have per KWh price - you can forget about long trips with MME (or any other EV but Tesla). The price is 3-4 times the ICE gas. Ridiculous and outraging. EA is a joke with it's current pricing.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Guys, the discussion here is interesting, but unless we will have per KWh price - you can forget about long trips with MME (or any other EV but Tesla). The price is 3-4 times the ICE gas. Ridiculous and outraging. EA is a joke with it's current pricing.

20 states (last I heard) still prohibit kWh pricing on reselling electricity. On the other hand, California banned per minute pricing over the objections of some charging networks. The ban applies to new charging stations though. Existing station per minute charging is phased out.

 

[polzovotel]

20 states (last I heard) still prohibit kWh pricing on reselling electricity. On the other hand, California banned per minute pricing over the objections of some charging networks. The ban applies to new charging stations though. Existing station per minute charging is phased out.

I know, and Texas unfortunately one of them. The problem is how EA charges even for per-minute charging. Anyway, I am still going to use my good ICE car for long trips and enjoy MME for city driving

 

[zhackwyatt]

Guys, the discussion here is interesting, but unless we will have per KWh price - you can forget about long trips with MME (or any other EV but Tesla). The price is 3-4 times the ICE gas. Ridiculous and outraging. EA is a joke with it's current pricing.

Not necessarily. Depending on how often and how far your long-distance trips are, the cost of never buying gas and charging at home may more than offset the more expensive the L3 charging costs.

 

[silverelan]

Guys, the discussion here is interesting, but unless we will have per KWh price - you can forget about long trips with MME (or any other EV but Tesla). The price is 3-4 times the ICE gas. Ridiculous and outraging. EA is a joke with it's current pricing.

If you're really worried about pricing to recharge on your MME, just get the unlimited monthly charging plan for $39/mo.

https://www.evpassport.com/

 

[Billyk24]

If you're really worried about pricing to recharge on your MME, just get the unlimited monthly charging plan for $39/mo.

https://www.evpassport.com/

$39.00 a month is stated where on the website? Thanks for posting, never heard of it.

 

[timbop]

Guys, the discussion here is interesting, but unless we will have per KWh price - you can forget about long trips with MME (or any other EV but Tesla). The price is 3-4 times the ICE gas. Ridiculous and outraging. EA is a joke with it's current pricing.

Yes it is more expensive to DCFC at EA over gas, but it is not as bad as it seems. For one, ABRP uses the non-pass+ rates, so what you will actually pay is 30% less than what ABRP says. For another, Ford is giving you 250kwh free charging to start out, so your first long drive has a few charging stops "on the house". Finally, in the context of the cost of a whole vacation like I am planning, the extra $50 - $100 is virtually inconsequential: I'd rather be able to relax in a more comfortable position monitoring the car rather than having to overtly drive the mind numbing 1400 highway miles.

Sponsored