Took my 2nd road trip - not great

[BadgerGreg]

Which tree? ?

Giant Eagle in Sheffield, Ohio.

Yep, that's the one. The second tree from the right.

Sponsored

 

[RickMachE]

Yep, that's the one. The second tree from the right.

Yeah, I contemplated that. But my wife needed an option. The Sheetz gas station wasn't very clean either.

 

[mkhuffman]

I guess we drive in different areas. I cannot recall every putting gas in my vehicles at a gas station that didn't have at least an attendant at it, unless I go back over 40 years to a station that had a machine where you inserted dollar bills to pre-pay for your gas.

I would never gas up at a closed gas station.

It could be a government regulation in your area. In Virginia, there are not always attendants at stations with the card readers in the pumps - which is really all of them. And one day, Walmarts will be open 24/7 again.

 

[Tampamike]

Most people are going to shop at their closest Walmart. If they charge at home they are not likely to charge at Walmart. I suspect that the universe of Walmart shoppers who have BEVs but no charger at home is pretty small.

People who have to charge while traveling are mostly going to be on interstates and equivalent roads and they are going to choose the closest charger which means a charger just off the interstate rather than a charger at a Walmart which may not be near the interstate.

Having taken a couple substantial road trips, I would say that the Walmart locations chosen are all, or mostly all, right off the interstate exits. It would be nice if there were DCFC’s at the highway rest stops, but then again, there aren’t any gas pumps there on the most of the non-toll roads. All of the toll road rest stops need to have DCFC’s and not just Tesla super chargers.

 

[RickMachE]

In NY State, an EA location is at Waterloo Premium Outlets, which requires leaving the toll road and driving miles to the location. Bathroom is several hundred yards inside the outlet mall courtyard, which is largely deserted. Didn't notice times posted.

In Herkimer, NY, the EA charging is in a Denny's parking lot, with a very cheap hotel next to it. Denny's didn't object to us using the bathroom, but I don't think they were overjoyed about it.

In Chicopee, MA, the EA location is next to Home Depot. In Auburn, MA it's in a Sears parking lot, which is closed, and deserted. Nearest door to mall is a short walk away, and then through most of the mall to the facilities.

In Kodak, Tennessee, EA's chargers are at a Harley Davidson store. They didn't object when we used their one person at a time facilities. Of course they're selling merchandise to some people, and would have limited hours also.

The point is that what you experience in any one part of the country, even at EA locations, is not universal to the entire country. Walmart may be a dominant part of the EA landscape, and many MAY be next to the highway, but that's not the experience many others find. We've now charged about 30 times at EA locations, probably 20+ different locations.

In 2019, EA had more than 120 Walmart locations. They have 600+ locations, planned to be 800 by the end of this year (if they make that number).

There are gas stations right off the highway (or on the highway on toll roads) in abundance, but the EA locations often require a 10 minute drive with stoplights. 5 stops a day, adding 20 minutes per stop, is 1 hour and 40 minutes of wasted time.

 

[Tampamike]

At first I used to say “Why can’t theses EA chargers be at gas stations?” Then I found one at a gas station. It wasn’t good and I’m glad my wife wasn’t there. In general, the Walmart’s are cleaner. When there’s a few food choices nearby, it works quire well.
I’ve been to the outlet malls too (including Waterloo) and, yeah, you usually have to walk a bit to the bathrooms but it’s not like you don’t have time and don’t need to stretch your legs. It’s true that the deserted, closed businesses are a little creepy at night but fortunately, I’m usually in the hotel by then. With more competition, that should improve.
My biggest ask is for a roof, trash cans and window squeegees - you know, like every other gas station. Some evidence of human management visiting/monitoring might be nice too.

 

[pt19713]

Did you guys hear about this? Not even the Tesla Technoking is not without his worldwide software problems.

OP, at least you had your MME available to drive.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-server-outage-no-start-cars-elon-musk/

From Friday.

https://electrek.co/2021/11/19/tesla-suffers-nationwide-app-server-outage-owners-cant-connect-cars/

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/tesla-drivers-report-locked-server-outage-rcna6205

I can't speak for the S and X, but all the 3 and Y are fully driveable. The app down time prevents preconditioning but the doors unlock via Bluetooth, not the network. Once in the vehicle, the owners can still drive.

Both are vehicles allowed us to drive home without any issues. Don't believe everything you read.

 

[Mach1E]

I dream of a scenario where charging stations exist next to places I actually want to go into (NOT Walmart, Sam's Club, or a closed grocery store). Norway is leading the way...let's follow their lead:

Bjørn Nyland Presents Fast Charging Station Of The Future (insideevs.com)

I dream of a day where we have wireless charging toll roads where you can charge while you drive.

Dream big!

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I guess we drive in different areas. I cannot recall every putting gas in my vehicles at a gas station that didn't have at least an attendant at it, unless I go back over 40 years to a station that had a machine where you inserted dollar bills to pre-pay for your gas.

I would never gas up at a closed gas station.

Maybe it's a regional thing? In Virginia, almost all gas stations still allow use of the self-service pumps by credit card even when closed. I've filled-up many a late night at a "closed" gas station on the way home from an extended day at work. Are you saying yours don't have that capability, or you just choose not to stop at a "closed" station due to safety, etc.?

 

[voxel]

At first I used to say “Why can’t theses EA chargers be at gas stations?” Then I found one at a gas station. It wasn’t good and I’m glad my wife wasn’t there. In general, the Walmart’s are cleaner. When there’s a few food choices nearby, it works quire well.
I’ve been to the outlet malls too (including Waterloo) and, yeah, you usually have to walk a bit to the bathrooms but it’s not like you don’t have time and don’t need to stretch your legs. It’s true that the deserted, closed businesses are a little creepy at night but fortunately, I’m usually in the hotel by then. With more competition, that should improve.
My biggest ask is for a roof, trash cans and window squeegees - you know, like every other gas station. Some evidence of human management visiting/monitoring might be nice too.

EA stations need to be at Wawas and Buc-ees (like SC - https://cleantechnica.com/2021/11/1...for-superchargers-span-26-stores-in-7-states/)

The Superchargers at Wawas when I owned a Model Y - were great. They had bathrooms and good selection of snacks. One of the SC was also next to a Krispy Kreme too

The EA stations I use currently are at malls or Walmarts and it's a crappy experience. These locations get ICEed also.

 

[miata]

Walmarts also have some degree of security and activity you don’t get at most charging stations. Let’s face it: a shiny mme makes us look like easy marks.
as long as they’re open!

 

[RickMachE]

Maybe it's a regional thing? In Virginia, almost all gas stations still allow use of the self-service pumps by credit card even when closed. I've filled-up many a late night at a "closed" gas station on the way home from an extended day at work. Are you saying yours don't have that capability, or you just choose not to stop at a "closed" station due to safety, etc.?

I've never seen a station open to pump gas that was "closed". When the attendant leaves, they turn out all the lights. They need an attendant there to hit the emergency shutoff, if necessary, etc.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I've never seen a station open to pump gas that was "closed". When the attendant leaves, they turn out all the lights. They need an attendant there to hit the emergency shutoff, if necessary, etc.

Yeah, in Virginia at least, all the lights can be off, the people are gone, and even the lights over the pump may be turned off, but the pumps almost always work fine for credit card transactions. I think I've only come across one station in my entire life (since pumps took credit cards themselves in Virginia) where "closed" meant CLOSED.

 

[timbop]

In NY State, an EA location is at Waterloo Premium Outlets, which requires leaving the toll road and driving miles to the location. Bathroom is several hundred yards inside the outlet mall courtyard, which is largely deserted. Didn't notice times posted.

In Herkimer, NY, the EA charging is in a Denny's parking lot, with a very cheap hotel next to it. Denny's didn't object to us using the bathroom, but I don't think they were overjoyed about it.

In Chicopee, MA, the EA location is next to Home Depot. In Auburn, MA it's in a Sears parking lot, which is closed, and deserted. Nearest door to mall is a short walk away, and then through most of the mall to the facilities.

In Kodak, Tennessee, EA's chargers are at a Harley Davidson store. They didn't object when we used their one person at a time facilities. Of course they're selling merchandise to some people, and would have limited hours also.

Yes, not all Walmarts are right on the highways, so of course we could cherry pick either way. The Fredonia NY Walmart that is also on route 90 IS 300 yards from the highway, but doing a tit-for-tat contest isn't productive.

The point is that EA uses partners to locate their chargers, and that includes some Wawa's like the one in New Castle Delaware and the S&S gas station/convenience store in Lake City FL. The fact that Walmart recognizes the opportunity and is willing to work with them doesn't mean other companies cannot nor that EA shuns those other companies. Those "better" partners aren't coming forward now to the level Walmart is, so EA is working with Walmart. Getting CCS DCFC ANYWHERE is critical, so maybe you can live with the compromise?

Certainly it would be preferable to have them as 24 hour convenience stores right at the highway with good food, clean bathrooms, and 24hr security. That's not even close to being economically viable in the US right now because of the tiny volume - EVEN FOR TESLA. The awesome locales in Europe are in countries with a far smaller geographic area and a far higher BEV marketshare. Eventually the ideal you are looking for can happen here, but not when only 2% of the vehicles on the road are BEVs and most of those currently use a proprietary connector.

And for the record: I hate Walmart as a company and the only things I have bought at a Walmart in the last 5+ years were those drinks and snack I bought on my drive. However, I recognize that right now they are the only nationwide company embracing the opportunity so I will give them credit where due.

I've never seen a station open to pump gas that was "closed". When the attendant leaves, they turn out all the lights. They need an attendant there to hit the emergency shutoff, if necessary, etc.

Maybe that's just in your area of the country?

 

[ericNdfw]

CarPlay is crap. It really is. It's a buggy slow pile of horse dung.

We rarely have had problems with it in the 4 prior cars my wife, son and I have had with it. None of them were wireless, FWIW.
They also were all Kia's and Hyundais (2020 Palisade, 2022 Palisade, a 2021 Forte, and 2018 Stinger) so maybe they just have a better app stack than others?

Sponsored