Traveling Through West Virginia

[Stoy333]

Greetings,

I drive a Select AWD, and plan on taking a road trip soon. I will be driving from Gallipolis Ohio to Wytheville Virginia. I’ve been trying to calculate my battery usage and M/kWh. To go from Gallipolis OH to Charleston WV (or an L2 charger) is about 55 miles and from Charleston WV to Wytheville VA is about 135 miles (or CCS). I had planned on starting at 80% charge/160 miles in Gallipolis, stopping in Charleston and charging back to 80% (2-3 hours of L2 charging), and driving the rest of the way to the Electrify America in Wytheville.

The trip will start out hilly and quickly turn mountainous. ABRP says I won’t make it from Charleston to Wytheville! Driving around 135 miles (starting the 135 miles with about “150 mile range” or so) and not having enough fuel didn’t sound accurate to me.
I will be traveling with my wife who weighs about 140 lbs and we will both have luggage for one week (not sure how much that weighs out to). I’ve never driven my Mach E for longer than 10-15 miles or so of steep incline/declines, so I have no idea how much energy I will use on my trip.

I was wondering if anyone else has driven through West Virginia and not used a fast charging station? Have you driven through steep mountains for 2 hours without charging? Are Mach E owners allowed to stop at any Ford dealer to charge? Not sure if any dealer in WV has any sort of charging…
I would prefer to use this route to go through WV since it is the shortest distance for my overall trip (Central Ohio to South Carolina). I am super nervous to attempt this route though, as ABRP says I won’t have enough charge to do it! Does anyone have any imput? Tips? Knowledge? I really don’t want to drive “the long route”, plus there’s 2 restaurants I want to eat at that are along this route!

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate any help you can provide me!

Mark
Columbus OH

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[mkhuffman]

Most car dealerships will let you use their chargers, even if it isn't a Ford dealership.

I haven't done that route, but I have taken quite a few out of town trips and can say the biggest impact to your range will be speed. Your car is more efficient than mine, but I get 2.4 miles per kWh at 80 mph. This weekend I needed to maximize range so I spent a lot more time in the slow lane. I was able to get around 3.0 miles per kWh. Probably if you do the same thing, you can do even better.

Stay at the speed limit and spend most of your time in the right lane when you have a really long stretch to cover. Your car navigation system will tell you the expected charge at destination, and I have found it to be very accurate. And you can monitor it as you are driving. If you see the percentage dropping too far, slow down.

 

[tannerk89]

I’ve driven that route although not in my Mach-e. I have also driven my MME through WV. It was the only area of the country I have had range anxiety. Chargers are difficult to find and slow when you do find them. Ford or any other dealerships will definitely let you charge - I have personal experience doing this in WV! Your range through the mountains will be impacted more by speed than anything else. Go as slow as is reasonable and try to coast down the mountains. Charleston to Wythville is a beautiful drive, there’s some L2 charging in Beckley and Princeton if you get in a pinch. Good luck if you make the drive!

 

[bruceski88]

Greetings,

I drive a Select AWD, and plan on taking a road trip soon. I will be driving from Gallipolis Ohio to Wytheville Virginia. I’ve been trying to calculate my battery usage and M/kWh. To go from Gallipolis OH to Charleston WV (or an L2 charger) is about 55 miles and from Charleston WV to Wytheville VA is about 135 miles (or CCS). I had planned on starting at 80% charge/160 miles in Gallipolis, stopping in Charleston and charging back to 80% (2-3 hours of L2 charging), and driving the rest of the way to the Electrify America in Wytheville.

The trip will start out hilly and quickly turn mountainous. ABRP says I won’t make it from Charleston to Wytheville! Driving around 135 miles (starting the 135 miles with about “150 mile range” or so) and not having enough fuel didn’t sound accurate to me.
I will be traveling with my wife who weighs about 140 lbs and we will both have luggage for one week (not sure how much that weighs out to). I’ve never driven my Mach E for longer than 10-15 miles or so of steep incline/declines, so I have no idea how much energy I will use on my trip.

I was wondering if anyone else has driven through West Virginia and not used a fast charging station? Have you driven through steep mountains for 2 hours without charging? Are Mach E owners allowed to stop at any Ford dealer to charge? Not sure if any dealer in WV has any sort of charging…
I would prefer to use this route to go through WV since it is the shortest distance for my overall trip (Central Ohio to South Carolina). I am super nervous to attempt this route though, as ABRP says I won’t have enough charge to do it! Does anyone have any imput? Tips? Knowledge? I really don’t want to drive “the long route”, plus there’s 2 restaurants I want to eat at that are along this route!

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate any help you can provide me!

Mark
Columbus OH

First of all charge to 95%, new charging curve is 3-4X faster so it won’t take too long. Have an AWD premium extended and we get 1.9 to 2 mi per kwhr going up hill and 4 to 4.5 going down in the Sierra mountains. We go up to 74. If you stay at 65 you will do better. Very consistent results and purely depends on speed as long as you never friction brake.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I drive between Northern Virginia and Louisville Kentucky often to visit family. When driving my Ford Fusion Energi, I used Corridor H (the future I-66 extension) and I-75 and I-64. However, the one time I drove Sonny Boy's Audi E-tron on this route in January 2022, I found out that West Virginia and Kentucky are both still in the pre-industrial ages when it comes to DC fast charging, except for Tesla stations. Maryland, Ohio and Indiana are SO MUCH better!

FYI - there are singleton DC fast charging stations at select Harley-Dabvidson dealerships, believe it or not. For example, in West Virginia there is a ChargePoint single DC fast charger on an outside wall in an H-D dealership on I-75 between Charleston and Morgantown, that I've used in a pinch. However, these H-D chargers, often on the outside and available 24/7, are "DC but very slow DC" fast chargers, like 24Kw. But in the desert, every cup of water helps.

Good Luck!

 

[Blue highway]

This is the time to start with 100% charge…. Stay at the speed limit

 

[Stoy333]

I’ve driven that route although not in my Mach-e. I have also driven my MME through WV. It was the only area of the country I have had range anxiety. Chargers are difficult to find and slow when you do find them. Ford or any other dealerships will definitely let you charge - I have personal experience doing this in WV! Your range through the mountains will be impacted more by speed than anything else. Go as slow as is reasonable and try to coast down the mountains. Charleston to Wythville is a beautiful drive, there’s some L2 charging in Beckley and Princeton if you get in a pinch. Good luck if you make the drive!

I was thinking of driving about 60 mph through the mountains and not pushing it. Also, is it recommended to do 1pd or regular? Unbridled for both 1pd and friction brake?
Yes, this is the first time I’ve had range anxiety since purchasing my MME. I am freaked out that none of the 3 or so posted on PlugShare chargers will work or be in operation in case I am draining too much battery!

 

[Stoy333]

I drive between Northern Virginia and Louisville Kentucky often to visit family. When driving my Ford Fusion Energi, I used Corridor H (the future I-66 extension) and I-75 and I-64. However, the one time I drove Sonny Boy's Audi E-tron on this route in January 2022, I found out that West Virginia and Kentucky are both still in the pre-industrial ages when it comes to DC fast charging, except for Tesla stations. Maryland, Ohio and Indiana are SO MUCH better!

FYI - there are singleton DC fast charging stations at select Harley-Dabvidson dealerships, believe it or not. For example, in West Virginia there is a ChargePoint single DC fast charger on an outside wall in an H-D dealership on I-75 between Charleston and Morgantown, that I've used in a pinch. However, these H-D chargers, often on the outside and available 24/7, are "DC but very slow DC" fast chargers, like 24Kw. But in the desert, every cup of water helps.

Good Luck!

I’ve used the HD dc in Morgantown and saw there is one by Clarksburg, but I will not be traveling that way. Coming from central Ohio and I won’t be at 100% charge unless I charge for 5 hours or so I’m Charleston, which I could do but would prefer not to. I appreciate your insight! I think I may call some dealers along the mountainous route to see if they will hook me up!

 

[Mancini789]

Most car dealerships will let you use their chargers, even if it isn't a Ford dealership.

I haven't done that route, but I have taken quite a few out of town trips and can say the biggest impact to your range will be speed. Your car is more efficient than mine, but I get 2.4 miles per kWh at 80 mph. This weekend I needed to maximize range so I spent a lot more time in the slow lane. I was able to get around 3.0 miles per kWh. Probably if you do the same thing, you can do even better.

Stay at the speed limit and spend most of your time in the right lane when you have a really long stretch to cover. Your car navigation system will tell you the expected charge at destination, and I have found it to be very accurate. And you can monitor it as you are driving. If you see the percentage dropping too far, slow down.

Awesome suggestions... thanks for this

 

[tannerk89]

I was thinking of driving about 60 mph through the mountains and not pushing it. Also, is it recommended to do 1pd or regular? Unbridled for both 1pd and friction brake?
Yes, this is the first time I’ve had range anxiety since purchasing my MME. I am freaked out that none of the 3 or so posted on PlugShare chargers will work or be in operation in case I am draining too much battery!

The drive mode shouldn’t make too much of a difference, I would say whatever you feel you have to most control over braking will be best because the car does regenerative breaking no matter what you do unless you press brakes hard.

There’s also an 80A L2 Blink charger (~19kW) in Charleston which is going to max out you L2 charging speed and get you power at about 2x the normal L2 charging rate. If you choose to use the blink charger, save yourself some time and get the app ahead of time, it’s required for blink at least that I’ve seen so far.

Blink Charger - 314 Ferry St, Charleston, WV 25314, USA

 

[tannerk89]

Also, WV has a ton of RV parks which typically will have a 240V outlet for shore power for RVs. Bring your Ford mobile charger with you to give you a few extra emergency options. State parks (pipestem btw Beckley and Princeton for ex) are incredible in WV and have great amenities and plenty of shore power if you call ahead and ask for help if you need it!

 

[Stoy333]

The drive mode shouldn’t make too much of a difference, I would say whatever you feel you have to most control over braking will be best because the car does regenerative breaking no matter what you do unless you press brakes hard.

There’s also an 80A L2 Blink charger (~19kW) in Charleston which is going to max out you L2 charging speed and get you power at about 2x the normal L2 charging rate. If you choose to use the blink charger, save yourself some time and get the app ahead of time, it’s required for blink at least that I’ve seen so far.

Blink Charger - 314 Ferry St, Charleston, WV 25314, USA

Thank you, I really appreciate the knowledge and info!!!

 

[jonkMACHE]

I drove from NYC to Charleston, SC pretty recently... had a solid ~30mi stretch in WV. I did not stop for charging there. I stopped in PA and Virginia for DCFC and had no issues bypassing WV. Granted, I have an extended range battery and it was pretty solid EV weather, but I don't remember running into any issues.

 

[mkhuffman]

I leaned this weekend that the difference between 70 and 80 mph is about 24% of your range. That just further emphasizes how critically speed impacts range, especially as you go faster.

When you are stretching the limits between chargers, slow down and monitor the navigation system projection for charge at destination. If you have plenty of margin, go as fast as you want.

 

[fmtexmme]

I leaned this weekend that the difference between 70 and 80 mph is about 24% of your range. That just further emphasizes how critically speed impacts range, especially as you go faster.

When you are stretching the limits between chargers, slow down and monitor the navigation system projection for charge at destination. If you have plenty of margin, go as fast as you want.

I can confirm this. I was on a trip doing the 70 mph speed limit and was getting 3.2-3.3 mi/kWh. I stopped at a charging station and all units were down. It was 78 miles to the next station and my GoM showed 92 miles of range. I drove that stretch at 65 mph and my efficiency improved to 4 mi/kWh. The old expression "Speed Kills" is very true when it comes to EV efficiency.

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