Traveling to Birmingham AL from Destin FL

[flabrent]

I'm curious if there are any recommendations on DC fast chargers to use or avoid between Montgomery AL and Birmingham AL? Or should I load the Tesla app on my phone and use their superchargers with the adapter Ford included with my truck?

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[RickLightning]

ABRP

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

Seriously? It is October 2025. Even in EV-unfriendly Alabama there are a zillion DCFC choices in the Birmingham and Montgomery metro areas. Just check PlugShare and choose one.

 

[flabrent]

ABRP

Thank you.

 

[Rayden]

flabrent,
Good to see another Lightning in the area. I live in Gulf Breeze, but work in Fort Walton Beach. When I got my truck a couple of months ago, it was from a dealer up in Buford, GA. I did my first charge ever on the way home. I stopped at the Sam's Club around Montgomery. It's an Electrify America station and was a piece of cake. I didn't have an adapter yet, so just plug and play.

 

[flabrent]

@Rayden ,
Thanks for the info.
This definitely a "cybertruck" area. I've only seen one other Lightning in Destin besides mine.
I have the NACS adapter and will try it out on a tesla supercharger before hitting the road.
After using ABRP, as recommended by @RickLightning , I can see there are plenty of chargers on my path.

 

[Rayden]

Yeah, I’ve got the NACS and Destination adapters. I’ve used the NACS at the supercharger close to my house a few times. I’ve only got the free travel charger right now, so I usually need to hit that one or the FPL charger in Fort Walton once a week or so.

 

[flabrent]

Yeah, I’ve got the NACS and Destination adapters. I’ve used the NACS at the supercharger close to my house a few times. I’ve only got the free travel charger right now, so I usually need to hit that one or the FPL charger in Fort Walton once a week or so.

I lived on the travel charger for about a month. Fortunately I also had access to a 240v drier socket and could add around 15 miles per hour to the truck.

 

[Rayden]

I have a family friend that is an electrician. He has been to my house to assess an installation. I told him I would prefer a 100A circuit since my truck can take 80A. Unfortunately, he’s been hard to reach since the initial walkthrough. I may have to investigate the FPL program.

 

[Rayden]

I guess I should ask what charger setup you are using now?

 

[flabrent]

I guess I should ask what charger setup you are using now?

As part of the "Power Promise", Ford set me up with an Emporia Classic Level 2 charger on a 60A two pole breaker. It operates at 48A and adds about 33 miles per hour to the truck.

 

[WXman]

We've got a batch of Tesla public chargers that were just installed this year. I assumed they would charge my Lightning, but they will not. I had to Google it. Found out that apparently there are multiple "versions" of Tesla chargers and only some V3 and all V4 sites are compatible with the F-150. That's a bummer....

 

[flabrent]

We've got a batch of Tesla public chargers that were just installed this year. I assumed they would charge my Lightning, but they will not. I had to Google it. Found out that apparently there are multiple "versions" of Tesla chargers and only some V3 and all V4 sites are compatible with the F-150. That's a bummer....

Did you use the Ford Pass app to locate them? According to the app there's a Tesla Supercharger I can use not far from my house, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[WXman]

Did you use the Ford Pass app to locate them? According to the app there's a Tesla Supercharger I can use not far from my house, but I haven't tried it yet.

No I just knew they were installed there because I pass them to and from work every day. The adapter fit just fine but the truck wouldn't start charging. I guess even though they are a new installation, they must be an older style of Tesla Supercharger.

So, that means I have to drive at least 10 more miles to the next ultra fast chargers, and I haven't tried those to see if they will work yet. It's kind of a bummer.

 

[Rayden]

That's interesting. I had figured that any new Superchargers put in at this point forward would be compatible. I don't know why they wouldn't, as they'd be missing out on business.

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