Hitting the road this weekend? Get ready for your electric road trip!

[RickLightning]

My three road trip tips are:
1) Keep plug and charge enabled because you never know when you will end up at a charging station with no cell service and no credit card reader.
2) Carry at least a gallon of water in the frunk for you and your dog.
3) Try to charge at the least cost charging station when possible because charging providers track this information and if we want cheaper charging, providers need to know we are price sensitive.

1) Except when a Tesla or EA session fails to start (and Tesla has no display), then Plug & Charge takes over and you don't know...

3) I cannot imagine anyone sophisticated enough to track that, and most consumers are too ill-informed to understand pricing today. That is why so many laud the high priced EVgo chargers. Many don't even realize that some Tesla chargers, near others, are a different price. And years of free GM and other makes has screwed up the data.

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[RickLightning]

What's your preferred method for cost comparison?

Lowest price...

 

[Ned B]

I was returning from vacation yesterday, and the nearest ‘fast’ charger was at a Ford dealer nearby, they had two DCFC, and several level 2 chargers as well. Despite my being the only vehicle charging it was a comparatively slow DCFC session. Other than that it was excellent! Plug & Charge went smooth & it was easy to get to. The next nearest charger was a Tesla, out of my way by several miles.

I went from 30-80%, unplugged & headed towards home. I was going to use an EA for the next leg (SR battery), but spotted a Pilot charger. That one was faster, similar 35-80% charge. When I was almost home I got the Warning, but was only 6 miles away, so I ignored it. Great experience with both sessions. My level 2 had me back up to 80 by the time I headed out to work early this morning.

 

[RickLightning]

I was returning from vacation yesterday, and the nearest ‘fast’ charger was at a Ford dealer nearby, they had two DCFC, and several level 2 chargers as well. Despite my being the only vehicle charging it was a comparatively slow DCFC session. Other than that it was excellent! Plug & Charge went smooth & it was easy to get to. The next nearest charger was a Tesla, out of my way by several miles.

I went from 30-80%, unplugged & headed towards home. I was going to use an EA for the next leg (SR battery), but spotted a Pilot charger. That one was faster, similar 35-80% charge. When I was almost home I got the Warning, but was only 6 miles away, so I ignored it. Great experience with both sessions. My level 2 had me back up to 80 by the time I headed out to work early this morning.

Many Ford dealerships have relatively slow DCFC. Many are 125kWs that max out around 110kW.

The Tesla would have maxed out in the 180s. And likely was cheaper. A few miles would have been worth it.

PlugShare would have shown you the Ford charging speed. Ford app would show you the cost.

 

[K6CCC]

I cannot imagine anyone sophisticated enough to track that, and most consumers are too ill-informed to understand pricing today. That is why so many laud the high priced EVgo chargers. Many don't even realize that some Tesla chargers, near others, are a different price. And years of free GM and other makes has screwed up the data.

Off hand, I wold disagree with that. I'm sure there are plenty of people that check pricing when DCFCing. I certainly do. As with many people most of my charging is at home so only using DCFC on the road. Using my last road trip to Tucson as an example, my first overnight was in Quartzite, AZ. There is an 4 stall E.A. station, a 6 stall Rivian station, and an 84 stall Tesla station available (there is also a 36 stall Tesla only station). I checked pricing for all three and with the Tesla membership, it was the least expensive - and with 84 stalls, plenty of space. Coming home my last stop was El Centro, CA where there are two Tesla stations available to us and an E.A. station. I stopped at the more northern Tesla station because it was the least expensive (it also was a V4 so had the longer cables).

If there is a widespread exception, I would speculate that it is Tesla drivers because they most likely just go to the closest Tesla SuperCharger...

 

[RickLightning]

Off hand, I wold disagree with that. I'm sure there are plenty of people that check pricing when DCFCing. I certainly do. As with many people most of my charging is at home so only using DCFC on the road. Using my last road trip to Tucson as an example, my first overnight was in Quartzite, AZ. There is an 4 stall E.A. station, a 6 stall Rivian station, and an 84 stall Tesla station available (there is also a 36 stall Tesla only station). I checked pricing for all three and with the Tesla membership, it was the least expensive - and with 84 stalls, plenty of space. Coming home my last stop was El Centro, CA where there are two Tesla stations available to us and an E.A. station. I stopped at the more northern Tesla station because it was the least expensive (it also was a V4 so had the longer cables).

If there is a widespread exception, I would speculate that it is Tesla drivers because they most likely just go to the closest Tesla SuperCharger...

You may disagree, but it is reality. Few check prices.

 

[K6CCC]

You may disagree, but it is reality. Few check prices.

Of course either of us know that answer, we're just speculating..

 

[DavidS]

You may disagree, but it is reality. Few check prices.

Lots of people pay extra for their gas too until it suddenly jumps 50%.

 

[Mal106]

I check prices always and, with few exceptions, Tesla is the cheapest. Off hours some of their DCFC chargers are only $.01 more than my home charging. I feel like any animosity for Elon should be exhibited by selling stock. Anything else just hurts the hard working middle class employees of the most American auto manufacturer there is.

DCFC and it's pricing is still one of the biggest obstructions to EV adoption there is. If locations and pricing were as visable as gas, I think many more would consider EVs.

Having said that, I just finished a 6100 mi road trip. I did the math and, though I really wanted to use the Lightning, gas prices would have had to be $8.20 a gallon to break even. The PHEV Niro got 47mpg average at 65 to 85mph and my calculations were based on 40mpg. I based truck mileage at 2 mi per KWH which is optomistic at those speeds. The most I paid for gas was $7.759 in So CA and the average was about $4.10. I love the truck but it's not very efficient at hiway speeds.

The 100% charge at home to start and getting back with 10% or so makes shorter road trips far more competitive.

 

[Ned B]

Many Ford dealerships have relatively slow DCFC. Many are 125kWs that max out around 110kW.

The Tesla would have maxed out in the 180s. And likely was cheaper. A few miles would have been worth it.

PlugShare would have shown you the Ford charging speed. Ford app would show you the cost.

Well, good to know. Storm is Mostly a comfortable commute truck for me, replacing my last Volt. My selection process was what’s easiest to get to, then to the interstate. Surprisingly few charging options near my daughter’s house in Chesapeake VA. In the end, next time I’ll probably choose either the Tesla, or the EA which at least had strong DIY vibes, located at IKEA.
also I’m still trying out traveling with Storm, next up will be headed towards Gettysburg & the other daughter & grandkids..

 

[carys98]

Well, good to know. Storm is Mostly a comfortable commute truck for me, replacing my last Volt. My selection process was what’s easiest to get to, then to the interstate. Surprisingly few charging options near my daughter’s house in Chesapeake VA. In the end, next time I’ll probably choose either the Tesla, or the EA which at least had strong DIY vibes, located at IKEA.
also I’m still trying out traveling with Storm, next up will be headed towards Gettysburg & the other daughter & grandkids..

There is a Mercedes station at the outlets near the Norfolk Ikea that is cheaper and has the Alpitronic chargers that Ionna uses.

 

[Charge_Rob]

EVgo offers its own plug-in charge service through its own app, which allows for automatic charging. Auto plug+

I would strongly advise against using Autocharge with EVgo or any other network, it its far less secure - we have even seen recently EVgo Autocharge being used for unauthorized charge sessions by others.

 

[Charge_Rob]

Hey, Rob (and Brian) -

When will it be possible for Plug & Charge to recognize my Tesla, EA and EVgo memberships and give me discounted DCFC charging?

Soon™ right?

That's an excellent question for Tesla and EA - EVgo doesn't support Plug & Charge at all yet.

As an EV driver myself, and someone who road trips far more than most, if we could deliver that for you guys on our own, we would have.

 

[Charge_Rob]

Do you know that Ford gets a piece?

Plug and Charge is a way for Ford to show how easy it is to own an EV, because using apps is challenging for some people. Removing an impediment to ownership. That's worth money to Ford.

I could see them charging Tesla, EA, IONNA the processing cost that they're not incurring. But haven't ever seen confirmation that they get anything else.

And yes, I also seek out the least cost options.

To confirm - Ford does not get a cut of BlueOval Charge Network transactions, regardless of if they're Plug & Charge or Ford app activated, just so everyone's clear. The service is provided to make your charging easier.

 

[Charge_Rob]

Maybe, but I think the answer is far simpler: When a plug and charge session payment is processed through Ford, it gets a piece of the action. Likely, it’s a substantial fraction of the difference between full retail and the membership cost. So, encouraging people to use plug and charge is just a promo for another revenue stream for Ford.

As someone who does a lot of long distance travel in his Lightning (my 20th road trip of more than 1500 miles begins next week) I am price sensitive when charging. Fortunately, the DCFC infrastructure in the US has improved to the point where I usually have choices when stopping to charge. I almost always check the cost before deciding where to stop.

While this sounds good, it is in fact not true. Whether you use Plug & Charge or not, the price you see is the price the charge network receives. Ford does not mark up BlueOval Charge Network transactions. The service is there simply just to make it easier for you to charge.

As someone who does way more EV road trips than most, I value having BlueOval Charge Network because using all 22 networks in-network is the best way to make sure you're getting the best charge at the right location without an army of apps.

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