My 19th EV road trip - 2000 miles in the Wild, Wild West

[On the Road with Ralph]

I just finished my 19th EV road trip of more than 1500 miles - this one was 1964 miles, from Las Vegas to NW Arkansas. It took me through some incredible landscapes: the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches National Park, the mountains of central Colorado, the desolate plains of west Kansas.

Perhaps the most adventurous part was half a day spent off-road in SE Utah's Valley of the Gods and its infamous Moki Dugway. The ONLY way to see this place is to get off the pavement and make the truck dirty. Fortunately, Tesla Superchargers shortly before and not far afterwards (and also a Rivian station) made it possible for my standard range Pro to take on this challenge in the middle of nowhere (that and its four wheel drive and new Hankook iON HT tires).

Even in the remote, wide open West I was never concerned about having enough range, or finding an EV charger. The EV charging infrastructure in the US, largely thanks to the Biden Administration, is MUCH better - even in rural, outback America - than popular opinion would lead you to think. I will never understand the people on this forum who seem afraid to leave their driveways without a long extension cord. If you aren’t taking advantage of the Lightning’s superb long distance touring experience, well… you are missing what might be its strongest suit.

A case in point: In the tiny town of Kit Carson in eastern Colorado (try finding it on a map without using the search feature), there is an eight-stall Tesla Supercharger (v4s with MagicDock). This is nowhere near an interstate highway, on a two lane state road. But not only wasn't I the only one charging there, but there was a couple driving separate EVs, including a GM EV truck they had just purchased and were ferrying home to Oregon (the other was a Tesla Model S). Across the street, parked in the driveway of a very modest house, was a Tesla Model 3. So, yeah, EVs are not just urban commuters.

A few statistics on the journey: I spent $289.20 on electrons; that works out to just less than 15¢ a mile. Had I been driving the gas version of the F-150, I would have spent approximately $383 - almost $100 more. My average cost per kWh was roughly 32¢. Most of my DCFC charging was at Tesla stations with a membership; I did get 65 kWh of L2 charging for “free” during a hotel stay in Colorado Springs, and a few more off a public L2 charger at the Grand Canyon. The truck reported that I was getting 2.3 miles per kWh, but my calculated number was about 2.15 based on the dispensed energy. I attribute the difference to a <10% loss during charging.

I've attached to this post a few photographs from the trip, more-or-less in the order in which the subjects were encountered, all with descriptions. There is also a short video clip from my thrill ride on the Moki Dugway.

Much of the trip was in the middle of nowhere, with no sign of human impact. This is in northern Arizona where the Colorado River carves the landscape before becoming the Grand Canyon.

One of the most spectacular views was at the Gooseneck Reserve, a Utah State Park; it easily rivals Big Bend at Page, Arizona.

The Lightning handled the off-road challenges in the Valley of the Gods superbly.

I was blown away by Potash Road near Moab, Utah - it is on a thin strip of land between the Colorado River and sheer sandstone cliffs.

There are all kinds of stunning views from Arches National Park.

One of the most serene drives was 50+ miles spent in a canyon on Utah Route 128 northeast of Moab. The silent Lightning makes such travel Zen-like.

I stopped very briefly for an "insurance charge" in the Colorado mountain hamlet of Leadville, Colorado (in the end, didn't need it to reach that night's destination). Even in a town of less than 3000 people, there was a DCFC charger.

My route was in part determined by a desire to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas. I wanted to be reminded of when we had a sane, competent president who governed with integrity and responsibility. Eisenhower gets insufficient credit for being one of the great leaders of the 20th Century.

Encountered an interesting charging site in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Tesla v4 dispensers with MagicDock, but labeled as Francis Energy. I needed to use the Tesla app to initiate the charge.

Driving the Moki Dugway at Valley of the Gods was a bit of a thrill in the Lightning.

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[SpaceEVDriver]

That’s my back yard! Gorgeous views. The “secret way” into Arches is a pretty drive too, with some light off-roading, if you’re ever back in the area.


https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...l-park-including-some-light-offroading.25803/

 

[B177y]

Spent a majority of my life living in Park City & SLC. I made frequent trips to these areas that you just visited. This post makes me miss that area even more that I already do. Well done, looks like you had a great trip!

 

[morrisosu]

I've actually had really good luck out of those Francis Energy "Superchargers". Even w/o a Tesla membership and just using the default BlueOval billing, the rates aren't terrible for public charging.

 

[digitaldad]

@On the Road with Ralph , great report, views and experiences (as always). On your highway stretches, what speeds are you typically cruising at?

I just completed the first-half of my latest trip (will be around 2,500 when done). I’m at 1.8 miles/kWh, and will have already spent your overall charging costs on my side.

90% Tesla membership pricing but I tried ionna for the first time on one, and unfortunately, had to use Rivian at one stop (my fault and .67, ouch). No hotel/destination chargers on way here but get to use that and solar for the few weeks I’m here with family (before heading back).

 

[rpritchett2]

Thanks. We are planning trip from Houston to Colorado in the fall. I use ABRP for planning, but was finding limited charging in a few zones. Enough, but limited. Who do you use for planning?

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

@On the Road with Ralph , great report, views and experiences (as always). On your highway stretches, what speeds are you typically cruising at?

I just completed the first-half of my latest trip (will be around 2,500 when done). I’m at 1.8 miles/kWh, and will have already spent your overall charging costs on my side.

90% Tesla membership pricing but I tried ionna for the first time on one, and unfortunately, had to use Rivian at one stop (my fault and .67, ouch). No hotel/destination chargers on way here but get to use that and solar for the few weeks I’m here with family (before heading back).

The better-than-usual miles per kWh average has a lot to do with my route choice. I spend very little time on interstate highways. I am using these trips to see America (cue Simon & Garfunkel), and my routing involves a lot of travel on two-lane rural roads and slow-downs through small towns. So my usual travel speed is in the 55 to 65 mph range.

Side editorial note: I've been struck by the sad state of affairs in most of the small towns I've passed through the last few years. They are not in good shape; you can almost feel how the prosperity has been sucked out of them by our country's changing economy. What once was an idyllic version of American life now appears to be a struggle to survive.

My experience with Tesla Superchargers has been very good - they are reliable, sites have a large number of dispensers, the rates with a membership are good, and they are everywhere. Some people complain about their speed, but I consistently get 160-170 kW rates (at peak), which is nearly the max the truck can take. I will turn on my EA Pass+ membership during my travel for those rare occasions when I need a charge at a location not served by Tesla. I think iONNA is doing a very good job of showing us what retail charging should look like (and be priced at). Rivian's pricing policy is oftentimes outrageous (and I am a stockholder), but I do give them credit for putting chargers at some very remote locations and they are easy to use.

I seek out lodging that has L2 charging; I love starting the day at 100%. It has also allowed me to go places that would have been tough if I only had DCFC. For example, last fall I cut through three national parks in Utah in a single day; an overnight charge at a hotel, and a well-located Tesla site, made that possible with my standard range Pro.

Bonus image: On the plains of eastern Colorado, I spied this shuttered house in the middle of nowhere - a monument to a way of life long since past.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

Thanks. We are planning trip from Houston to Colorado in the fall. I use ABRP for planning, but was finding limited charging in a few zones. Enough, but limited. Who do you use for planning?

First, I am trying to see America, and very few of my stops are anywhere near an interstate highway. So I begin by mapping my desired route - usually in Apple Maps with the EV feature turned OFF. Then I begin checking for charging to support the route. Mostly I use PlugShare to do that; I pay special note to the crowd-sourced reliability score. When on the road, I have Apple Maps running under CarPlay; the native Ford NAV sucks. Apple Maps tends to be initially conservative and then converges on a more accurate projection of arrival SOC. I love it when it tells me that I have enough range to skip a charging stop.

Honestly, with the exception of those occasions when I am deliberately challenging the charging gods to smite me (like going off-road for half a day in the Valley of the Gods), I spend FAR more time deciding WHERE I want to go than I do worrying about charging. In the last 3+ years I have seen a HUGE improvement in the number of DCFC chargers and their reliability. Even EA sucks less than it used to (still too few chargers at each site). And Tesla is damn near everywhere.

 

[digitaldad]

Bonus image: On the plains of eastern Colorado, I spied this shuttered house in the middle of nowhere - a monument to a way of life long since past.

What a wonderful building!

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