1100 mi trip-Good, ok, disappointment

[Labs4Lightning]

Took an 1100 mile round trip a couple of weeks ago. Duplicating a trip I took with ICE a month before.

Up front, I knew I’d drive slower, travel further with the Lightning. Took me 2 hrs longer with the Lightning. 10 -15 mph slower over the course of the drive—plus charging time. Not complaining - just sharing. Needed to drive 70 to eke out 2mi/kwh. It was Pennsylvania mountains. I opted for NO one pedal and used gravity for range on the down hill.

Lightning rode great, smooth, comfortable. The only truck problem I encountered was, @Ford Motor Company similar to what a few others reported, Blue Cruise would not activate after my final charging stop on the return leg. Blue Cruise seemed to work fine after stopping at home and going out later. I’m not a fan of sunroofs-it is noisy when it rains hard,

the disappointment of the trip is the real world lack of charging infrastructure. As seen in my Pic there is an absence of DC FAST chargers along my route. Greater than 50kwh not much to find without adding hours more to my drive. My (limited) experience seemed to find that those with free charging were staying at chargers longer to fill up to 100%. EA, like many others have found, chargers had broken equipment. came upon EA station with 4 Chargers, 1 broken 3 in use, 2 vehicles at 95%+ when I arrived no drivers to be found. The only way I was able to charge before their return was I able to angle in from the broken units spot. Time $ penalty after 100% isn’t enough to deter some. At my destination I was able to use a 9.2 kWh charger for 17 hours, for free. I did a message to find find charger now because I didn’t have enough range, which was odd because I showed 50+ miles range with only 30 to charge station. i think it said no network chargers within range.

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[Blainestang]

It's like deja vu with this article on The Drive that did almost the same route in a Bolt. I think the author made some basic mistakes like going to Pittsburg where there are several options but then choosing one that all the recent plugshare reviews said the charger wasn't working. But yeah, this isn't a great route for CCS EVs.

https://www.thedrive.com/guides-and...-bolt-euv-but-the-charging-network-didnt-help

 

[adoublee]

Charger units are kW not kWh.

I won't disagree with you on high power infrastructure. I do wonder what amount of cash people would pay for a better fast charge network, if it came in the form of a vehicle purchase price premium.

 

[Blainestang]

I do wonder what amount of cash people would pay for a better fast charge network, if it came in the form of a vehicle purchase price premium.

There are a LOT of reasons why Tesla sells well (and some cons, too, for sure), but based on how much more Tesla has been able to charge for the Model 3 and Y compared to similar other EVs, I think the answer is probably "quite a bit." I wouldn't be surprised if it was a few thousand dollars.

 

[Pioneer74]

Took an 1100 mile round trip a couple of weeks ago. Duplicating a trip I took with ICE a month before.

Up front, I knew I’d drive slower, travel further with the Lightning. Took me 2 hrs longer with the Lightning. 10 -15 mph slower over the course of the drive—plus charging time. Not complaining - just sharing. Needed to drive 70 to eke out 2mi/kwh. It was Pennsylvania mountains. I opted for NO one pedal and used gravity for range on the down hill.

Lightning rode great, smooth, comfortable. The only truck problem I encountered was, @Ford Motor Company similar to what a few others reported, Blue Cruise would not activate after my final charging stop on the return leg. Blue Cruise seemed to work fine after stopping at home and going out later. I’m not a fan of sunroofs-it is noisy when it rains hard,

the disappointment of the trip is the real world lack of charging infrastructure. As seen in my Pic there is an absence of DC FAST chargers along my route. Greater than 50kwh not much to find without adding hours more to my drive. My (limited) experience seemed to find that those with free charging were staying at chargers longer to fill up to 100%. EA, like many others have found, chargers had broken equipment. came upon EA station with 4 Chargers, 1 broken 3 in use, 2 vehicles at 95%+ when I arrived no drivers to be found. The only way I was able to charge before their return was I able to angle in from the broken units spot. Time $ penalty after 100% isn’t enough to deter some. At my destination I was able to use a 9.2 kWh charger for 17 hours, for free. I did a message to find find charger now because I didn’t have enough range, which was odd because I showed 50+ miles range with only 30 to charge station. i think it said no network chargers within range.

Interesting. I'll be driving through that area in late October and one of my stops was going to be at the EA Sheetz station in Bedford. Plugshare has good reviews for it. Did you stop there?

 

[jeffreylyon]

Interesting. I'll be driving through that area in late October and one of my stops was going to be at the EA Sheetz station in Bedford. Plugshare has good reviews for it. Did you stop there?

I was there a month ago during a road trip from Pittsburgh to WV. Nice charge station - good access, grass for my dog's pit stop, and Shmuffins.

 

[jpepper07]

I was thinking Morgantown would have some charging options available. This could affect me when visiting family.

 

[Pioneer74]

It's in the right end of his circle. I'm traveling from Toledo to Baltimore.

My three planned stops are Girard, OH, Cranberry Townhip, PA and Bedford PA. ABRP says I can do it in 2 stops, but since this is my first long distance drive with an EV I decided to be cautious.

 

[Tony Burgh]

EA in Bedford and Cranberry (both off Turnpike) usually have an open charger and always working in my experience. WV and Ohio are charger deserts except for OH cities. Both are pass through states to avoid. Plan carefully if taking 70 or 79. Many EVgo in and around Pittsburgh, several at Dunkin Donuts for what that’s worth.

 

[davehu]

I'm 3-6 months away from a Lightning and although I don't plan on using it for trips because of the lack of charging options. I only have two long range destinations that I'd like to drive to. one to Houston (400mi),, the other to Dallas. (300mi). While there are stations listed along each route the number of options is troublesome. We are driving to Houston this week and my plan is to check out a couple of the charging stations to see if they really accessible.

 

[Tony Burgh]

I'm 3-6 months away from a Lightning and although I don't plan on using it for trips because of the lack of charging options. I only have two long range destinations that I'd like to drive to. one to Houston (400mi),, the other to Dallas. (300mi). While there are stations listed along each route the number of options is troublesome. We are driving to Houston this week and my plan is to check out a couple of the charging stations to see if they really accessible.

Check hotels if you are staying at any. Some have free charging for guests. They are usually low amperage but may work for you if staying overnight.

 

[jimfigler]

Waiting on my lightning but I have a Kona EV now and always found it to be an fun adventure planning trips. The furthest being 300 miles. But I can imagine some destinations and routes just are not feasible with the current state of charging infrastructure

 

[davehu]

Check hotels if you are staying at any. Some have free charging for guests. They are usually low amperage but may work for you if staying overnight.

staying overnight isn't an option even if there is a hotel there. if it's that risky we'll take my wife's car

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