First Long Trip - ABRP ? or Just Google Maps and a prayer?

[Rjpear]

Hi Folks... Well, I think I just changed my mind and I am going to take my 23 Lariat SR on a 500 mile trip to OBX next week. I was going ICE but the vehicle is a small SUV and no where near as comfortable as the Lariat. So I will eat the extra couple hours of travel in order to "enjoy the trip".
My Question to you all .. Should I just use Google Maps to do the trip and the Charger stops etc. Or use ABRP? I just ordered a compatible ODB2 unit to help it monitor the Lightning. Any tips or suggestions on what I should do to make this a stress-free journey? I have the Tesla Adapter so I should be good there. I know the SR will have more challenges but we shall see..
Thanks for any tips..

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[PJnc284]

Just got back from a trip from Raleigh, NC to Williamsburg, down to Hatteras and back (~650miles) with a Lariat ER using only Google Maps. Ended up making 4 charging stops. Probably could've stretched it but bladder and easily accessible locations dictated where I stopped. Google did seem to be a bit optimistic (anywhere from 3-5% high) where ABRP seems to start low and adjust upward.

Home	13300.0	80%	100%	20%	4:42	36.000	$0.15	$5.40
Tesla	13466.1	44%	80%	36%	0:24	50.498	$0.36		$18.17
Tesla	13532.3	58%	80%	22%	0:19	31.945	$0.42		$13.41
Tesla	13663.7	40%	80%	40%	0:28	56.379	$0.32		$19.16
Tesla	13765.9	49%	94%	45%	0:55	64.497	$0.32		$21.92
Home	13962.1	14%	85%	71%	9:33	104.000	$0.15	$15.60

 

[21st Century Truck]

If You are new to long distance drives with unpredictable FC and Level 2 charging points I recommend using ABRP. ABRP is a purpose-designed product, especially useful for newer EV long haulers.

Once You are comfortable with Your truck and its long distance charging quirks on different long road variables (ambient temperature, headwinds, elevation climbs, towing) then You will likely not use or even need ABRP.

 

[B177y]

Use both.

ABRP to plan. Make sure you enter that you have the SR so it plans correctly.

Google to navigate the point to point while driving and give you traffic info.

I use ABRP in the truck sometimes to "real time" plan but it's navigation capabilities pale in comparison to Google Maps. Google Maps charging routing severely lacks in comparison to ABRP. Together they're like peanut butter and chocolate.

If you want to use ABRP on the truck screen, you need to pay for the subscription. ABRP also uses the data from Android Auto now so the OBD isn't necessary if you pay the subscription and use it in the truck screen.

 

[Saberdentures]

I have standard range.

On my Atlanta to Harrisburg trip, I used ABRP to locate chargers along my route, but used my Apple Maps to navigate to them.

I didn’t use ABRP’s suggestions though; to make my trip stress free, I planned to always charge to 80% and drive 90-120 miles to another charger. This would leave me with at least 25% battery when I arrive at a charger in case I ran into problems.

This made for 5 stops on a 800 mile trip (not counting the destination charge). Each charge took 20-35 minutes for a total of 2 hours of charging time (or 2.5 hours including the destination charge).

You won’t regret taking your Lightning! It has so many advantages in comfort, driving capability, pro power, etc. that it more than makes up for a couple hours extra trip time.

 

[Newton]

This should be easy. Plugshare is the most useful for finding out if the charger that you are planning on using is operational and ensuring that a Tesla charger is compatible with Ford. Plan on around 150-160 miles between charges (I have an SR also). I am currently sitting around 300 miles from home with no issues. I used my tesla adapter for the first time.

Ideally try to find places to stay where you can charge overnight, it is much cheaper….

 

[21st Century Truck]

Another member has worked out that on our Lightnings (his truck has the larger traction battery), it pays on long trips to charge more frequently for shorter times, because of the Lightning's higher "take up" of DC Fast electricity during its first 10 - 15 minutes of DC Fast charging. Overall, this approach appears to save some charging time.

 

[CD4TNF]

MartinRebuilds did a run with only the Google Maps. He said it did well and it could be trusted.

 

[K6CCC]

In the couple months since I bought my Lightning, I have recently taken a 603 mile and a 412 mile day trips. In both cases I just did a little research in advance to locate Tesla and Electrify America fast charging stations. I knew days before I left where I was going to charge. I did a detailed trip report on the 603 mile trip in the post below.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/603-mile-drive-mostly-in-the-socal-desert.27859/

 

[Piquette]

I use PlugShare to plan out in advance my route, charging stops, and where the chargers are near my overnight hotel stops (if the hotel doesn’t have a charger). It works better for me than ABRP. It tells me whose chargers are available as well as other amenities (food, restrooms, etc) at the charging station. Also it tells me what alternative charging stations are within range if I am unable to charge at the one I had planned on. There are a number of different charger companies out there, and each of them (other than EA and Tesla) has its own proprietary app. I download the apps I will be using on my phone in advance so I can quickly begin charging when I arrive at a charging station.

A successful road trip requires thought, research, preparation and a Plan B.

 

[RickKeen]

ABRP to plan the trip in regards to planned charging stops and feasibility.
Plugshare to check if the charger is operational / busy during planning AND on day of driving.
Other maps / nav to actually drive to the charger (apple maps, built-in nav, etc).
Tesla app / other charger network apps to activate chargers.

 

[CavRider]

Just finished a 2,500 mile round trip from MN to SC. Planned the outbound with ABRP and used it to navigate on the way there. It annoyed me to no end when it would suddenly declare my route was "no longer viable" right in the midst of traffic in places like Louisville, Asheville etc. On the way back I just used Apple Maps and, having paid for a member subscription beforehand, headed for all the Superchargers I could find. Apple Maps worked GREAT!

At the end of the day, for a single traveler though it is MUCH cheaper to fly.

 

[G-Zeus]

ABRP. I used the paid plan and the ODBC adapter to send real time info from the truck to the app. The navigation is ok, but can get tricky if you are in a city. It used to show real-time charging station status, but I'm not getting that to work (anybody else have that issue, and more importantly have a fix?)

I look for Tesla stations that are typically not too busy (use the Tesla app to see the typical charger availability). Then when I'm about 30 minutes out, and the truck is in BlueCruise mode, I do a quick check in the Tesla app to make sure the station is less than 50% occupied. (This won't be an issue once I can get my hands on one of these extension cables...)

If I'm going somewhere on a round-trip, say an over-nighter or a day trip...then I put the 3rd stop as the return trip home. This can create additional planning options to avoid getting to your destination without enough juice to return back to a charging station to get you home. And can also keep you away from busy in-city stations by preparing a plan that charges you outside of the city with enough to get back to that same station on your return trip.

 

[Ry2023]

This should be easy. Plugshare is the most useful for finding out if the charger that you are planning on using is operational and ensuring that a Tesla charger is compatible with Ford. Plan on around 150-160 miles between charges (I have an SR also). I am currently sitting around 300 miles from home with no issues. I used my tesla adapter for the first time.

Ideally try to find places to stay where you can charge overnight, it is much cheaper….

I agree with plugshare being a great way to navigate….. I went from PA to Texas…. And back Just used plug share…. And the Ford navigation to get me to those spots and it was actually fun lol and absolutely no issues charging

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