OrangeCrush
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2022
- Threads
- 11
- Messages
- 66
- Reaction score
- 86
- Location
- Alpharetta, GA
- Vehicles
- 2023 F-150 Lightning Lariat Antimatter Blue
- Thread starter
- #1
My first road trip from Atlanta (Alpharetta) to Charlotte (Marvin) and back. Loved the ride. Handsfree worked great. Very comfortable. Range anxiety on the other hand is a different thing.
On my way there, it was 60F and I was getting 2.3mi/Kwh (mostly around 70mph) and it appeared that I could make the full 240mi trip with no stops since I started with full charge. But I stopped at the EA charger in Greenville and added 40Kwh (57% to 85%) in 23min just to be safe and reached destination at 50%. So, I guess I would've made it fine.
Turns out that I didn't have access to a 240V outlet there. So, used the mobile charger with 110v/15a outlet and was only able to add 16% in 16 hours. After some local driving for a couple of days, I was hoping to leave with full charge by using a DCFC somewhere close. There were no EA chargers close by, but there was a Freewire and another EVGO, but neither one worked. EVGO was broken. Freewire connected and immediately disconnected. So, when I started my trip, I left with 65% charge.
There are very few DCFCs available between CLT and ATL. There is an EA station (the one I stopped at) in Greenville about half way and another one closer to Atlanta in Commerce. Per Plugshare, there are couple of one plug Shell ones (one north of Spartanburg and one south of Greenville). With the poor experience with the ones in CLT, I was a bit nervous starting the trip, but marched on.
It was a colder day with temps 44F and a bit windy as well. I was aiming to get to Greenville station 110miles away and the the truck showed 190mi range when I started. But after driving about 40 miles, I noticed that the range now is 120 and trip is 1.9mi/kwh. I guess I could've turned around, but since 120 is still in range, I pressed on. I was very nervous as I saw range tick down and get closer and closer to the distance I need to cover.
As I approached the EA station range is showing 30 miles and I was hoping that there is working charger there. Out of 4 stalls, 3 were occupied. I pulled in to the other one and as I was about to connect the plug, the nice lady next to me informed me that it is broken and would not activate, but she is leaving so I can use that stall. So, activated that stall via Fordpass, connected and juice started flowing at 170Kwh. Phew! Sat in the truck for about 20min with accessory mode on and took a phone call. Then I noticed the charge level is not ticking up and is stuck at 26%. Apparently, for some reason, the session was ended after 5 minutes. I had to unplug, wait for a few more minutes for the app to show it as available, reactivate and replug. This time, it stayed connected and charged to 70% in 24min. Since the range showed 193miles and I had 130 to go, I unplugged (it has already been 45min and others are waiting) and left.
It gold colder and windier with very little traffic. Again the range kept dropping. I just kept an eye on it since I knew that there are a few more EA stations closer to Atlanta. I made it home with range showing 15mi and trip showing 1.7mi/Kwh!.
I love this truck and the ride it provides on trips, but until charging infrastructure catches up, we may have to take our ICE van on trips. Either that or plan routes very carefully with backup to a backup!
On my way there, it was 60F and I was getting 2.3mi/Kwh (mostly around 70mph) and it appeared that I could make the full 240mi trip with no stops since I started with full charge. But I stopped at the EA charger in Greenville and added 40Kwh (57% to 85%) in 23min just to be safe and reached destination at 50%. So, I guess I would've made it fine.
Turns out that I didn't have access to a 240V outlet there. So, used the mobile charger with 110v/15a outlet and was only able to add 16% in 16 hours. After some local driving for a couple of days, I was hoping to leave with full charge by using a DCFC somewhere close. There were no EA chargers close by, but there was a Freewire and another EVGO, but neither one worked. EVGO was broken. Freewire connected and immediately disconnected. So, when I started my trip, I left with 65% charge.
There are very few DCFCs available between CLT and ATL. There is an EA station (the one I stopped at) in Greenville about half way and another one closer to Atlanta in Commerce. Per Plugshare, there are couple of one plug Shell ones (one north of Spartanburg and one south of Greenville). With the poor experience with the ones in CLT, I was a bit nervous starting the trip, but marched on.
It was a colder day with temps 44F and a bit windy as well. I was aiming to get to Greenville station 110miles away and the the truck showed 190mi range when I started. But after driving about 40 miles, I noticed that the range now is 120 and trip is 1.9mi/kwh. I guess I could've turned around, but since 120 is still in range, I pressed on. I was very nervous as I saw range tick down and get closer and closer to the distance I need to cover.
As I approached the EA station range is showing 30 miles and I was hoping that there is working charger there. Out of 4 stalls, 3 were occupied. I pulled in to the other one and as I was about to connect the plug, the nice lady next to me informed me that it is broken and would not activate, but she is leaving so I can use that stall. So, activated that stall via Fordpass, connected and juice started flowing at 170Kwh. Phew! Sat in the truck for about 20min with accessory mode on and took a phone call. Then I noticed the charge level is not ticking up and is stuck at 26%. Apparently, for some reason, the session was ended after 5 minutes. I had to unplug, wait for a few more minutes for the app to show it as available, reactivate and replug. This time, it stayed connected and charged to 70% in 24min. Since the range showed 193miles and I had 130 to go, I unplugged (it has already been 45min and others are waiting) and left.
It gold colder and windier with very little traffic. Again the range kept dropping. I just kept an eye on it since I knew that there are a few more EA stations closer to Atlanta. I made it home with range showing 15mi and trip showing 1.7mi/Kwh!.
I love this truck and the ride it provides on trips, but until charging infrastructure catches up, we may have to take our ICE van on trips. Either that or plan routes very carefully with backup to a backup!
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