Northern IL to Florida Panhandle 1,000 mile Trip Report

[MJDore]

I thought I'd add my travels to the other great reports in this forum. I had the opportunity to make the 1,000 mile trip from our home in Northern IL to our second home in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. This was a great test for the truck and for Electrify America charging stations which I used exclusively. I've broken it down by segment below:

Roscoe, IL to Normal, IL
This was the first leg and the one I was most nervous about. I left in 24 degree temps and it had snowed overnight. I left at 5 AM with the truck preconditioned. The first journey was 142 miles so I took it easy, setting Blue Cruise for 68 mph to make sure I would make it in the cold temps and a typical, heavy Illinois farmland crosswind (there's a reason windmills are everywhere here).
Distance: 142 miles
Time: 2 hours 15 mins
State of Charge: 100% to 34%
Temp: 24
Mi/KwH: 1.64
Avg Speed: 63
Charged at Electrify America in Normal, IL. 37 mins to go to 80% SOC in 30 deg temps. 65.5 kw delivered, 109 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00 as still had Ford charging network credit available.

Normal, IL to Effingham, IL
Same as above. Getting warmer as I go South but still only 34 degrees with heavy winds. Feeling better about range, though, so cruised at around 70-72 mph.
Distance: 125 miles
Time: 1 hour 51 mins
State of Charge: 80% to 21%
Temp: 34
Mi/KwH: 1.61
Avg Speed: 67
Charged at Electrify America in Effingham, IL at Firefly Grill. 31 mins to go from 21% to 77% in 34 deg temps. 78 kw delivered, 151 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00.

Effingham, IL to Mt. Vernon, IL
Probably could have planned to skip this spot. 47 degrees now so cruised at around 70-72 mph.
Distance: 66 miles
Time: 1 hour
State of Charge: 77% to 48%
Temp: 47
Mi/KwH: 1.72
Avg Speed: 66
Charged at Electrify America in Mt. Vernon, IL. 21 mins to go from 48% to 78%. 42 kw delivered, 120 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00.

Mt. Vernon, IL to Paducah, KY
Warmer still and feeling relaxed.
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1 hour 24 mins
State of Charge: 78% to 41%
Temp: 56
Mi/KwH: 1.92!
Avg Speed: 66
Charged at Electrify America in Paducah, KY. 22 mins to go from 41% to 78% in 59 deg temps. 51.5 kw delivered, 140 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00.

Paducah, KY to Clarksville, TN
Debated going for it, Paducah to Franklin, TN. There was an accident on 1-24, though, so I went ahead and made a stop for a break. It backfired as this was the first time I had a charging issue and had to move from one charger to another.
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1 hour 22 mins
State of Charge: 78% to 39%
Temp: 52
Mi/KwH: 1.82
Avg Speed: 68
Charged at Electrify America in Clarksville. First charger was only pushing around 70 kw. Waited for a Rivian to leave and moved over to get better charge rate. In total, 42 mins to go from 39% to 78%. 56.14 kw delivered. Ford charging credit is gone. $8.56.

Clarksville, TN to Athens, AL
Pretty congested leg impacted average speed.
Distance: 144 miles
Time: 2 hours 13 mins
State of Charge: 78% to 22%
Temp: 52
Mi/KwH: 1.96
Avg Speed: 65
Charged at Electrify America in Athens, AL. 27 mins to go from 22% to 70%. 69 kw delivered, 153 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00 for some reason. I'll take it.

Athens, AL to Alabaster, AL
This ended up being my last leg for the day. Charged and drove to hotel in Prattville, AL.
Distance: 114 miles
Time: 1 hour 45 mins
State of Charge: 70% to 26%
Temp: 63
Mi/KwH: 1.96
Avg Speed: 65
Charged at Electrify America in Alabaster and had to move stations to find a plug that worked. Charged from 26% to 70% in 34 mins. 59.3 kw delivered. $8.10.

Alabaster, AL to Prattville, AL
Stopping for the night
Distance: 61 miles
Time: 55 mins
State of Charge: 70% to 47%
Temp: 66
Mi/KwH: 1.97
Avg Speed: 65

Prattville, AL to Greenville, AL
Up and at em early this next morning. This is my last charging stop before home. Warm morning.
Distance: 48 miles
Time: 45 mins
State of Charge: 45% to 23%
Temp: 64
Mi/KwH: 1.68 (impact of no preconditioning...even on a warm morning)
Avg Speed: 65
Charged at Electrify America in Greenville, AL. I need to charge past 80% as I don't yet have a L2 charger here at our Florida house (installing later this week). 45 mins to go from 23% to 87%. 91 kw delivered, 121 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $10.69.

Greenville, AL to Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Mostly highways from here. Really good efficiency.
Distance: 134 miles
Time: 2 hours 23 mins
State of Charge: 87% to 43%
Temp: 75
Mi/KwH: 2.3
Avg Speed: 56

Thoughts:
--Blue Cruise is incredible. I have a lead foot and don't like being passed, much to my wife's chagrin. What I learned from this trip was how much better I felt after letting the truck do the work and taking it easy.
--Pleasantly surprised with EA. Only had two issues and even those were just me trying to move to a different station for faster charge rates.
--I drove and parked, drove and parked for 20 hours and I'm still on 4.1.1. Can't get OTA updates to save my life. Maddening.
--Be prepared for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to ask you about the truck and whether you're concerned it may catch fire. SMDH
--Preconditioning works.
--For reference, had climate control set to 67 or 68 on fan setting 1. Used heated seats early on.

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[Grumpy2]

Good record on highways I know, thanks.

 

[sd25]

@MJDore Thanks for the useful and detailed info! It will be very helpful for our trip planning.

 

[TheBigBezo]

I'm not too far from you, maybe we'll see each other.

 

[KrazyEd]

I would use EA on road trips having similar luck to yours. I would get the monthly plan for the trip,
then cancel after. I have also received free charges without explanation. Looking at your cost
per KW delivered, EA seems quite a bit cheaper then here in Nevada. Here we pay 43 cents for
regular and 31 for pass member. You guys seem to have High speed and Low speed costs.
Even at that, you seem to be charged at lower than the 90 KW rate. When I was driving my Mach E
from Austin to Vegas, since it had a max charge speed over 90 KW, I was always charged the
1-350 rate. Even though it dropped below 90 after only a few minutes.
Whatever you are doing seems to be working.
Congratulations

 

[RickLightning]

I would use EA on road trips having similar luck to yours. I would get the monthly plan for the trip,
then cancel after. I have also received free charges without explanation. Looking at your cost
per KW delivered, EA seems quite a bit cheaper then here in Nevada. Here we pay 43 cents for
regular and 31 for pass member. You guys seem to have High speed and Low speed costs.
Even at that, you seem to be charged at lower than the 90 KW rate. When I was driving my Mach E
from Austin to Vegas, since it had a max charge speed over 90 KW, I was always charged the
1-350 rate. Even though it dropped below 90 after only a few minutes.
Whatever you are doing seems to be working.
Congratulations

Pass+ can be downgraded right after upgrading, and it will take effect in 30 days. This way you won't forget to downgrade. You don't need to sign up until minutes before departing on your trip.

Every Mach-E or Lightning owner pays the same EA rate. That rate differs in states where EA charges by the kWh (most) and those that charge by the minute (about a dozen). By the minute charging has tiers based on the vehicle's capabilities, we are all in the high tier. Per minute rates work out to about 1/2 the cost.

EA is prevented by law in some states to charge by the kWh, and actively works to change things. In the past year or so, about 1/2 dozen states have been converted, but they added new states and those are by the minute.

If we travel through by the minute states, I push all possible charging to those states. Some per minute states are Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia...

Find out which state is on what plan here - https://www.electrifyamerica.com/pricing

 

[MTBAZ]

thanks for the details. Good to see some real world positive experiences.

 

[MJDore]

I would use EA on road trips having similar luck to yours. I would get the monthly plan for the trip,
then cancel after. I have also received free charges without explanation. Looking at your cost
per KW delivered, EA seems quite a bit cheaper then here in Nevada. Here we pay 43 cents for
regular and 31 for pass member. You guys seem to have High speed and Low speed costs.
Even at that, you seem to be charged at lower than the 90 KW rate. When I was driving my Mach E
from Austin to Vegas, since it had a max charge speed over 90 KW, I was always charged the
1-350 rate. Even though it dropped below 90 after only a few minutes.
Whatever you are doing seems to be working.
Congratulations

Added a screenshot for reference. As soon as my Ford allowance ran out (which happened during the trip), I paid the $4 to upgrade to Pass+. After that, looks like each station charged me per min rather than per kw.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Thanks for the great write up. There’s a lot of good information there. We make an annual drive to So Fla every winter from Pittsburgh. In the past I would drive my 2015 F150 with 36 gallon tank that allowed long 600 mile runs between fuel stops. I knew the Lightning would be irritating so we took the wife’s ICE vehicle.
Your write up helped me rationalize our decision after the fact.

 

[MJDore]

One thing I should say as a word of caution is to verify the charging situation here in Northwest Florida. There is a dearth of fast chargers in this area, and the L2 ones that do exist are often tied to hotels, and for hotel guests only. I was fortunate that I was coming to my own house and could plug in an exterior outlet here while I wait for the electrician to install a Nema 14-50 tomorrow.

 

[Maquis]

When I get told that my truck is going to catch fire, I just say “You probably should buy one, then.” That usually ends the nonsense.

I had considered that route when going to central Florida (Astor), but with the EA station in Tallahassee out of service at the time, it would have been a problem.

Nice write-up!

 

[jallen]

I thought I'd add my travels to the other great reports in this forum. I had the opportunity to make the 1,000 mile trip from our home in Northern IL to our second home in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. This was a great test for the truck and for Electrify America charging stations which I used exclusively. I've broken it down by segment below:

Roscoe, IL to Normal, IL
This was the first leg and the one I was most nervous about. I left in 24 degree temps and it had snowed overnight. I left at 5 AM with the truck preconditioned. The first journey was 142 miles so I took it easy, setting Blue Cruise for 68 mph to make sure I would make it in the cold temps and a typical, heavy Illinois farmland crosswind (there's a reason windmills are everywhere here).
Distance: 142 miles
Time: 2 hours 15 mins
State of Charge: 100% to 34%
Temp: 24
Mi/KwH: 1.64
Avg Speed: 63
Charged at Electrify America in Normal, IL. 37 mins to go to 80% SOC in 30 deg temps. 65.5 kw delivered, 109 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00 as still had Ford charging network credit available.

Normal, IL to Effingham, IL
Same as above. Getting warmer as I go South but still only 34 degrees with heavy winds. Feeling better about range, though, so cruised at around 70-72 mph.
Distance: 125 miles
Time: 1 hour 51 mins
State of Charge: 80% to 21%
Temp: 34
Mi/KwH: 1.61
Avg Speed: 67
Charged at Electrify America in Effingham, IL at Firefly Grill. 31 mins to go from 21% to 77% in 34 deg temps. 78 kw delivered, 151 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00.

Effingham, IL to Mt. Vernon, IL
Probably could have planned to skip this spot. 47 degrees now so cruised at around 70-72 mph.
Distance: 66 miles
Time: 1 hour
State of Charge: 77% to 48%
Temp: 47
Mi/KwH: 1.72
Avg Speed: 66
Charged at Electrify America in Mt. Vernon, IL. 21 mins to go from 48% to 78%. 42 kw delivered, 120 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00.

Mt. Vernon, IL to Paducah, KY
Warmer still and feeling relaxed.
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1 hour 24 mins
State of Charge: 78% to 41%
Temp: 56
Mi/KwH: 1.92!
Avg Speed: 66
Charged at Electrify America in Paducah, KY. 22 mins to go from 41% to 78% in 59 deg temps. 51.5 kw delivered, 140 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00.

Paducah, KY to Clarksville, TN
Debated going for it, Paducah to Franklin, TN. There was an accident on 1-24, though, so I went ahead and made a stop for a break. It backfired as this was the first time I had a charging issue and had to move from one charger to another.
Distance: 92 miles
Time: 1 hour 22 mins
State of Charge: 78% to 39%
Temp: 52
Mi/KwH: 1.82
Avg Speed: 68
Charged at Electrify America in Clarksville. First charger was only pushing around 70 kw. Waited for a Rivian to leave and moved over to get better charge rate. In total, 42 mins to go from 39% to 78%. 56.14 kw delivered. Ford charging credit is gone. $8.56.

Clarksville, TN to Athens, AL
Pretty congested leg impacted average speed.
Distance: 144 miles
Time: 2 hours 13 mins
State of Charge: 78% to 22%
Temp: 52
Mi/KwH: 1.96
Avg Speed: 65
Charged at Electrify America in Athens, AL. 27 mins to go from 22% to 70%. 69 kw delivered, 153 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $0.00 for some reason. I'll take it.

Athens, AL to Alabaster, AL
This ended up being my last leg for the day. Charged and drove to hotel in Prattville, AL.
Distance: 114 miles
Time: 1 hour 45 mins
State of Charge: 70% to 26%
Temp: 63
Mi/KwH: 1.96
Avg Speed: 65
Charged at Electrify America in Alabaster and had to move stations to find a plug that worked. Charged from 26% to 70% in 34 mins. 59.3 kw delivered. $8.10.

Alabaster, AL to Prattville, AL
Stopping for the night
Distance: 61 miles
Time: 55 mins
State of Charge: 70% to 47%
Temp: 66
Mi/KwH: 1.97
Avg Speed: 65

Prattville, AL to Greenville, AL
Up and at em early this next morning. This is my last charging stop before home. Warm morning.
Distance: 48 miles
Time: 45 mins
State of Charge: 45% to 23%
Temp: 64
Mi/KwH: 1.68 (impact of no preconditioning...even on a warm morning)
Avg Speed: 65
Charged at Electrify America in Greenville, AL. I need to charge past 80% as I don't yet have a L2 charger here at our Florida house (installing later this week). 45 mins to go from 23% to 87%. 91 kw delivered, 121 kw avg charge rate. Plug in charge worked with no issues. $10.69.

Greenville, AL to Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Mostly highways from here. Really good efficiency.
Distance: 134 miles
Time: 2 hours 23 mins
State of Charge: 87% to 43%
Temp: 75
Mi/KwH: 2.3
Avg Speed: 56

Thoughts:
--Blue Cruise is incredible. I have a lead foot and don't like being passed, much to my wife's chagrin. What I learned from this trip was how much better I felt after letting the truck do the work and taking it easy.
--Pleasantly surprised with EA. Only had two issues and even those were just me trying to move to a different station for faster charge rates.
--I drove and parked, drove and parked for 20 hours and I'm still on 4.1.1. Can't get OTA updates to save my life. Maddening.
--Be prepared for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to ask you about the truck and whether you're concerned it may catch fire. SMDH
--Preconditioning works.
--For reference, had climate control set to 67 or 68 on fan setting 1. Used heated seats early on.

Thank you for this awesome and detailed write up!
I’m just south of you near Champaign, IL.
Will be taking my first road trip in a couple of weeks to “test out” charging and this is great information. Will hit the same Bloomington one as you just to get my feet wet, and then stopping in Rockford (near you?) to top off before driving to Milwaukee area.
Thanks again!

 

[Maquis]

Thank you for this awesome and detailed write up!
I’m just south of you near Champaign, IL.
Will be taking my first road trip in a couple of weeks to “test out” charging and this is great information. Will hit the same Bloomington one as you just to get my feet wet, and then stopping in Rockford (near you?) to top off before driving to Milwaukee area.
Thanks again!

Rockford is quite detour for a Champaign to Milwaukee trip. Or is there a reason you need to hit Rockford?

 

[jallen]

Rockford is quite detour for a Champaign to Milwaukee trip. Or is there a reason you need to hit Rockford?

Actually only 8 minutes longer…and a MUCH more enjoyable drive than going through Chicago.
We are just west of Champaign and going just west of Milwaukee. So, sorry I left those details out.

 

[Maquis]

Actually only 8 minutes longer…and a MUCH more enjoyable drive than going through Chicago.
We are just west of Champaign and going just west of Milwaukee. So, sorry I left those details out.

Makes sense. Avoiding Chicago traffic is always a good thing. I lived there for three years.

Unrelated - are you aware of any DCFC stations planned for Champaign-Urbana? My trips to Indy are dicey with nothing between Springfield and Indy.

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