Thanksgiving Travels - Who's taking the Lightning?

[Tenetke]

I have close to 13k miles now and the majority of our road trips have been between 400-600 miles round trip. My children like to stop and charge because I’ll plug-in the Magic Box and we’ll watch a movie or some shows while we charge. I had some range anxiety the first few thousand miles but I don’t think about it too much when I look at my route and charging options ahead of time. I’m leaving on a 500 mile round trip tomorrow for the weekend and then another 500 mile round trip next week.

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[FirstF150InCasco]

I have a trip coming up about 150 miles each way from Massachusetts to the boonies of Maine. There's plenty of 150kW DCFC on 95 south of Portland, but after that its a 62.5kW charger in Auburn and Level 2 chargers.

I keep going back and forth on if I should take the Lightning or the family minivan purely out of convenience. The last thing I want to do is have to stop and charge for an hour with the cranky kids and upset wife. I could charge on 120VAC at the house we're staying at or even a Level 2 charger a mile away if I want to leave my truck there for hours, but is it worth it? I'm struggling.

Also, the mi/Kwhr is unknown when the temps will be in the 20s, cabin heat cranking, etc.

Who's taking the trip with the family and in a similar position? The comfort, safety and enjoyable driving experience of the truck is why I want to go for it. It'll be my first public charging and range anxiety experience.

Take the Mini Van. I have been driving from Boston to Naples ME area many times since I took delivery of my Lightning in June. But (a) it's only 140 miles and (b) I have the CSP on the camp when I get there. As you note, North of Portland is a dearth of chargers. Unrelated, I am going to Princeton NJ (300 miles from Boston) and not looking forward to the trip on Thanksgiving day. The route I've taken for 30 years gives NY CIty a wide berth (BUT there are hardly any chargers on the route.) I plan to stop at 100 miles and again at 200 miles. It used to take 5 hours max (at 75 MPH) but in the Lighting -- with the charges and the slower speed -- it will take 7. If I had an alternative vehicle, I'd take it.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

That's another concern.... increased traffic. I keep looking at ABRP and PlugShare assuming that the stations that I may hit will be available when I get here. I can't imagine pulling in, seeing them all filled up, wait an hour for my turn and then another hour to charge. My wife, 3yo, 5yo and 7yo will freak out.

If your wife doesn't kill you, your three kids will! Leave the Lighting home.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

The chargers in Kennebunk down is my biggest fear. Banking on a quick top up, but they're broken would screw me.

I'm heading to Rumford, ME. At the Lewiston/Auburn exit there will be a dual 62.5kW/125kW station in the future. For now there's two 62.5kW stations at a Rowe dealer in Auburn that I may use. I was hoping for a quick 15 minute pit stop. The 62.5kW stations you need a good hour to make a dent compared to the 150kW stations.

There is a high-speed charger close to Exit 47, in the parking lot of the Market Basket, close to Chic-Fit-A. Not an EA.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

We're heading to southern NH for the day, it will be about a 170 miles round trip, I don't anticipate any problems to and from Nashua.

My brother in law has added a 14-50 outlet to his garage for our convenience, he is seriously concerned we will run low on juice and not be able to make a round trip with out topping off at his place.

Nice brother-in-law you have there. But is he worried about you needing to top off there? Or is he worried that you might have to spend the night there?

 

[Aspesi4]

If your wife doesn't kill you, your three kids will! Leave the Lighting home.

So true. My biggest worry! The Odyssey is just not that fun to drive. It's the safe bet though.

Today I trialed a trip to work this morning in 20F temps, no preconditioning and 68mph and was getting about 1.6m/kwhr. That gets me about 210 total miles on a charge. Its 144miles to the house we're staying at. The first 100 miles is at highway speeds and the next 50 is at 40-50mph. If I hit a charger along the way and 120VAC charger for 36-48 hours while there, I think I'm good. Still not a fun game! Some many unpredictable variables.

There is a high-speed charger close to Exit 47, in the parking lot of the Market Basket, close to Chic-Fit-A. Not an EA.

I'm aware of that one. I think its only 62.5kW. from the MA/NH border there's EA charges in Seabrook, NH and Scarborough, ME. Charge Points in Kittery and Kennebunk, ME. After that it's really one Chargepoint in Lewiston, ME thats 62.5KW. Thats the key charger for me. I may stop there and do some Target shopping on the way to boost the range up to 80% before I take the long trip into the wilderness.

 

[Wsl346]

Way to go EA! Of all the weeks to perform a charging cabinet upgrade, they choose the busiest travel week of the year! These two chargers are the only, I repeat ONLY, CCS 150kW+ chargers between Austin and Dallas. There isn’t even a 50kW site until you get into the metro area. I’m predicting there are going to be some people who will have to resort to L2 AC charging just to make it to their destination.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

I would plan your trip so you find a fast charger as close to their home and do a full charge before arrive.

But there are no fast chargers up there. That's the point.

 

[Aspesi4]

But there are no fast chargers up there. That's the point.

This is the only one.

Other than that there's a L2 5kW charger in Rumford, ME that I guess I could park the truck at for a day if needed.

 

[Wsl346]

This is the only one.

Other than that there's a L2 5kW charger in Rumford, ME that I guess I could park the truck at for a day if needed.

And it's at a dealership no less. There is a non-zero chance they lock the lot gates at close of business rendering the charger useless after hours.

 

[Aspesi4]

And it's at a dealership no less. There is a non-zero chance they lock the lot gates at close of business rendering the charge useless after hours.

I was planning on calling to confirm the stations are available 24/7 and to discuss if they're frequently used.

 

[Wsl346]

I was planning on calling to confirm the stations are available 24/7 and to discuss if they're frequently used.

If you haven't already, download the ChargePoint app. It can give you real-time availability of all chargers in their network, allow you to reserve select chargers, and you can initiate a session.

 

[Acacia1731]

Not taking the Lightning.

There are only a few fast chargers within 100 mile radius of Fort Wayne, IN and I don't want to risk finding a line at the one I'd be counting on. Crowds at the 62.5kWh station in Lima, OH have bitten many EV owners traveling I-75 between Cincinnati and Detroit.

I'm really looking forward to the day when a single full/broken charge station is no big deal because we can count on others nearby.

 

[RickLightning]

I think people that buy an EV, and then are scared to take it on a trip or find it too challenging to plan a trip, are clearly not embracing the EV lifestyle.

That said, traveling over major holidays like Thanksgiving is for fools. If you have to be a fool, AND you live in an area of high congestion, and will have to charge on the way, makes you a bigger fool IMO. There will be massive congestion at some chargers, it's just a reality.

We took our F-150 to Florida last December because taking our Mach-E meant adding way too many hours to the trip with our reduced winter range. We took the Mach-E when it was warm. F-150 has a 700 mile range, reduced to 600 in winter.

 

[Aspesi4]

I think people that buy an EV, and then are scared to take it on a trip or find it too challenging to plan a trip, are clearly not embracing the EV lifestyle.

That said, traveling over major holidays like Thanksgiving is for fools. If you have to be a fool, AND you live in an area of high congestion, and will have to charge on the way, makes you a bigger fool IMO. There will be massive congestion at some chargers, it's just a reality.

We took our F-150 to Florida last December because taking our Mach-E meant adding way too many hours to the trip with our reduced winter range. We took the Mach-E when it was warm. F-150 has a 700 mile range, reduced to 600 in winter.

If it wasn't for the holiday weekend and reading about the line at Tesla Supercharger stations, I'd go for it. I'm still considering it, but the more and more I think about it, the Odyssey may be the way to go here.

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