Virginia to Tennessee trip recap

[Pod]

Finally have time to recap my Lightning camping journey from Northern Virginia to West Tennessee. For the entire 1880 mile trip I was able to average 2.2 miles per kWh. Left out early on a Thursday, planning to camp for two nights. Left home with 99% with temperature of 42°. Cold temps and elevation would prove an interesting combination.

• First charge at Electrify America WalMart…no incident, worked fine Plug and Charge 60% to 80%
• Next stop, country store south on 81…one unit of four down. Charged fairly fast..met A few nice folks
• After a craft brew or so along the way, got to campsite. Used TT-30 adapter and charged on 30amp RV box. Thank God for electric trucks cause temp was 26° in the mountains…80° in my truck bed tent. Toasty.
• Next day, got about 25% overnight….off To Electrify America at Sam’s Club, 160 kWh charging…nice
• Across Tennessee was okay through Nashville, the. The bottom falls out…very few chargers
• Cancelled second night campsite as tornado warning made conditions dicey…grabbed hotel with 50% or so. Tried a local Ford dealer charger but really slow charging
• Limped into Jackson, TN with 20 miles left….finally found DC Charge…whew
• Got to my destination and plugged into shop power via an oven type outlet, decent charging overnight

Had a blast in the truck, ride is exceptional, interior comfy and plenty of room and power. Cold weather combined with elevation really dropped my overall station to station plans. Additionally, West Tennessee made me a little nervous with the lack of chargers. Really needed to plan carefully with plug share. Was super fun watching folks see me open the frunk… lots of conversation starters.

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[COrocket]

What TT-30 adapter are you using?

 

[Zprime29]

What was your average speed? 2.2 is pretty good for freeway. Best I did was 2.1 at 70mph. If I tried to push it to 75 I dropped to 1.8.

 

[Pod]

Used this TT-30

 

[Pod]

I was pretty constant at 68mph. Anything over 70 was detrimental, especially climbing up in elevation.

 

[rdr854]

I drove from Prince William to Roanoke and back last fall and averaged 2.7 mi/kwh. My average speed was 60 mph (I hugged the right lane).

 

[Bugs]

Good write up, I'm used all (I think) EA chargers in TN but I'm based in Middle TN so the void of chargers doesn't hurt me that much. The EA charger in Kodiak is much nicer (and easier to get too) than the Knoxville one at Walmart. The Cookeville Sam's Club is a nice one. That gap until you hit Jackson is a little scary. It would be nice to have one at Dickson to break up that distance. The EA charger in Memphis is in a busy shopping area if you need that one.

I've seen plans for a Level 3 charger every 50 miles on all TN interstates/highways by 2025 but that reminds to be seen.

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