EV Road Trip Challenges

a little planning goes a long way, but you have to want it. hummers are very convenient.

 

actually it's just a problem with GM's Frank n plug. We went over 1,100 miles just a few weeks ago - easily - & there were superchargers no farther than 75 miles apart ......because unlike GM, Tesla grasps that even gas cars are pretty much worthless if you can't refill them.
If you can look at their maps North & South up and down the coast - as well as multiple paths covered all the way across the United States east & west ... more stations constantly being added. And we're not talking one-sie - two-sie stations - but rather 8 - 10 - or 12 charge stalls per location. Honestly, would you pull into a Mobile station with only one pump? and hope to God it's working? And GM doesn't want to build ANY high speed DC MULTI stations? For longer range, the Bolt & it's kind might just be a tougher sell.
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heck, i wouldn't even try it, and i haven't driven a mainstream car in 13 years.

filled up at home, two fill ups on the way to florida, two here and one on the way back. 4,000 miles, total of about a half hour.

 

Hummm,

Curious concept of a 'fun trip' that was its own reward. Our 2014 BMW i3-REx and 2017 Prius Prime remain safe.

As for the SAE plug, the BMW i3-REx has it and I've used it multiple times to top off the Bimmer at the only the one, fast DC charger in Huntsville. I often meet Tesla drivers with CHAdeMo adapters at the only, public, fast DC charger. Haven't seen a Bolt, yet.

Bob Wilson

 

Did anyone notice how much she paid for that electricity? What would it cost in a Gen 4 Prius, non-Prime? Even less with a Prime if you plugged in at home and at the hotel & college. Of course, she did admit to 80 mph, but still ... And then the extra time and anxiety. Fun as a one time experiment, maybe, but not fun as a way of life. Reminds me of that old documentary about the forst man to drive across the U.S. Horatio's Drive . About the Film | PBS

 

She paid $88 for fuel at 800 total miles. That's $0.11 per mile. A Prius is roughly $0.05-$0.06 per mile.

I remember I had to take prerequisite exams before I could register for my college classes. I drove from Milpitas to CalState LA which is roughly the distance she would've driven on highway 5. I had a thirsty Nissan Frontier pickup that averaged 20 mpg or $0.125 per mile. I did it all in a single day rather than getting a hotel overnight.

Still, that she was able to do it at all in relative comfort is nice. I think it would've made sense to book a hotel with EV charging onsite would've made more sense.

 

I can see how GM's attempts would remind someone of a terrifically slow attempt to go EV, long distance. But don't confuse the technology with GM's slowpoke infrastructure/charge/rate. It'll be 2 years this summer that the east /West continental EV record was done quickly - in a relatively older Model S ... (compared to the latest & greatest 330 mile range, 100kWh dual motor). Nearly 3,000 miles in roughly 58hrs. That includes about 12 hours of charge time for the 58+ hours. Remaining hours means all they had to average was slightly over 61mph. So what that means is newer cars with more dense/more powerfull/lighter batteries, lower drag CD, & greater range could do even better as the infrastructure & tech continues to grow by leaps & bounds. You consider how quickly this technology has come along - and you realize that its not too shabby. BTW, the network & its electricity were included in the cost of the car.
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It's a start.
Chevy Bolt Dealers Must Have Charging Stations | GM Authority

 

It does no good if they lock it up outside of business hours. A reasonable parking/charge rate and per session charge limit to keep the Tesla charger hogs at bay.

Bob Wilson

 

SAE QC's are safe from Tesla Hogs right now. Probably for quite a while too. But just wait until someone comes up with the adapter . Buaahahaha

Similarly Bob, the other "if" is whether GM dealerships carry the car at all. As it is, the gm dealerships that don't carry plugins are quick to try and push a Chevy Cruze on the prospective buyer. Compound that with the notion that headquarters demands they spend >$10,000 to install an outdoor charger, taking up a valuable parking space that they'd often rather give to some other purpose? My suspicions runs that way because it still happens at Nissan (leaf) dealerships.
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probably wish they hadn't sold hummer.

 

They just rebadged a few Tahoes call them Hummer. Then GM lowers the tire pressure for off-road use; add 400-600 lbs of nickel based, stainless steel bling, and; tighten the brakes.

Bob Wilson

 

and sell like hotcakes.

 

I did some checking at the Chevy dealer. They have a charging station sitting in a couple of boxes, but that's as far as it got. They don't have any Bolts yet, so I guess there's no rush.

Around them is Nissan, VW, BMW and Tesla. Out of the four, only BMW has a 24 hour accessible level 2 charging station, at $2.00 an hour. Nissan and VW are during dealer hours. I didn't see any charging stations at the Tesla dealer. Here's a photo of the Nissan CHAdeMO station.

 

I'm the first to admit that I don't know Shinola about New Jersey (other than it's a pretty small state), but checking the plugshare map there is an Atlantic City & a Tintin(?) Falls ... which are what ...... maybe 80 miles apart? Considering their network is purposefully designed, I don't know how much closer together you would want them.

 

Right, if you have a Tesla or a Bolt. Anything else, good luck.
I wouldn't want to be caught in the shore traffic in a limited range EV. This is the highway between Tinton Falls and Atlantic City, the express lanes are on the right.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2310/2121099085_a6d24f1c87_z.jpg