I was surprised by another post here, so I’m curious about your situation:
Bonus: What’s the longest road trip you’ve taken in your EV and how did it go?
I’ll add my own answers in the comments.
I have an EV but no home charging, so I rely 100% on public stations. I’ve been driving electric for years without home charging.
I live in San Francisco, and here in the Bay Area, I’m never more than a mile or two from a decent charging station. I use EVGo and Electrify America most of the time for their faster speeds (EVGo does 50-150kw, and Electrify America hits 350kw). There’s an Electrify America station just a mile from me, so I usually stop there on my way home when I need to top off.
I don’t get range anxiety since I’ve been driving EVs for so long. I just track my miles and charge when I get low. I work sporadically, so sometimes I’ll charge once a week, and other times it’s every other day.
I love the tech in EVs, and gas cars just don’t compare. The instant acceleration and torque of an EV make them way more fun to drive!
I don’t usually do long road trips since I prefer to fly, but I’ve done some 400-500 mile trips around California, and it was easy to find chargers with just a little pre-planning.
@MAKENA
Thanks for sharing! Do you ever make special trips just to charge, or do you fit it in while you’re out and about?
jabali said:
@MAKENA
Thanks for sharing! Do you ever make special trips just to charge, or do you fit it in while you’re out and about?
I never make separate trips to charge. I only charge while I’m out doing other things, like shopping, going to work, or grabbing food.
For example, I’m going out to dinner tonight and noticed I’m a bit low on battery. Since I have to drive to work tomorrow, I’ll most likely charge on my way home after dinner.
It doesn’t make sense to go out of my way just to charge when I can do it while I’m already out running errands.
@MAKENA
That makes a lot of sense! Sounds like charging doesn’t take up any extra time for you, just like those of us who charge at home. Super smooth!
jabali said:
@MAKENA
Thanks for sharing! Do you ever make special trips just to charge, or do you fit it in while you’re out and about?
Do you make special trips just to buy gas? Think of it like this: home charging is like having an uncle who owns a gas station and tops off your tank every night.
@martin
One big perk for me is not needing to go to a gas station at all. My wife commutes 120km daily, so we have to charge from 20% to 80% about three times a week. That would be a huge hassle if we relied on public chargers. For a shorter commute, it wouldn’t be so bad, and we could charge while doing our weekly grocery shopping or other errands.
The big concern from gas-car folks is the idea of turning a single 5-minute fuel stop into two 20-minute charging stops. I’m curious if that’s how you do it or if it just fits into your regular routine.
@jabali
True, but since you’re using European terms, you’ve got 230V circuits, which makes a huge difference for home EV charging compared to the weaker 120V plugs we have in the U.S.
For you, charging from a standard socket is definitely doable.
People tend to approach EVs with ‘Gas Station Mentality,’ where they think of charging as a big chore like refueling a gas car. But with home charging, you can ‘Always Be Charging.’ It’s just a habit like shutting the car door.
@martin
Haha, flexing that tasty European electricity! My car came with a 2.7kW charger that plugs into a normal socket, which is great for travel.
I don’t use it much since we have an 11kW charger installed at home, but it’s still nice to have as an option.
@jabali
Nice for trips! We Americans are jealous of your setup. Early on, U.S. dealers gave out dual plug chargers since customers were far from DC fast chargers. We only get 1.4kW from our typical plugs, and it’s slow—about 22 miles overnight! So yeah, your 2.7kW is a big improvement.
Bonus: I did a road trip from Washington, DC to Toronto, Canada. Most of my charging was free at hotels. I only paid for one charge, which was $7 at a fast charger. The trip went smoothly with no wait times at chargers.
@kwame
I also travel from DC to Toronto a couple of times a year!
Route 219 is faster since Route 99 opened, and there are three 350kW stations between Maryland and Buffalo now. A few more are being installed at Sheetz along Route 99.
The Bedford, PA Electrify America station has 6 350kW chargers and has been reliable since it opened.
@Connie
We stopped along Route 15 for this trip. Not the fastest route, but we had stops planned along the way. Charging wasn’t the best on that route, though. We had to stop in Lewisburg, PA, for a top-up since the mountain inclines drained our battery faster than expected. Coming back downhill was nice, though!
@kwame
Ah, gotcha. I usually do the drive in one go, so I stick to the faster routes. Western New York and Pennsylvania are tough for charging, though. Even major highways like 80 and 86 have limited fast chargers.
@Connie
Yeah, I was surprised how bad charging is in that area. It looks like they’re adding more stations, though. Plugshare shows a lot of ‘coming soon’ spots.
We were on a family trip, so it was fun despite the charging challenges. My wife liked Toronto more than she thought, and I’d love to see Niagara in the winter. Maybe a winter break trip?
@kwame
Niagara in winter is beautiful, just be sure to dress warmly! It’s cold and misty from the falls. Toronto’s great, too. If you’re there in August, check out the Canadian National Exhibition. It’s a huge fair with international food and free shows. Plus, they have an air show during Labor Day weekend.
@Connie
Thanks for the tip! I used the train in Toronto one day and regretted driving the next day. Traffic there is a nightmare!
My answers:
Bonus: The longest road trip I’ve done was from Luxembourg to Inverness, Scotland. It was about 2000km, and the UK’s public charging situation made it tough, but I managed. The ë-C4 didn’t help—it’s shaped like a brick and maxes out at 100kW charging.
Since switching to the IONIQ 6, I’ve driven to the Alps twice with no problems. It’s been a joy!
@jabali
I’ll be getting an EV soon, but I don’t have home charging either. My driveway is on a blind curve, so it’s too dangerous to enter and exit. Luckily, I have reliable charging at work, and it costs the same as home charging.
@Amelia
That sounds like a good setup! Work charging can be a great alternative to home charging.