2024 Florida to Michigan & Back Again in a Chevy Bolt EUV I-75 Charging Stations Cross Country Trip

We took a trip in April 2024 from Daytona Beach Florida up I-75 to Michigan. This is a repeat of the trip we took last year when we drove to Michigan to pick up our 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV. We found a big improvement in the number of charging stations on this trip.
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[@paradisetoday]

Thank you to @haroldhechinger5850 for pointing out that the charger at the Atlanta area Hyatt House had the new Tesla destination charger that includes both the NACS AND a J1772 plug! Looks like we could have charged at the Hyatt but we're unsure if we could have charged at the Hilton Tru because not all Tesla destination chargers have both plugs available. We will definitely do an update video to point these out.

[@dedblank_again]

Fyi, it is lima as in lima bean. Hence, the nickname here of bean town. Great video. I just got a 22 euv myself.

[@ryansherman4556]

You can purchase a Tesla to ccs adapter for destination chargers like what you saw at hotels. The fast or dc charging is the one that we as Chevy owners are waiting on. I have one I use to access Tesla destation chargers. These are lvl 2 or destination chargers

[@paradisetoday]

Thanks for watching and for your comment. We know about the after market adapters and we know people use them but we also know that some have had problems that affect their batteries so we are unwilling to risk using a non-OEM adapter.

[@haroldhechinger5850]

I did the same thing with my ID.4 on a Tesla destination charger. Car did just fine.

[@trevorlbeck]

im from ohio and we are getting our first buc-ee's in the state. they said its going to be the biggest in the country. i cant wait.

[@paradisetoday]

They're pretty fun and exciting. Congratulations!

[@haroldhechinger5850]

At 14:46, there is a J1772 plug coiled on the charger. Some Tesla 'Destination' chargers will have the J1772 plug rather than the Tesla plug. I used a Tesla Paided Level 2 charger using a J1772 plug, but I had to use the app to pay for it. Fastest AC Charge on my ID.4 -- 11KW.

[@paradisetoday]

Wow! That is interesting! We did look at the Hilton Tru plug and it didn't match our vehicle but we didn't check the Hyatt plugs because we assumed that they were the same. That's definitely on us! Ok - we need to check these out and do an update video. Thanks for your comment! Edited to add: We just took a look at a video of the Tesla charger with the J1772 adapter and saw that it could still be inside the unit so we're not sure if that Tru by Hilton had a compatible charger or not. Definitely calling this one user error!

[@haroldhechinger5850]

I would also get a J1772 to Tesla adaptor that can be used on most destination chargers.

[@stevendunn264]

Chevy using level II (hotel) destination chargers is open the Chevy Bolts. You just need a level 2 adapter. This is different from the level 3 Tesla Fast charging network. Destination chargers donn't even require the Tesla Ap. Just plug in and charge just as you do in home charging.

[@paradisetoday]

Thanks for watching and for your comment. We know about the after market adapters and we know people use them but we also know that some have had problems that affect their batteries so we are unwilling to risk using a non-OEM adapter. We've read reports that they're not all app-less charging i.e. depends on the property owner but we don't have any personal experience on that.

[@robh5409]

@@paradisetoday Nice video. You won't find an OEM Level 2 adapter from Tesla/NACS to J1772. There are plenty of reliable 3rd party adapters available. Look at Lectron. On Level 2 (A/C) charging the vehicle controls the charging and will stop if there is an issue. Be sure to pick up a level 2 adapter that is rated for 60a to have plenty of overhead and it won't be an issue or get warm from current.

[@paradisetoday]

Thank you for watching and for your comment. A 3rd party adapter is just something we can't endorse. Lectron's NACS to CCS1 adapter was just recalled. Yes it's DC fast but the recall was based on a defect of the hardware locking mechanism which was to secure the adapter. Adapters are just not for us.

[@robh5409]

@@paradisetoday you are not understanding the difference between DC charging and Level 2 AC charging. None of Lectrons AC adapters have been recalled.

[@paradisetoday]

Sorry for the confusion - what I wrote is "Yes, it's DC fast..." meaning that I'm aware that it's not Level 2. Just because the Level 2 hasn't been recalled doesn't mean we feel comfortable using it. An "adapter" is just that - it's a "work around" to make something fit where it doesn't belong. We are making the choice not to go that route but we don't judge anyone who does.

[@haroldb5569]

Thanks for posting! What apps or payment did you use for each charging stations? Did you have to download their apps or can you just tap and pay?

[@paradisetoday]

Hi, thanks for watching! We put on the apps for most of the charge stations (some provide a discount if using the app). Some of the EV charge vendors do allow for swipe and pay at the charger. In this video, we paid with a credit card at Costco and RedE but used the apps everywhere else.

[@haroldb5569]

Thanks for the reply. I have and really like my Bolt EUV coming from Canada wonder how paying would be? Upstate New York had no problems

[@frederickp2740]

How many miles per watt-hour did you get on the trip?

[@paradisetoday]

Just for the trip was 3.4. We get around 4 for around town.

[@lizburgess4398]

We have a '23 Bolt EUV and want to take our granddaughter to see the Porcupine Mountins. A Better Route Planner took us across Lake Michigan and up through Wisconsin, lol. Round trip on the Badger was nearly $500! Lots of campgrounds, but not sure if or how we could access them. Thanks for an interesting video. Quick question. GM has a part number for an adapter to use with Tesla Superchargers. Do you know if you could use it with those destination Tesla chargers? Those are not really part of the Tesla network, right? We plan to order one as soon as we can.

[@paradisetoday]

We actually think campgrounds would be worthwhile if you have to stay overnight but we hate putting up tents so we would be trying to sleep in the Bolt. That would be a fun video to make. Anyway - we haven't seen the part release you're talking about. Could you reply with the part number? We'd love to try to find out more about it. Also, not sure if you saw it but I did pin a note to the video that some of the newer Tesla destination chargers DO also include a J1772 plug so we might have been able to use that charger at the Hyatt in Atlanta. Those destination chargers aren't part of the supercharger network.

[@TechKingGame]

You can 100% use a Tesla to J1772 adapter to charge any EV from a Tesla Level 2 charger, the superchargers are the ones we’re blocked from currently. Technically the owners of these boxes could flip a setting to not allow this, but I’ve yet to find one that does.

[@paradisetoday]

Thanks for your comment. I should have worded it better - we're not comfortable using aftermarket adapters BUT (and I pinned a comment on this) looks like Tesla came out with a destination charger at the end of last year that has a J1772 cord in addition to their proprietary charger. The Hyatt House seemed to have had at least one that we missed out on using.

[@avman2cl]

The last thing on my mind when planning a trip is fueling up with.... Gas

[@dogblack3400]

The last time I bought gasoline I spent $110.00. Now I drive for three cents a mile. 500 miles is 15 bucks.