Thanksgiving 2022 Electric Car Road Trip Report + EV Route Planning Tips

Driving thousands of miles in an electric car is par for the ‪@plugandplayEV‬ course at this point, but doing so during the busiest travel period of the year at a time when complaints about the public charging infrastructure abound? That's our kind of challenge!
This road report takes us from Boston, MA to southwest Pennsylvania and back over four days, for a Thanksgiving trip to see family and spend some time in Pittsburgh. Along the way, we consider the many benefits of destination charging, flexible EV route planning, as well as stress-testing some of the common complaints about major charge point operators in the US.
This trip was completed in our 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5 AWD, which doesn't yet have the battery preconditioning feature en oute to fast chargers. I5 owners who purchased after June/July 2022 should have this feature available, while we early owners await confirmation from Hyundai as to when the required firmware update will be available from US dealerships. That could come as soon as January 2023, which would be valuable as winter temperatures really start to take hold.
As it happens on this trip, temps in the 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit range only slightly extended our fast charge session times. So this isn't the cold weather road trip test we had expected and we actually saw our best charge rate yet on this trip with 241kW in State College, PA... so much for #coldgate!
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Questions/comments/suggestions welcome via [e-mail] or over on Instagram/Twitter @plugandplayEV.
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Big thanks to Jeff, Tom, Luis, Dan, Bob, Dave, and Brian for keeping the coffee flowing this past year! *
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[@baham9217]

My EUV arrived in early October and we took our first (small) trip in it to Richmond, VA, from Laurel, MD for Thanksgiving. Round-trip was about 250 miles in 50° weather. Got to Richmond with about 40% battery left. We stopped by an EA when we left to go back home; the Bolt charges just as you've shown in the past. In about 45 minutes, we got to 75% charge and headed home. (The charge session was free, too! Thank you, Electrify America!) We averaged about 3.7 miles/KWH, although I was able to shut the Climate Control off for about half the ride down and back. The Bolt EUV is really exactly as advertised. It did charge at 53KW briefly at the start of the charge, so I was happy with that. Looks like the new battery packs aren't throttled back. Eventually I will take it on longer treks, but again, the car worked as advertised. I couldn't be happier!

[@plugandplayEV]

So good to hear, thanks Todd! When the charge time is expected and plans made accordingly, the Bolt is a pretty relaxing EV to road trip. Not for the impatient, but great for anyone willing to embrace the journey! ⚡

[@brianbeans2190]

I agree with your assessment regarding the existing NON-Tesla DC Fast Charging network. As more people switch to EV's there simply aren't enough stations to keep up with primetime demand. A bit of history regarding my EV adventures... I bought my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV new fives years ago. At the time the choices for DC fast charging were either EVGo or Greenlots. I'm talking one 50kw fast charger per location, and you could flip a coin as to whether or not it would be online and working when you arrived to use it. Chargepoint DC fast chargers were a rarity. Mostly if you encountered them they were the 7kw overnight destination chargers. There were so many gaps in the non-Tesla DC fast charging network that it could easily take 24 hours to complete a 10 hour trip. Getting on the customer support line to the DC fast charging vendors was an exercise in total frustration, as unless you and them could work out a way to get their downed DC fast charger back up and running, that meant your trip was at an end. You literally could barely travel from Chicago to Nashville on the then existing network. In short, it was hell. Electrify America brought their first DC fast charging locations online in mid 2019. While it was a breath of fresh air, it also demonstrated how EV manufacturers like GM really didn't seem to understand the "fast" in DC fast charging. 800v architectures were a promised pipe dream that would alleviate all of those concerns, but no one made cars with one. Seeing an Electrify America DC Fast charger was a godsend, like an oasis in the desert, but also at a max fast charge rate of 54kw, my Bolt was not the fast get around'er that I'd hoped it would be when I bought it. Still, it got 200 miles on the highway at 70mph, and was fun to drive. Even more fun without the previous existing gaps in the DC fast charging network, because finally I could go pretty much anywhere I wanted to go in my car. As long as I was willing to put up with its slow DC fast charge rate. Fast forward to 2022 and there are EV's everywhere, with more coming. I marvel at the new designs, the DC Fast charging peak rates. These newbie owners still have yet to figure out that you can just unplug at 80% and keep it going, as I watch them sit on DC Fast chargers way longer than they need to, and plug in at high states of charge to keep it "topped off" as though they were in a gas car. But usually once you tell em what the dealer should've they catch on fast. Especially the new Hyundai Ioniq and Kia EV6 owners. I do feel sorry for Mustang Mach-e owners. They wait nearly as long as I do in my Bolt to reach 80%. Ford went the GM route to DC fast charging. Apparently. Which is sad because it's such a nice car, but of all of the new EV cars it's literally the slowest thang next to a Bolt or a Kona to pull into the DC fast charger. Anyway, I don't see myself buying a Tesla anytime soon, even though their DC fast charging network is superior. I'm sorry, but given the competition now, their cars really do look weird, and now outdated, and I am not trying to drop 50k on a weird looking-mobile. Everyday Elon Musk also looks a little bit uglier as a human being, so I'd rather not make him richer through my hard earned dollars by buying what he thinks a car should look like. We've got a long way to go in terms of DC fast charging network rollout to accommodate the new EV's as they hit the market and consumers snap 'em up. There's money to be made for enterprising entrepreneurs, and also for existing service station owners as they close and tear down their repair shops and install new DC fast chargers to accommodate the DC fast charging demand from EV owners. Uncle Sam just passed a bill full of goodies that should help incentivize new DC Fast charger station roll outs, but it'll be at least another two years before we see them come online. In the meantime I'm looking forward to my next EV purchase and all the improvements in DC Fast Charging that have come to pass in the five years since I made the switch. Hyundai and Kia are the true leaders of the DC fast charging pack right now, so my money's angling towards one of their cars, but we'll see, because if history is any guide we know that there's always a faster gun just over the horizon. By the way man, I love your KZbin channel and how you showcase your journey in your Hyundai. You're really selling the hell out of it.

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks Brian, I seem to remember some your frustrated infrastructure anecdotes from Botl days gone by... I might be making it up in the fog of the EV "old days", but fun to take a trip down memory lane nonetheless. The Ioniq 5 isn't without its weaknesses, but lightning-fast charge sessions will buy a lot of goodwill and attention. It'll be interesting to see what Kia-Hyundai so with their efficient sedan-shaped models, for sure, as well as the big three-row people carriers they have on the horizon. If they can fuse improved pack efficiency to the excellent DC charging and adventurous design choices, the brands will be in a great position.

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

Steve ev go just changed ohio to kwh pricing. Cool you went to pittsburgh. I have been there a lot with college sports and my aunt was stationed there as a principal from 1980-86. And friends moved from ohio to their.

[@plugandplayEV]

I'm really far behind on EVgo pricing, thanks for the update! We only spent an afternoon in Pittsburgh unfortunately and that was at the theater, but it seemed like an interesting place. Hope to plan more time in the city soon 🤞

[@plugandplayEV]

If you traveled by electric vehicle this Thanksgiving, how did it go? Let's compare experiences here in the comments 🦃🔋

[@chipnvirginiahammond5612]

It went great! Of course I have a Tesla and no issues at all at the Superchargers. I am waiting for Tesla to open their networks to CCS cars so we can replace my wife's hybrid with a non-Tesla EV. We still have non existent CCS infrastructure on a key route here (I22). Supposedly a couple of CCS plugs coming in the not too distant future from a utility company but that is not enough for me to consider getting a non Tesla EV for anything other than an around town car until there is more redundancy and reliability. We drove almost 1,292 miles in 3 different days. Glad to see the Ioniq 5 is working well for you. Looks like a great car! I got the new CCS adapter for my model 3 and tried it out twice and nothing but problems with EA. Gives me a little bit of contingency planning if a supercharger is down but EA has lot of work to do.

[@pokerguvna978]

We could have convoyed for part of this trip. 😁 Left the North Shore here in MA heading to Bethlehem, PA on Friday and returned Sunday. Only needed to stop for a charge once each way and fortunately we were staying only about 10 minutes from an Electrify America station so I could quickly charge to full before we left. Didn't see too much crowding at the stations. We stopped at Stamford on the way down and North Haven on the way back. Stamford was maybe 80% full with one station offline. Sadly, I pulled up to find a Polestar 2 (which can't pull more than 150kW) in the only operational 350kW station so I pulled into the 150kW station next to him. That station had a poor connector so when my wife bumped it, the session ended. Then my app froze up and I couldn't start a new session. After about 10 minutes of fudging around with it I got ready to move to a spot that opened up when the Polestar unplugged, so I got in the 350kW after all. My app was still frozen so I had to call in and have it started for me. We went to the Starbucks nearby and had a biobreak and some lunch. By the time we walked back to the car we had been charging 39 minutes, 61kWh delivered (19% to 94%) at a max speed of 149kW for a total cost of $2.74 after my Ioniq 5 complimentary 30 minutes. The North Haven stop we planned on a restaurant lunch so we plugged in to a 350kW at around 20%. Unfortunately the app glitched again and although it started the session, it didn't apply my account. So I couldn't track the charging through the EA app and instead waited for the BlueLink notification. This resulted in our overstaying the idle grace period by 3 minutes but since the station didn't know I was plugged in, I didn't get charged the fee. Don't know the max speed we got as the app didn't record the session in my history. I was lucky enough to have preconditioning installed at factory so it was pretty quick. So the only complaint I've really had is stations offline for long periods (Saugus, MA is finally back online after about a month with all 3 offline but station 3 still only puts out 85kW max and station 2 looks like you can charge but the station is listed as unavailable in the app) and the app frequently having issues/locking up. The experience at the Allentown station was smooth all around though, I'll give them that.

[@plugandplayEV]

@@chipnvirginiahammond5612 Yeah, there are some similarities to the early Model 3 ramp and when Superchargers were getting backed up out West, but then you have the additional complication of third-party hardware and multiple different models testing the public fast charging network. It will be a messy 12 months or so but we'll get there as new CPOs enter the market and competition ramps up. Glad your holiday travel went well!

[@plugandplayEV]

@@pokerguvna978 Sounds like a decent trip, aside from the messy app lag. I think the software side needs a lot of work, which is hopefully what EA has been working on during that odd period of sporadic complimentary sessions and rolling hardware upgrades. It would be nice to know more about their timelines, but I guess we just need to get through the holiday period at this point and see what they have in store for 2023. New installations seem to have slowed and the focus seems to be on site upgrades for now, so we appear to be in a period of reflection and course correction for Electrify America, after a couple of years' frantic building.

[@gone2plaid772]

I did notice the same 70 kW peak on my GT-Line EV6 . Must be a cold battery but I did go to the service center and ask if an update was available for the pre-conditioning which will be nice but nothing as of about 3 weeks ago. Hoping that update comes out soon, I love the pre-conditioning with my Tesla

[@newscoulomb3705]

Great job, Steve! You led off with one of the key takeaways from my recent LA Auto Show trip: Don't fixate on a single site or charging provider.

[@plugandplayEV]

I'm sure it's cribbed from those trip videos, Eric, as I made a mental note to focus on EVgo while down in Pittsburgh based on your recent Ultium site visits! We just don't have the diversity of CPO along this route to cover networks beyond the "big three". Hoping to do something similar on the next trip to Ohio, where we can add Shell Recharge and EV Connect to the others thanks to EVolve NY using multiple operators. It's a crucial point that Electrify America, for all of its trials and tribulations, shouldn't be the only one carrying the can for non-Tesla fast charging across the US.

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@plugandplayEV Absolutely! EA has been a solid option for me, but it should never be the only option. I'm looking forward to your coverage of the East Coast charging infrastructure as it diversifies. There's even talk about Rivian opening their Adventure Network (they should of course, if no reason other than to access NEVI funds), but I'm not sure what their coverage is like out east.

[@skyemalcolm]

Really great video, as always. I found this one both very watchable and informative. Can’t put my finger on it but I like this format a lot and maybe because it wasn’t particularly stat heavy and instead you focused on interesting anecdotes such as the stations being full, the cold charging, all the various chargers tried, but again all quickly and superficially which I think is totally appropriate and easily digestible. I didn’t do any holiday travel this thanksgiving unless you count from my pie making table to the oven and to the couch since we hosted. However anecdotally after putting 19,000 odd miles on the EV6 since late April this year I realize that my road trips are strictly in the flyover states and perhaps this is why I’m not seeing the congestion at stations so frequently mentioned on social media. I think EV adoption curves must be stronger on the coasts & Colorado whereas I haven’t visited any of those places except for a brief foray across I-95 in N Carolina to the beach. So we’ve been adjacent to the EV crowd but apparently not swimming exactly in the same stream. That said the few really busy stations I have hit multiple times this year are in Ohio and Indiana along I-70 and many of those are 8 or even 10 unit installs going way back. So even when 3/5 folks are there with a couple broken stations no one has been queued up. Literally the only time this year I waited or made another driver wait was in Arizona west of Las Cruces and a Polestar and I were charger hopping together and the second stop I’d gotten there first and found the only working plug on four units at a Love’s EA truck stop. I absolutely had to get my charge in but fortunately the quick nature of the charge meant I only delayed the other folks about 5 minutes (if you don’t count the 5 minutes he spent fruitlessly trying the other plugs that didn’t work for me). I zoomed away with maybe 65-70% SOC knowing I was OK so it worked out more or less. Keep up the great work and do let us know if the preconditioning becomes a thing. I have serious doubts Kia of America is going to jump on the German Press release and start offering the fix but I’ve had a chat with my local dealer in the hopes they can find out more. Might just need to be right foot preconditioning while driving and battery charging conditioning this winter (crazily the battery heater pumped 5-7 kW of heat into the pack from an EVgo sesh I had at around freezing temps I did just to explore this question. Ah well.

[@plugandplayEV]

There's a lot to test before the preconditioning arrives, but I hope both Kia and Hyundai are on the same page in getting it to all owners who need it. Seems like a silly own goal to nerf a key feature of their flagship EVs, even if it's only for a segment of '22 owners. Your point on regional differences is well taken. The congestion ebbed away as we headed south to Kentucky/Tennessee over the summer, then reared its head again almost immediately when we hit PA. Ohio is somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, with busy pockets near cities but those 6+ stall counts really help, as you noted. We have a six in central CT that is always swamped, though, while Auburn, MA to the north has eight units and is never a problem. Seems like Tesla had it right there as well... start with eight as your minimum at most locations, then pile them on at nearby locations if things get busy. We definitely have a ways to go, but it's night and day compared to EV travel a few years ago. Thanks for the feedback on the format, btw. Necessity was the mother of invention in this case, as I wanted to catch the post-Thanksgiving travel interest, but I'm glad it's been received well. Some still want every inch of data, so I think getting these quick reports out post-travel, then doing the much longer sightseeing vids that others enjoy will be the approach heading into '23.

[@brianriebedriveselectric]

Thanks for taking us along on your holiday!

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks Brian!

[@ouch1011]

Nice thing about the Ioniq5 is that, assuming you can change at nearly full speed, even charging to a previously unthinkable SOC (like 90%+) can be done relatively quickly, so you aren’t occupying the charger for too long. Even on a cold battery ( 40F), the 0-100% charging time is faster than the Bolt can charge 10-80% in ideal conditions. We’ve had a string of below-freezing weather days here, and I’ve been watching the battery temps on my Ioniq5. Even if it sits for days, it doesn’t seem to let the battery get below the low 40s F. It does definitely slow down the charging speeds (I’ve observed about 35 minutes 10-80% in those conditions on 2 separate occasions now), it doesn’t slow it down as badly as I’d feared. Still, the preconditioning update cannot come soon enough. My family is all local, so no long road trips for holidays. I generally avoid traveling on holidays whenever possible since it is unpleasant regardless of your mode of transportation. That said, ALL charging providers (including Tesla) need to step it up. Charging queues are basically the norm now during travel holidays. I feel like Tesla is trying to step it up, adding several new superchargers around me in the past 18 months and a _50+ stall_ Supercharger is going in at Sutherlin, OR as we speak, but I haven’t seen much action from any other charging provider. But, I’d also say that vehicle manufacturers need to step it up too. 15-20 minute 10-80% charging times should be the norm now, too. Hyundai/Kia have shown that it is possible without making the car cost 6-figures. Having cars be able to get 150+ miles of range in 15 minutes will help substantially with charging infrastructure. Right now, we have too many cars that have to sit at chargers for an hour to get that kind of range, and it gums up the whole process.

[@plugandplayEV]

Great points. As the largest public DCFC network with the most key locations, the blame is largely piled on Electrify America when anything gums up the works. Rightfully so, in cases where their locations are down to one or two working units, but overall congestion is a much more complicated issue. Lack of coverage from other networks, complimentary charging programs without time limits, slower charging EVs/charge curves, and proximity to other fast charge locations all factor into throughput. Add in peak holiday travel and the network is bound to be strained, which is why we need more players in the space and a good dose of patience next year while this all shakes out.

[@mrleeboston]

Boston EV driver here - always like these vids. I was a '20 Bolt owner and did the MSRP swap for a '22 EUV w/ SC. Also have a '22 ID4 AWD. I think it would be cool for these road trip videos to show (like at 10:48 and 14:26) what was the kWh/min delivered at the charging stops to show charging efficiency.

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks! I'll do a full road trip video of this trip at some point in December and include the individual journey leg stats, for sure. This one is more intended as a quick digest to keep it close to Thanksgiving travel and get the take of others while travel is fresh in the memory.

[@BensEcoAdvntr]

Took my Bolt EUV from Columbus to Cincinnati, Ohio on a 280 mile round trip journey over 36 hours. The Electrify America station there wasn’t too busy, but I struck out trying to get it to work. Moved to another stall and just kept giving a non specific error message. I gave up and went across town to a newer EVgo Ultium ready station which worked flawlessly with Autocharge. Also topped off using L1 at 8 amps overnight at the in-laws. The older EA Signet stations just don’t inspire confidence. Also noticed on Wednesday 11/23 that EA stations at Cranberry & Bedford in PA along with Girard & Zanesville in OH all indicated full. Glad I wasn’t heading that way and you were able to make it to Laurel Highlands ok.

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks for the additional insight. Sounds like Ohio has been seeing some of the GM-EVgo partnership funds and that can only be a good thing. Along with how the state has spent Dieselgate funds around towns and the NEVI sites shown as "coming soon" on Plugshare, there's quite a robust charging map building out there over the next year or two. Neighboring PA is certainly more patchy, with some very well served city and suburban areas but large gaps in some of the more rural areas.

[@michaellippmann4474]

Great video and I agree that the charging infrastructure needs to be pushed faster due to the demand. We will be heading back South to Florida in February and are heading to Southern Ohio for New Years Eve so lots of trips in the Kona. Here in SW Ontario I have come to appreciate the charging stations we do have but at the rate of adoption here it will soon be inadequate. Fortunately the bulk of the mileage the car gets is the daily 125km my wife puts on going to work but that is easy peasy with our 32A Level 2 charger in the garage. Anyway...Thank you for the video! And Happy Thanksgiving! Mike 🇨🇦

[@plugandplayEV]

Cheers, Mike! I think your trip from Canada to Florida demonstrates that the current infrastructure facilitates EV travel just fine, but it will inevitably be strained at certain key locations at times of peak travel. Throw 4-5x the volume at what is a relatively young system and it will always show some cracks. Still the realities of early adopters and we'll probably all be laughing about these "EV war stories" in the years to come!

[@AnthonyPinzone]

First time watching your vids and was immediately smiling as you stopped in Newburgh at the charger i currently use frequently and then a hotel in Matamoras that I worked down the street from as a teenager. Its always wild seeing small town Matamoras especially haha

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks, Anthony! It's a big town for us, at least in terms of making onward travel into Pa relaxed and comfortable!

[@Runtythestar]

Another great video! I'm no stranger to public charging. We have Chademo, CCS, and Tesla vehicles. But, this trip was still a learning experience. We used my wife's ID.4 to go from Cape Cod to Quebec. It rides nicer than my Model 3. But, the charging is more stressful, needs planning, and is not integrated. Overall, it worked out. ABRP is a good guide. But, you definitely need to check multiple apps to see if the DCFC is actually working. Plugshare saved us from a non functioning EA site (W Lebanon NH) when the EA app said it was working. The EA in Manchester NH had 3 working on the way up and only 2 on the way back. We did have to queue. We used a Chargepoint DCFC in St. Johnsbury in VT. Glad to have it. But, was split and we only got 30Kw until the other car left. Canada had a great infrastructure for charging. But, while I had their electric circuit app, I had difficulty because I didn't have international roaming on my phone to use it easily and I didn't have the RFID card. Luckily, the supermarket had wifi and I was able to activate from the store when my wife plugged it in. If I had brought my Model 3, it just would have worked without any concern. On the plus side, the valet service at the hotel automatically charges EVs without us having to ask. We left with a 100% charge and that helped greatly. Since I didn't have cell service, I did have to go back into the hotel to use ABRP to select my sole Canada charge spot needed for the return Again, it all worked out. But, it was more difficult. we would do it again. But, a little wiser from the experience. I will definitely get an RFID for electric circuit.

[@plugandplayEV]

I think that's the crux of it: you're going to make it in a non-Tesla EV, but there's going to be plenty of planning and en route checks to keep the journey flowing. It's easy to see how much more stressful and delayed this trip would have been had we not been monitoring the situation at a problem location. Add in crossing international boundaries and you have another layer to figure out, as you found! Glad the trip worked out all the same and thanks for the continued support. Hope to make it back north of the border some time soon in 2023.

[@dennislyon5412]

Hi Steve - I had to laugh seeing the Ioniq - at 88% - charging the same as the fastest speed that the Bolt can. My daughter and I took a day trip into Ohio on Friday in our Bolt. Interesting to see several rural small towns in Ohio that have gotten onto the “ EVs welcome here” bandwagon by installing 1 or 2 50-62 kw chargers - in the town center parking lots. Thanks go out to them for setting that up for us (dieselgate funds) since the I-75 N-S freeway route (CCS) from Michigan is still in need of additional coverage, especially in winter. Because the risk of a broken single charger, or perhaps forming a cue was high, I planned on needing to charge often and keep the battery % off the bottom, just in case I had to go to the next charger - 30 or more miles away - at less than 3 mi/kwh as the day cooled off. Starting out full, we put on about 560 miles in about 15 total in the car hours and 9 short charging stops. I think we burned through almost 200 kwh. Observed an EA station near Dayton which has 6 chargers near the intersection of 2 freeways. We used this one twice - online said that one of the chargers was down, but found that 3 of the 6 were down, and with the recent influx of new EV sales, the VWs and an Ioniq5 formed a cue while I was there at dinnertime. I felt bad drawing 40 or so KW as a patient couple in an Ioniq5 had to wait a few minutes for my session to end with enough for me to round trip to my destination - plus a little bit. Crazy traffic at EA chargers (I was at 3 of them for 4 of my charge stops) during busy hours, but after dinner into late night was no problem. However, to minimize cues at the busy times, they really need to expand - or close the distances between chargers ASAP. Fortunately I had no issues finding a working charger at all of my stops, so it was a successful charging/travel day for us. Cheers from the mitten state!

[@plugandplayEV]

Thanks Dennis, it was certainly a reminder that we've made some slow and steady road trips in the Bolt EV! But those were enjoyable times and certainly easier to secure a charging spot than it is nowadays. Glad your travel worked out overall. If the site near Dayton was Huber Hts, that sounds familiar in terms of being busy. We rolled through on a Saturday this past summer and the six stalls were almost always 5/6 full. The individual town center sites in Ohio are definitely interesting. We have far less of that in Mass. but I think the model works, as long as it's paired with good highway coverage at the 150/350 level; serves both travelers who want to get on their way quickly and those who want to explore the local sights, sounds (and tastes!) for a while. Thanks for the thoughts and Happy Holidays to the Mitten!

[@dennislyon5412]

@@plugandplayEV - Steve - yes to ithe busy spot being Huber Heights, which was the first 6 charger location in Ohio, I believe. Near the intersection of I-70 and I-75, it’s a great spot for those passing through in any direction. We had gone to see a nearby grist mill lit up with 4 million lights for the holidays.

[@plugandplayEV]

@@dennislyon5412 Nice! We finished up our summer travel at Carillon Park to see the Wright Bros. museum and the various attractions there. Really interesting spot and it sounds like there's plenty to visit for in winter as well. Glad you got to spend time there!

[@thenetworkarchitectchannel]

Nice vid. I enjoyed watching. Well produced content. I am looking forward to the Ultium Charge 360 stations coming on-line at Pilot / Flying J in the next 6-12 months. It should be a big game changer for EV road trippers. Pilot / Flying J has really nice facilities for longer stops while road tripping.

[@plugandplayEV]

Thank you! There are two locations we have our eye on that would do exactly what you point out: one by the border of Mass/NY and another in Northeast Ohio. Both appear to be on the initial Ultium-GM/Pilot map and would bridge some smaller gaps in those areas, as well as adding redundancy for travelers. Hoping for no major delays on the overall project, as these things seem to drag out into several years where GM is concerned.

[@thenetworkarchitectchannel]

@@plugandplayEV yeah, I see a grand total of zero currently and getting one station taking months is putting the 2k all in ‘23 in suspension IMHO. It may be their goal, but there are certain construction realities that will end up dictating the real go-live rollout. I’ll feel better when I see a handful in operation.

[@fanofthemick]

Your Boston-Pittsburgh trip was better than the SW Florida to Jacksonville, Fl trip, around 375 each direction, at least as far as charging stations is concerned. Each EA station we used in each direction had problems ranging from dead charges to charge session ending several times with station errors. We, and other cars were changing the charge station looking for ones that worked consistently. Used one EVgo location the whole trip and it at connection problems issues but once it actually connected and authorized the session it worked fine. Very disappointed with EA on this road trip. Thankfully our next long trip is via air.

[@plugandplayEV]

Not good, sorry to hear that. The Southeast (Carolinas down) does seem to have more horror stories, but I wondered if that was down to limited stations. Florida is pretty well covered though, so that shouldn't be the case for the trip you made. We also had positive reports from a Canadian Kona Electric driver that his trip from north of the border to Florida went well last month, so peak use obviously plays a big role. It all comes back to needing a widespread ramp in DCFC infrastructure, from more stalls and stations to improved uptime and prompt maintenance.

[@newscoulomb3705]

5:35 Ironically, you might end up seeing the fastest charging speeds during cold weather because it will be harder for the battery to reach temperatures where it reduces charging speeds due to internal heat.

[@plugandplayEV]

Very true. I'm actually quite glad we don't have the preconditioning for the moment, as it will force me to log some cold weather trips with no pack manipulation. Those will hopefully record some interesting data points to compare with next year's winter trips when the preconditioning update eventually arrives.

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@plugandplayEV Absolutely! I think some people are imaging that these winter holidays are going to be a horror movie as far as traveling with EVs is concerned, due primarily to slow charging from a lack of preconditioning. What's interesting about the E-GMP vehicles is, the only reason their cold weather charging looks bad is because they're so used to hitting >200 kW. Realistically, though, based on your experiences, it's not actually that bad. You're looking at adding minutes to your trips rather than the hours that some people are worried about.

[@ArtiePenguin1]

1:40 Woah, isn't that one of the original charger models Tesla installed at the start of their Destination Charger program? It's pretty odd the charger has a J-1772 inlet on it. I'm assuming that's for holstering the connector into when it's not plugged in. 1:48 You have a digital key? That feature wasn't included in EV6s sent to the US. I agree with your closing thoughts. 4 stall DC fast charger installs should be the bare minimum for not as heavily trafficked routes. In most places (including most Interstate highways), 8 stalls should be the minimum.

[@plugandplayEV]

Honestly, I've only seen these in a couple of places. Usually the Tesla Destination locations are covered by Clipper Creek units, if they include a J1772 option at all. This is one of the better ones and makes it even more impressive if they're still humming after all these years! Well, one of them at least... We did activate the Hyundai Digital Key but it's not worth the limited functionality, IMO. Will need to do a full video on it and make sure I test properly, but use Bluelink commands on the phone far more than the Digital Key, which is a separate app for some reason. On stall count, we even see the six stalls at locations like Albany, NY and Manchester, CT strained sometimes. Meanwhile, the eight stall location in Auburn, MA always seems to be able to manage the volume. Part of that will be location, as there are other options in central Mass, but it goes to show that Tesla hit on a decent number with 8 stalls as their volume started to ramp. It could perhaps work with EVgo installing four and Electrify America installing four at the same location, but something needs to happen to give EV drivers greater redundancy if we want to avoid serious congestion at key locations next year.

[@newscoulomb3705]

8:44 The biggest issue is being with your car at that point. On my recent trip, I charged up to 100% three times in my Bolt EV (long story I'll be covering), but I was with the car each of those times while ensuring that there were chargers open and available at that location.

[@plugandplayEV]

For sure, if there are other chargers available then it becomes a moot point and charge as high as you want. That's why I chose the Auburn, MA eight stall location for our 1-100% charge test last month (it's telling re. EV adoption that when I did the Bolt EV 1-100% in mid-2021, it was at our local 3-stall EA and I didn't inconvenience anyone, despite a 90+ minute session!) In this particular instance, at around 85% SOC, all chargers were in use and the Bolt EV pulled in. Thankfully, the I5 with PA plates left a few minutes later and it wasn't an issue. Had he stayed, I would have felt the need to unplug and free up the charger for the Bolt driver. Everything still would have worked out for us and obviously this speaks to your point about remaining with the car, but it typified the question of my personal charging plans vs. impact on other EV drivers at peak travel time.

[@newscoulomb3705]

@@plugandplayEV Yes, there's definitely a balance to be struck. I know that I've ended sessions to accommodate other EV drivers, and to your point, it nearly bit me in the butt one time (arriving with less than 1-2% at my next stop). That being said, I've arrived at a full charger to find one EV owner completely absent and their Mach-E at over 90%. TFL also recently posted a video, and again, it was a Mach-E that not only charged to 100% without the driver present, it was left hooked up for another 20+ minutes after that. So as you noted in the video, it's all about striking a balance between your own needs and the impact you're having on others, so thanks for spreading the word!

[@COSolar6419]

Even before owning an EV we have avoided traveling on holidays. Meeting demand during peak periods is difficult with all travel options.

[@plugandplayEV]

Very true. At the Scranton Sheetz shown in this video, the lines of gas cars were three to four deep despite the number of pumps. Obviously it's a quicker stop and turnaround for gas, but there were still drivers yelling at each other that they're next and fighting for space... packed and stressful peak travel, regardless of drivetrain!

[@magichaircreationsbyjoey7752]

May I ask what the total fuel cost was for this trip?

[@plugandplayEV]

Of course! Because we have the complimentary IONIQ 5 charging with Electrify America and a $50 credit from EVgo, the only cost was home charging and anything over EA's 30 min cap. So real world out-of-pocket costs were $10.23. However, if you add in the EVgo charging sessions, which we'd normally have to pay for, the cost is $41.13.

[@anthonyc8499]

Judging by some of the pics i saw online, I'm really glad I stayed close to home. I don't know how much longer Electrify America and other CPOs will be able to pretend that 4-charger stations is the appropriate number. The happy days of empty stations and working chargers is over for the forseeable future.

[@plugandplayEV]

Yep, I heard some of those key sites out West like Quartzsite had lines into double digits. There are ways around it, as our travel shows, but it's not going to sell non-Tesla EVs in the short term. I'd expect improvements by 2024, but I think next year could be rough unless new stations come online quicker than anticipated.

[@anthonyc8499]

@@plugandplayEV I don't understand the delays in opening new stations. For example EVgo should be ripping up the ground at Pilot/Flying J stops all over the place and Starbucks - Volvo flipping the switches to activate their new stations (see Provo, UT). I haven't seen news on either.

[@ouch1011]

@@anthonyc8499 unfortunately these aren’t things that happen overnight like flipping a switch. There is so much bureaucracy that has to happen, along with logistics that delay the process. Even Tesla, who has famously streamlined the process of installing superchargers, takes several months from planning to activation.