Like the Test Drive section, I plan to document my key road trips on the Blog Page.
We have taken several EV road trips in different EVs over the past 4 years. Places like the Oregon Coast, Moab, UT, Portland, OR, Leavenworth, WA, Mount Lassen National Park, CA, the Bay Area, CA, and southern California. We have learned a lot during each trip which has helped us get more comfortable and improve our efficiency while on these trips.
Here are some EV road trip lessons learned to help you as you plan for your next trip in your EV:
- Traveling long distances in an EV is doable, but requires a little more planning and patience. The trip may take a little more time than in an ICE vehicle because charging an EV still takes more time than filling an ICE vehicle with gas. But, there are things you can do to minimize the travel time and have fun along the way.
- Refer to "Charging Locations" and "Long Distance Driving" pages for more information.
- Because EV charging facilities are not yet as plentiful as gas stations, more planning is required to layout your route and charging options. Investigate free charging locations at hotels and restaurants. I suggest using PlugShare.Com to plan your charging stops.
- In addition to paying close attention to the actual distances between charging options, you need to be aware of other factors that could affect your battery usage efficiency (which equates to range), such as: Speed - the faster you go, the more energy you will use. Weather - temperature, wind, and precipitation can reduce your range. Terrain - elevation changes and mountain passes can prematurely drain your battery.
- Continue to monitor your range estimation and battery efficiency gauges to ensure you don't get stranded between charging facilities. If you are concerned, make adjustments to avoid a premature stoppage due to lack of battery charge, such as slowing down, finding a closer charger if possible, or revising your route.
- Make the extra stops enjoyable if possible, even consider making more overnight stops to see the local sites and charge for free at your hotel.
- Find ways to make your charging stops as efficient as possible. Since the rate at which electrons are accepted by your battery charging on DC fast chargers is dependent on the battery SOC, it can take a long time to get to high states of charge. Unless needed to make it to your next charger, don't charge past 80% full (the charge rate for all EVs drops off fast after 80% SOC). And while you are charging calculate how much you need to get to your next charger, with a comfortable buffer of course. Sometimes it can be more efficient to charge to only 60% or 70% and maybe stop more often than to try and "fill up" at each charger.
We found long distance EV road trips are doable and can be enjoyable just knowing that you aren't using a drop of gasoline to get to your destinations. They can be more relaxing as well even though it may take more overall time. You can arrive less stressed and tired because you get more/longer breaks than when driving an ICE vehicle.
If you are interested in more information, reach out through my contact page and we will provide any additional information we have or answer any of your questions.