So I completed my first long road trip in the EV - from Raleigh to Tampa (668 miles) and back. The way down didn't go as well as the way back---but that was due to human error! I had somehow accidently set the car to max out at 50% charging on a DC charger. It took me a couple of chargers to realize it was the cars fault (mine) not the charger. So the way down was longer than it should have been.
The way back went as follows:
- DRIVE 8:47-9:59 to EA charger. 1:12, 68 miles (Tampa traffic)
- CHARGE 9:59-10:24 EA 25 min
- DRIVE 10:24-12:29 to EvGo Charger near Jacksonville 2:05, 132 miles
- CHARGE 12:29-1:09 EvGo charger 40 min (at lunch at Pizza hut)
- DRIVE 1:09-3:02 to EA Charger. 1:52, 141 miles
- CHARGE 3:02-3:36 EA 34 min
- DRIVE 3:36-5:59 Drive to EA charger, 2:22 , 171 miles
- CHARGE 5:59-6:44 EA 44 min, (dinner - Salad from Walmart)
- DRIVE 6:44-9:25 Home 2:41, 163 miles.
At total of 10:12 driving, and 2:23 minutes charging. Normally this trip would take me around 11 hours and would cost $97 in gasoline. This trip cost me $21.12 (16.45 at the EvGo near Jacksonville, and 4.67 at an EA station that was running slow and went over my free 30 min charge time - I may call them to get that refunded because their charger was running really slowly, and shouldn't have taken that long). There isn't a convenient EA (Electrify America) location in the Jacksonville area on my route - which is why I used EvGO there.
The 44 min EA charge at step 8 should have been more like 25 minutes, but the charger I was on was running slow. I stopped there on the way down, and it ran slow then too. This is one of the challenges with charging stations....sometimes they aren't working right - apps like "Plugshare" rate them so you can get an idea of how well they work. I used it because it was free for me for the 1st 2 years of the car ownership.
So overall, a pretty uneventful trip. Took an extra 90 minutes, but I ate and took a couple of naps, so no biggie.