[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

Next week I am planning a road trip from Southeastern PA to Southwestern VA, a distance of over 400 miles. Plotting out possible stops I have categorized stops as plan A (best case, well rated EA chargers), plan B (ok if that falls through, less well rated EA chargers in less convenient stopping spots), and plan C (pay chargers, 50kW). Most of the trip is 70mph zones and cruising at 80mph seems to yield about 2.7-2.8 mi/kWh most of the time, but in this case I will be gaining 2,500 ft of elevation so it will plummet when I reach the mountains. I don't think reducing driving speed will increase efficiency enough to offset the slower overall travel time (despite spending less time at chargers). The big wild cards are the availability and effectiveness of EA chargers. If I pull in with all bays full, then my time will climb, as it will if the charger/car decide to provide far less than the ideal charging curve. I haven't yet encountered the former, but I have with the latter.

I know in theory it makes the most sense to run the SoC down very low to get into that sweet 125kW part of the charging curve (from 0-30%) but that leaves the least margin for error and possible inability to reach a plan B or C. Also some time is used up getting off the highway, locating the chargers, initiating charging, etc. This makes a bird in hand situation better than one in the bush (if you are currently charging at a good station and getting decent speeds on the charging curve, might as well stay connected instead of venturing off into the unknown where the next station may be worse and end up costing you time).

Here's my Plan A with details from ABRP (2.9 reference consumption, 107% of posted speed limit):

Waypoint	Arrival SoC	Depart SoC	Charge duration	Distance	Drive duration	Arrival	Departure
Lansdale, PA departure		100%		122	1h56m		8:00 AM
Carlisle, PA EA	33%	78%	0h26m	129	2h5m	9:56 AM	10:22 AM
Woodstock, VA EA	10%	80%	0h41m	128	1h58m	12:28 PM	1:09 PM
Fincastle, VA EA	8%	40%	0h19m	59	1h22m	3:07 PM	3:26 PM
Floyd, VA destination	12%					4:48 PM

Along the way I have some other possibilities:

Miles from home		Location	Elevation	Brand			Top Speed	Plugshare			Address
0		Lansdale	432
108		Harrisburg, PA	423	Blink			50kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			368 Lewisberry Rd, New Cumberland, PA 17070, USA
122		Carlisle	461	EA			150kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			1098 Harrisburg Pike, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 17013, US
183		Hagerstown, MD	553	Chargepoint			50kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			17523 Valley Mall Rd, Hagerstown, MD 21740, USA
186		Hagerstown	561	EA			150kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			10420 Walmart Drive, Hagerstown, Maryland, 21740, US
237		Stephens City	744	EA			150kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			747 Fairfax Street, Stephens City, Virginia, 22655, US
269		Woodstock	873	EA			150kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			461 W Reservoir Rd, Woodstock, VA 22664, USA
331		Staunton	1399	EA			150kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			1028 Richmond Ave, Staunton, VA 24401, USA
333		Raphine, VA	1812	Quaker Steak?			50kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			2440 Raphine Rd, Raphine, VA 24472, USA
398		Fincastle	1228	EA			150kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			345 Brughs Mill Rd, Fincastle, Virginia, 24090, US
424		Christiansburg, VA	2080	EVgo			50kW	PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You			782 New River Rd, Christiansburg, VA 24073
457		Floyd	2974

I will update this thread with actual results but I would appreciate any trip suggestions in the meantime.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

PA to VA July 5, 2021

Edit: Before I left, I used Level 1 overnight to top up to 100%. It finished long before I woke up and headed out at 8:30am.
Driving 1: Lansdale, PA to Carlisle, PA: 122 mi
100% to 44%, 122 mi, 72 mph, 1h43m, 2.8 mi/kWh, GoM 325 mi->120 mi, 77*F, +29 ft elevation
ABRP said I should have arrived with 33% SoC so it was 11% pessimistic based on my inputs.

Charging 1: Carlisle, PA - Electrify America at Sheetz
Nobody else was charging and all chargers looked operational.
ABB Chargebox rated at 150kW, Charger 100601-03
I plugged in and got 86kW at 44% SoC. All chargers were free this weekend so I don't have any charge history in my EA account, nor did I succeed in catching the display at the right moment before the unplug nag appeared. I logged using VCDS-Mobile and took pictures at various times so here's my best guess about charging stats:
44% to 78%, 30*C to 36*C batt temp, 23 min, 27kWh, 86kW peak, 70kW avg
ABRP said it should have taken 26 minutes to go from 33% to 78% so that was pretty close.

Driving 2: Carlisle, PA to Woodstock, VA
78% to 20%, 129 mi, 71 mph, 1h49m, 2.9mi/kWh, GoM 206 mi->53 mi, 87*F, +412 ft elevation
ABRP said I should have arrived with 10% SoC so again, it was 11% pessimistic based on my inputs.

Charging 2: Woodstock, VA - Electrify America at Walmart
Nobody else was charging and all chargers looked operational.
Charger 100608-02
I plugged in and got 127kW at 20% SoC.
20% to 80%, 30*C to 36*C batt temp, 31 min, 46kWh, 127kW peak, 89kW avg
ABRP said it should have taken 41 min to go from 10% to 80%

Driving 3: Woodstock, VA to Fincastle, VA
80% to 23%, 126 mi, 73 mph, 1h45m, 2.9 mi/kWh, GoM 192 mi->66 mi, 86*F, +355 ft elevation
ABRP said I should have arrived with 8% SoC so it was 15% pessimistic based on my inputs.

Charging 3: Fincastle, VA - Electrify America at Brughs Mill Country Store
Nobody else was charging but of the four chargers, one was completely blank, one said out of order, and 2 looked ok.
I plugged into one of the seemingly ok ones 100256-01 but only got 32kW at 23% SoC and it didn't increase.
I unplugged and moved over to 100256-03 which delivered 125kW right away.
A guy in an Audi e-tron quattro showed up while I was charging, and attempted to use pump #1. I warned him about my low kW experience and he found the same. I had already charged more than I needed so I offered to move so he could fill up on pump #3 which he appreciated (and his car had a happier time with it).
23% to 63%, 34*C to 47*C batt temp, 23 min, 31kWh, 125kW peak, 81kW avg
ABRP said it should have taken 19 min to go from 8% to 40%

Driving 4: Fincastle, VA to Floyd, VA
63% to 33%, 60 mi, 42 mph, 1h26m, 2.7 mi/kWh, GoM 168mi->96mi, 76*F, +1746 ft elevation
ABRP said I should go from 40% to 20% so I'm glad I overcharged, that elevation climb was pretty brutal.

Overall stats for the Monday July 5, 2021:
441 mi, 59 mph, 7h37min driving, 1h17m charging, 2.8 mi/kWh, 158kWh

VA to PA July 9, 2021

Before I left, I used Level 2 overnight to top up to 100%. It finished long before I woke up and headed out at 8:55 am.
Driving 1: Floyd, VA to Fincastle, VA: 68 mi
100% to 80%, 68 mi, 48 mph, 1h26m, 4.1 mi/kWh, GoM 266 mi->227 mi, 77*F, -1746 ft elevation
ABRP said I should have arrived with 81% SoC so it was 1% optimistic based on my inputs.

Charging 1: Fincastle, VA - Electrify America at Brughs Mill Country Store
My original plan was to recharge at Staunton, VA (about 130 miles away) but my 9 year old copilot son REALLY wanted to stop at Brughs Mill Country Store for snacks and hopefully to pet some dogs (he was not disappointed). I arrived to find no EVs charging but there was an electrical contractor van parked in one of the spaces. I plugged into charger 1 that had delivered a very low kW on Monday, figuring I was at 80% anyway. It ramped up to 34kW immediately which was fine by me and the contractor asked if it was working ok. He said he was dispatched to address the reported problems like charger 4 being completely blank but by the time he got there it had switched itself on.
80% to 97%, ??? to ??? batt temp, 26 min, 14kWh, 38kW peak, 32kW avg
ABRP said it should have taken 18 min to go from 81% to 100%

Driving 2: Fincastle, VA to Hagerstown, MD: 202 mi
97% to 20%, 202 mi, 68 mph, 3h2m, 3.4 mi/kWh, GoM 270 mi->65 mi, 88*F, -675 ft elevation
ABRP said I should arrive with 5% starting at 100% so that 95% calculation is 18 miles pessimistic plus ABRP warned max of 65 mph (I had cruise at limit + 10mph so 80mph most of the way)

Charging 2: Electrify America at Walmart in Hagerstown, MD
Station 3 gave an error so I disconnected and plugged into 4 which delivered full power right away, apparently beyond the 125kW limit of the ID.4
20% to 97%, 52 min, ??? to ??? batt temp, 63kWh, 145kW peak ?!?, 73kW avg
ABRP said it should have taken 52 min to go from 16% to 96%

Driving 3: Hagerstown, MD to Lansdale, PA
97% to 19%, 184 mi, 56 mph, 3h19m, 3.0 mi/kWh, GoM 255 mi -> 56 mi, 83*F, Elevation -121ft
ABRP said I should arrive with 5% starting at 96% so that 91 % calculation is 13% miles pessimistic plus ABRP warned max of 70 mph (I had cruise at limit + 10mph so 80mph most of the way). I got crazy heavy rain near Carlisle/Harrisburg that slowed my progress and surely added some resistance.

Overall stats for Friday July 9, 2021:
455 mi, 55 mph, 8h19m driving, 1h18m charging, 3.3 mi/kWh, 138kWh

Overall stats for the whole trip:
896 mi, 56 mph, 15h56m driving, 2h35m charging, 79kW avg charging, 3.0 mi/kWh, 296 kWh

 

[Tinman]

You're a little early for FloydFest. Enjoy some Meadow Creek Dairy artisan cheese, if you see it in the market there.

 

[Nori]

If you end up in Carlisle, there are actually 2 Sheetz with charging stations, both within a couple miles of I-81 and I-76.

the one further west on 11 South is usually less busy, because it’s a little further from I-81.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

Apparently it’s free charging all holiday weekend so PlugShare is full of Leaf/Kona/e-tron people bragging about getting free fillups. Hopefully this settles down by Monday or else I will be tempted to take my gasser on this trip.

 

[ericy]

Apparently it’s free charging all holiday weekend so PlugShare is full of Leaf/Kona/e-tron people bragging about getting free fillups. Hopefully this settles down by Monday or else I will be tempted to take my gasser on this trip.

People are out and about all over, no matter what kind of cars they are driving.

What is weird is that if I look in the app, many sites show nearly all chargers available. And some of them look like they are completely offline. Not busy, just offline. Wouldn't be the first time that EA shut down a bunch of stations on a holiday weekend for maintenance.

 

[Spin]

I'm charging now at Medford, NY and as usual, i'm the only one here.

 

[mochalatte]

What is weird is that if I look in the app, many sites show nearly all chargers available. And some of them look like they are completely offline. Not busy, just offline. Wouldn't be the first time that EA shut down a bunch of stations on a holiday weekend for maintenance.

I was noticing that yesterday also. We are doing a day trip from Durham to Charlotte, NC today and yesterday I was making sure the EA stations were up and they weren't at the time just like the screenshot in message #5. My friend drove to the Hillsborough charger shortly after it showed it was unavailable and was able to charge fine. I'm thinking it might have just been a EA app/server glitch and the stations were really available. Today they are showing lots of empty slots, so hopefully that's true in a few hours when we are there.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I’m feeling a bit better about tomorrow’s charging possibilities based on the current EA map (showing almost all happy blues) and from PlugShare reviews over the past couple days. I’m going to try to log each charging session so if it’s effectively plug and charge this weekend I will start the log before plugging in. I’ve been trying to work out formulas for how much of an impact elevation has and I found one stat that said 1.5kWh for each 1000ft gained so that would mean about 5 miles chopped off the range.

Edit: using a potential energy calculator , plugging in 5,000lb with 1000ft gain works out to 1.88kWh. So my whole trip has almost a 5kWh loss baked in, ignoring all other factors.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I made it just fine! All three stops were unoccupied until an e-tron showed up at the last one as I was finishing. Will fill in details later.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I updated post #2 with driving and charging data. I am headed back home tomorrow and may try to hit different chargers (Staunton, VA and Hagerstown, MD) just to mix things up a bit.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I made it back today without issues, stopping only twice compared to 3 times for the PA to VA trip (thanks elevation!). I’ll update later with data.

 

[Nai3t]

...it makes the most sense to run the SoC down very low to get into that sweet 125kW part of the charging curve (from 0-30%) but that leaves the least margin for error and possible inability to reach a plan B or C. Also some time is used up getting off the highway, locating the chargers, initiating charging, etc.

Good stuff and I appreciate the data. Helps me trust the car isn't going to let me down with optimistic range predictions.

Planning stops can be a bit like flight planning alternate airports. Gotta make sure you're got enough in the tank to comfortably get to the back-up. I was looking at options around Chama New Mexico in replying to another member's thread about road-tripping there from Texas. If someone is out that way and arrives at an out-of-service charging stop, that could be it, lights out, plug in to a wall outlet at the motel and find something to do until Tuesday. That's brutal.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I updated post #2 with return trip and total trip stats.

@Nai3t , I’m glad this type of feedback helps you. There’s more uncertainty baled into EV road trips compared to gassers, and it will likely be that way for the foreseeable future. Return trips are less stressful since you have already proved you can do it once.

I knew this would be the case but elevation makes a HUGE difference. I used 20kWh more on the climb than I did on the descent (2500ft elevation change). That’s fairly close to the 5kWh per 1000ft elevation that I guesstimated before the trip.

Also don’t forget to stop and enjoy the views:

 

[Tinman]

How much of the Blue Ridge Parkway did you drive?

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

How much of the Blue Ridge Parkway did you drive?

I went from Rt 639 Payne Creek Church (I think it’s closed between there and Roanoke due to a bridge being out) and Meadows of Dan. I love driving on the BRP but you need to watch out for deer. The ID.4 brakes work great! Also route 221 over Bent Mountain is one of the twistiest climbiest roads I have ever been on, super fun and a little scary.

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

One more update on this trip. I got home just before 7pm on Friday with 19% SoC, plugged into 120v granny charger and at 7:45pm today (Sunday) it hit 80% SoC. Just over 48hr to gain 61% SoC, 57 mi to 205 mi on the GoM or 3.1 mph.

 

[egsell]

were you going to Blacksburg?

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I headed into Christiansburg for a day trip to buy BBQ grill parts and took another trip to Meadows of Dan to take pix in front of Mabry Mill but never went to Blacksburg. Oh I forgot I mooched a bit of free electricity from a realtor in downtown Floyd:

I only took 1% at 6kW but it’s nice that it’s available.
Thomas and Wall Realestate
102 N Locust St, Floyd, VA 24091, United States

PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You

 

[Andy at Ross-Tech.com]

I'm planning to repeat this trip next month when temperatures are expected to be quite a bit cooler. I punched in the defaults into ABRP (345 Wh/mi or 2.9 mi/kWh) , it says 7h10m driving time 1h18m charging (173.7kWh at 381 Wh/mi) with 3 stops; Carlisle, Stephens City, and Staunton. If I change outside temp from 68*F to 32*F it says 1h43m charging (203.2kWh at 446 Wh/mi) at the same 3 stops. That seems to be about a 17% cold penalty which sounds conservative to me. Luckily the EA spacing is pretty frequent along I-81, with chargers 123/62/51/25/62/67 miles apart.