EV charging issues (NOT Tesla) on road trips

Lindagaf
Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:07:13 +0000

This thread is interesting. Thanks to all who have shared their experiences.

We went away again this weekend to a major city. We felt better prepared this time, and weren’t certain we would easily find the right kind of charging station in the city we visited. Battery was at 90% ish when we set off.

Charging attempt #1. We went to a big brewery en route, which had at least ten Tesla charging spots, but had a few spaces with adapters for other cars. We hadn’t planned this stop, but figured why not use the charger. However, it was only a trickle charger, so effectively useless. Nevermind, we still had plenty of battery, so on we went…

We parked in the lot near the hotel, which indicated charging stations compatible with our car. But, it only had trickle chargers. So again, effectively useless. Not only that, but the charging company then sent a notification that because the battery was taking barely any charge, the battery was close to 80% (it wasn’t) and the fee would $5 per hour of “charging.” We disconnected, moved the car to a regular spot, and were more amused than annoyed.

We located a fast charging station on the way out of town in a shopping mall. This was convenient as I had to exchange something anyway. Twenty minutes of charging was all we needed and we were set to get all the way home.

Drive time was about 7-8 hours for a total cost of about $30 in “fuel”, I.e., electricity.

I think we will now always make sure that we have pre-located fast charging stations along our route. The priority is on fast. Overall, I do think the pros of the EV outweigh the cons.