I am new to this forum, but read all of the posts on Bolt road trips before making the trek from St. Paul, MN to Cleveland, OH and back last week. I bought my Bolt in April 2018, 2018 premium for around $36k before tax credit and traded in a 2017 Volt. Currently have almost 6k miles on it. Have reduced rate EV charging on a separate meter for around $.04 / kwh plus taxes. Also have a 8.4kwp solar array. Based on my learning from others, I downloaded the Plug Share app. I was hoping to do the trip on as many free chargers as possible.
Day 1 - started driving around 10:45am from St. Paul. Stopped in Sparta, WI, about 166 miles at the level 2 charger located at the library. We had about 65 miles estimated range left upon arrival. The charger was in use by a Ford PHEV. My kids and I wrote letter and left it on their windshield requesting they text or plug us in when they were done. About 15 min later, my app indicated we were charging. I had thought about slow charging with the standard cord, but realized the car did not come with one (maybe they took it for the Volt since I hadn't turned it in?). After 1.75 hours of charging and some games at the library, we decided we needed a break from level 2 and headed to the fast charger at the Chevy dealer in Ballweg, WI. After 30 min there, we had enough to make it to the Level 3 Charger in Madison operated by the electric company. I signed up for the study prior to the trip, so charging was $2.50 per hour. We were excited watching the miles go up rapidly and decided to get some dinner. 12 min later, a look at the app showed we were no longer charging due to an error. I ran back to the charger and could not get it working again. Frustrated, I decided just to go finish my dinner and we could try a different level 3 charger. When we got back, my 13 year old son had the magic touch and it started working again. We waited about an hour to get to around 85% charge. We were planning on stopping at the free level 3 charger in Northbrook, IL but since it closed at 10pm and we were delayed we would not make it. Our backup options were BMW in Schaumburg or the EVGo at the mall. Due to the faster speed of EVGo and amount of time already spent charging, we decided to make an account and EVgo. We charged for 29 min while my kids danced around the deserted parking lot at 11pm which gave us enough charge to get to our planned hotel. We stayed at the Inn at St. Mary's in South Bend, Indiana which had a level 2 charger. What would have been about 9 hours in a gas vehicle (probably a little longer due to accidents causing delays) was almost 15 hours in the Bolt. But we were determined.
Day 2: At hotel check out time 11am Eastern, we were not quite fully charged but ambitious to get to our destination for some time in Cleveland before Game 4 of NBA finals (purpose of the trip). We almost risked driving to the level 3 EVgo in Elryia , OH but it would have been cutting it too close so we stopped at Chevy in Sylvania, OH. There was another Bolt charging when we arrived, but luckily done so they were able to move it for us. We plugged in and went to lunch. Again about 15 min later, my app indicated we were no longer charging. My son ran back this time and unplugged and plugged back in successfully. We charged about an hour and headed to the level 2 charger in Rocky River, OH, arriving around 5:30pm. We left the car there during the game and unfortunately, the power went around 11pm after store close so we did not get fully charged. Our hotel did not have a charger, but was close to Whole Foods.
Day 3: We originally planned to go back to Sylvania and then head for Chicago for a night there, but would not have made it without another stop at a level 2 charger so we came up with a new plan. We charged at the level 3 EVgo in Elryia for 30 minutes (1 spot was iced and a stranger came up to say noone ever uses the chargers) and then headed to the Chevy dealer in Fort Wayne, IN. I called ahead and they said service closed at 2pm, but sales was open later so we were able to charge past 2pm. We ended up charging almost 2 hours while getting lunch and taking a break. Luckily, there were no issues with charging here and everyone at Chevy was very nice. From there, we had enough to comfortably make it to Chicago where we took advantage of the free level 2 charging in Navy Pier ramp. We were already going to be parking there regardless, so that was a perk. There was 2 spots, one with a Tesla not charging so we were able to take the other. After a few hours there, we were back over 125 miles. Our hotel was in Bloomingdale IL and again had no charger.
Day 4: We stopped at the BMW Schaumburg for their free Level 3 charger and charged about 45 minutes. That got us to Madison Level 3. This time we went to their other location on Railroad St and walked to a local restaurant for lunch. We were going to need to make it 209 miles to Rochester (the preferred route taking 94 does not have chargers along the way, besides Eau Claire Nissan which would have been closed on Sunday) so we charged about 1 hour 45 minutes until we were at 97%. We made it to Rochester with 57 miles left. We charged at the La Quinta while going to the movie theater across the street. After the movie, we had enough charge to get back to St. Paul comfortably. This day would have been about 6 hours by car, and instead took us closer to 12 by the time we got home.
Overall, it was exhausting but we made it. With 2 EVgo sessions and 2 reduced rate level 3 in Madison, our total for 1650 miles was less than $40. We tried to make the most of our charging times by playing games, local attractions, getting some walking in, and going to the movies. However, our experience with failed charges multiple times made me constantly refreshing the chevy app to make sure we were still charging. I wish there were more of the fastest level 3 charging stations. The chevys were all between 18 & 25 kw and while that was an improvement over the level 2, we would have probably saved more than 20% in driving time had their been level 3 at 50kw along the entire route. Besides the first charger, we did not get ICED or unable to use a charger due to another charging the entire trip. It came close at the Whole Foods Rocky River where some spots were ICED, but went ok. We did learn that without the fast charging infrastructure, we found it easier to drive 60 and have a range of 260-280 then going faster and range dropping to 190. In my normal driving, I regularly average around 5 miles per kw with AC on. On this trip, we kept the AC off most of the time. Having chargers at all hotels we stayed at would have helped some, too. We did not get to 100% charge at all during the trip besides when we left home. It was definitely an adventure, and something I would consider doing again as the infrastructure improves. For now though, I think Duluth might be the farthest I go for a while!
Day 1 - started driving around 10:45am from St. Paul. Stopped in Sparta, WI, about 166 miles at the level 2 charger located at the library. We had about 65 miles estimated range left upon arrival. The charger was in use by a Ford PHEV. My kids and I wrote letter and left it on their windshield requesting they text or plug us in when they were done. About 15 min later, my app indicated we were charging. I had thought about slow charging with the standard cord, but realized the car did not come with one (maybe they took it for the Volt since I hadn't turned it in?). After 1.75 hours of charging and some games at the library, we decided we needed a break from level 2 and headed to the fast charger at the Chevy dealer in Ballweg, WI. After 30 min there, we had enough to make it to the Level 3 Charger in Madison operated by the electric company. I signed up for the study prior to the trip, so charging was $2.50 per hour. We were excited watching the miles go up rapidly and decided to get some dinner. 12 min later, a look at the app showed we were no longer charging due to an error. I ran back to the charger and could not get it working again. Frustrated, I decided just to go finish my dinner and we could try a different level 3 charger. When we got back, my 13 year old son had the magic touch and it started working again. We waited about an hour to get to around 85% charge. We were planning on stopping at the free level 3 charger in Northbrook, IL but since it closed at 10pm and we were delayed we would not make it. Our backup options were BMW in Schaumburg or the EVGo at the mall. Due to the faster speed of EVGo and amount of time already spent charging, we decided to make an account and EVgo. We charged for 29 min while my kids danced around the deserted parking lot at 11pm which gave us enough charge to get to our planned hotel. We stayed at the Inn at St. Mary's in South Bend, Indiana which had a level 2 charger. What would have been about 9 hours in a gas vehicle (probably a little longer due to accidents causing delays) was almost 15 hours in the Bolt. But we were determined.
Day 2: At hotel check out time 11am Eastern, we were not quite fully charged but ambitious to get to our destination for some time in Cleveland before Game 4 of NBA finals (purpose of the trip). We almost risked driving to the level 3 EVgo in Elryia , OH but it would have been cutting it too close so we stopped at Chevy in Sylvania, OH. There was another Bolt charging when we arrived, but luckily done so they were able to move it for us. We plugged in and went to lunch. Again about 15 min later, my app indicated we were no longer charging. My son ran back this time and unplugged and plugged back in successfully. We charged about an hour and headed to the level 2 charger in Rocky River, OH, arriving around 5:30pm. We left the car there during the game and unfortunately, the power went around 11pm after store close so we did not get fully charged. Our hotel did not have a charger, but was close to Whole Foods.
Day 3: We originally planned to go back to Sylvania and then head for Chicago for a night there, but would not have made it without another stop at a level 2 charger so we came up with a new plan. We charged at the level 3 EVgo in Elryia for 30 minutes (1 spot was iced and a stranger came up to say noone ever uses the chargers) and then headed to the Chevy dealer in Fort Wayne, IN. I called ahead and they said service closed at 2pm, but sales was open later so we were able to charge past 2pm. We ended up charging almost 2 hours while getting lunch and taking a break. Luckily, there were no issues with charging here and everyone at Chevy was very nice. From there, we had enough to comfortably make it to Chicago where we took advantage of the free level 2 charging in Navy Pier ramp. We were already going to be parking there regardless, so that was a perk. There was 2 spots, one with a Tesla not charging so we were able to take the other. After a few hours there, we were back over 125 miles. Our hotel was in Bloomingdale IL and again had no charger.
Day 4: We stopped at the BMW Schaumburg for their free Level 3 charger and charged about 45 minutes. That got us to Madison Level 3. This time we went to their other location on Railroad St and walked to a local restaurant for lunch. We were going to need to make it 209 miles to Rochester (the preferred route taking 94 does not have chargers along the way, besides Eau Claire Nissan which would have been closed on Sunday) so we charged about 1 hour 45 minutes until we were at 97%. We made it to Rochester with 57 miles left. We charged at the La Quinta while going to the movie theater across the street. After the movie, we had enough charge to get back to St. Paul comfortably. This day would have been about 6 hours by car, and instead took us closer to 12 by the time we got home.
Overall, it was exhausting but we made it. With 2 EVgo sessions and 2 reduced rate level 3 in Madison, our total for 1650 miles was less than $40. We tried to make the most of our charging times by playing games, local attractions, getting some walking in, and going to the movies. However, our experience with failed charges multiple times made me constantly refreshing the chevy app to make sure we were still charging. I wish there were more of the fastest level 3 charging stations. The chevys were all between 18 & 25 kw and while that was an improvement over the level 2, we would have probably saved more than 20% in driving time had their been level 3 at 50kw along the entire route. Besides the first charger, we did not get ICED or unable to use a charger due to another charging the entire trip. It came close at the Whole Foods Rocky River where some spots were ICED, but went ok. We did learn that without the fast charging infrastructure, we found it easier to drive 60 and have a range of 260-280 then going faster and range dropping to 190. In my normal driving, I regularly average around 5 miles per kw with AC on. On this trip, we kept the AC off most of the time. Having chargers at all hotels we stayed at would have helped some, too. We did not get to 100% charge at all during the trip besides when we left home. It was definitely an adventure, and something I would consider doing again as the infrastructure improves. For now though, I think Duluth might be the farthest I go for a while!
