[cfspeakman]

Planning a road trip to south Florida from middle Georgia. Definitely going to need to spend some time at some L2 chargers, as first DCFC is in the Ocala area. My CC home charger gets me 7.7 kw, about 25 miles per hour of charge. Can this be predicted at L2 chargers on road trips? Nisson Dealerships? KOA parks with 50 amp plugs using an EVSE and plug adapter? Going to need to get the maximum rate like in my garage if it is going to be doable.

Anybody tried this yet?

 

[Forman]

The trip might be 400 miles. Might be looking for DC chargers unless you have time to kill. Can you pop into a KOA camp ground and charge?

 

[SparkE]

With on-the-road charging, *nothing* can be predicted. Some things can be expected, others planned for, but there's nothing like showing up at a planned charge site to find that it is broken, or fully in use.

Use your network's app or web site to find the details of the spots that you want to use (main, secondary AND tertiary, at a minimum). They should be able to tell you what the max rate of charge at a L2 spot is, and if the power if the peak is 'shared' across multiple cars, or each car gets the max possible. (For example, some chargepoint L2s give 6.6 kW max, but the 6.6 kW is shared, so if both cars can pull 3.3 kW, each only gets 3.3 kW.)

Florida is dotted with DCFCs, on many networks (if your vehicle has a DCFC port). ChargePoint cards/membership is free, and you can pay from a smartphone (probably true of many vendors - I know that's true of greenlots, both free membership and pay-by-phone).

The Sleep Inn Wildwood, FL (South of Ocala) has Greenlots DCFC, 50 kW $7/hr ($7 min). If you roll in 'near empty' (less than 25% SoC) an hour @ 50 kW should pretty much fill you up.

Ocala has a few L2 stations, as does Gainsville. But you need to check each of the stations/spots you are considering BEFORE the trip for : max charge rate, # of spots possibly available, see if broken, etc. The ChargePoint app has the advantage (IMO) of showing exactly which stations are working AND not currently in use.

 

[cfspeakman]

The trip might be 400 miles. Might be looking for DC chargers unless you have time to kill. Can you pop into a KOA camp ground and charge?

Actually about 550 miles. Planning to drive 130 miles after work, do some L2 charging at Nissan dealerships on the way, stay overnight with brother-in-law, and leave the next morning with more L2 charging before start (if needed). Full charge to go remaining 420 miles in one day with one L2 charge, and three DCFC stops. Total charge time about 3 1/2 hours. Driving time about 7 hours, never dropping to less than 75 miles of range. Arrive in Ft. Myers with about 125 miles of range (or omit the final fast charge and arrive with 35 miles...scary). Only L1/2 chargers available in Ft. Myers.

 

[Forman]

The l2 charging is slow to me. If you can combine the trip with dinning to take 1 hour and charge up that's nice. But after the novelty and just seeing if you can do it wears off. You're time is worth how much? Sounds like you've done some good planning tho, so it should be a piece of cake. Evgo has a couple plans. Not exactly cheap tho.

 

[Cardyin]

Yes, personally, I've found L2 charging is really only useful if you are already going to be at a location that has charging. I spent the day at Disneyland yesterday and used one of their ChargePoint stations there. Initially, I was getting 5kWH, but since it was a shared power station, as soon as someone plugged into the other station, it dropped to 2.5kWH. Didn't matter too much to me as I was going to be there for 10+ hours, and was mostly full anyway from my charge at home, but if you were depending on speed of charge, you wouldn't have gotten it at that station.

Also, the electricity was a little expensive at $.35/kWH, but I got a primo parking spot and fully charged the car at the same time, so I was willing to pay a few bucks for the convenience.

 

[specialed]

Yes, personally, I've found L2 charging is really only useful if you are already going to be at a location that has charging. I spent the day at Disneyland yesterday and used one of their ChargePoint stations there. Initially, I was getting 5kWH, but since it was a shared power station, as soon as someone plugged into the other station, it dropped to 2.5kWH. Didn't matter too much to me as I was going to be there for 10+ hours, and was mostly full anyway from my charge at home, but if you were depending on speed of charge, you wouldn't have gotten it at that station.

Did you move your car after it finished charging or did you leave it there so nobody else could use it all day?

 

[Marc Cohn]

I admire the planning for the adventure --- but, having made five 1200 mile trips in my Tesla and using the Supercharger network the trip gets to be ----- a little slow. I drive my Bolt around town so I am never really range challenged as speed is less than 60 mph and a long trip is 40 miles. Even when using the Superchargers the rate of charge is dependent on if the station is shared or not - you quickly learn to 'read the code' as to how the stations are set up to avoid this. But good luck - I am sure you will make it with persistence.

 

[cfspeakman]

Originally Posted by Off Oil
Check out the government energy.gov site for a map of DC CCS chargers. There are fast chargers as soon as Jacksonville.
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/locator/s...orks%5B%5D=all

Going to seriously look at the east coast Florida route. Need to stay the night in south Georgia anyway. Can probably get to Jacksonville with an overnight charge in south Georgia with no problem. Then, fast chargers all the way through Orlando, Tampa, and on to Ft. Myers, last one around Port Charlotte. Will be farther, but probably faster and less worrisome. Noticed that most of the chargers on the route are on the eVgo network. Interesting also that the Dept of Energy site shows a DCFC near Daytona, and one at Duncan Donuts in Lakeland, both eVgo chargers, and NEITHER of those was found by the Plugshare app. If I stop at either of those and confirm their existence and operation, will inform the Plugshare people to add them.



​

 

[SparkE]

Interesting also that the Dept of Energy site shows a DCFC near Daytona, and one at Duncan Donuts in Lakeland, both eVgo chargers, and NEITHER of those was found by the Plugshare app. If I stop at either of those and confirm their existence and operation, will inform the Plugshare people to add them.

You add them yourself in the smart app or via the web interface - it's pretty self-explanatory once you start doing it. And it's easy to modify later if you don't get it exactly the way you want the first time.

 

[Cardyin]

Did you move your car after it finished charging or did you leave it there so nobody else could use it all day?

By the time it was done charging, it was only 1.5 hours until close, so I just left it.

 

[specialed]

Did you move your car after it finished charging or did you leave it there so nobody else could use it all day?

By the time it was done charging, it was only 1.5 hours until close, so I just left it.

Oh, sorry. When you wrote that your car was mostly charged from your time at home, I assumed that it would take a lot less than 10+ hours to charge.

Even at only 10A you would get about 100 miles in that time.

 

[Cardyin]

Oh, sorry. When you wrote that your car was mostly charged from your time at home, I assumed that it would take a lot less than 10+ hours to charge.

Even at only 10A you would get about 100 miles in that time.

No problem. I understand the sentiment of the question. I've been there 2 other times in the Bolt and found all the spaces full at those times, many by those who don't even plug their car in for charging. Those stations are limited resources, and it's always best to show some common courtesy.

 

[NCalBolt]

I bought my bolt last Sunday and love it so far.
Planning a trip to San Francisco from Sacramento, but see very few DC fast chargers.
It'll be great if Chevrolet can offer DCFC at their dealerships or make deals with the charger networks.

 

[SparkE]

I bought my bolt last Sunday and love it so far. Planning a trip to San Francisco from Sacramento, but see very few DC fast chargers. It'll be great if Chevrolet can offer DCFC at their dealerships or make deals with the charger networks.

Yeah, strangely, I-80 between SF and Sac doesn't have a lot of DCFCs. But it's less than 200 miles round trip so you shouldn't really NEED a charge (unless you're really coming from Folsom or Rocklin, or you don't have home charging). There is a 24 kW ChargePoint DCFC at the factory outlets in Vacaville (across the freeway from the nut tree). You could use that to "add a little bit" and then use one of the DCFCs in Sac after getting back. All the non-EVgo DCFCs in Sac seem to be Greenlots.

You could take I-80 to Cordelia, then take I-680 to CA-24, which re-joins I-80 just before heading over the bay bridge to SF (instead of taking I-80 the whole way). It's only about 6-7 miles further, there's generally less traffic (except maybe during rush hour) and there are chargers. Greenlots 50 kW at Concord Kia, and a CP 24 kW at Walnut Creek VW. For 'oops, I won't make it' emergency top-offs/fill-ups, there's a 24 kW DCFC off I-880 in Oakland (also CP). There's also two Greenlots 50 kW DCFCs on the Alameda (island) - 0.45/kWh (which isn't really your route).

Now, there are lots of EVgo DCFCs along the route, but they are a little expensive ($5 connection fee + $.20/min => 30 min charge for $11 for ~20 kWh). Just fine if 'you really need it', I guess.

 

[cfspeakman]

Plan finalized. OpenEVSE 40 amp L1/2 charger build has been completed, and have ample adapters already produced. Will travel about 200 miles to Waycross, GA, consider 30 minute L2 charge at Nissan dealership in Albany or Tifton just to limit the range anxiety. Highway speeds will be 55-65, and will not need cabin heat, so should be able to get 200 miles of range pretty easily. Will L2 charge overnight using dryer outlet in Waycross.


Leave next am for Jacksonville, DCFC there, or at St. Augustine. DCFC stops near Daytona or Lakeland, then Brandon or Port Charlotte depending on range, then on to Ft. Myers. Free L2 chargers in town or pay L2 chargers if needed. Will likely need 3 or 4 fast charge stops (all eVgo) on the 400 mile trip just to avoid range anxiety. Will report back next week to let everyone know how it went.

 

[CWB126]

I have noticed a lot of Supermarkets are deploying EvGo DC Fast chargers in their parking lots. 50 KW/h for 30 minutes at a time. Mine needs two of these to be almost fully charged. 1 hour for 16O-170 miles range.

Pretty nifty. I find charging at 6 PM in rush hour traffic is best and I have noticed many women charging their electric chariots in the working day at these places which is highly irksome, to say the least.

They don't seem to do it at rush hour though....

 

[Cardyin]

Plan finalized. OpenEVSE 40 amp L1/2 charger build has been completed, and have ample adapters already produced. Will travel about 200 miles to Waycross, GA, consider 30 minute L2 charge at Nissan dealership in Albany or Tifton just to limit the range anxiety. Highway speeds will be 55-65, and will not need cabin heat, so should be able to get 200 miles of range pretty easily. Will L2 charge overnight using dryer outlet in Waycross.


Leave next am for Jacksonville, DCFC there, or at St. Augustine. DCFC stops near Daytona or Lakeland, then Brandon or Port Charlotte depending on range, then on to Ft. Myers. Free L2 chargers in town or pay L2 chargers if needed. Will likely need 3 or 4 fast charge stops (all eVgo) on the 400 mile trip just to avoid range anxiety. Will report back next week to let everyone know how it went.

Good luck on your trip. Doing a quick check on your route, a found a few non-EVgo chargers along your route that may be worth a look. If you don't sign up for the annual plan with EVgo, the pricing will be $4.95 or $5.95 (depending if you signed up for a plan at all, then $.20/min, so for a 30 min charge it will be almost $11 or $12 dollars, or $17-$18 for an hour of charge.

I saw some GreenLots DCFC for $7/hr with $7 min, but this would still be worth it if you charged only 30 minutes.

 

[Bazinga]

I'm amazed at the planning you have to go through for a road trip in the Bolt EV, just reading the list of available charging stations, backup stations and charge times... No more road trips where I just wing it.

Will await your road trip review here!

 

[DaV8or]

Plan finalized. OpenEVSE 40 amp L1/2 charger build has been completed, and have ample adapters already produced. Will travel about 200 miles to Waycross, GA, consider 30 minute L2 charge at Nissan dealership in Albany or Tifton just to limit the range anxiety. Highway speeds will be 55-65, and will not need cabin heat, so should be able to get 200 miles of range pretty easily. Will L2 charge overnight using dryer outlet in Waycross.


Leave next am for Jacksonville, DCFC there, or at St. Augustine. DCFC stops near Daytona or Lakeland, then Brandon or Port Charlotte depending on range, then on to Ft. Myers. Free L2 chargers in town or pay L2 chargers if needed. Will likely need 3 or 4 fast charge stops (all eVgo) on the 400 mile trip just to avoid range anxiety. Will report back next week to let everyone know how it went.

A Bolt can charge at a Nissan dealership? I thought Leafs used a different kind of connector? Aren't they CHAdeMO and the Bolt CCS? How do Nissan dealers feel about Chevys using their equipment?

Anyhow, this thread illustrates exactly why the vast majority of Americans have said- "Thanks, but no thanks." to BEVs so far. Nobody wants these headaches. Until the day electric cars can be charged as fast as gas cars and there are chargers available everywhere, I for one, will be maintaining gas powered cars in the household for trips outside commute range.

Just a reality of the tech we have available today.