[Fivedoor]

Drive home: Start at 04:00

I started the trip at near full charge having used 4.6 kWh and driven 22.1 miles since a full charge at an L2 station at Kennedy space center. At the start of the trip I had 92% SOC and 223 miles on the GOM. Due to not being at full charge I chose to stop at the 125 amp EVgo in Port Orange FL.

I drove 1 hour to the EVgo 125 amp station in Port Orange FL, and arrived at 05:05 with 58% SOC and 125 miles on the GOM having used 19.9 kWh in 68.7 miles of driving 3.45 miles per kWh. We charged for 20 min up to 75% SOC and 166 miles on the GOM and left for Jacksonville at 05:30

I drove to the EVgo 100 amp station in Jacksonville and arrived at 07:30 with 18% SOC and 41 miles on the GOM having used 33 kWh in 112.5 miles of driving 3.41 miles per kWh. I charged for an hour and 15 min up to 80% SOC and 169 miles on the GOM. I decided to skip Savannah GA due to the charger problems there on the trip to Coco Beach, and take a different path directly to Metter GA leaving at 08:55

I drove 3 hours to a ChargePoint 125 amp station in Metter GA and arrived at 11:55 with 8% SOC and 19 miles on the GOM having used 41.5 kWh in 157.9 miles of driving 3.80 miles per kWh. I charged for an hour and 15 min up to 76% SOC and 164 miles on the GOM and left for Macon GA.

I drove for 3 hours to ChargePoint 125 amp station in Macon GA and arrived at 15:00 with 21% SOC and 45 miles on the GOM having used 29.9 kWh in 106.2 miles 3.55 miles per kWh. The station was down, but I was able to call ChargePoint support and got the station back on line in around 15 min. We charged for an hour and 15 min up to 85% SOC and 170 miles on the GOM and left at 16:30 for Calhoun GA.

I drove for two and a half hours to the EVgo 125 amp station in Calhoun GA and arrived at 19:00 with 15% SOC and 34 miles on the GOM having used 40.6 kWh in 149.0 miles 3.67 miles per kWh. We charged for 20 min up to 42% SOC and 94 miles on the GOM. The next stop was the hotel, in Chattanooga, TN.

I arrived at hotel with at 21:30 with 12% SOC with 26 miles on the GOM having used 17.6 kWh in 60.0 miles of driving 3.41 miles per kWh.

Day 2 of the trip home:

I charged overnight up to the Hill Top Reserve level 88% SOC and 195 miles on the GOM. Ate the complimentary breakfast and left the Hotel at 08:30

I drove 2 hours and 10 min to an EA 150 amp station in Nashville TN and arrived at 09:40 with 23% SOC and 46 miles on the GOM having used 39 kWh in 123.0 miles of driving 3.15 miles per kWh. We charged for half an hour up to 60% SOC and 120 miles on the GOM. At this point the charging rate had dropped to 100 amps, so I drove across town to the 100 amp EVgo station since it cost a lot less per min, and I needed a full charge to bridge the gap to Memphis.

I drove 40 min to the EVgo 100 amp station across town and arrived at 10:50 with 59% SOC and 119 miles on the GOM having used 1.2 kWh having driven 6.4 miles 5.33 miles per kWh. I charged for one and a half hours up to 100% SOC and 198 miles on the GOM and left at 12:20 for the IKEA in Memphis.

I drove for 3 and a half hours to a 200V 30 amp L2 station at the IKEA in Memphis TN. I arrived with 21% SOC and 54 miles on the GOM having used 45.1 kWh in 195.2 miles of driving 4.33 miles per kWh. I drove at a steady 65 mph because I wanted to minimize my charging time at the L2 station. I charged for an hour up to 31% SOC and 71 miles on the GOM before leaving for home.

I drove one hour home, arriving at 18:00 with 3% SOC and a flashing low on the GOM having used 15.7 kWh having driven 62.2 miles 3.96 miles per kWh.

Later,

Keith

 

[Lbrooks51115]

Wow thanks for the detailed description. During your journey did you have any of that proverbial anxiety range in the pit of your stomach?

 

[bro1999]

Wow, now that's a trip. The Bolt can take you long distance if you aren't in any particular rush.
Curious why you didn't charge to 100% during your overnight at the hotel? That would have probably saved you a few minutes off your return trip, though in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't have mattered much.

 

[keeperchris]

Wow, now that's a trip. The Bolt can take you long distance if you aren't in any particular rush.
Curious why you didn't charge to 100% during your overnight at the hotel? That would have probably saved you a few minutes off your return trip, though in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't have mattered much.

Agree, great trip. Well researched.
Thinking that I'd also turn off hilltop reserve for a roadtrip (frankly don't use normally either).
Seems like you were driving with highway traffic, with efficiency in the 3.4-3.8 mi/kWh range?


I'd have been having serious range anxiety. I just drove ~215 mi from Houston to San Antonio yesterday, and felt much better getting about 2kWh from a hotel charger while we grabbed a Sbux tea and took a bit of stretch walk. As is, I was driving below speed limit (65-69 on a 75 limit). I would have made it without those few extra miles range, but with some serious anxiety.

 

[Fivedoor]

Wow thanks for the detailed description. During your journey did you have any of that proverbial anxiety range in the pit of your stomach?

I have zero range anxiety due to planning the route, and using the bar graph energy display for real time miles per kWh over every 5 mile section if I was pushing the car hard. My "trip to Coco Beach" thread https://www.chevybolt.org/forum/513-road-trip-report-long-trip-discussions/30525-north-arkansas-coco-beach-florida-family-bolt-ev.html I mention doing a speed run in one section (80 mph steady, full charge to low SOC) where that graph allowed the speed run because I could monitor energy consumption and I knew that if I maintained 2.9 miles per kWh or better I would be fine. Without that graph I would have limited myself unnecessarily to a lower speed and arrived at a relatively high SOC.

I did develop "will the charger work" anxiety! Some areas have no backup charger, and in one case on the trip to Florida both my primary and backup chargers were down and I had to use L2.

Later,

Keith

 

[Fivedoor]

Wow, now that's a trip. The Bolt can take you long distance if you aren't in any particular rush.
Curious why you didn't charge to 100% during your overnight at the hotel? That would have probably saved you a few minutes off your return trip, though in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't have mattered much.

The charger at the hotel is not complementary, and it was an EVgo CCS station. As you know, the higher SOC you go the slower it charges and thus the more it costs per kWh delivered. I could have reached Nashville with 80% SOC, I only went up to HTR level because I wanted the main energy consumption display to re-set.

Later,

Keith

 

[Fivedoor]

Agree, great trip. Well researched.
Thinking that I'd also turn off hilltop reserve for a roadtrip (frankly don't use normally either).
Seems like you were driving with highway traffic, with efficiency in the 3.4-3.8 mi/kWh range?


I'd have been having serious range anxiety. I just drove ~215 mi from Houston to San Antonio yesterday, and felt much better getting about 2kWh from a hotel charger while we grabbed a Sbux tea and took a bit of stretch walk. As is, I was driving below speed limit (65-69 on a 75 limit). I would have made it without those few extra miles range, but with some serious anxiety.

As described in my reply to bro, I only used HTR to get the main energy consumption display to re-set, I had it turned off for the rest of the trip both to and from Florida. An average weekend day for me is at least 150 miles of driving on a single charge at highway speeds, with a few of over 200 miles... getting low in the GOM is an old friend of mine

Think of it this way, when your GOM turns orange with 35 miles... if you were driving a 2012 Leaf you would still have half of the battery remaining at 35 miles. I would never have been comfortable driving a Leaf, but I am never uncomfortable driving my Bolt.

Later,

Keith

 

[Pike Bishop]

Drive home: Start at 04:00


I drove 2 hours and 10 min to an EA 150 amp station in Nashville TN and arrived at 09:40 with 23% SOC and 46 miles on the GOM having used 39 kWh in 123.0 miles of driving 3.15 miles per kWh. We charged for half an hour up to 60% SOC and 120 miles on the GOM. At this point the charging rate had dropped to 100 amps, so I drove across town to the 100 amp EVgo station since it cost a lot less per min, and I needed a full charge to bridge the gap to Memphis.

Good thinking. The price difference between EA and EVgo in my area is at least $0.16 per minute with EVgo very close to the Electrify America charger. I can see getting the bulk of the sub 55% SOC done with a faster charger, then shifting to a lower cost charging station.



Can you say how much you saved?

 

[Fivedoor]

Drive home: Start at 04:00


I drove 2 hours and 10 min to an EA 150 amp station in Nashville TN and arrived at 09:40 with 23% SOC and 46 miles on the GOM having used 39 kWh in 123.0 miles of driving 3.15 miles per kWh. We charged for half an hour up to 60% SOC and 120 miles on the GOM. At this point the charging rate had dropped to 100 amps, so I drove across town to the 100 amp EVgo station since it cost a lot less per min, and I needed a full charge to bridge the gap to Memphis.

Good thinking. The price difference between EA and EVgo in my area is at least $0.16 per minute with EVgo very close to the Electrify America charger. I can see getting the bulk of the sub 55% SOC done with a faster charger, then shifting to a lower cost charging station.



Can you say how much you saved?

Difference in price per min was $.15, and I charged for 85 min at the EVgo, so I saved $12.75 by moving stations.

Keith

 

[Fivedoor]

Just did a whole crap load of math.

Total for entire trip including driving around Coco Beach area 2167 miles of driving.
$187.69 spent on 589.918 kwh of power over 2167 miles of driving. This is kWh charged, not kWh used... not sure how efficient the various chargers are.

Average for the trip of $.318 per kWh and $.087 per mile so still cheaper than driving my Miata the same distance

This includes some free power from Electrify America when their charger screwed up and did not bill me for one charging session, so costs would be slightly higher without that issue.

Later,

Keith

 

[keeperchris]

Average for the trip of $.318 per kWh and $.087 per mile so still cheaper than driving my Miata the same distance

Awesome! Great plus for EVs. Thanks for a great post Keith.