Doni Landefeld
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Doni
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2022
- Threads
- 10
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- 72
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- 30
- Location
- Southwest Florida
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- Audi Q7
- Occupation
- Leadership Coach/Organizational Psychology Consultant (CEO, Ph.D.)
- Thread starter
- #1
After asking lots of questions in the forum to plan and calm some minor anxiety about making my first trip alone (as a 52 yo woman with just my dog), I'm happy to share that most everything went smoothly. Had just one negative experience where 2 of 4 chargers for an Electrify America stop were out of order and when I arrived there were 2 other folks ahead of me waiting, so I had to wait almost an hour until a charger became available. It was also a learning curve to realize and accept that charging adds an additional 2 1/2 to 3 hours to already long days for the almost 1200 mile overall trek. My average speed on highways is 80. I was pleasantly surprised to gain miles between charge stops, I guess from using adaptive cruise control and regenerative braking? Here are more deets to help those of you making similar trips. Please note, a work conference took me to the Blue Ridge mountains in VA first, so I set out from Cape Coral, FL with an initial destination of New Castle, VA. Because it was my first extended trip, I decided to give myself extra time. I'm glad I did!
Friday May 31 departed late morning and traveled 343 miles total. Took 8.5 hours with horrible Orlando traffic and charging. Stopped at a SureStay in St. Mary's, GA for the night
First charge stop was at an Electrify America in Davenport, FL. Love's on site. Good. Took about 20 minutes and paid $28.39
Second charge stop - RAN in Daytona Beach/Tanger Outlets - charged to 80%, took 26 minutes and cost $21.92
Third charge stop - FPL Evolution in Yulee, FL - took about 25 minutes and cost $17.49, Wawa coming soon on site!
June 1 departed mid morning and goal was to get somewhere near NC/VA border. Drove 523 miles and it took 11 hours. Stopped in Christiansburg, VA for the night to crash. Only one hour from work conference to kickoff next day
First charge stop at a RAN in Pooler, GA. Charged to 85%, took 44 minutes and cost $33.71
Second charge stop at a Tesla station at Lowe's Grocery store in Columbia, SC. Magic dock and no adapter needed. Good thing since I don't have mine yet, but I researched this in advance. Charged to 61%, took 17 minutes and cost $23.32
Third stop at RAN in Charlotte, NC - charged ot 96%, took an hour+4", cost $37.32
June 2 - I found a RAN in Roanoke, VA and charged to 100% and paid $38.14 before making my one hour trek into the mountains. Didn't want to get stuck!
June 4 From VA to NJ (apologies my notes aren't as thorough for charge stops, time and cost). Total trip was 415 miles and with 2 charging stops and horrible Baltimore/DC traffic took 9 hours. Charged twice, first stop took 28 minutes and cost $28.47. Second stop took 33 minutes and cost $29.34. Both were RANs and I remember one was in Belcamp, MD. Can't remember where other stop was, but it must have been somewhere in VA.
Return trip from South Jersey to Cape Coral, FL
June 9 - departed at 7:23 AM and arrived stopover in Florence, SC at 8:45 PM. THIS is where I had to wait for almost an hour to charge at an Electrify America that had half of its chargers out of order. Most unwelcome when I was basically on the road for 13+ hours; total hours traveled 578 miles
First charge stop at Belcamp, MD, RAN charged to 82%, took 25 minutes and paid $14.96. 7-Eleven across the highway to make a pit stop
Second charge stop in Richmond, VA at Electrify America at a Walmart. Charged to 83%, forgot to log length, cost $43.73
Third stop - Rocky Mount, NC at Electrify America, charged to 97%, took 60 minutes and cost $51.37
Fourth stop - Florence, SC at an Electrify America at Walmart. 2 of 4 out of order. My bad for not double checking in EA app when no info on Rivian nav. Wouldn't really matter anyway though, no other fast chargers nearby. Waited almost an hour since there were 2 other people ahead of me. At least everyone was civil and actually very polite! Charged to 90%, took 50 minutes and cost $54.61
June 10 - departed 9:11 AM from Florence, SC. 630 miles driven (not including short drives to charging stops). Arrived 9:00 PM, taking almost 12 hours
Fifth stop - Pooler, GA, RAN charged to 75% for 35 minutes costing $32.84
Sixth stop - Yulee, FL -FPL evolution, took 38 minutes to charge, cost $20.64. Wawa coming soon here!
Seventh stop - Daytona Beach, FL - RAN charged for 27 minutes and cost $25.26
Eight and final stop - Bartow, FL - EVGo, charged for 19 minutes and cost $31.29, Pilot convenience store on-site
Curious to know how my trip compares to anyone else's who did similar route. And hope this helps others. While I stopped for charges I would walk my dog, eat, use the facilities, and also took advantage of Wifi to get some work done. Thank goodness for the wifi, otherwise the additional time on the road would be quite unwelcome at this point in my life. I'm looking forward to receiving the Tesla adapter so additional charging stops migrate on navigation and perhaps some time will be shaved off of charge stops due to planned route
Friday May 31 departed late morning and traveled 343 miles total. Took 8.5 hours with horrible Orlando traffic and charging. Stopped at a SureStay in St. Mary's, GA for the night
First charge stop was at an Electrify America in Davenport, FL. Love's on site. Good. Took about 20 minutes and paid $28.39
Second charge stop - RAN in Daytona Beach/Tanger Outlets - charged to 80%, took 26 minutes and cost $21.92
Third charge stop - FPL Evolution in Yulee, FL - took about 25 minutes and cost $17.49, Wawa coming soon on site!
June 1 departed mid morning and goal was to get somewhere near NC/VA border. Drove 523 miles and it took 11 hours. Stopped in Christiansburg, VA for the night to crash. Only one hour from work conference to kickoff next day
First charge stop at a RAN in Pooler, GA. Charged to 85%, took 44 minutes and cost $33.71
Second charge stop at a Tesla station at Lowe's Grocery store in Columbia, SC. Magic dock and no adapter needed. Good thing since I don't have mine yet, but I researched this in advance. Charged to 61%, took 17 minutes and cost $23.32
Third stop at RAN in Charlotte, NC - charged ot 96%, took an hour+4", cost $37.32
June 2 - I found a RAN in Roanoke, VA and charged to 100% and paid $38.14 before making my one hour trek into the mountains. Didn't want to get stuck!
June 4 From VA to NJ (apologies my notes aren't as thorough for charge stops, time and cost). Total trip was 415 miles and with 2 charging stops and horrible Baltimore/DC traffic took 9 hours. Charged twice, first stop took 28 minutes and cost $28.47. Second stop took 33 minutes and cost $29.34. Both were RANs and I remember one was in Belcamp, MD. Can't remember where other stop was, but it must have been somewhere in VA.
Return trip from South Jersey to Cape Coral, FL
June 9 - departed at 7:23 AM and arrived stopover in Florence, SC at 8:45 PM. THIS is where I had to wait for almost an hour to charge at an Electrify America that had half of its chargers out of order. Most unwelcome when I was basically on the road for 13+ hours; total hours traveled 578 miles
First charge stop at Belcamp, MD, RAN charged to 82%, took 25 minutes and paid $14.96. 7-Eleven across the highway to make a pit stop
Second charge stop in Richmond, VA at Electrify America at a Walmart. Charged to 83%, forgot to log length, cost $43.73
Third stop - Rocky Mount, NC at Electrify America, charged to 97%, took 60 minutes and cost $51.37
Fourth stop - Florence, SC at an Electrify America at Walmart. 2 of 4 out of order. My bad for not double checking in EA app when no info on Rivian nav. Wouldn't really matter anyway though, no other fast chargers nearby. Waited almost an hour since there were 2 other people ahead of me. At least everyone was civil and actually very polite! Charged to 90%, took 50 minutes and cost $54.61
June 10 - departed 9:11 AM from Florence, SC. 630 miles driven (not including short drives to charging stops). Arrived 9:00 PM, taking almost 12 hours
Fifth stop - Pooler, GA, RAN charged to 75% for 35 minutes costing $32.84
Sixth stop - Yulee, FL -FPL evolution, took 38 minutes to charge, cost $20.64. Wawa coming soon here!
Seventh stop - Daytona Beach, FL - RAN charged for 27 minutes and cost $25.26
Eight and final stop - Bartow, FL - EVGo, charged for 19 minutes and cost $31.29, Pilot convenience store on-site
Curious to know how my trip compares to anyone else's who did similar route. And hope this helps others. While I stopped for charges I would walk my dog, eat, use the facilities, and also took advantage of Wifi to get some work done. Thank goodness for the wifi, otherwise the additional time on the road would be quite unwelcome at this point in my life. I'm looking forward to receiving the Tesla adapter so additional charging stops migrate on navigation and perhaps some time will be shaved off of charge stops due to planned route
Sponsored
I'm a rewards member at Best Western's and most of them are dog-friendly, so I almost exclusively stay at one of their chains and use reward points, so I'm not sure about changing to Hilton brand, though it is a good suggestion to consider and I added it to my "research list" for when I do the trip again in July. Also noted the Circle K's, especially for that annoying stop in Florence. Do they typically have more than one charger?
