Love's Charging Network Rollout

[josh0]

Your experience must be one of the few positive charging sessions at a Francis Energy station. There are entire threads on this Forum about how bad Francis Energy is. A quick check of several sites across OK and Kansas shows poor charging speeds and some of the most expensive rates. I have Francis energy turned of in Plugshare because they are so unreliable.

I’ve had good experiences with Francis, as well. Though I’ve only used their chargers in remote parts of Oklahoma, and it’s been a while since I’ve been there, so it’s possible they’ve gone downhill with more use.

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[josh0]

You are right. Perhaps a better way to put it is where Love's rates might fall, closer to Tesla and RAN rates or to the absurd EA rates (per kWh).

That makes sense. My guess is probably pretty well, since they’re not simply renting/sun-letting real estate from some other entity, they’re part of the main operator of the site (no idea if Love’s owns their properties or not), and that entity is also specifically good servicing vehicles in transit.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

I went to one of these in the last 6 months, very easy like a regular gas pump with a great convenience store and dennys attached. Looks like Rivian is adding convenience amenities information to chargers (I can't find where I read that) which would add another layer of planning, but for the good.

Rivian filed a patent last year that outlined the idea of having local amenties, things to see, hikes, etc. be included at charging stop info in app and vehicle

 

[electruck]

Your experience must be one of the few positive charging sessions at a Francis Energy station. There are entire threads on this Forum about how bad Francis Energy is. A quick check of several sites across OK and Kansas shows poor charging speeds and some of the most expensive rates. I have Francis energy turned of in Plugshare because they are so unreliable.

Yep, I too have had more problems with Francis than not. And plugshare reports for Belle Plaine are not overwhelmingly positive. But, interestingly, Rivian does still rate that site as "A" as of this morning.

 

[RedRaiderRivian]

Yep, I too have had more problems with Francis than not. And plugshare reports for Belle Plaine are not overwhelmingly positive. But, interestingly, Rivian does still rate that site as "A" as of this morning.

I think Rivian defaults to an A unless someone driving a Rivian tries to charge there and is not successful. The Plugshare reviews could be causing Rivian owners to avoid Francis (like I do) and thus there is no data to change the rating.

 

[Kurt44]

Thank you for doing this.

 

[emoore]

This is great. The more chargers the better. Hope it’s not EVGo rates. Would be awesome if it was Rivian rates but I’d be happy if it were competitive with Tesla and EA rates.

 

[strykerwsu]

They old style units in SW OK almost stranded me when I picked up the R1S in West Texas. My father in Law was following in the other car. He had almost become an EV believer until that day. 2 towns and 11 chargers, 3 hours delayed and finally got the last 50KW unit they had to work. Was down to 12 miles, just a little stressful. Other OEM’s were charging just fine. Their newer units I’ve used in MO worked just fine with Rivian. So much relief getting to OKC to use Tesla.

Great to hear about additional chargers in the Midwest.

 

[Hillbilly]

I want to see pull through sites for charging with RVs.

 

[Eeyore]

Why nothing in the Pacific Northwest? I know that there are Loves along I-5 between Portland and Seattle.

 

[Dirtman16]

Why nothing in the Pacific Northwest? I know that there are Loves along I-5 between Portland and Seattle.

Neither Oregon nor Washington have released NEVI awards yet. Since Love's is relying heavily on those grants (thus far), you may not see much planned activity until after that happens. Oregon's Round 1 is currently in the RFP phase (closes Oct 11 2024). Washington's RFP is expected in Q4 2024.

 

[sambo]

If any of you like to nerd out about fast charging infrastructure like me, I started a video series on the upcoming Love's Charging Network that might interest you. There's also a mention of another creator's content that covers the Pilot/Flying J rollout.



My channel is not monetized, so this is just a fun project for me. I also have a Google map showing open, Grant awarded, and under construction sites.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1CP3f-btKzdp8WnsMSAG9zOGoxBf_hl0&usp=sharing

Hope you enjoy, and let me know if there's something that could make it better or more interesting.

How much per KWH do they charge??

 

[RIVinIT]

This is great news for all EV owners, it needs to become more main stream! I took a trip from LA to Vail and in my DIESEL Porsche Cayenne the trip takes 16 hours driving above the speed limit but in my R1T it took a lot longer around 20 hours stopping over night and the charging network was 2nd rate at best. So Love's covered stations ins Welcome!!! I still love my R1T and just plan for it to take longer. Another route I travel a lot is from LA to Tahoe a 8 hour drive but in the EV plan for 10 to 11.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

For any interested, the Salina Loves stop is one of the nicest charging stops I have ever done in an EV.
They have a trash can that is changed regularly, the bathrooms are clean and have decent showers, they have windshield wash buckets and squeegees, they also have a nice fenced in dog walk area and a jungle gym.
They also have an RV site across the street with more amenties.
I really hope this is the style of charging infrastructure that sticks.

 

[canyonero]

thanks for this! stoked on Buena Vista, CO ?

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