Road Trip Underway: MI to CO

[bhopkins]

At roughly what percentage does the rate begin to taper????

I’ll try to pull a screen shot of the next charge. I’ve not particularly paid attentionto the percentage when it starts to taper.

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[bhopkins]

Forgot to post last leg stats and overall trip stats last night. Overall, happy with the efficiency as we’ve been driving it speed limit plus.

 

[bhopkins]

For the data nerds out there, compiled the charging stop info from yesterday.

Stop 1: Portage, MI - 73 kWh added (25% - 77%) in 32 min.
Stop 2: Joliet, IL - 68 kWh added (21% - 70%) in 30 min.
Stop 3: Genesco, IL - 74 kWh added (28% - 82%) in 37 min.
Stop 4: Altoona, IA - 27 kWh added (~11% - ~25%) in 35 min. Note: this was a slow charger (50kw) and only stopped here due to previous charger/truck issues. Added more energy than really needed but we were gun shy at this point and wanted to make sure we had more than enough power to get the 25 miles to stop 5.
Stop 5: Waukesha, IA (W. Does Moines) - 85 kWh added (23% - 85%) in 43 min.

We’ve been charging a bit higher than absolutely needed, but given the state of the non-Tesla charging networks, it is a safety factor. If I were certain of the chargers along the route, I’d be more comfortable running the vehicle down closer to the 8-10% level and not charging quite as high.

 

[bhopkins]

Still on the road but spouse is driving so I’ve got some time to make updates.

Today has been a slower day of travel due to charger experiences across Nebraska. We started out from Des Moines, IA this morning. Car’s nav wanted us to charge at Lincoln, NE but that EA charger had been reported as down in both the EA app and on Plugshare. Decided to charge up at the EA charger in Council Bluffs, IA. That was a good charge.

Looking at the EA app, we noticed Lincoln was showing as active so decided to stop there. All four pedestals were working so we topped off. That was the last good charging experience we’ve had.

Next stop was the EA charger at Grand Island, NE. Arrived there to find an F-150 Lightening towing a trailer was charging. Next charger had a Bolt charging. I took the final charger and hooked up. Charger would only give 40 kw. Started talking to the F-150 owner….first charger was down. The charger they were on would only give them 11 kw. Since they were towing, the really need to charge. We noticed the Bolt wasn’t actively charging per the station. In fact, the Bolt had been sitting idle for nearly four hour. No owner around so as a group we decided to unplug the Bolt. They were able to successfully get close enough to the charger to hook up and got a good rate. So, basically, Grand Island had one station down, two stations giving limited power, and only one fully working station.

Since we were observing a theme, we decided to keep the R1T mostly fully and hit every fast charger along I-80. Our next stop was at Lexington, NE. One station completely dark, one station would only stay connected for 2-3 minutes at a good rate (150kw) before shutting down (apparently due to heat as cables were painfully to the touch). Finally got over to one of the working stations after the previous vehicle left. One dispenser cable didn’t work at all but other one did. Maintained a high rate of charge for an appropriate rate of time.

Our acquaintances in the F-150 showed up. They had no better luck with the stations than I did. After we finished, they took over our station. We then went to the EA station at North Platte, NE. Three of four stations totally dark. Station 4 gave a good charge. We’ve now got enough power to get to Fort Morgan, CO where I hope and pray the EA charger is working.

All in all, a very frustrating day not knowing if we can depend on chargers to be working.

Here are the efficiency pics for mostly each leg.

 

[bhopkins]

Rivian nav suggested a stop in Julesburg, CO for quick charge. Charger is located at a Conoco gas station. One of the best chargers we’ve hit. Brand new FreeWire Boost charger. It seems to be well designed with charging cable significantly heavier than EA cables. It was also sun backed but had no issues delivering 150kw. Really beginning to think EA chargers are just not designed for the heat. Funny that the truck knew about the charger but it didn’t show up on PlugShare. PlugShare has it as coming soon….

 

[Jay]

Still on the road but spouse is driving so I’ve got some time to make updates.

Today has been a slower day of travel due to charger experiences across Nebraska. We started out from Des Moines, IA this morning. Car’s nav wanted us to charge at Lincoln, NE but that EA charger had been reported as down in both the EA app and on Plugshare. Decided to charge up at the EA charger in Council Bluffs, IA. That was a good charge.

Looking at the EA app, we noticed Lincoln was showing as active so decided to stop there. All four pedestals were working so we topped off. That was the last good charging experience we’ve had.

Next stop was the EA charger at Grand Island, NE. Arrived there to find an F-150 Lightening towing a trailer was charging. Next charger had a Bolt charging. I took the final charger and hooked up. Charger would only give 40 kw. Started talking to the F-150 owner….first charger was down. The charger they were on would only give them 11 kw. Since they were towing, the really need to charge. We noticed the Bolt wasn’t actively charging per the station. In fact, the Bolt had been sitting idle for nearly four hour. No owner around so as a group we decided to unplug the Bolt. They were able to successfully get close enough to the charger to hook up and got a good rate. So, basically, Grand Island had one station down, two stations giving limited power, and only one fully working station.

Since we were observing a theme, we decided to keep the R1T mostly fully and hit every fast charger along I-80. Our next stop was at Lexington, NE. One station completely dark, one station would only stay connected for 2-3 minutes at a good rate (150kw) before shutting down (apparently due to heat as cables were painfully to the touch). Finally got over to one of the working stations after the previous vehicle left. One dispenser cable didn’t work at all but other one did. Maintained a high rate of charge for an appropriate rate of time.

Our acquaintances in the F-150 showed up. They had no better luck with the stations than I did. After we finished, they took over our station. We then went to the EA station at North Platte, NE. Three of four stations totally dark. Station 4 gave a good charge. We’ve now got enough power to get to Fort Morgan, CO where I hope and pray the EA charger is working.

All in all, a very frustrating day not knowing if we can depend on chargers to be working.

Here are the efficiency pics for mostly each leg.

I hope nebraska government utilizes federal funds b3ing released and build good infrastructure.

 

[bhopkins]

I hope nebraska government utilizes federal funds b3ing released and build good infrastructure.

There also needs to be a requirement that chargers be maintained and have a service level of > xx%. Personally, I’d suggest 98%. All I can say is that the EA chargers along I-80 from Iowa to Nebraska need a LOT of tender loving care.

 

[Aag12]

Any reason for low mi/kw efficiency in your last update?

BTW keep the updates coming!

 

[bhopkins]

Any reason for low mi/kw efficiency in your last update?

BTW keep the updates coming!

We were doing some long gradual climbs headed into the Denver area. Currently at Fort Morgan, CO. Expect some interesting numbers tomorrow as we head over the continental divide into the Gunnison area.

 

[emoore]

There also needs to be a requirement that chargers be maintained and have a service level of > xx%. Personally, I’d suggest 98%. All I can say is that the EA chargers along I-80 from Iowa to Nebraska need a LOT of tender loving care.

That sucks. I plan on traveling the I80 route often to go from Denver to northern Minnesota. Hopefully it gets better.

 

[bhopkins]

At the EVgo charger in Arvada, CO (King Sooper). Impressed with their equipment and ease of starting charge.

Here’s the efficiency data for the Fort Morgan, CO to Arvada leg.

 

[Aardvark]

@bhopkins thanks for this excellent summary. You've hit on one of my biggest concerns which is the reliability of the CCS charging network.
Like you and others have mentioned, we've been spoiled by the Tesla SC network. Since getting our MX 75D in mid-2016 we've made numerous cross country trips from Colorado to both coasts. The Supercharger network is fast, reliable, and seamless. Never once in 150,000 miles have we had an issue with a single supercharger.
The frustrating issue coming from your report is the inconsistency of the EA network - great experience in IA and CO, and horrible through Nebraska
Thanks again for taking the time to submit these reports

 

[bhopkins]

Here‘s the Arvada to Fairplay leg. Some up and down in elevation but relatively level running.

Stopped at Fairplay to charge up. Nice Chargepoint chargers that worked well and charged quickly.

 

[bhopkins]

We crossed the Continental Divide using Cottonwood pass. Here’s what the efficiency looked like making the climb from Buena Vista, CO (7,965 feet elevation) to the top of the pass (12,126 feet elevation)

 

[bhopkins]

Here are a couple of pics from Cottonwood pass.

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