Charging stations discussion

[Mac]

We went on our first long trip from Miami to Bradenton fl. I have a Touring with 21 “ tires. First the max charge only went to 357 miles. The trip was only 223 miles upon arrival I only had 55 minutes left. Trying to find a charging station was a nightmare. No EA chargers in the area. Charge point showed a lot in the area. Went to 3 different locations their app said they were there. NOT one had chargers. Finally found one that was working with 28 miles left. Started charging but it took 15 hours 35 minutes to charge. Never going to try this again. Lucid need to push EA & others to at least update their app showing actual active locations.

 

[hydbob]

 

[joec]

Download an app called PlugShare. It will show you every charger and its exact speed and capacity. It’ll also help you plan stops ahead of time along your route. Takes all of 5-10 minutes.

What I usually do is have the chargers I want planned out, and then at least one or two backup chargers, in case there is a problem at the ones I plan on using.

When it comes to road trips, a little bit of advanced planning goes a long way. If you “wing it” you will screw yourself royally.

 

[Daniel2022AT]

The EA app updates charger status in near real time as well. If you don’t mind stopping along the way, there is an EA location just east of Naples and one in Port Charlotte that both appear to be working at this point in time.

 

[Daniel2022AT]

I have also signed up for EVGo as a backup to EA. Good to have ready-to-use options in case there are no EA locations nearby or if they are full/inoperative. I have had very good luck with EVGo. Usage is simple if you create an account ahead of time and initiate the charging session through the app. I see there are some EVGo locations in Bradenton. Maybe try it next time!

 

[Sandvinsd]

I have EA, EVgo, ChargePoint and Blink accounts anmong others and use the PlugShare App which I highly recommend. Advance planning of charging stations is important. Of course I did this for my ICE with GasBuddy so that I had the cheapest fuel options. Advance planning with options makes the trip much better with less stress. I did a cross country and back with the Lucid utilizing only EA stations without anxiety. I mapped out every EA station along the route on a printed spreadsheet with miles from on to the next, (i did the same thing with gas stations for my ICE on previous trips, so this was no different). While some stations were less than desirable on charging speeds, I was able to move to the next one if I had an issue since I planned to charge at a station earlier than necessary allowing me enough range to get to the next. I also assume a lower range than the EPA estimates and used my historical numbers for planning purposes. If you plan the stress levels are minimal.

 

[Daniel2022AT]

I have been using the philosophy to stop more often, every 2.5-3 hours (need to stretch and pee) and do a quick partial recharge each stop. For me it saves time overall.