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Need guidance on public charging

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tonykerf1

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2022 lucid air grand tour
Whatsup guys/ I have had a ev for a while but I honestly only really ever charge at home- I’m preparing for a road trip with my gravity- so I thought I was able to add my car to Tesla app and I can’t- there isn’t an option besides just charge ur other ev. Also the electrify America app doesn’t even show the gravity?
Maybe I will delete and re install the app
In my
Lucid app I did add my card info and will be hoping that everything is just plug and play, is it??
Should I download other charging apps? If so, which ones , should I look up all brands and download all the apps and pre load with credit card info? Thank u guys - btw I’m driving from New York to florida
 
This might not be much help because I don't have a gravity and have not driven all the way to Florida in my Air. But I recommend getting the EA app. Not only does it give you real time status of their chargers along your route, but if all the chargers at a station are full, you can now get the app to notify you when one becomes available to better plan your stops.

Plug share and ABRP are also highly recommended although they are not charging company apps per se.
 
Also non gravity owner here but from what I’ve seen/read, it’s pretty plug n charge. I’d also highly recommend PlugShare app - super helpful crowdsource reporting on status. (Not as necessary in gravity since Tesla’s network is more reliable than the competition). Maybe go find a local Tesla charge and give it a shot?
 
Your Gravity should have Plug and Charge available with Electrify America and Tesla Superchargers once you've added your payment info into your Lucid app, meaning you can pull up and plug into these stations without manual activation.

If this is your first time road tripping your Gravity, I would honestly recommend using Tesla Superchargers exclusively, as you will probably have a significantly better and consistent experience. CPOs like Ionna and Mercedes-Bens are also fantastic! I would recommend avoiding Electrify America if possible for a smoother experience.

I think it's a good idea to download the apps of each CPO and have an account and payment info ready just to be safe. There are plenty that offer card readers on site to activate your session, but better to be overprepared than underprepared, IMO!

Also, let the Lucid nav do the heavy lifting! You can filter which CPOs you're okay using and also avoid sites that would require you to use a CCS to NACS adapter for charging, if you would prefer. The Lucid nav will already know to avoid V2 Tesla Superchargers, as these are open to Tesla vehicles only.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can elaborate on anything, and enjoy your trip! Gravity is an excellent road trip vehicle.
 
tonykerf1 said:
Whatsup guys/ I have had a ev for a while but I honestly only really ever charge at home- I’m preparing for a road trip with my gravity- so I thought I was able to add my car to Tesla app and I can’t- there isn’t an option besides just charge ur other ev. Also the electrify America app doesn’t even show the gravity?
Maybe I will delete and re install the app
In my
Lucid app I did add my card info and will be hoping that everything is just plug and play, is it??
Should I download other charging apps? If so, which ones , should I look up all brands and download all the apps and pre load with credit card info? Thank u guys - btw I’m driving from New York to florida
Click to expand...

We've had an Air since late 2021 and now have two Gravities. Here's my take on road trip charging:

Electrify America, especially in the eastern part of the country, has significant reliability issues as well as few charging stands at most stations. You will find Tesla Superchargers much more reliable.

However, a Gravity can only charge at a V3, V3+, or V4 Supercharger. Check the Tesla app or the Tesla website to be sure you are filtering for "NACS-Partner" sites only. About 25-30% of Superchargers, especially on less-travelled routes, are still V2's and not compatible with a Gravity.

Gravity plug-and-charge works reliably with Superchargers and with EA chargers. A Gravity can be loaded into the Tesla app to get the subscription discount (which is considerable), so keep trying. But a caveat at Superchargers: be sure to initiate the charge on the Test app BEFORE plugging in, even though it will instruct you to plug in first and then initiate. If you plug in before initiating the charge through the app, the session will default to Lucid plug-and-play, and you will be charged the higher non-subscription rate for charging.

Good luck. The Gravity is a phenomenal road car . . . but charging along the way can have its issues and inconveniences.

P.S. Just read @Shane_SLC's post. Good advice about using the Lucid Nav system to route charging (although I tend to use Tesla and EA websites to check locations along the route before departure just to be sure).
 
tonykerf1 said:
Whatsup guys/ I have had a ev for a while but I honestly only really ever charge at home- I’m preparing for a road trip with my gravity- so I thought I was able to add my car to Tesla app and I can’t- there isn’t an option besides just charge ur other ev.
Click to expand...
You can add your car to the Tesla app. First you have to register yourself (name, email etc). Then on your profile page, select Charging, then add your vehicle.
 
I did a one week road trip using Tesla superchargers exclusively. Why?
  • Reliability. Tesla stations just work. I’ve read horror stories about EA, but I don’t have first hand experience.
  • Familiarity. I came from driving Tesla’s for 10 years, and their stations are numerous and convenient.
  • Cost. I signed up for a 1-month subscription, giving me a 25% - 50% discount depending on time of day. You get the same cost as Tesla owners.
Critical points when using a Tesla subscription (as mentioned by others):
  • Not all Tesla supercharges will work. Some are limited to Tesla only. If the station is not shown on the Gravity’s in-car navigation screen when toggling charging locations, you won’t be able to charge at that location. You can double check with the Tesla app under “Charge you other EV” (and filter out the L2 destination chargers).
  • Do not immediately plug in. Activate the charger via the Tesla app first, and then plug in, in order to get the discount and pay through Tesla. If you simply plug in, you’ll pay through Lucid and won’t get the discount.
  • You can subscribe through the Tesla app and immediately unsubscribe. The subscription will last for a month and pay for itself after one charging session.
  • You can trust the Gravities SoC (State of Charge) estimate within the built-in navigation. It may fluctuate by a few % as you drive and as driving conditions change, but it’s highly accurate. If you get close to 0% charge on arrival, you can get 10% - 20% more range by driving 10 mph slower on the highway. I target 10% on arrival, with my absolute minimum being 5% if I have scouted a backup station. I like to keep a buffer for unforeseen situations.
  • If amenities are important (food, bathroom, etc.) check the charging site through the Tesla app, PlugShare app, or google it. This was the primary factor for me when picking charging sites and takes more searching/planning. If not, pick any supercharger and go.
Having said that, I’m going to be prioritizing non-Tesla charging sites in the future, as long as the cost and convenience are reasonable, to expand my options. I wish we had more IONNA’s in the West coast.
 
Hmmmm...All th EA's in the Monterey Bay area and up the coast toward SF work great. I suspect the company is either in the process of updating/upgrading their charging towers (and it seems they started on the west coast) or was in the process and ran out of funds or something?... who knows?
 
Saksak said:
I did a one week road trip using Tesla superchargers exclusively. Why?
  • Reliability. Tesla stations just work. I’ve read horror stories about EA, but I don’t have first hand experience.
  • Familiarity. I came from driving Tesla’s for 10 years, and their stations are numerous and convenient.
  • Cost. I signed up for a 1-month subscription, giving me a 25% - 50% discount depending on time of day. You get the same cost as Tesla owners.
Critical points when using a Tesla subscription (as mentioned by others):
  • Not all Tesla supercharges will work. Some are limited to Tesla only. If the station is not shown on the Gravity’s in-car navigation screen when toggling charging locations, you won’t be able to charge at that location. You can double check with the Tesla app under “Charge you other EV” (and filter out the L2 destination chargers).
  • Do not immediately plug in. Activate the charger via the Tesla app first, and then plug in, in order to get the discount and pay through Tesla. If you simply plug in, you’ll pay through Lucid and won’t get the discount.
  • You can subscribe through the Tesla app and immediately unsubscribe. The subscription will last for a month and pay for itself after one charging session.
  • You can trust the Gravities SoC (State of Charge) estimate within the built-in navigation. It may fluctuate by a few % as you drive and as driving conditions change, but it’s highly accurate. If you get close to 0% charge on arrival, you can get 10% - 20% more range by driving 10 mph slower on the highway. I target 10% on arrival, with my absolute minimum being 5% if I have scouted a backup station. I like to keep a buffer for unforeseen situations.
  • If amenities are important (food, bathroom, etc.) check the charging site through the Tesla app, PlugShare app, or google it. This was the primary factor for me when picking charging sites and takes more searching/planning. If not, pick any supercharger and go.
Having said that, I’m going to be prioritizing non-Tesla charging sites in the future, as long as the cost and convenience are reasonable, to expand my options. I wish we had more IONNA’s in the West coast.
Click to expand...
EA is fine now, for the most part, and are as reliable as Tesla superchargers (which is to say that both will occasionally screw up and deliver slow speeds; I had this happen with both EA and Tesla and simply moved stations on my last road trip).

EA has a similar subscription that is month-to-month as well, and you can subscribe and unsubscribe immediately, too.

Also, keep in mind Tesla superchargers are limited to 250kW (nearly everywhere, except for 1-2 true v4 stations) but EA can reach 350kW if nobody is there.

I always check PlugShare scores for any charging station I'm going to; I find they are generally quite accurate in terms of predicting experience.

Everything else you said is totally accurate. :)
 
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