# First EV road trip - please walk me through **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2025, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157 "2025-05-09T15:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/21 "2025-05-10T17:40:16Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Good plan, don’t be stumped miles from home not sure how to get your charger to work. I just tested my ChargeAmerica app at the Walmart. That was quick and easy. I went from 25% to 75% (about 200 miles on the guess-o-meter) in about 20 minutes. > [@Spiderman](#): > > It’s a modern day XR4TI I haven’t thought about thoses for years. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/22 "2025-05-10T18:20:00Z")
Do you have free charging through the Electrify America system? Even if not, there’s an EA station at Cookeville, a Sam’s Club, around halfway. I avoid Buc’ees and the madhouse in the lot if at all possible. Another EA station going into Knoxville. The EA fast chargers matchup well with the Hyundai high voltage system. Their app tells you locations and how many are open at the moment. A good app to have. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/23 "2025-05-10T21:02:55Z")
EV chargers are more reliable nowadays, but for a while they tended to break and took forever to get fixed. Check Plugshare to be sure the charger was used recently. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/24 "2025-05-11T02:48:30Z")
Also don’t overlook the stupidly mundane - I tried my ChaDEMO-to-Tesla adapter when I first got it. It was sufficiently heavy and I wasn’t backed in well, that the thing was pulling at an angle - enough to mean the contact wasn’t good enough. I ended up having to prop the cable up on a bollard to get it to sit at the right angle without strain. (And thanks to the Tesla network, I’ve never had to use it since…) I’ve had myTesla with my home charger warn me once or twice that I didn’t plug it in all the way - even though I thought I did. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/25 "2025-05-13T22:16:15Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I’ve had myTesla with my home charger warn me once or twice that I didn’t plug it in all the way - even though I thought I did. I wonder if that’s why I get the occasional “charging stopped” then it starts right back up again. As for the OP, see if there are any charging points near a restaurant. That way you can have a sitdown meal while it charges. We did this going over the Rockies and in addition to an unexpectedly great meal, I actually had to go to the charger and unhook to not be charged the waiting fee because it charged before the meal was even served. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/26 "2025-05-14T01:23:10Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I actually had to go to the charger and unhook to not be charged the waiting fee because it charged before the meal was even served. So you’re saying you had to charge over the charger when the charging you were charged for ended to avoid being charged for not charging at the charger? Wow, this new fangled EV stuff is _hard!_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/27 "2025-05-14T03:16:24Z")
I’ve got the car plugged in right now to get it to 100% be fore tomorrow. I am planning on stopping at the EA chargers in Cookeville and Knoxville. I’ll report in tomorrow evening on how it went. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/28 "2025-05-14T11:14:21Z")
Great, I’m expecting an entirely dull screed as everything went as planned. May the chargers be with you, and available. One last, when on the road, don’t wait for 100%, I always unhook around 85 - 90% to get back on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/29 "2025-05-14T12:56:08Z")
Yeah. Yeah. If there is one thing I’ve heard abot DC fast chargers, it’s it takes just as long to get from 80% to 100% as it does to go from 10% to 80%. I’ve got the car set to stop at 90% - in case I am held up. That way I hope to avoid the waiting fee. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/30 "2025-05-14T21:52:56Z")
My current vehicle is a Polestar 2 EV and I rented an Ionic 5 EV when I flew to Austin 2 weeks ago. Nice car! ECO mode, from what I observed, meant less throttle response and more aggressive slowing down when you let off the gas (also called “one pedal driving”). In my opinion, your range anxiety is having you worry more than you need to about this (which was my case when I first got the Polestar back in December as well). 180 miles is easily doable without charging along the way in nice weather. If it was freezing cold or swelteringly hot, that’s different. There are fast charging stations in Knoxville proper as well, so if you get there and are low on charge, you can refill pretty quickly if for some reason you need to do another long haul right away. Here are a few tips I have learned: Drive 65 instead of 70. This will add 10 - 20m of drive time but will improve your efficiency by probably 10% or so, leaving you with more battery than predicted upon arrival. Set google maps to prefer the most efficient route, which should also help. Use plugshare to identify high-powered charging stations near your destination. A level 1 charger will put back in ~ 1kw of power per hour. Your battery is 84kwH, I think, based on your quoted range, so depending on how many nights you are staying and how far your daily commute is while you’re there, you may be able to get by recovering ~ 14% of charge overnight (assuming 12 hours on the charger), but if not then finding a public charger close to you will help. A 9kw charger will add back about 11% in one hour and is pretty standard. Knoxville has several charging stations. Using plugshare to identify charging locations near where you will be staying, eating, or sleeping will help you add more charge to your car at the expense of sometimes having to walk a few blocks, but still worth it. Too late for this trip, but I have been “ICE’d” out or just unable to get the cord to reach my car on more than one occasion. I bought a 25 foot J1772 extension cable ($150) from amazon that allows you to charge from farther away if that is needed. It hasn’t worked on all of the chargers, but on the majority. You plug the extension into your car first, then plug the charger into the extension cable. Hope you have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/31 "2025-05-15T02:09:40Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Great, I’m expecting an entirely dull screed as everything went as planned. May the chargers be with you, and available. Everything went to plan. I topped off the battery to 90% while I did some shopping at the Walmart. It took about 20 minutes to go from 39% to 90%. I’m taking my father back home with me, so he can see his other grandson’s graduation next week, so I probably top off at both EA chargers on the route. He’ll need to get out and walk around. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/32 "2025-05-15T04:24:35Z")
Glad the drive went smoothly. > [@Maus\_Magill](#): > > probably top off at both EA chargers on the route. He’ll need to get out and walk around. Aligning the human needs with charging needs is the trickiest part of EV road trips. I never really mind stretching my legs another 5 minutes while the car finishes, but I do get upset when I have to take a pit stop and the car still has another 1.5 hours of driving before it needs to charge. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/33 "2025-05-15T13:23:20Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Drive 65 instead of 70. This will add 10 - 20m of drive time but will improve your efficiency by probably 10% or so, leaving you with more battery than predicted upon arrival. With posted speed limits of 70, which means traffic is really doing more than that (assuming good weather), you’d be a jam car obstructing the flow of traffic. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/34 "2025-05-15T14:23:18Z")
That’s a little extreme. You’ll be slower than the average, but people drive 65 in 70 zones everywhere. Don’t sweat it. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/35 "2025-05-15T14:24:37Z")
Yeah, a bit extreme there. With a few exceptions, most 70 or higher zones will be limited-access multi-lane highway. Just stick to the right lane. No shortage of people doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/36 "2025-05-15T15:26:27Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Just stick to the right lane. No shortage of people doing that. My observations is that the _middle_ lane (of three) is the slowest. I can only guess that the pokies don’t want to believe they are slow & belong in the right lane & therefore slowly cruise along in the middle; either that or they don’t want to be bothered moving over into the middle at the next entrance ramp so they get into their middle lane & slowly cruise along until it’s time to get into the right lane for exiting. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/37 "2025-05-15T15:39:54Z")
Yeah, not really… Hang in the right lane or middle lane behind slower traffic. Sometime that means you will do 62, sometimes 67, but you won’t be holding up traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/38 "2025-05-15T16:27:32Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > My observations is that the _middle_ lane (of three) is the slowest. Please, please, PLEASE if someone is going to drive below the speed limit, [get out of the #2 lane.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drivers-are-becoming-more-assholic/1002561/103) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/39 "2025-05-15T17:45:52Z")
I’ll go one better. If you’re going to drive below the speed limit, change to a different road with speed limits more to your taste. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157/40 "2025-05-15T18:01:52Z")
Maybe take those to the other thread? For purposes of EV road tripping, it is still otherwise true that not doing 70 can extend range without greatly increasing trip duration. Perhaps even shortening the overall trip if it means eliminating one charge stop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-ev-road-trip-please-walk-me-through/1018157.md?page=3)