WetEV

We are planning a spring trip from Seattle area down I5 to California, to the Grand Canyon, Taos, Denver, and back to Seattle.

Something like this:

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?pla...5-ec945e8fea23

Many details missing, of course. Some not yet planned, some not disclosed.

1. California: Is US101 any worse/better than I5 for North to South?
2. Any comments on Grand Canyon, from an EV standpoint?
3. Any comments on Taos? L2 only, will be over night stop.
4. Anything else?

weth

I-5 or CA-99 will be faster generally than US-101. CA-99 has the most charging infrastructure. However 99 and 5 are BORING drives. 101 is a much more scenic drive with nicer stops along the way. It is behind 5 and 99 on charging infrastructure, but it has improved this past couple of years.

No experience for 3 and 4.

Where are you cutting East? I-40? There is still a long gap on I-40 for charging as the Essex-Fenner EA stop is not up yet. I have avoided I-40 for that reason. I-15 and I-10 is much better covered, but longer to get to GC.

WetEV

I-15

US-101 vs I-5 or CA-99... US-101 adds a day... Don't know.

JNealCox

I don't think you will find the charging infrastructure you need on 101 from Oregon to San Francisco.

WetEV

Updated plan, with starting and ending locations slightly moved.

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?pla...8-c8d510209227

A4 Phil

That is some slick planning @WetEV you obviously have adjusted your comfort factors with the 20% SOC buffer but that looks impressive. You should go into EV route planning.

Personally I would like longer legs, but you have already relayed your justification here and this route works great. The only thing that would make it nicer when you had more time is for the infrastructure along PCH to finally accommodate a trip. It is just not there yet.

weth

Looks good. I too go for longer legs in areas where I can choose a safe charge stop and an push charge stop, making a decision by the safe charge stop to go on (and so far have always been able). I certainly understand conservative approach in areas you don't know!

The other area I try to do when planning is plan charge stops around time we need to stop to eat/BR break and avoid extra stop for those. The dual use stop of charging and BR/food make charging times much easier to digest, and in many cases, the car is done by the time the family is done doing what it needs to do. At these stops, getting above 80% and even getting into the upper 90% before we leave help s the longer stop -- as long as it is used for other non-charging purposes to get to those levels as charger slows down.

I just took a trip from San Diego to San Francisco and back. Went smoothly, did about 130 to 160 miles between stops.

Be careful of high winds in the deserts, that has killed range for me in the past on trips to Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Finally, on the SAN to SFO round trip definitely noticed the EA stations much busier than any previous road trips. Still have not had to wait, but becoming rare to see no one else charging.

Have a great adventure!

mtberman

Looks like a do-able plan. I assume you are going to Taos for a reason? Most would not go that way unless it was to visit someone. In any case, if Taos is your chosen waypoint then you've got it right idea by going over to Trinidad and then Pueblo for your final 2 DC fast charging stops before Denver.

WetEV

Mostly ABRP which makes it easy, real route planning was a decade ago done with spreadsheets.


I do something similar. I've written about "bail points", where you check to see if your plan is working before getting to a safer alternative. Sometimes in the reverse order... just before the turn to the "safe" spot, check if the "push" is reasonable.

My plan is conservative, but no plan survives contact with reality. I doubt if this plan will be any different.


Thanks, I like hearing warnings. I've had weather impact trips before.


Thanks, we hope to.

Yes.

A4 Phil

I think that it should be noted with the variety of plans that we have seen here over the months that EA is really coming into their own. I realize that they sometimes drop the ball, but on a whole EA is so far ahead of where they were in 2020 and their customer service is still tops, even if they can't solve your problem. There is still nothing worse than spending twenty minutes bouncing between charging points trying to get the electrons to start flowing, but by and large I believe that these trips prove that EA getting there (and getting us there. Try telling ABRP to not use EA and see what happens). They have a ways to go, but they deserve credit for progress.