Houston TX to Vancouver BC, Canada by the numbers. 6-day trip, 2446 miles, 17 charging stops

[Fosterplc]

I just completed a road trip from Houston TX to Vancouver BC in my 2022 R1S. Vehicle was almost new, only 5000 mls on the clock at the start of the journey and we were two passengers with light luggage.

Here are my top findings:

1. No range anxiety! Plenty of charging spots and a relaxing drive, enjoying the cross-country scenery.
2. 6-day trip
3. 2446 miles
4. 17 charging stops
5. Used fast chargers at Electrify America 11 times, Francis Electric 2 times and once at EVGO, BP, Blink, Chargepoint and Rivian.
6. Average charge time per day 2 hrs 15 minutes.
7. Average duration of each charge 48 minutes.
8. Average charging rate 1.75 Kwh/minute
9. Average charging price $0.48/Kwh
10. Average Consumption rate $0.52 Kwh/mile
11. Total cost $576.15
12. Worst location for charging infrastructure: Moab Utah. Avoid the Blink chargers at the Elements hotel. $0.75 per Kwh! And slow.

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[Fosterplc]

Make that 1.92 miles per Kwh.
Generally, I drove at the speed limit, 65-80 mph all the way.
No major delays or roadworks encountered.

 

[iansriv]

Wow! That is an epic trip. Please, post pics if you can. The thought had crossed my mind to drive Dallas to Toronto but I chicken out every time. The Armageddon threat of floods and tornadoes might have convinced me to do this. Good on you!

 

[Fosterplc]

It was a breeze. Actually more relaxing than our usual trip in a Range Rover, due to the enforced stops every 2-3 hours. Better than relentless mileage.

 

[zefram47]

7. Average duration of each charge 48 minutes.
8. Average charging rate 1.75 Kwh/minute
12. Worst location for charging infrastructure: Moab Utah. Avoid the Blink chargers at the Elements hotel. $0.75 per Kwh! And slow.

You're charging *way* too deep into the pack if your average charge was 48 minutes and 1.75 kWh/min. Refer to my kWh/min graph from an ideal charging session. Unless you really need the range, it's rarely beneficial to charge beyond 70%, where the truck will drop below 100 kW or around 1.5 kWh/min. Should be rolling in closer to 10% and charging only as much as needed to get to the next charging stop with a small buffer. The truck's nav has been pretty conservative for me and if you do multi-point routing, it'll tell you what %SoC to charge to before leaving for the next leg.

As for Moab, there's a Tesla Supercharger on the north end of town that has MagicDock (built-in CCS adapter). There's also a new CCS station under construction for Rocky Mountain Power via Electrify America Commercial, but obviously not open yet.

 

[Fosterplc]

Thanks for the math. Not sure what "deep in to the pack means" but as rookie EV road trippers we opted for a conservative strategy of a few big charges each day. Rolling in with 40-60 miles range remaining, in case of any charger malfunctions. As for the charge duration, we liked the 48 minute breaks. We'd have lunch, stretch. I Even got a haircut! Mostly the fast chargers kept going at a decent pace. If they slowed up then we'd unplug. Appreciate the moab tip, will look for that on the way back.

 

[emoore]

Thanks for the math. Not sure what "deep in to the pack means" but as rookie EV road trippers we opted for a conservative strategy of a few big charges each day. Rolling in with 40-60 miles range remaining, in case of any charger malfunctions. As for the charge duration, we liked the 48 minute breaks. We'd have lunch, stretch. I Even got a haircut! Mostly the fast chargers kept going at a decent pace. If they slowed up then we'd unplug. Appreciate the moab tip, will look for that on the way back.

Nice trip! Deep in the pack means charging to a higher % thus filling the pack more. The fuller the battery the slower it charges especially past 70%.

 

[Aag12]

During the next charging stop you should watch a YouTube create 'out of spec'. They do road trips and try to optimize their drive to minimal time. They do the I'm a r1t. I could never do what they do, but it does build confidence.

Basically they try to go into a charger at single digits %. And then leave by 50 or 60% for the next charger.

Not saying you do this, but shows capability of the truck

 

[pricedm]

...
12. Worst location for charging infrastructure: Moab Utah. Avoid the Blink chargers at the Elements hotel. $0.75 per Kwh! And slow.

I find Moab to be a great location to charge: free L2 chargers plus a Tesla Supercharger with Magic Dock and easy end parking, both ends, to avoid blocking adjacent charging stall.

Agree there is rip-off pricing to be found, many towns. Element Hotel use to be....free.

Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[pricedm]

As for Moab, there's a Tesla Supercharger on the north end of town that has MagicDock (built-in CCS adapter). There's also a new CCS station under construction for Rocky Mountain Power via Electrify America Commercial, but obviously not open yet.

regarding DCFC in Moab, I find it interesting that Rocky Mt Power has the grant-funded ChargePoint DC Fast charger covered up--for years. But underneath the tarp the charger is powered on. Recently I used my ChargePoint ID card to activate the charger. Total waste of grant money and resources.

 

[Fosterplc]

I find Moab to be a great location to charge: free L2 chargers plus a Tesla Supercharger with Magic Dock and easy end parking, both ends, to avoid blocking adjacent charging stall.

Agree there is rip-off pricing to be found, many towns. Element Hotel use to be....free.

Sounds like a fun trip!

Looks like I missed all the good stuff in Moab. Where are the free L2's?

 

[pricedm]

Looks like I missed all the good stuff in Moab. Where are the free L2's?

City Park
https://www.plugshare.com/location/190564

Library (note only 1 of 2 works reliably)
https://www.plugshare.com/location/162078

In addition, some hotels are still free.

 

[Yossarian]

Great trip, and very much appreciate the info in the post. Very good to hear that range anxiety is at least gradually becoming less of a thing.

The only slight negative was the charging network, or more specifically the per kWh costs. I wonder how long it will be before we see $1.00/kWh . . .

 

[shopaholic]

Thanks for the detailed post, glad you had an uneventful experience. The 2+ hours of charging time / day seems like a lot and also the total cost of charging. Just for comparison, ICE with 22/mpg@$5.50 would come to around $625 and guess one stop per day at lunch or a break of less than 15 minutes. I think this is the biggest Achilles heel of BEVs at this time.

 

[Fosterplc]

We did about 6 hrs driving per day, so a couple hours break in 2 or 3 stops was fine with us. I am the wrong side of 60 and spending longer at the wheel is quite uncomfortable. Yeah, it was quite expensive, a wash compared to gadoline.

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