Is charging in Wisconsin as bad as it looks?

[Mister Person]

I'm going from Chicago to Appleton and back in a couple weeks and I've got the same problem. I'll be hoping the 60kW chargers at dealerships are available.

Sponsored

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Maybe check any local colleges & universities, as well?

 

[Wefty]

Thanks for the responses. It looks like there is an EA station being built in Green Bay. It will help a lot. Using the advice here I think I have a decent route.

 

[emoore]

We need a lot more chargers in Minn, Wis, etc. These 50kw chargers are not enough and the thought of charging at Lambeau field make me want to vomit

 

[oskeei]

Thanks for the responses. It looks like there is an EA station being built in Green Bay. It will help a lot. Using the advice here I think I have a decent route.

The station is built, I believe for almost a year. Suppose to be online s00n. I read somewhere EA said "this fall". We had similar situation locally. Stations went online last week and saw another bank in Kankakee recently go online.

Was up in Appleton and GB in July. The Chargepoint by the airport in Appleton at Avis lot is great. Look in Plugshare.

 

[johnmcgrann]

I'm going from Chicago to Appleton and back in a couple weeks and I've got the same problem. I'll be hoping the 60kW chargers at dealerships are available.

My wife and I just traveled from PA to Janesville to Door County. We spent two nights in Janesville so could rely on Level 2 stations there, but wanted something DC Fast between Janesville and Door County, and zeroed in on the Oshkosh/Appleton area.

Be careful and do your homework on PlugShare around there. Our experience was fine in the end but pretty frustrating:

First, I wanted to go to a highly-rated Bergstrom Toyota charger in Oshkosh, and *thought* I selected this in Rivian Nav, but instead it sent me 4 miles past that to Bergstrom Chevy, where the fast charging is behind a gate that is closed and locked when the dealership is not open (we were traveling on Labor Day). I only realized later that Rivian Nav overrode my selection and sent me to a different station.

Then, I selected Chargepoint at Bergstrom Genesis/Hyundai in Appleton. There are two fast stations here, one was occupied. I spent 10 minutes trying to get the other one to activate. It *looked like* it was attempting to start, but the vehicle would not respond. I walked over to the other vehicle, and the driver told me he had the same problem before. So at this station, it appears on Chargepoint and Plugshare that there are two working stations, but that is not accurate and if the one furthest from Kwik Trip is occupied, choose a different location.

Finally, I was getting frustrated and didn't want to backtrack, so went to Bergstrom (getting the theme here?) Chevy about 10 minutes off the highway in Appleton where I got what I needed.

All in all, between Rivian navigation and Chargepoint, I lost probably an hour trying to charge in this area. So definitely do your research on PlugShare, know which charger you want to go to, and make sure you get to the correct place and don't let Rivian navigation redirect you.

 

[Count Orlok]

The fastest charger in my WI county is in my garage (11kW). The Ho-Chunk DCFC is a promising new addition to the state but overall outside of the MSN and MKE areas it can be tough. Hence the reason I am pursuing three-phase service to install my own (low) DCFC.

 

[Mister Person]

My wife and I just traveled from PA to Janesville to Door County. We spent two nights in Janesville so could rely on Level 2 stations there, but wanted something DC Fast between Janesville and Door County, and zeroed in on the Oshkosh/Appleton area.

Be careful and do your homework on PlugShare around there. Our experience was fine in the end but pretty frustrating:

First, I wanted to go to a highly-rated Bergstrom Toyota charger in Oshkosh, and *thought* I selected this in Rivian Nav, but instead it sent me 4 miles past that to Bergstrom Chevy, where the fast charging is behind a gate that is closed and locked when the dealership is not open (we were traveling on Labor Day). I only realized later that Rivian Nav overrode my selection and sent me to a different station.

Then, I selected Chargepoint at Bergstrom Genesis/Hyundai in Appleton. There are two fast stations here, one was occupied. I spent 10 minutes trying to get the other one to activate. It *looked like* it was attempting to start, but the vehicle would not respond. I walked over to the other vehicle, and the driver told me he had the same problem before. So at this station, it appears on Chargepoint and Plugshare that there are two working stations, but that is not accurate and if the one furthest from Kwik Trip is occupied, choose a different location.

Finally, I was getting frustrated and didn't want to backtrack, so went to Bergstrom (getting the theme here?) Chevy about 10 minutes off the highway in Appleton where I got what I needed.

All in all, between Rivian navigation and Chargepoint, I lost probably an hour trying to charge in this area. So definitely do your research on PlugShare, know which charger you want to go to, and make sure you get to the correct place and don't let Rivian navigation redirect you.

What a great and informative write up. This is really going to help. Thank you!

 

[Wefty]

We definitely learned a lot. Mainly that DCFC still stinks.

The EA charger that we went to at a Walmart in Milwaukee only gave us about 50kW and both 350 terminals were closed.

The enel x charger in Copper Harbor didn't work most of the week. We couldn't use the app because our credit cards were pending for days. And the credit card reader on the charger was down. Finally with 2 days left in our trip the card reader started working and we were able to charge. We never got the app to work. The charger in Hancock did work well but was only 60 kW.

On the way back a DCFC in Wausau opened up and worked well but it is a toss up between going out of your way for a fast charger vs staying closer to the highway and using a slower charger. Same with using the Shell 350kW fast charger in Madison. And that charger was only accessible with an app. No card reader at all.

 

[defcon888]

Best thing to do is get the PLUG-SHARE app and set your plug types to CCS1. Also set your speed to 50kW and higher. This will pick up a lot of ChargPoints which from what I see top off at about 62kW.

Also, if you are looking to stay the night at a hotel, ask them if they have chargers available to the guests and if not, do they have a AC plug on the outside that you could possibly plug into over night. You won't get a ton of range, but you probably get enough to get to a DCFC.

Do check the PLUG-SHARE app for stations you want to go to and see what the reviews are like.

Make sure you have all the EV apps loaded....EA, EVGo, ChargePoint, Volta, Charge Hub, 7-11 Charge, Circle K charge. Most of the time Targets and.or Walmarts will have EA chargers.

 

[Mister Person]

My wife and I just traveled from PA to Janesville to Door County. We spent two nights in Janesville so could rely on Level 2 stations there, but wanted something DC Fast between Janesville and Door County, and zeroed in on the Oshkosh/Appleton area.

Be careful and do your homework on PlugShare around there. Our experience was fine in the end but pretty frustrating:

First, I wanted to go to a highly-rated Bergstrom Toyota charger in Oshkosh, and *thought* I selected this in Rivian Nav, but instead it sent me 4 miles past that to Bergstrom Chevy, where the fast charging is behind a gate that is closed and locked when the dealership is not open (we were traveling on Labor Day). I only realized later that Rivian Nav overrode my selection and sent me to a different station.

Then, I selected Chargepoint at Bergstrom Genesis/Hyundai in Appleton. There are two fast stations here, one was occupied. I spent 10 minutes trying to get the other one to activate. It *looked like* it was attempting to start, but the vehicle would not respond. I walked over to the other vehicle, and the driver told me he had the same problem before. So at this station, it appears on Chargepoint and Plugshare that there are two working stations, but that is not accurate and if the one furthest from Kwik Trip is occupied, choose a different location.

Finally, I was getting frustrated and didn't want to backtrack, so went to Bergstrom (getting the theme here?) Chevy about 10 minutes off the highway in Appleton where I got what I needed.

All in all, between Rivian navigation and Chargepoint, I lost probably an hour trying to charge in this area. So definitely do your research on PlugShare, know which charger you want to go to, and make sure you get to the correct place and don't let Rivian navigation redirect you.

Just got back from my Appleton-and-back trip. I used the 62.5kW Chargepoint at the Avis car rental on Wisconsin Ave. It wasn't far from where I was staying, so I drove over this morning and charged for an hour while doing a nice long walk/hike along the Fox River and through a cemetery and then a park. It was pleasant enough, but inconvenient to have to leave the action to go charge.

 

[Lawrence-of-Blaine]

FWIW, just south of Danbury on WI 35 there’s a new 11kW charger at an art gallery. I think it’s part of the ZEF network.

 

[johnmcgrann]

Just got back from my Appleton-and-back trip. I used the 62.5kW Chargepoint at the Avis car rental on Wisconsin Ave. It wasn't far from where I was staying, so I drove over this morning and charged for an hour while doing a nice long walk/hike along the Fox River and through a cemetery and then a park. It was pleasant enough, but inconvenient to have to leave the action to go charge.

I saw that as an option, wondered if it was reliable. Glad it worked out for you!

 

[Redline]

Isn’t there an EA fast charger in Tomah?

 

[Doug]

Isn’t there an EA fast charger in Tomah?

Yes. It is a good EA charger and cheap as it charges by the minute instead of KW. I have used it many times. It is on the far western side of WI so if you are not going that far west it is not useful. I live in MN so it is right on my way.

Sponsored