Texas Fast Charger dead zones

[kurtlikevonnegut]

You guys got me looking and man, if this map is right (granted sometimes plugshare misses some), I-20 has no fast chargers from the DFW area all the way to Birmingham. How is that even possible? Over 600 miles with no fast chargers.

This truly speaks to how it's infrastructure that is limiting EV adoption, not the EVs themselves.

Looks like I'll be running up through I-40 when I drive to see the in-laws in Fort Worth

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[rodhx]

You guys got me looking and man, if this map is right (granted sometimes plugshare misses some), I-20 has no fast chargers from the DFW area all the way to Birmingham. How is that even possible? Over 600 miles with no fast chargers.

This truly speaks to how it's infrastructure that is limiting EV adoption, not the EVs themselves.

That’s correct. Living in Birmingham with a non-Tesla means westward travel must go out of the way to get to I-40 or I-10. I can’t wait for fast charging in Meridian, Tupelo, or Jackson MS to facilitate some of the road trips we take.

On the plus side there were no EA stations in Alabama at the start of 2020. What EA we have was all built that year. Still have no idea how they left Tuscaloosa & I-20 off the list though.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

That’s correct. Living in Birmingham with a non-Tesla means westward travel must go out of the way to get to I-40 or I-10. I can’t wait for fast charging in Meridian, Tupelo, or Jackson MS to facilitate some of the road trips we take.

On the plus side there were no EA stations in Alabama at the start of 2020. What EA we have was all built that year. Still have no idea how they left Tuscaloosa & I-20 off the list though.

The I-40 route is a much nicer route than I-20 to be sure, but it does add about 2 hours and 100 miles to the trip for me which is about 10% of the trip added.

 

[txtravwill]

Yeah South TX is the worst. We can take our Tesla from Marble Falls down to South Padre but likely not a Rivian (when get) or Hummer EV (getting soon). Hole EA builds some out too! Or Tesla opens up with some CCS adapters on-site or available to order and use.

 

[pc500]

Lubblock is a problem and I have a friend that drives through levelland (as Lubbock would be out of the way for his starting/ending point). This is one of the things holding back his EV purchase.

 

[Longreach]

Problem is west and south Texas is populated by many anti-EV types who think the whole EV thing is a hoax design to take away their “freedoms”. You have to spend some time there to truly understand the problem.

The F-150 Lightning may be the only vehicle that could change those perceptions because the F-150 is so familiar to them. I know some EV haters who actually were highly impressed with the Lightning, so there is hope. Just a matter of time…

 

[DJG]

Problem is west and south Texas is populated by many anti-EV types who think the whole EV thing is a hoax design to take away their “freedoms”. You have to spend some time there to truly understand the problem.

The F-150 Lightning may be the only vehicle that could change those perceptions because the F-150 is so familiar to them. I know some EV haters who actually were highly impressed with the Lightning, so there is hope. Just a matter of time…

Rivian has chargers planned for Corpus and Victoria, along with one at Guadalupe Mountains National Park (good destination and to link to southern NM). Out east they will fill a hole in Nacogdoches.

Really, if someone just puts one in Lubbock (still not even technically needed in a Rivian) and South Padre, I think we're set as far as coverage goes .

 

[Gator42]

...that charging desert between New Orleans and Memphis was referenced in the (paywalled) WSJ article from June 3rd

https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-rent...e-charging-it-than-i-did-sleeping-11654268401

...some EV luddites didn't plan very well, drove through the desert on their way to Memphis and ended up Level 2 charging for hours trying to make the trip. Needless to say their review of EVs was not positive....

...so this is what EVs are up against...

 

[DJG]

...that charging desert between New Orleans and Memphis was referenced in the (paywalled) WSJ article from June 3rd

https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-rent...e-charging-it-than-i-did-sleeping-11654268401

...some EV luddites didn't plan very well, drove through the desert on their way to Memphis and ended up Level 2 charging for hours trying to make the trip. Needless to say their review of EVs was not positive....

...so this is what EVs are up against...

They conveniently picked one of the few routes in America that has that issue. The only other one would be through Montana/Dakotas/MN. The rest of the 99.99% of us are just fine and have a totally different experience.

Kyle C. already retweeted that article and asked if he should replicate and debunk it (i.e. spend 10 minutes planning).

 

[DaveA]

Rivian has chargers planned for Corpus and Victoria, along with one at Guadalupe Mountains National Park (good destination and to link to southern NM). Out east they will fill a hole in Nacogdoches.

Really, if someone just puts one in Lubbock (still not even technically needed in a Rivian) and South Padre, I think we're set as far as coverage goes .

Really need one in Big Bend, too! But good to know GMNP is going to be covered.

 

[DJG]

Really need one in Big Bend, too! But good to know GMNP is going to be covered.

Yeah, that would be nice, but they apparently have no plans for one, at least now, and they would be the only ones to put one there anytime soon. So, I wouldn't count on one there for potentially 7-10 years.

My plan is to just drive in (takes all day from Austin anyway), stay overnight and charge up to 100% at an RV site in Terlingua/Study Butte. Then you can spend 2-3 days going through the park, ending at Rio Grande Village near Boquillas which also has hookups. It's about 115 miles from Study Butte going down Ross Maxwell to Santa Elena and over across the southern end of the park, so should be fairly comfortably allowing for lower efficiency off road and overnights. Charge to 100% at RGV and off to home in the morning.

 

[Lizardo]

Yeah South TX is the worst. We can take our Tesla from Marble Falls down to South Padre but likely not a Rivian (when get) or Hummer EV (getting soon). Hole EA builds some out too! Or Tesla opens up with some CCS adapters on-site or available to order and use.

This is my bigger concern going from tesla to Rivian... still relatively new to the EV game... but there is 1 EA charger in town...

 

[LaunchGreenWithEnvy]

Anybody go coast to coast on I-40 in a Rivian or other EV?

 

[DaveA]

You got me looking and while it's quite the deadzone, there seem to be a LOT of wrenches (meaning coming soon/under construction). Hopefully this resolves some of it. There is also this list for upcoming sites in the state.

https://www.env.nm.gov/vw-settlemen...020/04/VW-Project-Selection_22Apr20_LDZEV.pdf


Lubbock having zero both surprises me and doesn't. It's not the first city over 250k pop that I've seen without a single DC fast charger.

Well, Lubbock finally has Superchargers at its service center...shows up on Plugshare. Here's hoping CCS can make its way there soon.

 

[DJG]

Well, Lubbock finally has Superchargers at its service center...shows up on Plugshare. Here's hoping CCS can make its way there soon.

I THINK I see Lubbock on here....

https://pressroom.gm.com/gmbx/us/en...l/Pages/news/us/en/2022/jul/0714-gmpilot.html

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