This is why we need a huge charging network! (Harley LiveWire trip failure)

[RivianXpress]

https://jalopnik.com/i-took-a-harle...rip-and-ev-1845749463?traffic_source=Connatix

I Took A Harley-Davidson LiveWire On A Road Trip And Everything That Could Have Gone Wrong Did

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[azbill]

https://jalopnik.com/i-took-a-harle...rip-and-ev-1845749463?traffic_source=Connatix

I Took A Harley-Davidson LiveWire On A Road Trip And Everything That Could Have Gone Wrong Did

This is why I must have the Max Pack. I have seen the broken charger situation in real life. A bigger battery provides more options.

 

[Cosmacelf]

All new EV owners should be told about https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

 

[jimcgov3]

This is one of those situations where I feel that the network wasn't completely at fault. They had a planned route w/ charging stops and they decided to push it without consideration for the road ahead. If ABRP, EA, EVGO, or PlugShare tell you to stop at X stop, you stop at X stop. There are definitely some dead or forgotten zones around the US, but the decisions to put chargers in certain areas wasn't a roll of the dice to figure out where the stations would go.

 

[DucRider]

It's also greatly impacted by the Livewire itself.
A practical range of <80 miles means lots of charging time. Add in a very slow AC charging rate (1.44 kW even from 240V stations capable of much more), slowish DCFC, small battery, and taper with the relatively small battery and you see the potential for issues.
Harley is marketing the Livewire as an around town or commuter for very good reason.
People did road trips in first gen LEAFs, people do it on Zero motorcycles with no DCFC capabilities, but not as a practical means of travel. More as a challenge/adventure.

 

[ajdelange]

The driver's comfort index is the product of the density of working chargers (chargers per square mile) and some power, greater than 1 but well less than 2) of the vehicle's range. This guy went off into a charging desert with a low range vehicle. No surprises here.

 

[MadMac]

As a former journalist, I guess I’m allowed some cynicism here. This is a more interesting headline/story because the author managed to run out of charge. There would be far fewer clicks if he’d actually planned his trip.

 

[Gshenderson]

Tesla puts a lot of their freeway destination superchargers in hotel parking lots. I was doing a cross country trip back in the days where you needed to stop at almost every supercharger. Stopped at one of these hotel superchargers around 10:00pm to find that some jack nut with a truck and trailer decided to park his rig across all 8 chargers. I was planning to drive through the night, but ended up having to just sleep in the car until he moved out the next morning. Fortunately, he was gone by 6:00am.

Things have improved greatly since then as far as more super chargers that provide a set of options. But there are jack nuts who still think parking in EV spots is OK. ?

 

[ajdelange]

As a former journalist, I guess I’m allowed some cynicism here. T

Rest assured that the populace at large accords the profession about the same level of regard as you do.

 

[manitou202]

150 miles of real range is necessary for long road trips in any type of EV. Assuming you are sticking to major highways, that will cover most of the large gaps between DV chargers while allow for a top/bottom buffer and a little extra for weather.

As pointed out the <80 mile range of the Livewire cuts it way too close for long road trips. Basically it's like the first generation of non-Tesla EV's like the Leaf 24kWh and first gen i3. Plenty for around town driving, but not realistic for a road trip without a lot of serious planning and charging time.

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