Opening up more charging options?

[ChiTownCT]

Do you EV vets suggest having accounts with Electrify America as a secondary option? I'm still somewhat scared to drive further than a 100 miles from home, and one day when I do decide to make that leap, would like to know I have more options for charging just in case..

 

[HaulingAss]

Tesla is always opening up new Supercharging stations, the SC Network is many times the size it was when I bought my first EV in 2018. At the time, I thought I should have other options but a couple of road trips quickly put that idea to rest.

Maybe someone finds value in using third party DCFCers but my life is better without them. As far as I know, there is no way to incorporate them into the navigation trip planning without having to use your phone. And they are a far cry from a Supercharger in terms of reliability.

In short, no, in 7 years of all EV travel I've never once wished I could use a third party DCFC. I do make good use of free destination charging at hotels so I start each day with a full 300+ miles of EPA range, which really cuts down on the need for DCFC stops. In the morning hours, it's not uncommon for me to drive right by the first 3 to 6 Superchargers on my route.

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

That totally depends where you live. I'm in a Supercharger desert. The biggest complaints are about the lack of SCs are for southwest Colorado/Northern New Mexico. Nothing between Durango and Moab, except a 20 minute off-shoot ride south from Monticello, UT to Blanding, UT, which takes you 40 minutes out of the way. Want to go from Durango to Arbuquerque? Only stop is in Farmington,NM. After that its 184 miles and no SC. Doable in a CT? Sure, assuming no snow storms and the weather isn't -5. Am I willing to take that chance? No. So my backup is a CCS adapter and some other DC charger.

There are "deals" in the works in Colorado for new SCs in Cortez, Durango, and Pagosa Springs. That takes care of a colorado/Utah corridor in the south. But Northern New Maxico is a real problem for SCs.

So the OPs issues are exptremely valid in certain parts of the country as I feel his exact pain.

 

[CTSoFL]

Do you EV vets suggest having accounts with Electrify America as a secondary option? I'm still somewhat scared to drive further than a 100 miles from home, and one day when I do decide to make that leap, would like to know I have more options for charging just in case..

Have you looked at SC laydown for areas you want to travel?

EA is expensive, but better than walking.

 

[CyberZephyr]

I've always experienced a nice amount on the east coast ?. As @HaulingAss said, they will always be making more.

 

[mark555055c]

This all depends on where you live, but it's highly unlikely that you have no superchargers within 100-200 miles.

 

[Jackmaine]

Get the "A better route planner" app. It will let you plan a hypothetical trip and show your options. I have driven a Model Y from Maine to California and back twice without charging difficulties.

 

[CyberGus]

The only time I’ve used the J1772 adapter is with my UWC Smart Dock just to see if it would work ?

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

This all depends on where you live, but it's highly unlikely that you have no superchargers within 100-200 miles.

I'm one of those unlikely folks.

 

[brur]

Do you EV vets suggest having accounts with Electrify America as a secondary option? I'm still somewhat scared to drive further than a 100 miles from home, and one day when I do decide to make that leap, would like to know I have more options for charging just in case..

I was just in Winslow Arizona and got a needed charge at an electrify, 350 charge rate, that they didn't bother to charge me for so yes , a good deal.
I had already bought a special adaptor for the CT as the regular one is too short

 

[kdn]

Do you EV vets suggest having accounts with Electrify America as a secondary option? I'm still somewhat scared to drive further than a 100 miles from home, and one day when I do decide to make that leap, would like to know I have more options for charging just in case..

I have Shell Recharge and PlugShare. When we travel to see my wife's sister in Baltimore area the closest Tesla charger is like 20 miles away. There is a Shell charger at their library that charges 24 miles per hour. So I just leave my unit there to charge overnight. Never had a problem. I just didn't want to drive the distance to get to a supercharger and then have to drive back. It was very nice to be able to drop the car off for charging rather than to go through the urban traffic around that congested area. I would get the app just for emergency or convenience.

 

[gadgetmerc]

Until Tesla offers a longer DCFC adapter, you're technically stuck slow charging outside of SC network. I use the slow chargers for overnights and it works great but you wouldn't want to do that on the side of a highway. Its important to have reasonable expectations.

Before you leave on a trip: put your destination into the location section of the app. The holiday update will add a feature to set a state of charge at destination. With that you can just set it to whatever you need to get home. For now either set the "set departure energy low" or zoom out enough to see your destination and click the charger button. Either way you should see charging options on your route.

 

[CyberGus]

I was just in Winslow Arizona and got a needed charge at an electrify, 350 charge rate, that they didn't bother to charge me for so yes , a good deal.

Well, I'm a-standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me

Did you loosen your load?

 

[CaseyL]

Until Tesla offers a longer DCFC adapter, you're technically stuck slow charging outside of SC network.

I just ordered a longer CCS adapter from EVBase. I have occasionally been using a Circle K CCS charger in a small Georgia town and want the same option for our brand new Cybertruck.

 

[dalton108]

My strategy on this has been to download them on a need to have basis. Usually there’s a QR code on the charger or very close to it that sets you up to download the app for whatever network it is and if you find yourself in need that seems to work fine.

I agree with the suggestion to take a look at ABRP and maybe by determining what’s close to you see that it’s beneficial download one or another in advance.

It’s just a subpar experience so I try to avoid it unless it’s absolutely necessary or in some ways extra convenient such as parking somewhere that has EV charging close to the entrance and only has non-Tesla chargers.