The last week of September is National Drive Electric Week, which is a good opportunity to learn about electric cars. I have had the opportunity to borrow an electric car over the past 2 years, and many people have asked me about the experience. Electric cars are fun to drive. They are quiet, and acceleration is smooth and fast. It’s easy to get used to plugging in at night instead of stopping at gas stations, and no oil changes or engine maintenance are required with an electric vehicle (EV). I do not have a charger at home, and have had no trouble simply plugging the car into a standard outlet to keep it charged. If I need to charge quicker, there are plenty of public chargers in the area. For road trips, there are fast chargers located along highway corridors to make it convenient to stop for a charge. Often, the time to charge is just enough to get a bite to eat, stretch your legs, or take a bathroom break. During the summer of 2020, I drove an EV from Highland Park to Colorado. The cost of the charging stops was exactly half the cost of gas for the same trip – and that was when gas prices were lower than they are now. If you want a more detailed description of the trip, I’ve posted it here. Read this NY Times article about an EV road trip to a remote area in Quebec and this article about a cross country EV road trip. When you buy your next car, make it electric!

Driving from Illinois to Colorado in an electric car, Summer 2020

We decided to drive 1,300 miles, across the plains and through the mountains, in the midst of a global pandemic in an electric vehicle. My car, being 12 years old, was deemed unsafe for such a long trip. With permission from my parents, I took their car instead, a Tesla model 3.

Packing the car full of snacks, filling our insulated water bottles, and charging the battery fully, we were ready to head out early in the morning. In addition to our luggage, we packed a picnic blanket, plenty of hand sanitizer, paper towels and a spray bottle of alcohol, and rubber gloves. The car has an impressive amount of storage space in both the front (where an engine would be) and the back.

Our first charging stop was in Davenport, Iowa in the parking lot of the Hy Vee supermarket. Iowa has invested in their electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and it was no problem to find charging stations along I-80.

We were able to route the trip through Tesla Superchargers, which decreased our total charging time. Still, charging stops added approximately 4 hours to our 20 hour one way drive. Interestingly, it takes 20-30 minutes to charge the battery to approximately 80%. After that, charging slows down significantly in order to avoid overheating the battery. The mapping feature on the car will tell you where and how long to charge, although we kept an eye on the battery as we were driving since both weather and speed can impact range. Driving across Iowa and Nebraska in the sun on a hot day, the air conditioner ate through our battery faster than we would have hoped. It would have been worth purchasing a cover for the sunroof to stay cooler.

Stop #2 was in Altoona, Iowa at the Kum and Go gas station. It was a nice day, so we ate the food we had brought for lunch outside the car, adjacent to a cornfield. We continued on to Council Bluffs, Iowa where the charging stations were in a strip mall parking lot. Leaving the car charging, we walked to a nearby restaurant to get food to go for dinner. We passed an impressive number of wind turbines through Iowa. You get a sense of the scale of these turbines when you see the trucks carrying the blades and towers on the road.

During this stretch, my son came up with the motto “Go slow to go fast.” The faster we drove, the more we had to stop to charge the car. When we kept our speed under 70 mph, we were able to go further on a charge. Lesson learned.

In Grand Island, Nebraska, we ate our carry out dinner by the car. This charging station was at a truck stop where the air was filled with the exhaust of idling diesel trucks. A natural area across a divided highway looked like it would have been a nice picnic spot, but we couldn’t safely walk there, so stayed by the car. Pushing on to Ogallala, Nebraska, we stopped to charge before heading to the hotel. This charge took an hour, as we wanted to start the next day with a full charge. Had there been a hotel with a charger in the parking lot in the area, we would have stayed there and left the car to charge overnight.

Setting off early after a good night’s sleep, we made it over the border to Brush, Colorado before stopping to charge. This charging station was in the parking lot of a gas station again, so there was nowhere to get food or walk while the car was charging. None of the charging stations we used were under cover. On the way east, we used this charging station in a severe rain/hail storm, which was not pleasant. 

Somehow we missed a charger outside of Denver, so we were nervous about making it to Poncha Springs for our next charge. We turned off the A/C to save battery, and I looked at the map for level 2 chargers on the route. Unfortunately, without much internet reception, it was difficult. My son gets an A+ for his efficient driving in this stretch, gaining 30 miles by coasting down the hills. In the future, I’d print out a map of charging stations on portions of the route where we might need a boost and may not have cell reception. At Poncha Springs, we got Thai Food and used the picnic blanket to have a birthday lunch by a river across from the charging station. We brought our own utensils, which was helpful. Nervous about the distance and elevation gain in the next stretch, we spent extra time and charged the battery fully here. There were no super chargers after this stop.

The last stretch of the trip went smoothly, and we arrived at our destination with battery to spare. While some charging stations are free to use, faster chargers do have an associated cost. Even so, charging along the route was half the cost of gas for the same trip — and gas prices were lower than they are now. We plugged the car in to a regular outlet in the garage at our destination, where it took several days to fully charge for the trip home.

EV Road Trip Lessons Learned:

1. Keep to a reasonable speed.
2. Watch your battery if you are driving fast and using a/c or heat.
3. Be prepared for weather – consider a cover if you have a car with a sunroof and are driving on a sunny day. Bring a raincoat or poncho just in case. The charging stations are often in the open.
4. Be self sufficient – many charging stations are not near amenities. Bring a picnic blanket, utensils and plenty of water so you can eat while charging. Bring food or pick stops in advance that have food available.
5. Charging slows down as the battery fills so plan to stop more frequently rather than filling up. This is also better for battery life.
6. Map out your route in advance, and print or download a map of charging stations in case you don’t have cell reception.  
7. Download apps for the charging station networks along your route and set up accounts before you leave home. Be sure you have appropriate adapters in the car.
8. Stay at a hotel with a charger so that you can charge overnight, if possible.
9. Relax and enjoy the ride!