Going on a Road Trip With an Electric Vehicle: Tips for a Successful and Fun Trip

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When I was researching electric vehicles, one of the biggest concerns I read about was “how do I go on a road trip with an electric vehicle?” Well, this last weekend I went on my first road trip with my electric vehicle! I drove from St. Louis to Nashville to see Ed Sheeran at Nissan Stadium. I was glad I got to take it out for the first road trip by myself. I’ll feel much more confident taking my boys on trips now that I have a better idea for what to expect.

Get to Know Your Battery Range

My car’s full range is about 350 miles if the battery is at 100%. However, since charging the battery to 100% isn’t good for it, I keep it “fully charged” at 80% usually. On this road trip I learned that going from 80% charged down to 20% (the recommended “lowest” point) is about 150-170 miles, depending on if the roads are mostly flat or if you have to go up a bunch of hills.

For my 330 mile road trip, this meant I had to stop twice each way, roughly every two hours. And while I used to be a “just power through no stops” kind of a person, I honestly appreciated the mandatory stops. It was nice to have a reason to get out, stretch my legs, take a bathroom break, and eat lunch/snack without rushing.

I’m sure the breaks will be welcome when I take the boys out on road trips as well. Two hours is about the mark where they start to get a little antsy and need a break anyway, so this will very easily fit our family’s needs.

The stops took about 15-30 minutes depending on the starting battery level.

Planning Stops on an EV Road Trip

Apps to Plan a Road Trip with an EV

There are so many different apps now that make finding a charger less stressful. These are the three I used:

PlugShare

Plugshare shows (most) plugs available on your route if you add a trip to the app. It has a pretty good variety of options, including options at rest stops and gas stations.

Tesla

Tesla’s app only shows Tesla chargers, and they aren’t as prevalent as generic chargers. You have to make an account in order to pay at the “pump.”

A Better Route Planner

I personally found A Better Route Planner to be both helpful and annoying. In order to find me “the most fuel efficient route” it turned my 6 hour trip into an 8.5 hour trip and right into heavy traffic. This app was good at finding most charging stations, but not great about finding the ones at gas stations or Walmarts.

After the debacle of getting there much later than I should have, for the trip home I did things differently. I used my regular map app to find my route, figured out about where I would need to stop for fuel, and searched all three apps until I found which chargers I wanted to go to.

Charger Types

Tesla Charger

Tesla chargers require either a Tesla car or an adapter, which costs about $250. Thankfully, the previous owner of my car left his adapter in the back for me, and I am thankful.

Universal Plugs

If you don’t have a Tesla car, you have more options for plugins. My car has the CCS1 plug in, which means I can use a CCS1 plug or a J-1772 plug (a CCS1 is a J-1772 plug with an extra two prongs at the bottom). On the PlugShare app you can input which car you have and it will tell you what kinds of plugs are available to you.

EV Charging Stations on a Road Trip

This road trip was the first time I have paid for electricity since I bought my car at the end of May. I am very used to the universal charger cords with yards-long reach. For the most part, I haven’t had an issue. The Tesla chargers, however, are very short because Teslas charge in the back. So you back into a spot, plug in, no problem. At one Tesla station I had to park sideways (I wasn’t blocking any other stations) in order for the cord to reach my plug on the side. I’m sure the other cars thought I was nuts because I kept trying to readjust until I just gave up and parked sideways.

The non-branded chargers all had much longer cords and were a lot easier to work with.

Also, some of the pumps put a hold on my card and some didn’t, and there didn’t seem to be a pattern. For instance, the first Tesla pump I used only charged me for the energy used. The second one put a $40 hold on my credit card. One generic pump charged me only the $11.23 for energy, and one placed a $55 hold. Just something to be aware of when you go on trips. The holds resolved on my card within about 48 hours.

Fuel Costs – Is Electric Cheaper Than Gas?

In total, I spent $80.23 total in my four stops during my trip.

My last fill up on my gas car was when gas was just over $4/gallon, and my total was $60 for 14 gallons. One tank would have probably gotten me all the way to Nashville with no stops, but I would have needed to fill up again to go back, bringing my total to well over $100 just for gas. The EV was definitely less expensive to drive, even with local gas now under $4 in my area.

EVs are Better In Traffic Than a Gas Car

Traffic was really bad and there was a stretch where I was sitting on the highway and didn’t move for a solid 15 minutes – this would have killed my gas mpg, but my electric car was just fine and using very little energy. Electric vehicles tend to have better milage in city than highway, and this definitely worked in my favor.

Going on a Road Trip with an Electric Vehicle: Final Thoughts

Overall, I loved it. I found the pace of the trip to be relaxing for me. Also, I created a bit of a game for myself: When you put a destination on the dashboard for directions, it tells you the estimated battery when you arrive. I wanted to see if I could conserve enough energy by the way I drove to make the actual battery life higher when I arrived. In one instance, I was able to raise the estimated battery upon arrival from 28% to 34%. It felt like I won at “road trip with an electric vehicle,” which is a very normal thing to want to win at, obviously.

I have a couple more road trips planned for this year, and I feel much more prepared now that I have my first road trip under my (seat) belt.