Road Trip - Phoenix, AZ to Bakersfield, CA (using A2Z adapter & Tesla supercharging)

[Pauliep]

I bought a 2023 Lightning Lariat ER the last day of March, 2024. Ordered the Tesla adapter and received notification mine would be shipped in September. I live in Phoenix, AZ. Knowing that I wanted to visit my mother soon in California, I wanted to take the Lightning out for a shakedown cruise and go from Phoenix, AZ, to Bakersfield, CA. Since I didn’t have the Tesla/Ford adapter, I ordered an @A2ZEV adapter. It arrived within about three weeks, and I was ready to go.

If you have ever driven in Arizona, you know that at some point you will lose a windshield due to rocks being thrown or projected from vehicles ahead of you. It just is a fact. Within the first 500 miles of my ownership of the Lightning, bam, a rock hit my windshield. It was just a tiny chip, and it bothered me, but what can you do? The next week the temperatures rose dramatically to over 105 degrees, and that little chip turned into a large across the windshield crack. Went to the dealership and had them replace the windshield and had them update all the software manually as I hadn’t been receiving anything OTA. Picked up the truck and found that my Apple mapping software now included the Lightning as a vehicle and the maps now showed me the nearest charging stations. I was very happy.

Since I wanted to drive to California soon, I did a quick test at a Tesla Supercharger to make sure the adapter would work. What a fiasco. The nearest and largest Supercharger to my home has 12 stalls available. Figured I would go there and try to charge. I couldn’t find a charger that was off by itself or that made charging easy, so I had to park in the middle of the Supercharger lot and use two spaces. The Supercharger was not full, but by the time I started charging, 6 cars pulled up and yes, I got the dirty looks. It was kind of funny seeing these demographically skewing older people trying to give me their best glares, but there was nothing I could do.

Plugging in the A2Z did not seem too hard and I was able to get the plug in and seated (I thought) properly. I tried to use the Ford software once I plugged in, but the software was non-responsive. Went to the Tesla software and used it to try to start charging, but it, too, was non-responsive. I figured the plug may be the problem and plugged it and unplugged it in many many times. Based on what I have read here, the plug is supposed to click into place. That didn’t happen. Finally, I took the plug and placed it on the bottom of the charging station and Hulk smashed it into place. I didn’t hear a click, but the plug was in very tight and I moved the lock into place. Plugged into the Lightning and got the white spinning lights. Used the Tesla app and I was charging. The thing worked.

I then plan my route. ABRP indicates I would probably charge three times before my destination, and Apple maps mirrors it almost exactly. My plan was to use all the Electrify America chargers I could find on the way and use Tesla as a backup. I also did the Tesla subscription for the month to get better rates charging. Started from Phoenix with 100% charge and took the 10 out of town towards California. Stopped in Quartzsite, AZ with 48% charge left and went to the EA station. What a joke. There are four charges here, 3 are 150kw and one is 350kw. Cost is .56 cents per kwh no matter what time you charge. The units were full with three cars waiting. My wife is with me and she looks at me with that “see, I told you this was a bad idea” glare in her eyes. I knew Tesla had 80+ chargers across the freeway so we move over there. The first ones we encounter are the 150kw non compatible units in a Carl’s Jr. parking lot and in a lot next to that. I kept thinking why aren’t these the Superchargers and how will I explain my stupidity to my wife? I get on the Tesla app and find there is another lot with 84 stalls towards the back of Terrible’s gas station. We go there and wow, this station is a work of beauty. Half of the stalls are covered, and they have several pull through trailer type of units. We plug in, use the Tesla app, and charge up. We go from 48% to 90% in 43 minutes adding 61kwh and pay .44 cents per kwh. We were within walking distance of Carl’s Jr. and Burger King, as well as the gas station for the bathrooms (very clean).

Hit the road (still on the 10) and stop in Cabazon, CA and try to get to the EA chargers. Same thing as before. Full, one unit is down, and three to four cars are waiting. We drive over to the Tesla Supercharger by the Morongo Travel Center and find a couple of spots open out of the twelve there. Two of the spots are for trailers, which would have been perfect for us but they were taken by non-trailering Tesla’s. I find one stall that is open and I park behind it on the other side at an angle to use it. Get the A2Z, Hulk smash it, lock it, and used the app before plugging in. Worked perfect. We go from 26% to 83% in 46 minutes, getting 79kwh added at a cost of .41 cents per kwh. Use the very clean bathrooms and am surprised to see a lot of slot machines, but then realize we are on reservation land.

Based on our maps, we take the 10 to the 210, then to the 5. Next stop is another EA in Valencia/Santa Clarita, CA. We find one off Newhall Ranch Road by a Walmart. Guess what? 5 of the 6 chargers were in use, with one not functioning. A few cars are waiting around here, so we know this will not work. Sound familiar? My wife looks at me and say “hmm, imagine if we were going cross country. EA seems to suck.” Seeing as the fees are .56 cents a kwh was a turnoff and another topic for my wife to comment about. We go across the street to the Tesla Supercharger next to a Habit Burger joint. 24 stalls, and only 6 were occupied. I find one stall by itself and start to charge on the left end of the charging area. Next to me is another Lightning (first one I saw all day). Use the A2Z, Hulk smash, use the app, and we are set. The guy next to me is using a Lectron adapter and we compare notes. Really nice guy and we both laugh that we are the only non-Tesla people charging. He says the Lectron gave him trouble similar to the A2Z at first, but repeated use has made it easier. He saw me Hulk smash the A2Z and said he laughed watching me do it. Start charging at 43% and get to 82% adding 53kwh and spending 23 minutes at a cost of .42 cents per kwh.

Take the 5 to the 99. Make it to Bakersfield, CA safely.

Next day we drive around Bakersfield all day and eventually need to fill up again. We decide to try an EA again, just because we are all about futility and laughing at ourselves. We find one (there is only one) in this moderately large (500,000 population) city on California Ave in a large parking lot that is mostly empty next to a Panera. And what happens? 4 stalls, one doesn’t work, and the other three are busy. Just as we are about to drive away, one of the cars leaves. I try to pull in but the spot is too tight. I then go around the back to the other side and start prepping to plug in. Another car whips into the empty spot and the lady driving the car pops out and asks, while I am holding the charging cable, if I am going to be using the charger? Dumbfounded, I can only nod yes and continue to plug in. She huffs off, gets back into her car, and presumably drives away to a more reliable charger somewhere else in the city. I plug in and nothing happens. I use the Ford app. Nothing. I use the EA app. Nothing. I pull the unit out and plug it back in. The ring of lights start and then stop, and then flash red. I get a charging fault message on the dash. I pull out the charger and mutter to myself as my wife watches, satisfied that her opinion EA sucks donkey doo doo is correct. I try it one last time and it works. I don’t use the app, I don’t use anything on the Ford app or dashboard, it is just weird and starts to go. 42% to 80% in 28 minutes with 54kwh gained. No charge as it is part of my free 250 kwh. I drive off and see angry lady come back and whip into the spot again. She gives me the finger.

The next day we decide to leave Bakersfield, CA and go back to Phoenix, AZ. We leave and take the 99/5 to the Tejon Outlets at the base of the Grapevine. We skip all other charging stations except Tesla (76 chargers). LOTS of empty spaces. As before, use the A2Z, Hulk smash, use the app, and we are good to go. Charge up from 47% to 83% (wife went to the bathroom), gaining 51kwh of juice in 27 minutes.

The next stop is on the 10 in Cabazon again. Same charging station. Same setup where I park behind the one charger at an angle. We start at 22% and charge to 90%, adding 96 kwh of juice in 1 hours time. We stuck around a little longer here as there are clean bathrooms (the wife, again). We also started watching Tesla’s park in the open spot on the other side we were charging and watched their owners not understand why the charging cable was behind the unit. Lots of frustrated people. Finally saw a Rivian driver as well. He had an adapter but couldn’t get it to work. He flipped off the charger.

Next stop is in Quartzite again. Same setup with Tesla. We don’t even bother with EA. Start at 35%, charge to 72%, adding 52 kwh of power in 28 minutes. Get a drink and another bathroom break and we go. A weird thing happened after charging. I used the Tesla app to start the charger, but it didn’t seem to “go” but still charged the vehicle. I like Tesla’s app as you can see the progress and how fast the kws are being delivered. After finishing the charge, my Ford app announces I have been billed by Ford. I didn’t use the Ford app to start charging. Not sure why it defaulted to Ford.

Final stop is home. This was the only time I got range anxiety as my Apple map told me we would be able to get home and have 12% left in the tank. Instead of pulling over and using an EA, we decide to risk it and try to get home. I was watching the meter like people wanted to steal it. We increased our estimate to 18% by the time we got home. Charged it at home. Starting at 16% and ending at 80%.

Overall, we were very happy with the performance of the Lightning. Comfort was also a big plus. I traded my 2019 Ram 2500 diesel for the Lightning, and except for a brief moment the day I made the deal, I haven’t regretted it since. I love this truck.

A couple of observations:

• A Tesla adapter is a necessity. I can imagine going across country and getting stuck in a relatively large town with no options for fast charging other than a Tesla. Hats off to whoever at Ford decided to make the pact with Tesla. Now if only Ford could get the adapters out faster…
• EA chargers currently suck. Trying to use EA branded chargers was a waste of time. EA really needs to get on the ball and increase support, repair broken units, and expand how many are at each location. I know many of those reading this will say EA has some good units they use regularly, but this was not our experience across two states.
• Calculating time at a charger versus speed on the road is also a necessity. I suspect we could have shaved some time off had we thought more about this as we were driving.
• Having a co-pilot (even if she was bitching some of the time) to help navigate to chargers is a good thing. Often when I plugged a destination into Apple maps or ABRP, it would use the EA stations before Tesla. I even tried to delete the EA from the preferred station list, but both would still use EA in the mapping guide. If Ford’s mapping were more reliable, I might use it.
• Tesla drivers are an interesting bunch. I had some who approached me appreciatively, and others (like Mrs. Speed Queen) give me the finger.
• I only saw two Lightning’s on the road during our trip. One at the charger, the other at a shopping center. Adoption seems slower, but sales numbers are strong according to some posts in this group. Tesla’s were everywhere, but that can be attributed to Tesla being in the game a lot longer than Ford.

I know this was lengthy, but I hope it helps others.

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[No Oil HaHa]

Thanks for the write up. I live in the Central Valley and use 3 EA charge sites, all off the 99, on a regular basis and concur EA is terrible. It is a rarity that all chargers are working at the same time.
I’m thankful my A2Z charger came recently and I’m eagerly anticipating using it this week.

Also, I see a Rivian almost every day of the week in my travels yet will only see maybe one other Lightning in the same period.

Almost forgot, if you’re traveling north of Bakersfield using the 99, make sure to charge in Bakersfield, as there is a decent stretch on 99 with no charge sites. I see a lot of people come pulling into the EA site at the Tulare Walmart with the look of sheer terror that only range anxiety can induce.

 

[Zprime29]

I'm planning a trip to Disney and was looking at taking the Lightning (from Tucson). Those are essentially the stops I was looking at so that write up is super helpful!

 

[Pauliep]

I'm planning a trip to Disney and was looking at taking the Lightning (from Tucson). Those are essentially the stops I was looking at so that write up is super helpful!

Glad it helped you out.

 

[Pauliep]

Thanks for the write up. I live in the Central Valley and use 3 EA charge sites, all off the 99, on a regular basis and concur EA is terrible. It is a rarity that all chargers are working at the same time.
I’m thankful my A2Z charger came recently and I’m eagerly anticipating using it this week.

Also, I see a Rivian almost every day of the week in my travels yet will only see maybe one other Lightning in the same period.

Almost forgot, if you’re traveling north of Bakersfield using the 99, make sure to charge in Bakersfield, as there is a decent stretch on 99 with no charge sites. I see a lot of people come pulling into the EA site at the Tulare Walmart with the look of sheer terror that only range anxiety can induce.

I saw the 99 from Bakersfield to Fresno was not heavily populated with chargers. That is good advice for sure.

 

[TheBigBezo]

I stopped at pretty much all those same charges just a couple of weeks ago. I didn't even bother checking the EA stations, I simply paid for the Tesla monthly sub and super charged the entire way. I did try and stop in Cathedral City but it was an awful set up an like you pushed on to Cabazon as well tho I did snag a pull through spot. Quartzsite was also impressive, I was there around 10am on a weekday and it was me and a Cyber truck.

The A2Z adapters definitely get easier to use. My current one has seen probably 30 charging sessions and now seats without a ton of resistance. I can just pop them together by hand and lock it before inserting it into the truck's charge port.

 

[Galactus55]

Nice write up.
I liked the "Hulk Smash"
........Puny charger

 

[invertedspear]

I drive off and see angry lady come back and whip into the spot again. She gives me the finger.

but.... why?

We also started watching Tesla’s park in the open spot on the other side we were charging and watched their owners not understand why the charging cable was behind the unit. Lots of frustrated people

I think we should start putting a construction cone in the truck so we can mark the spot we're stealing the cable from when doing this.

A weird thing happened after charging. I used the Tesla app to start the charger, but it didn’t seem to “go” but still charged the vehicle. I like Tesla’s app as you can see the progress and how fast the kws are being delivered. After finishing the charge, my Ford app announces I have been billed by Ford. I didn’t use the Ford app to start charging. Not sure why it defaulted to Ford.

You have the update that has allows for Tesla plug and charge, you'll likely want to disable this if you want to get the member rates at super chargers. I think you should be able to activate the Tesla charger before plugging in, but once you use up your EA credit, just disable plug and charge, it's nice, but using the app is usually fine.


Side note: I really like using apple maps. It's estimates are pretty pessimistic, so I always arrive with a couple % more than it initially estimates.

 

[Pauliep]

My wife, who is not fully convinced the Lightning was the way to go, suggested we buy one or two cones and drop them in this type of situation. I could even store them in the frunk just for this use.

 

[Zprime29]

My wife, who is not fully convinced the Lightning was the way to go, suggested we buy one or two cones and drop them in this type of situation. I could even store them in the drunk just for this use.

Someone had suggested that a while back on the forum and the idea was largely shot down. Among the reasons given that I recall is that in a crowded situation, someone may want to park there to get the spot when you are done. Also it's good education for Tesla drivers who live under a rock.

 

[Tazzy]

Tucson to Redmond, OR. Exclusive use of Tesla chargers. This was my 3rd trip in my Lariat ER between these locations using I 10 and I 5 route (not enough balls to try interior route through Vegas & Reno). This was the first of these trips with no Range/Charger anxiety.

For the most part the Tesla locations we clean, good locations ample pedestals (Terrible’s in quartzite is awesome) 84 pedestalss with several RV friendly pull through spots). The only questionable location was in Ontario, CA. A little sleazy, located behind a cheap motel, poor lighting. Would only use in daylight.

We never had to wait for an available station and every charger I plugged into work. Used the Tesla app exclusively, averaged about $ .38 per KW and averaged 165Kwh up to 80%..

The other companies really need to up their game if they are going to survive . Small footprints with unreliable equipment won’t cut it.

 

[biers]

Tucson to Redmond, OR. Exclusive use of Tesla chargers. This was my 3rd trip in my Lariat ER between these locations using I 10 and I 5 route (not enough balls to try interior route through Vegas & Reno). This was the first of these trips with no Range/Charger anxiety.

For the most part the Tesla locations we clean, good locations ample pedestals (Terrible’s in quartzite is awesome) 84 pedestalss with several RV friendly pull through spots). The only questionable location was in Ontario, CA. A little sleazy, located behind a cheap motel, poor lighting. Would only use in daylight.

We never had to wait for an available station and every charger I plugged into work. Used the Tesla app exclusively, averaged about $ .38 per KW and averaged 165Kwh up to 80%..

The other companies really need to up their game if they are going to survive . Small footprints with unreliable equipment won’t cut it.

Did Portland to Phoenix this spring. Really wanted to do the NV route but didn’t have my adapter yet. Even with it, it’s not doable in my SR without at least one over night at an RV park. Most of the SC there are Gen1 and 2.

 

[kstype]

I bought a 2023 Lightning Lariat ER the last day of March, 2024. Ordered the Tesla adapter and received notification mine would be shipped in September. I live in Phoenix, AZ. Knowing that I wanted to visit my mother soon in California, I wanted to take the Lightning out for a shakedown cruise and go from Phoenix, AZ, to Bakersfield, CA. Since I didn’t have the Tesla/Ford adapter, I ordered an @A2ZEV adapter. It arrived within about three weeks, and I was ready to go.

If you have ever driven in Arizona, you know that at some point you will lose a windshield due to rocks being thrown or projected from vehicles ahead of you. It just is a fact. Within the first 500 miles of my ownership of the Lightning, bam, a rock hit my windshield. It was just a tiny chip, and it bothered me, but what can you do? The next week the temperatures rose dramatically to over 105 degrees, and that little chip turned into a large across the windshield crack. Went to the dealership and had them replace the windshield and had them update all the software manually as I hadn’t been receiving anything OTA. Picked up the truck and found that my Apple mapping software now included the Lightning as a vehicle and the maps now showed me the nearest charging stations. I was very happy.

Since I wanted to drive to California soon, I did a quick test at a Tesla Supercharger to make sure the adapter would work. What a fiasco. The nearest and largest Supercharger to my home has 12 stalls available. Figured I would go there and try to charge. I couldn’t find a charger that was off by itself or that made charging easy, so I had to park in the middle of the Supercharger lot and use two spaces. The Supercharger was not full, but by the time I started charging, 6 cars pulled up and yes, I got the dirty looks. It was kind of funny seeing these demographically skewing older people trying to give me their best glares, but there was nothing I could do.

Plugging in the A2Z did not seem too hard and I was able to get the plug in and seated (I thought) properly. I tried to use the Ford software once I plugged in, but the software was non-responsive. Went to the Tesla software and used it to try to start charging, but it, too, was non-responsive. I figured the plug may be the problem and plugged it and unplugged it in many many times. Based on what I have read here, the plug is supposed to click into place. That didn’t happen. Finally, I took the plug and placed it on the bottom of the charging station and Hulk smashed it into place. I didn’t hear a click, but the plug was in very tight and I moved the lock into place. Plugged into the Lightning and got the white spinning lights. Used the Tesla app and I was charging. The thing worked.

I then plan my route. ABRP indicates I would probably charge three times before my destination, and Apple maps mirrors it almost exactly. My plan was to use all the Electrify America chargers I could find on the way and use Tesla as a backup. I also did the Tesla subscription for the month to get better rates charging. Started from Phoenix with 100% charge and took the 10 out of town towards California. Stopped in Quartzsite, AZ with 48% charge left and went to the EA station. What a joke. There are four charges here, 3 are 150kw and one is 350kw. Cost is .56 cents per kwh no matter what time you charge. The units were full with three cars waiting. My wife is with me and she looks at me with that “see, I told you this was a bad idea” glare in her eyes. I knew Tesla had 80+ chargers across the freeway so we move over there. The first ones we encounter are the 150kw non compatible units in a Carl’s Jr. parking lot and in a lot next to that. I kept thinking why aren’t these the Superchargers and how will I explain my stupidity to my wife? I get on the Tesla app and find there is another lot with 84 stalls towards the back of Terrible’s gas station. We go there and wow, this station is a work of beauty. Half of the stalls are covered, and they have several pull through trailer type of units. We plug in, use the Tesla app, and charge up. We go from 48% to 90% in 43 minutes adding 61kwh and pay .44 cents per kwh. We were within walking distance of Carl’s Jr. and Burger King, as well as the gas station for the bathrooms (very clean).

Hit the road (still on the 10) and stop in Cabazon, CA and try to get to the EA chargers. Same thing as before. Full, one unit is down, and three to four cars are waiting. We drive over to the Tesla Supercharger by the Morongo Travel Center and find a couple of spots open out of the twelve there. Two of the spots are for trailers, which would have been perfect for us but they were taken by non-trailering Tesla’s. I find one stall that is open and I park behind it on the other side at an angle to use it. Get the A2Z, Hulk smash it, lock it, and used the app before plugging in. Worked perfect. We go from 26% to 83% in 46 minutes, getting 79kwh added at a cost of .41 cents per kwh. Use the very clean bathrooms and am surprised to see a lot of slot machines, but then realize we are on reservation land.

Based on our maps, we take the 10 to the 210, then to the 5. Next stop is another EA in Valencia/Santa Clarita, CA. We find one off Newhall Ranch Road by a Walmart. Guess what? 5 of the 6 chargers were in use, with one not functioning. A few cars are waiting around here, so we know this will not work. Sound familiar? My wife looks at me and say “hmm, imagine if we were going cross country. EA seems to suck.” Seeing as the fees are .56 cents a kwh was a turnoff and another topic for my wife to comment about. We go across the street to the Tesla Supercharger next to a Habit Burger joint. 24 stalls, and only 6 were occupied. I find one stall by itself and start to charge on the left end of the charging area. Next to me is another Lightning (first one I saw all day). Use the A2Z, Hulk smash, use the app, and we are set. The guy next to me is using a Lectron adapter and we compare notes. Really nice guy and we both laugh that we are the only non-Tesla people charging. He says the Lectron gave him trouble similar to the A2Z at first, but repeated use has made it easier. He saw me Hulk smash the A2Z and said he laughed watching me do it. Start charging at 43% and get to 82% adding 53kwh and spending 23 minutes at a cost of .42 cents per kwh.

Take the 5 to the 99. Make it to Bakersfield, CA safely.

Next day we drive around Bakersfield all day and eventually need to fill up again. We decide to try an EA again, just because we are all about futility and laughing at ourselves. We find one (there is only one) in this moderately large (500,000 population) city on California Ave in a large parking lot that is mostly empty next to a Panera. And what happens? 4 stalls, one doesn’t work, and the other three are busy. Just as we are about to drive away, one of the cars leaves. I try to pull in but the spot is too tight. I then go around the back to the other side and start prepping to plug in. Another car whips into the empty spot and the lady driving the car pops out and asks, while I am holding the charging cable, if I am going to be using the charger? Dumbfounded, I can only nod yes and continue to plug in. She huffs off, gets back into her car, and presumably drives away to a more reliable charger somewhere else in the city. I plug in and nothing happens. I use the Ford app. Nothing. I use the EA app. Nothing. I pull the unit out and plug it back in. The ring of lights start and then stop, and then flash red. I get a charging fault message on the dash. I pull out the charger and mutter to myself as my wife watches, satisfied that her opinion EA sucks donkey doo doo is correct. I try it one last time and it works. I don’t use the app, I don’t use anything on the Ford app or dashboard, it is just weird and starts to go. 42% to 80% in 28 minutes with 54kwh gained. No charge as it is part of my free 250 kwh. I drive off and see angry lady come back and whip into the spot again. She gives me the finger.

The next day we decide to leave Bakersfield, CA and go back to Phoenix, AZ. We leave and take the 99/5 to the Tejon Outlets at the base of the Grapevine. We skip all other charging stations except Tesla (76 chargers). LOTS of empty spaces. As before, use the A2Z, Hulk smash, use the app, and we are good to go. Charge up from 47% to 83% (wife went to the bathroom), gaining 51kwh of juice in 27 minutes.

The next stop is on the 10 in Cabazon again. Same charging station. Same setup where I park behind the one charger at an angle. We start at 22% and charge to 90%, adding 96 kwh of juice in 1 hours time. We stuck around a little longer here as there are clean bathrooms (the wife, again). We also started watching Tesla’s park in the open spot on the other side we were charging and watched their owners not understand why the charging cable was behind the unit. Lots of frustrated people. Finally saw a Rivian driver as well. He had an adapter but couldn’t get it to work. He flipped off the charger.

Next stop is in Quartzite again. Same setup with Tesla. We don’t even bother with EA. Start at 35%, charge to 72%, adding 52 kwh of power in 28 minutes. Get a drink and another bathroom break and we go. A weird thing happened after charging. I used the Tesla app to start the charger, but it didn’t seem to “go” but still charged the vehicle. I like Tesla’s app as you can see the progress and how fast the kws are being delivered. After finishing the charge, my Ford app announces I have been billed by Ford. I didn’t use the Ford app to start charging. Not sure why it defaulted to Ford.

Final stop is home. This was the only time I got range anxiety as my Apple map told me we would be able to get home and have 12% left in the tank. Instead of pulling over and using an EA, we decide to risk it and try to get home. I was watching the meter like people wanted to steal it. We increased our estimate to 18% by the time we got home. Charged it at home. Starting at 16% and ending at 80%.

Overall, we were very happy with the performance of the Lightning. Comfort was also a big plus. I traded my 2019 Ram 2500 diesel for the Lightning, and except for a brief moment the day I made the deal, I haven’t regretted it since. I love this truck.

A couple of observations:

• A Tesla adapter is a necessity. I can imagine going across country and getting stuck in a relatively large town with no options for fast charging other than a Tesla. Hats off to whoever at Ford decided to make the pact with Tesla. Now if only Ford could get the adapters out faster…
• EA chargers currently suck. Trying to use EA branded chargers was a waste of time. EA really needs to get on the ball and increase support, repair broken units, and expand how many are at each location. I know many of those reading this will say EA has some good units they use regularly, but this was not our experience across two states.
• Calculating time at a charger versus speed on the road is also a necessity. I suspect we could have shaved some time off had we thought more about this as we were driving.
• Having a co-pilot (even if she was bitching some of the time) to help navigate to chargers is a good thing. Often when I plugged a destination into Apple maps or ABRP, it would use the EA stations before Tesla. I even tried to delete the EA from the preferred station list, but both would still use EA in the mapping guide. If Ford’s mapping were more reliable, I might use it.
• Tesla drivers are an interesting bunch. I had some who approached me appreciatively, and others (like Mrs. Speed Queen) give me the finger.
• I only saw two Lightning’s on the road during our trip. One at the charger, the other at a shopping center. Adoption seems slower, but sales numbers are strong according to some posts in this group. Tesla’s were everywhere, but that can be attributed to Tesla being in the game a lot longer than Ford.

I know this was lengthy, but I hope it helps others.

Thanks for posting such a detailed review of your trip - it was well written and painted a good picture.

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