Recent content by On the Road with Ralph

I simply will never understand people who are reluctant to take their Lightnings on road trips. They are roomy, comfortable, quiet, and well mannered on-and-off the highway. I’ve done 16 road trips of 1500+ miles each, and enjoyed every one of them. My bladder decides when to stop, not the...

Thanks for the optimism.

In light of this week's announcements on the Lightning, the prospect that the battery's longevity will be solid is good news for those of us who intend to hang onto our trucks. I'm 71, love my Lightning, and now expect that it will be the last vehicle I'll ever buy. Side note: I have 62K miles...

A hard NO from me on an EREV. A meaningful generator will replace the frunk, which is a HUGE part of my love for the Lightning. I’m 71 years old, have owned some great cars (five BMWs in a row), and my Lightning is the lifetime favorite. I guess I’ll just drive it until I die.

No frunk, no sale.

For years I was involved in the nascent Chinese EV industry (15 trips to China); I’ve stood on the floors of many its car factories and sat in countless meetings with vehicle engineers. Your assessment is generally accurate and thoughtful. The chief issue with Chinese EVs entering the US market...

My experience is very similar - 16 road trips of 1500+ miles, much of it through charging (and real) deserts. I have NO interest in returning to gas - I love my Lightning. I had a Maverick hybrid on order, but was already driving the Lightning when it arrived, so I turned it down. If Ford built...

Wow... I need to give this some thought.

I just love how you take a very specific instance of a few hundred mile journey and use it to justify your position on EV travel, and then claim I'm over-generalizing based on 16 road trips of more than 1500 miles each; I've DCFC charged in 18 different states from Florida to California in 2025...

Here is a quick list of just Tesla charging stations at Florida rest stops: Canoe Creek/Turnpike Port St. Lucie/Turnpike Turkey Lake/Turnpike Fort Drum/Turnpike Okahumpka/Turnpike Ochopee/Alligator Alley Additionally, FP&L has DCFC chargers (mostly ChargePoint) at: West Palm Beach/Turnpike...

I know from personal experience that California, Kansas, Florida, and New Jersey all have DCFC chargers at state operated highway rest stops (not all, but some). That said, a huge percentage of DCFC chargers are adjacent to interstate highways, colocated with travel centers and fast food. They...

As I noted in another comment, there is a burger place next door which appears to be readied for operation. I suspect that Ionna was counting on this when they chose this location. It is worth noting this EV station opened VERY recently. I'll also note that later in my trip I stopped at an...

I had a similar exchange recently with somebody who posted a PlugShare map as "proof" that a specific geography lacked chargers and could not be navigated by EVs. <sigh> But when I post here, I am recounting my personal real-world experience that includes 16 EV road trips of 1500+ miles each...

As you say, this data is a year old and there has been a flood of new sites since then, including entirely new players like Ionna, and Rivian that has opened some of its sites to other brands. Also, Tesla has continued to add locations and move to the V4 dispensers with their longer cords and...

I recently completed a 2000+ mile journey from NW Arkansas to Southern California via Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. As my thread title suggests, these trips are pretty routine for me, but I thought I'd share a few parts of the experience. First, with the exception of a day spent...