Any Words of Wisdom for a First time Road Tripper?

[Ferroxide]

Hi Folks,
Getting ready for our first road trip. Northern Virginia to Portland Maine
2024 Flash ....any words of wisdom to pass along? We don't have our adapter(for Tesla chargers) yet.
Appreciate any advice.

Thank you

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[tearitupsports]

It should be fairly easy but plan conservative. Plan to charge every 1.5-2 hours so if something goes wrong you can get to more chargers. I rarely let the truck get below 35%. I am using Tesla however so it is way easier. Fully plan on EA chargers to be full of Ionic 5 and Chevy bolts.

 

[Scorpio3d]

Many people on This forum, swear by the ABRP app! I used Ford navigation for my first long-distance trip and it worked fine for me(This was before I knew of the other planning apps). I have not gone on another road trip yet so I have not tried it myself.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Plugshare to verify the status of stations you plan to use, check them one step ahead of where you're at to have the most current operational status.

Enjoy the trip

 

[RocketGhost]

Never rely on a planned charging stop. Always have an alternate station in mind and enough battery to get there. Stations are often unavailable.

 

[Dan C]

I do not push my range, you may get a headwind that will affect it. Charge more than you need and a mentioned have options for charging. If you can beg borrow or steal a tesla adapter it will make your trip easier. Also download every charging alp you can to your phone (bring your passwords) . Relax

 

[Danface]

All of the above, look for clusters of chargers so you have options.

Luckily there's a fair amount of charging capacity along RT 95.

Portland is awesome, some recommendations: High Roller for lobster, Salvage for BBQ, Empire for Chinese, Quero Cafe for Mexican/Peurvian, Veranda for Thai. Ovetall, its hard to find a bad meal!

Also, enjoy (bring a towel! )

 

[Tradewind]

Know that if something seems off at a charger, it probably is and you should move to another one.

I took my 2023 XLT ER to Long Island from Atlanta as my first SUPER long trip this past July. The drive was 31% longer on the way up than in my previous ICE F-150 and 26% longer on the way back. Range anxiety will get you one way or another. On the way back I pushed the battery as low as 8%. When I got to an Electrify America charger it was only charging at 35/36kW. I thought this was a safety measure. I waited it out for about 45 minutes (so there added about an hour more to my trip time) until I discovered that when an EA charger is pushing out only~35kW that means there's a fault in the charge cable cooling system and you just need to move to another unit.

 

[Amps]

We don't have our adapter(for Tesla chargers) yet.
Appreciate any advice.

Don't forget Tesla Magic Dock Superchargers that are along the way that have built-in CCS adapters. The key tab for finding them on the Tesla Supercharger finder web site is "Superchargers Open To Other EVs"

https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&bounds=46.070169092835066,-65.17037215824087,38.06624279034532,-79.88655868167837&zoom=8&filters=party

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

Don't forget Tesla Magic Dock Superchargers that are along the way that have built-in CCS adapters. The key tab for finding them on the Tesla Supercharger finder web site is "Superchargers Open To Other EVs"

https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&bounds=46.070169092835066,-65.17037215824087,38.06624279034532,-79.88655868167837&zoom=8&filters=party

This is a huge piece of advice. You might want to swing by the SC in Lynfield MA. It's the SC with Magic Docks closest to Maine. In Maine, take a day trip up to Camden and stop in Rockland where there is a SC with Magic Docks there. It's the only SC w/ MD in all of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont! I find both Lynfield and Rockland to be always empty.

In the Portland area there is a 4 unit EA at the Walmart in Scarborough. I usually can find an available charger there. Most of the people who use them stay for a short time (while they shop in Walmart.)

 

[TaxmanHog]

Don't forget Tesla Magic Dock Superchargers that are along the way that have built-in CCS adapters.

Several in Mass, but only Rockland Me has a Magic Dock, unless more undocumented updates have happened.

Make sure to configure the Tesla App with your Ford BEV profile with-out a NACS adapter if you don't have one, this will cause the filter to show only Magic Dock stations.

 

[Nikos]

Hi Folks,
Getting ready for our first road trip. Northern Virginia to Portland Maine
2024 Flash ....any words of wisdom to pass along? We don't have our adapter(for Tesla chargers) yet.
Appreciate any advice.

Thank you

Hello Dale.
You will enjoy the ride to Maine.
The charging experience is another matter. You will have more choices driving thru New England for charging but a lot more EVs using the charging stations along your route.
Make sure you have a good flight,(road trip) plan. I said flight plan because as you read other forum folks answers, you have to have alternate plans for every stop you plan to make. Pilots do that also.
Be patient, stay cool, I hope range anxiety doesn’t get you and have your family supporting you.
I have taken many trips with my Lightning. I am on a trip now with my truck. EA is only my back up choice.
I have acquired the A2Z Typhoon adaptor, because I am still waiting for my adaptors from Ford.
You may want to look into it, A2Z, because I am afraid we may have to wait quite a bit longer for the adaptors.
Tesla superchargers are my first stopping points on any trips that I am planning. EA is my back up.
Good luck and have a good time.

 

[Joe Dablock]

On my recent trip from York Pa to Providence Town Ma, I opened Plug share on my laptop, used it’s filter to Select only class 3 chargers of specific providers, and then printed out the entire route. I had Tesla chargers on a separate print. It gave me the capability to just glance at the printout and make alternative decisions on the fly. I also made mileage notes and other comments on the printout, before we left. It’s all about limiting the on the fly stress!

I’m amazed at how much more busy the chargers are now compared to 2 years ago.

 

[invertedspear]

I am a software developer, so naturally I don't trust software I didn't develop, and I don't trust Ford's software even more. What I do trust is that Plugshare is the bast app to find compatible chargers with. I don't really plan road trips anymore, and I don't have nearly the level of charging available in the SouthWest that y'all do. I just find the next charger on my trip, see how far it is, and add enough juice to get there as if I'm only getting 1.5 mi/kWh, and a bit of buffer. I've had to deal with a fair share of slow chargers, but I don't stress. We go, and we get there when we get there. If expediency is important, I'd rent a gas car for the trip.

 

[Maximum Effort]

Hi Folks,
Getting ready for our first road trip. Northern Virginia to Portland Maine
2024 Flash ....any words of wisdom to pass along? We don't have our adapter(for Tesla chargers) yet.
Appreciate any advice.

Thank you

We have taken several road trips over the last two years in our ER lightning and have had few issues. I drove our 2022 220 miles yesterday towing 5,000 pounds and drove our 2024 flash towing 4,000+ pounds back today through the Adirondack mountains. I used fords navigation both times and was pleased with the experience. I like Apple Maps when I am not towing. The ford app sent me to 2 tesla supercharger stations. Interestingly teslas app said those two stations did not support my vehicle. However they both had the magic dock. Ironically there were electrify America chargers at the location that were set up for towing so I used those. My suggestion is use fords navigation as it predicted the range within 1 mile and also seemed to prep the battery as the truck charged faster than it has any time. But also have backups. We use Chargeway, Apple Maps and ABRP (when towing).

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