Crossing an EV (and quite real) desert

[On the Road with Ralph]

I am often perplexed by posts on this forum by Lightning owners who are terrified to drive their vehicles beyond the city limits. I have a 2023 Pro SR and have made 10 trips of more than 1500 miles, charged in 11 different states, and regularly cross the wide open West where there are not a lot of DCFC stations. I should also note I am 70 years old and have learned that range is more about my bladder than the vehicle's battery.

There is one trip in particular I want to highlight; I've made it five times now as part of business travel from Southern California to Las Vegas. I long ago grew tired of using the I-15 corridor, even tho' it has many DCFC stations. Instead, I now cut through the Mojave National Preserve. What makes this route... errr... interesting is that for over 150 miles, from 29 Palms (CA) to Primm (NV) there are no services - no chargers, no gas stations, nada (the tiny cafe at Amboy doesn't count). To make it extra interesting, I have on occasion skipped the ChargePoint station in 29 Palms, adding another 25 miles to the trip distance. And before Electrify America (finally) opened its station in Primm, I made the trip all the way to Las Vegas on the starting charge.

The reward for my willingness to cheat death and the GOM? An incredibly scenic route that includes sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, a "forest" of Joshua Trees, and a historic railway terminal.

I guess the short of this posting is: The Lightning is a fabulous road-tripping machine. Take advantage of it, and trust it (with prudent planning) to take you across even challenging EV (and real) deserts.

By the way, my next EV desert trek will be to cross from Route 395 in California, through the Death Valley National Park, to Las Vegas. On that journey, the distance between DCFC chargers will be more than 170 miles. And it is Death Valley.

 

[evowner]

That looks like a fun trip, forget about running of of juice, what about the snakes?

 

[flux capacitor]

He has a DIY Lightning Taser for the snakes

 

[Joe Dablock]

You are one brave dude! I am typically pretty brave, but I have an ER so that helps a lot!

 

[K6CCC]

That's a cool drive. I think I have been on all of the roads there, but not at the same trip. I was raised appreciating the desert, and still like to spend time out there. There is beauty that most people don't realize is there.

 

[Piquette]

Nice write up and I would love to make that trip in my ‘22 Lariat ER. I don’t have range anxiety, but having had to replace 2 of the original 9 battery modules in the last year I don’t tempt fate by driving through Ford EV service department deserts. I sincerely hope your good luck holds.

 

[Joe Dablock]

This post is to Piquette. Tell me more about your 2 cell replacement experience. What was the mileage on truck at time. What told you there was something wrong, what were symptoms, was it all under warranty, how long was the truck out of commission?

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