Denver, CO to Raleigh, NC Trip Tips?

[swesson]

My wife and I are about to embark upon a long road trip from Colorado to North Carolina, about 1,800 miles. Most of it will be going east along I-70. The longest trip I've made previously was from Denver to far Eastern Texas, which was about half this distance.

Has anyone on the forum made this trip? Any tips or cautions? It looks like it is Electrify America the whole way, but I have scouted out some backups if necessary. Anything you would suggest I pack as a precaution?

Thanks for any input!

Sponsored

 

[vandy1981]

Check out the out of spec motoring channel on YouTube. They have several videos of road trips for this route using Electrictrify America.

 

[newF150]

I'm sure since you did a long road trip already but have Plugshare app to check on a status of a station before you get there.

 

[RickLightning]

Plan your route in ABRP. Save the route to spreadsheet, like Google Sheets, then add in links for each stop on PlugShare, so you can easily access them while driving (passenger) and check current status.

Note that EA is updating their network, so a location can suddenly go down for days without any notice. Be prepared to change your plans/route as needed.

Follow EA's Twitter account for updates.

 

[adoublee]

My wife and I are about to embark upon a long road trip from Colorado to North Carolina, about 1,800 miles. Most of it will be going east along I-70. The longest trip I've made previously was from Denver to far Eastern Texas, which was about half this distance.

Has anyone on the forum made this trip? Any tips or cautions? It looks like it is Electrify America the whole way, but I have scouted out some backups if necessary. Anything you would suggest I pack as a precaution?

Thanks for any input!

My biggest tip would be: Once you have done the homework that others have mentioned - drive the speed needed to make it to the next charging location you have some confidence you will be able to charge at. Your range at 65mph is much greater than at 80mph, so slow down strategically if you can handle it. Know what mi/kWh you need to achieve to get to the next stop based on distance and percentage SOCx131kWh pack size. Then, strategically reset your mi/kWh registers (there are 3) to know your leg efficiency and maybe get an estimate of your real-time conditions efficiency. Just make sure your efficiency is equal to or higher than what is needed to get to you next charging location - IGNORE the vehicle's range guess because you can be smarter than it as you have a better sense of future conditions than it does.

 

[flyin525]

Hi there - I bought my truck out of state and drove it 1200 mi from illinois to my home in Raleigh (of all places) so I had to learn quick. I trust Electrify America - they always have 4 or more stations at each location. Never trust a charger that there is only 1 of. My first mistake was hanging my hopes and dreams on making it to a EVconnect fast charger and there being only 1 fast charger within 50 mi. of course it was broken but they did have a L2 charger that I had to sit at for almost 2 hours just to get to the EA station in Terre Haute, IN.

 

[greenne]

My wife and I are about to embark upon a long road trip from Colorado to North Carolina, about 1,800 miles. Most of it will be going east along I-70. The longest trip I've made previously was from Denver to far Eastern Texas, which was about half this distance.

Has anyone on the forum made this trip? Any tips or cautions? It looks like it is Electrify America the whole way, but I have scouted out some backups if necessary. Anything you would suggest I pack as a precaution?

Thanks for any input!

I've made this trip many times in the past. Headed East, once you get to Mt Vernon IL you'll have to decide whether to take i64 across to Charleston and then South OR take the route south(i57 to i24) thru Paducah KY to Nashville then i40 over to Knoxville TN.

From a scenery standpoint, I prefer WV but their charging infrastructure sucks. I would recommend the southern route through TN. Still not great, but WV is a charger desert.

Confirm on plugshare/ABRP but I think your options are better i24-i40 than they will be on i64.

EA will be your friend on this route...

Sponsored