Just took a 450 intersate road trip in a standard range lightning. Never again

[Smokewagun]

Just curious why “the SR makes it a challenge” (as in, having an ER with another 26kWh really makes a huge difference??). SR requires one (worst case two) more charging stop than ER in 450mi. Challenge? Not in my SR experience- just avoid chargers that don’t output 500A. Stick with EA 350kW (500A), avoid the 150kW (only 350A), and don’t even consider anything under 150kW, on a long road trip. Avoid routes that require 50kW charging-they’re not suitable for EV road tripping, imho.

You make charging station selections sound like walking down the aisles at Walmart and selecting crushed pineapple from a myriad of choices. In the Midwest, unless you are in a big city, good luck. And, if the trucks charger dictates the max rate, on a SR, is the 350kW gaining you anything over the 150kW? Not much, if any. They both drop down to below 150 in a relatively quick manner.

 

[Nikola 369]

Same Lightning SR, I agree with your points. However I’ve just learned to take things slower in general. I’m tired of being in a hurry all of the time. Weather (precip), wind, temperature, elevation, etc. can all affect your performance and range. I could easily do 185-200 miles of interstate in my SR depending on wind during warmer/fair days.

You are correct, 100%. Taking things slower is a gift all the way around. Americans have become used to driving around 100 miles in close to one hour! It’s really crazy. The SR lightnings have a lower HP rating than the ER’s. From my Motörhead days, torque drives launch from line and HP drives top end….Speed. My theory is the lower HP rating of SR’s make the problem of speed more exasperated. I set the cruise @65 and enjoy the ride and scenery. I usually get 2.2 to 2.7 like this, depending on conditions. Driving @ or above 70 mostly give below 1.9 and have even seen 1.3 in windy and cold conditions.

 

[Kit2874]

This truck should come with a disclaimer
*not meant for interstate use.

Driving at normal interstate speeds, going from 80% SOC to 20 % SOC took all of ~115 miles.
Stated average of 1.7 kWh, pencil came to about 1.55

Love it around town, average between 2.7 and 2.9. but this interstate travel is bananas. Contemplated driving 65 but would have still had to make 3 stops to charge, so went around 75mph.
Stopping every 2 hours for another 30-40 minutes is a big ask, added about 50% more time to the trip 6 hours vs 9 hours. Had to charge to 90% on the final charge- didn’t want to arrive dead.

Anyway, I suspected it would be a challenge, but didn’t expect it to be like this.

I may have opted for the extended range had Intaken a trip before purchase.
Again, love the truck and it fits my needs, was just a bit shocked how 240 mile range is actually about 115 miles when keeping it between 80% and 20% interstate driving.

On the plus side, had great luck with Electrify America charging stations.

I see this thread is a little bit older but I have found, That just like a gas car, if you can get ones foot out of the pedal, you can get better gas mileage/ KhW


On my three to six hunderd mile trips, in my xlt SR I find After 60 miles per hour, you lose one tenth to two tenth of a mile on KhW every 5mph faster you go

So the OP would have slowed down to say 65. You would add roughly 50 minutes to an hour on the trip.
aand could have easily got rid of one of the charges if not 2

A...It would have saved you money....B would literally be about the same amount of time getting there Just as going 75 with four charges.

I'm an over-the-road truck driver. I drive for a living. And in what my 20 years of driving a big semi has taught me when I set the cruise control to 65

1. I am less stressed.
2. Saves me a ton on money.
3. I enjoy the ride.

 

[PreservedSwine]

I see this thread is a little bit older but I have found, That just like a gas car, if you can get ones foot out of the pedal, you can get better gas mileage/ KhW


On my three to six hunderd mile trips, in my xlt SR I find After 60 miles per hour, you lose one tenth to two tenth of a mile on KhW every 5mph faster you go

So the OP would have slowed down to say 65. You would add roughly 50 minutes to an hour on the trip.
aand could have easily got rid of one of the charges if not 2

A...It would have saved you money....B would literally be about the same amount of time getting there Just as going 75 with four charges.

I'm an over-the-road truck driver. I drive for a living. And in what my 20 years of driving a big semi has taught me when I set the cruise control to 65

1. I am less stressed.
2. Saves me a ton on money.
3. I enjoy the ride.

I’m very happy that the spacing of chargers on your road trip work very well for you.
However, the math did not work out for me. That’s something you should have considered before this otherwise well thought out reply.
As an engineer, if anything, the charging stops may have been over thought.
However, as it was my first time road tripping the Ligjting, charging at stations that I had never been, I was conservative in my estimates, and charging at less than 20% was not on the table.
Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight I could have rolled into a station with 10% of charge remaining to squeeze out one charging stop, and knock an hour off the trip.
I do appreciate your input, and am very glad you are able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to turn every trip into an experience. Sometimes, you just need to get from A to B. The way chargers were spaced, for a first road trip, this was the most efficient drive within the 80% to 20% parameters (starting at 100% of course) I could find. Chargers aren’t always spaced for our convenience.
Had I taken my Jag, which gets roughly 450 miles a tank, the trip would have only taken 5 hours. In the lighting, it took all of 9. This wasn’t an “enjoy the ride trip”, as I had to turn and burn the next day. I don’t enjoy driving on road trips when there’s a limited amount of time to spend with family. I apologize if this is offensive, but I just don’t. I don’t enjoy cruises or Disney World either.

 

[Kit2874]

I’m very happy that the spacing of chargers on your road trip work very well for you.
However, the math did not work out for me. That’s something you should have considered before this otherwise well thought out reply.
As an engineer, if anything, the charging stops may have been over thought.
However, as it was my first time road tripping the Ligjting, charging at stations that I had never been, I was conservative in my estimates, and charging at less than 20% was not on the table.
Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight I could have rolled into a station with 10% of charge remaining to squeeze out one charging stop, and knock an hour off the trip.
I do appreciate your input, and am very glad you are able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to turn every trip into an experience. Sometimes, you just need to get from A to B. The way chargers were spaced, for a first road trip, this was the most efficient drive within the 80% to 20% parameters (starting at 100% of course) I could find. Chargers aren’t always spaced for our convenience.
Had I taken my Jag, which gets roughly 450 miles a tank, the trip would have only taken 5 hours. In the lighting, it took all of 9. This wasn’t an “enjoy the ride trip”, as I had to turn and burn the next day. I don’t enjoy driving on road trips when there’s a limited amount of time to spend with family. I apologize if this is offensive, but I just don’t. I don’t enjoy cruises or Disney World either.

Spacing on the Chargers don't mean Jack. Because you wouldn't have been as low on your state of charge. So it wouldn't take you as long to charge up.

But you do you. Take your jag. I don't mean to offend.

 

[PreservedSwine]

Spacing on the Chargers don't mean Jack. Because you wouldn't have been as low on your state of charge. So it wouldn't take you as long to charge up.

But you do you. Take your jag. I don't mean to offend.

Not at all. And I do.
I’m glad we at least have common ground. Your suggestion of driving at 60 or less is one of the points of the thread, and why “interstate” is in the thread title, and sparsed throughout the thread. I love the truck, but (as stated several times) it’s a flat out hog on the interstate.

 

[Kit2874]

Not at all. And I do.
I’m glad we at least have common ground. Your suggestion of driving at 60 or less is one of the points of the thread, and why “interstate” is in the thread title, and sparsed throughout the thread. I love the truck, but (as stated several times) it’s a flat out hog on the interstate.

Hmm, I never suggested driving 60 or less, but you have a nice day.

 

[PreservedSwine]

Hmm, I never suggested driving 60 or less, but you have a nice day.

My bad. You said 65

For the record-I would challenge your assertion about spacing of interstate chargers doesn’t matter, but it seems we’re getting off on the wrong foot

I will have a nice day, and “keep doing me.”

Thanks for bringing up my old thread, my son and I still joke about this trip from time to time.

 

[JRT]

It's more then spacing, it's availability. I did a similar trip for Christmas in my XLT ER from Northen AL to Easg coast FL. Rolling into Bolt clogged EA stations in Wal-Marts in Atlanta with family was the first eye opening experience. You want to drive then charge then drive, not drive, wait an hour, then charge.

The fans of EV and SR have their use case and it works. I've found reality in the SE isn't the same and can feel the pain even with a ER.

 

[BBB]

I've discovered that is some cases driving slower gets you there faster. Let me explain. By taking the back roads, which is sometimes a shorter route, and driving slower, you get more range on a charge. In doing this you can often eliminate one charging stop, which significantly reduces the overall travel time. It also is a much more relaxing drive, as you are not fighting traffic. An example of this is taking HWY 175 in Wisconsin VS I-41 from Fond du Lac to Milwaukee. Hwy 175 is the old Hwy 41 and parallels I-41 for the entire distance.

Driving slower not only saves energy but saves animals from being killed and lets not forget humans. Time saved by driving fast is non existent unless you are on an interstate and drive 80 non stop on a 450 mile trip. In a gasser savings is never more then minutes. I drive the same 450 mile trip all the time from one home to my other non stop always in cc at various speeds longest time is at 55mpg is 8 hours at 70 its 7 hours. 5mph speed change really saves you nothing so whats the point? You may as well drive slower and relax and reap the benefits of lives saved, energy and lots of money. In my Cmax energy I use about 8 gallons in my F250 I use 25 gallons! Cmax, $34.00 F-250 $115. So round trip $68, F250 $230 big savings using the hybrid. Super chargers are nice but are very expensive per kwh.

 

[21st Century Truck]

EV charging, whether at 120V, 240V or at a direct current "fast" charging station, isn't the same as pouring gasoline into a container at a gas station.

EVs are different vehicles and their uses and their technology demand different refueling strategies.

it's often a matter of habituation and not a matter of "making the new work just like the old" that we might be conditioned to.

Before 11 September 2001 we were very used to rushing up to the airport drop-off doors sometimes within 10 minutes of the flight locking the doors, and rushing through the departure spaces. All of a sudden, and because of a multi-point tragedy on that day, we haven't done this in 23 years... all over the world. And still, the sun keeps rising in the East every morning... the point being the world hasn't really changed, but we have, by adapting our expectations.

Another way to look at this: electricity is in practically every habitable building. Instead of expecting "gas station-like" experiences, we now have a different technology which gives us freedom from the gas can. I speak of this as someone who has run out of gas and trudged along with a gas can, sometimes one I had to buy then and there, once or twice or more times in my misspent youth, driving clunker cars, motorcycles and even a new car here and there.

This has happened on my motorcycle adventures more times than I care to remember haha. I'm very glad to not have to lug a smelly full gas can down the road ever again as it bounces off my legs on a hot Summer day.

In the past 2 years 5 months I accumulated more than 76,000 miles EDIT: actually, over 81,000 miles on purely electric vehicles - at 1st in my Mach E and now in the Lightning. I towed a small teardrop camper from western Colorado to Maine, last January during the deep freeze. We crossed the USA coast to coast, not in a straight line, in Summer 2023. We never ever ran "dry" although I have refueled in a farmer's field from his 14-50 guest worker trailer receptacle, from a welder's receptacle, from an HVAC 240V receptacle, from many state and county park RV pads and occasionally from military base RV pads, and from many many DC Fast charging stations (when they worked). And our family and our dog enjoy these trips, a lot.

I have retrained myself to live with these wonderful American vehicles in the fashion their tech demands, and (as I frankly expected) the sun does keep rising in the East every single morning even though I now plan a 30 - 40 minute stop to eat or to walk the dog around, which she really welcomes, while the vehicle fills...

Moreover, as a former GI I have the personal satisfaction that my choices are helping to keep America and by extension our newest generation of GIs a bit less entangled in sustaining the economies of Middle Eastern and other autocratic governments out there by lessening the need for laden oil tankers to come toward our shores with their oil in a never-ending stream.

Comments welcome. Let's remember that our highway world will look very different in several years as this technology and other follow-on technologies displace gasoline, in part and eventually in the whole. How many of us remember when our houses were coal-heated and the basement had a special very dusty coal room that a coal truck filled every 2 weeks through an outside coal chute with a whole lot of coal dust in the air? I do (not in this country but still... I do remember because it wasn't so long ago).

 

[hturnerfamily]

the fact that we can't 'speedily' fast charge to 100% also puts a damper on long-range travel, since you will likely not have the patience to 'sit' for so long... leaving at 80% means that you have even LESS miles before you need to charge again...

as for how 'low' you feel comfortable going, your truck will not care whether you have 20% left in the battery, or 2%... but YOU will. Most of us don't like having that RISK in front of us... so, if you consider that the difference between 20% at arrival, and 80% at departure, each stop at a fast charger gets you 60% for travel, or about 145 miles, or maybe, if towing, 70 miles.
If we were always guaranteed to have reliable SPEEDY fast charging every 50 miles, along ANY direction we wish to travel, yes, we'd have few issues.
But, the reality is that DC Fast Chargers don't just get put at a certain number of 'miles' from the next - they get put where they CAN get put - sometimes there's just no option, especially in rural areas, to stick DC Fast Chargers in the middle of 'nowhere'... oh well.

 

[21st Century Truck]

the fact that we can't 'speedily' fast charge to 100% also puts a damper on long-range travel, since you will likely not have the patience to 'sit' for so long... leaving at 80% means that you have even LESS miles before you need to charge again...

as for how 'low' you feel comfortable going, your truck will not care whether you have 20% left in the battery, or 2%... but YOU will. Most of us don't like having that RISK in front of us... so, if you consider that the difference between 20% at arrival, and 80% at departure, each stop at a fast charger gets you 60% for travel, or about 145 miles, or maybe, if towing, 70 miles.
If we were always guaranteed to have reliable SPEEDY fast charging every 50 miles, along ANY direction we wish to travel, yes, we'd have few issues.
But, the reality is that DC Fast Chargers don't just get put at a certain number of 'miles' from the next - they get put where they CAN get put - sometimes there's just no option, especially in rural areas, to stick DC Fast Chargers in the middle of 'nowhere'... oh well.

Agree fully. Local zoning boards and state-run electricity regulators (and as always, private real estate interests involved in both) are the real entities who need to adapt here.

 

[davehu]

I don't plan on taking many trips outside of my county. But after taking a couple the realism is this: Range estimates have to take into account 3 factors:
Driving speed
Charging speed (of DCFC's)
Temperature and/or towing

The 98kw SR battery has estimate range of 230 miles. But 220 miles is estimated getting 2.4kw/mile. Driving freeway speeds (70-75) kw/mile is more like 1.9. (my own experience) Now your range is 186 miles.

Not one of the 3 factors but important: A fudge (safety) factor. Saving 10% battery in case of faulty estimates. now your range is 168 miles.

However, while you can leave home with 100% charge, you find that DC's charge speed slows to a crawl once you get to 80%, making a full charge not practical. At 80% charge your estimate range is now 130 miles.

All of that is IF the temp and wind are in your favor. If it's below freezing you lose another 20%-30% depending on how cold it gets. Now your real winter range is down to 91- 104 miles. (Summer range would be similar if towing a trailer/boat.)

Anyone planning on taking long trips must understand all this before taking a road trip.

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