Road trip decision point EV or ICE (MN->WY)

[Apol42]

Apologies if this should be in General instead of Trip report.

We have been planning a family road trip to Yellowstone this June. We take the truck on road trips frequently so we have some level of confidence in the planning and possibilities. Minneapolis to Indianapolis being the furthest we have gone, but heading west looks like a different charging scene.

Route planners make it seem possible to take the Truck (Lariat ER) however there are a few stretches for that give me pause as are no backup charging options. With low margins for error I hope to get insight from people more familiar with the area. (WY)

1. Custer, SD -> Casper, WY - Fairly confident in this stretch. The direct route through Newcastle and Wright has me arriving at 14%. A second route adds an hour of travel but I could charge in Gillette. With Tesla and EA in town, easy charging after arrival.
2. Casper, WY -> Cody, WY - This is an interesting one, ABRP states I can arrive at 17% if I can manage to get to 100%, more likely I leave at 90 and arrive with 7%. The only reasonable charge is at the halfway point in Thermopolis at an RV park with the mobile charger. I would have to gauge if the stop is needed well before we get to Cody. Newer charger in Riverton provides a mid point DC charger if it appears needed. Several good charger choices for destination charging.
3. West Yellowstone -> Billings (via bear tooth pass) - I cannot get anything to route me this way to evaluate if I can make this since it is currently closed. If it opens we would like to go this way but are blind as to if we could even make it as there is little no no charging until after the pass.

Any insight is welcome!

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[OtterJohn]

My wife and I visit Yellowstone from Oregon at least once a year, have for the last 20 years. Historically, that's 99% of the time by driving; we've flown out there once, and for our 2024 trip in a couple weeks we'll be flying again instead of taking the Lightning. It's not that I don't trust the truck, far from it. It's the charging infrastructure once we're there.

I can get us there no sweat; between Tesla and EA, it's easy-peasy. Same with the return trip. But in West Yellowstone (where we stay) there's absolutely no DCFC service for non-Teslas. There's a V2 Supercharger, four Tesla Destination Chargers, and two J1772s (ironically, the latter six are all at the same two hotels).

There is a DCFC in Island Park, ID, which is a 30 minute drive from West Yellowstone. But I don't relish doing a 30 minute drive each day after spending 10-14 hours in the park (our usual habit...we do a lot of back country hiking).

I'm hoping that in another r5-10 years that V2 will be replaced with a V4 (that's probably a pipe-dream, I know) or ChargePoint or EA will realize this is an untapped gold mine and put in a large charging station. Until then, just not feasible (for us).

 

[Apol42]

...There's a V2 Supercharger, four Tesla Destination Chargers, and two J1772s (ironically, the latter six are all at the same two hotels)....

West Yellowstone is indeed our target for daily entry. With the in and out routes taking ~25% battery it seems like I should be able to recover that on the L2 at the hotels. Congestion at those chargers would pose a problem of course.

...or ChargePoint or EA will realize this is an untapped gold mine and put in a large charging station...

I agree, that location seems like it would make a lot of sense for DC, I wonder if there is some unseen reason stopping them from going in.

 

[OtterJohn]

West Yellowstone is indeed our target for daily entry. With the in and out routes taking ~25% battery it seems like I should be able to recover that on the L2 at the hotels. Congestion at those chargers would pose a problem of course.

I agree, that location seems like it would make a lot of sense for DC, I wonder if there is some unseen reason stopping them from going in.

According to PlugShare, they don't seem to get a lot of traffic. You'd probably be ok, especially if you keep the Island Park DCFC as a backup. There are a whopping three L2 chargers in the park itself.

I don't expect the NPS to hurry to put in DCFCs, or even more L2s; honestly, I like Yellowstone the way it is. That being said, putting a DCFC in West Yellowstone and/or Gardiner would be right up Rivian's alley. I'll bet that it's just a matter of time. They have decent fiber internet access now in WY, so I think improved EV infrastructure is only a matter of time.

 

[luebri]

Assuming relatively similar vehicles in regards to size and comfort.... My opinion if you place high value in your time and/or your families time and sanity. Road trip in the ICE.

In the current world we live, ICE is better for long distance road tripping if you have limitations to your time and you or your family have patience issues.

We took my wife's ICE to Alabama over spring break, and though I missed my truck it was 100% the correct decision.

 

[RickLightning]

1) No issue at all. Leave with 100%, and when you're at 50% evaluate if you need to slow down.

2) Also non-issue. Do what ABRP says, and drive max of 65mph and you will be fine. At 50% you can evaluate if you can speed up.

3) Yes, challenging. I compute it as maybe 200 miles tops to the West Laurel Supercharger. The challenge is the efficiency. If you leave with 100%, and assume 125kWh of usable battery, that's an efficiency of 1.6. On the tight twisty roads, you'll be going very slow, and should beat that efficiency. You can always slow down once you hit Red Lodge. Red Lodge has public Tesla Destination chargers if needed, that are free. 16kW, charge enough to get to the Supercharger, IF it became an issue.

 

[RickLightning]

I don't expect the NPS to hurry to put in DCFCs, or even more L2s; honestly, I like Yellowstone the way it is. That being said, putting a DCFC in West Yellowstone and/or Gardiner would be right up Rivian's alley. I'll bet that it's just a matter of time. They have decent fiber internet access now in WY, so I think improved EV infrastructure is only a matter of time.

An EA charging station was added at the Grand Canyon last year. There will be DCFC soon at most big national parks.

 

[Apol42]

1) No issue at all. Leave with 100%, and when you're at 50% evaluate if you need to slow down.

2) Also non-issue. Do what ABRP says, and drive max of 65mph and you will be fine. At 50% you can evaluate if you can speed up.

3) Yes, challenging. I compute it as maybe 200 miles tops to the West Laurel Supercharger. The challenge is the efficiency. If you leave with 100%, and assume 125kWh of usable battery, that's an efficiency of 1.6. On the tight twisty roads, you'll be going very slow, and should beat that efficiency. You can always slow down once you hit Red Lodge. Red Lodge has public Tesla Destination chargers if needed, that are free. 16kW, charge enough to get to the Supercharger, IF it became an issue.

I appreciate the breakdown for #3, the elevation changes are new to me. I am used to driving relatively flat routes.

 

[JRT]

I'd ICE it, the trip should be about the destination not the drama of EV charging.

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