Road trip from Fayetteville NC to Dallas TX and back

[Zapitgood]

My family and I drove to spend Christmas and New Year in Dallas. We drove the lightning and want to share feedback about the charging to and from Dallas and back to Fayetteville, NC. The trip was approximately 2200 miles round trip. The Highways that were used were I-95 and mainly I-20. My goal for the trip was to test the charging stations' availability of multiple vendors along the Interstate. I used Electrify America, and they worked every time somewhat pricy. Tesla Worked very well but had derating issues in Bessmer, Alabama. It would start out charging well, but after a few minutes, it derated. I moved three times and had the same result; ultimately, it was no big deal other than that Tesla chargers worked as expected. They had the most reasonable prices with membership. I also used the EvGo Pilot Center charging. I used plug and charge, and it worked well. They charged at reasonable speeds but were the most expensive. I only used these on the way to Dallas. I used the trusty ChargePoint destination chargers at my destination and 60kw in Boligee, Alabama. I think a Loves/Tesla is coming to the area per Plug share, which is needed in that stretch of I-20. I used one Circle K charger, which worked as it should, with no issues. My charging experience was excellent overall compared to driving this route during the summer of 2023. My goal was to use the battery from 80% to 20%; even though there are adequate chargers along the interstate, there are not enough stations to maximize that battery range consistently; once again, this was not a concern during the trip. The lowest temperature was 30 degrees, and the highest was 64 degrees, so the impact of temperature had some effect but was not significant, in my opinion. Battery preconditioning helps with charging and range; do it when you can. My goal was to drive 500-600 miles daily, which was easy to attain. I could have gone farther, but I was not driving and charging efficiently, which was not the focus. I wanted to charge with minimal effort. Looking for and hoping to make it to a charger wasn't an issue. I usually don't drive for efficiency or Mi/KWH, and I drive "with" traffic unless I need the range to make it to the next charge. I changed my charging strategy to start to charge from around 30% to 80%. I drove with traffic, which I prefer to do. If I had run out of electrons, I would not have heard the end of it, eh eh! I kept a buffer to drive faster, and it worked out. I still got decent charging speeds and could drive for about two hours, or about 100-145 miles. I was good with that. There was no fatigue driving the lightning; it was an easy, pleasant drive. My only frustration was that the public charging app could not be accessed while driving or that public stations were not displayed in the navigation app (that would be great and the best option, I think). The charging prices were high overall, but charge options were available, which was more important during this trip. I was expecting it to be colder, so I had more range than expected at times. Louisiana was a challenge to find charging in 2023; this time around, not at all. Other than that, I was able to go and charge. I have a Tesla adapter, which I used on the trip. I attached a spreadsheet of data I thought was important to share.
2022 Lariat extended range.

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[astrand1]

Nice write up. I’ve driven from Los Angeles back home to Michigan. And will be going back out to La La land in a couple weeks. I also just finished a 2k road trip to St. Louis for work. I’ve consistently found that with the Tesla membership they always seem to be the cheapest cost wise. I paid for the premium yearly for ABRP and have a Bluetooth adapter so that ABRP can use actual data from truck and used their routing and charge planning on this last St. Louis trip and was quite pleased with how it worked. Was pretty accurate within about 4-5% with arriving SoC. I like ABRP as it seems to choose SC for the most part unless one is not available.

 

[Zapitgood]

Nice write up. I’ve driven from Los Angeles back home to Michigan. And will be going back out to La La land in a couple weeks. I also just finished a 2k road trip to St. Louis for work. I’ve consistently found that with the Tesla membership they always seem to be the cheapest cost wise. I paid for the premium yearly for ABRP and have a Bluetooth adapter so that ABRP can use actual data from truck and used their routing and charge planning on this last St. Louis trip and was quite pleased with how it worked. Was pretty accurate within about 4-5% with arriving SoC. I like ABRP as it seems to choose SC for the most part unless one is not available.

I have permit ABRP and an adapter. I was hesitant to use it I think some testing is in order. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jimbalf]

My family and I drove to spend Christmas and New Year in Dallas. We drove the lightning and want to share feedback about the charging to and from Dallas and back to Fayetteville, NC. The trip was approximately 2200 miles round trip. The Highways that were used were I-95 and mainly I-20. My goal for the trip was to test the charging stations' availability of multiple vendors along the Interstate. I used Electrify America, and they worked every time somewhat pricy. Tesla Worked very well but had derating issues in Bessmer, Alabama. It would start out charging well, but after a few minutes, it derated. I moved three times and had the same result; ultimately, it was no big deal other than that Tesla chargers worked as expected. They had the most reasonable prices with membership. I also used the EvGo Pilot Center charging. I used plug and charge, and it worked well. They charged at reasonable speeds but were the most expensive. I only used these on the way to Dallas. I used the trusty ChargePoint destination chargers at my destination and 60kw in Boligee, Alabama. I think a Loves/Tesla is coming to the area per Plug share, which is needed in that stretch of I-20. I used one Circle K charger, which worked as it should, with no issues. My charging experience was excellent overall compared to driving this route during the summer of 2023. My goal was to use the battery from 80% to 20%; even though there are adequate chargers along the interstate, there are not enough stations to maximize that battery range consistently; once again, this was not a concern during the trip. The lowest temperature was 30 degrees, and the highest was 64 degrees, so the impact of temperature had some effect but was not significant, in my opinion. Battery preconditioning helps with charging and range; do it when you can. My goal was to drive 500-600 miles daily, which was easy to attain. I could have gone farther, but I was not driving and charging efficiently, which was not the focus. I wanted to charge with minimal effort. Looking for and hoping to make it to a charger wasn't an issue. I usually don't drive for efficiency or Mi/KWH, and I drive "with" traffic unless I need the range to make it to the next charge. I changed my charging strategy to start to charge from around 30% to 80%. I drove with traffic, which I prefer to do. If I had run out of electrons, I would not have heard the end of it, eh eh! I kept a buffer to drive faster, and it worked out. I still got decent charging speeds and could drive for about two hours, or about 100-145 miles. I was good with that. There was no fatigue driving the lightning; it was an easy, pleasant drive. My only frustration was that the public charging app could not be accessed while driving or that public stations were not displayed in the navigation app (that would be great and the best option, I think). The charging prices were high overall, but charge options were available, which was more important during this trip. I was expecting it to be colder, so I had more range than expected at times. Louisiana was a challenge to find charging in 2023; this time around, not at all. Other than that, I was able to go and charge. I have a Tesla adapter, which I used on the trip. I attached a spreadsheet of data I thought was important to share.
2022 Lariat extended range.

Thank you for the write up. I did a 3000 mile round trip after Christmas from Austin to Charleston but this time I stuck with Tesla almost 100%. However I did see an unexpected derating like you did, The first time was in Auburn Al at the Buc-Ee’s. Plugged in and started off at 170kw as expected, but while in the store I saw my charge rate dropped to 24kw. Never seen that before. It was cold, (for Alabama) about 26 degrees with frost covering everything. I switched chargers and the same thing happened after a few minutes. It took me 4 chargers to get to 65% which was what i needed, but it was painful. I wondered if the charger cable cooling was frozen so it overheated, but that sure would be crazy if so.. Anyway, that derating happened one more time on the trip, but for the 22 other charge stops I made, Tesla worked great.

 

[Zapitgood]

Thank you for the write up. I did a 3000 mile round trip after Christmas from Austin to Charleston but this time I stuck with Tesla almost 100%. However I did see an unexpected derating like you did, The first time was in Auburn Al at the Buc-Ee’s. Plugged in and started off at 170kw as expected, but while in the store I saw my charge rate dropped to 24kw. Never seen that before. It was cold, (for Alabama) about 26 degrees with frost covering everything. I switched chargers and the same thing happened after a few minutes. It took me 4 chargers to get to 65% which was what i needed, but it was painful. I wondered if the charger cable cooling was frozen so it overheated, but that sure would be crazy if so.. Anyway, that derating happened one more time on the trip, but for the 22 other charge stops I made, Tesla worked great.

Yea it was cold that night also was during the holiday time as well. I was able to charge it was just not expected. I still have more confidence using the Tesla chargers than others. I can see the competition picking up in regards to dependability.

 

[Brons2]

Thanks for this, can't say that I could ever get my wife to agree to drive that far, but nice writeup.

 

[BSull]

Great writeup, thanks.

 

[Whammy Bar]

AI to the rescue:

Key Points from the Trip Summary

• Trip Overview: Family road trip from Fayetteville, NC, to Dallas, TX, covering ~2,200 miles round trip via I-95 and I-20.
• Charging Goals & Experience:
  • Tested multiple charging vendors along the route.
  • Electrify America: Reliable but expensive.
  • Tesla Superchargers: Mostly worked well, though Bessemer, AL, had derating issues. Membership pricing was reasonable.
  • EVgo (Pilot Center Charging): Plug-and-charge worked well, reasonable speeds but most expensive.
  • ChargePoint: Used destination chargers successfully.
  • Circle K Charger: No issues.
  • Boligee, AL: Used a 60kW charger; a new Loves/Tesla station is expected soon, which would help the I-20 route.
• Charging Strategy & Driving:
  • Managed battery from 80% to 20% but noted the need for more stations to maximize efficiency.
  • Preferred charging from 30% to 80%, allowing for 100-145 miles per charge.
  • Drove 500-600 miles per day, easily attainable.
  • Did not prioritize efficiency but rather ease of charging.
• Performance & Conditions:
  • Temperatures ranged from 30°F to 64°F, with minor impact on range.
  • Battery preconditioning improved charging and range.
  • Comfortable, fatigue-free drive in the Lightning.
  • Charging infrastructure improved since summer 2023, especially in Louisiana.
• Frustrations & Improvements:
  • Public charging app unavailable while driving and lack of public station integration in navigation were drawbacks.
  • Charging was costly overall, but availability was more important.
• Final Thoughts: Successful trip with minimal charging concerns, and improved infrastructure made charging easier compared to the previous year. Tesla adapter was useful for flexibility. Spreadsheet attached for detailed data.

 

[Zapitgood]

Thanks for this, can't say that I could ever get my wife to agree to drive that far, but nice writeup.

You are welcome. Had a Mache first and we took many day trips to get comfortable with it and test charging throughout 2022 so my wife was kinda comfortable with it. I bought the vehicle in Missouri and drove it back the same route in 2023. So she was ok with it for that reason. I am comfortable and confident traveling the major interstates with this vehicle as it relates to charging so yes the first time I run out of electrons with my wife in the car the statement “he ran out of electrons one time” will be on my head stone haha!

 

[Zapitgood]

AI to the rescue:

Key Points from the Trip Summary

• Trip Overview: Family road trip from Fayetteville, NC, to Dallas, TX, covering ~2,200 miles round trip via I-95 and I-20.
• Charging Goals & Experience:
  • Tested multiple charging vendors along the route.
  • Electrify America: Reliable but expensive.
  • Tesla Superchargers: Mostly worked well, though Bessemer, AL, had derating issues. Membership pricing was reasonable.
  • EVgo (Pilot Center Charging): Plug-and-charge worked well, reasonable speeds but most expensive.
  • ChargePoint: Used destination chargers successfully.
  • Circle K Charger: No issues.
  • Boligee, AL: Used a 60kW charger; a new Loves/Tesla station is expected soon, which would help the I-20 route.
• Charging Strategy & Driving:
  • Managed battery from 80% to 20% but noted the need for more stations to maximize efficiency.
  • Preferred charging from 30% to 80%, allowing for 100-145 miles per charge.
  • Drove 500-600 miles per day, easily attainable.
  • Did not prioritize efficiency but rather ease of charging.
• Performance & Conditions:
  • Temperatures ranged from 30°F to 64°F, with minor impact on range.
  • Battery preconditioning improved charging and range.
  • Comfortable, fatigue-free drive in the Lightning.
  • Charging infrastructure improved since summer 2023, especially in Louisiana.
• Frustrations & Improvements:
  • Public charging app unavailable while driving and lack of public station integration in navigation were drawbacks.
  • Charging was costly overall, but availability was more important.
• Final Thoughts: Successful trip with minimal charging concerns, and improved infrastructure made charging easier compared to the previous year. Tesla adapter was useful for flexibility. Spreadsheet attached for detailed data.

Thanks for simplifying it and clearing it up. I appreciate it.

 

[Brons2]

You are welcome. Had a Mache first and we took many day trips to get comfortable with it and test charging throughout 2022 so my wife was kinda comfortable with it. I bought the vehicle in Missouri and drove it back the same route in 2023. So she was ok with it for that reason. I am comfortable and confident traveling the major interstates with this vehicle as it relates to charging so yes the first time I run out of electrons with my wife in the car the statement “he ran out of electrons one time” will be on my head stone haha!

For me (and her) it's not the comfort with EV charging, she just doesn't like taking long road trips unless there's a lot to see. For example I used to love going to the mountains in New Mexico from where we live in Central Texas before I was married, but going across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico is super boring and she wants to fly which immediately doubles (or more) the cost vs driving.

We rented a hybrid Sienna and went up the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco on Spring Break in 2023 and she loved that because there was tons to see and we made multiple stops to see relatives and friends and to see the sights. Plus it was great for our kid, seeing cousins and spending a day at Disneyland, and so forth.

But that said I planned that trip out so that we were never in the car more than 3 hours, that being between San Luis Obispo (area) and San Jose. It's more difficult between here and NM. It really requires just putting your head down and driving 10 hours, well really more now that we both have EVs, 10 hours was in an ICE car with not too much time being stopped.

There's really not much worth seeing between here and Santa Fe once you get past the Hill Country. Just flat and farms/ranches and boring. I suppose maybe doing the Buddy Holly museum and district in Lubbock might be worth doing once, and there are some wineries out on the High Plains out that way, which my wife loves going to. Amarillo and Palo Duro Canyon, and Cadillac Ranch and other nearby attactions, are kind of out of the way if you're going to Santa Fe or Taos.

Amarillo would maybe be not so bad if one was going to Red River, NM though, or possibly Angel Fire, or southern Colorado. But then you're really piling on the distance, and the point of going to say Santa Fe is that it's a comfortable 1 day drive.

Anyway, if I don't stop here, I might get an AI summary also on my post

 

[Zapitgood]

Thanks for clearing up what you meant about travel with the wifey. One thing I appreciate being in North Carolina you can get to many places with in 5-10 hours along the east coast. As long as I’m driving my wife ready to go.

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