Road Trip Report - Texas to California Round Trip

[DerekS]

Day one posts updated with pictures and details. Grabbing food then doing day 2.

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[DerekS]

Day 2: Stop 1 - Smith's Fuel Center, Kingman AZ (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 7:51 AM
Time Out	6/19/22 8:21 AM
Mileage	19379
Miles This Leg	149
SoC Incoming	11%
Soc Outgoing	86%
Indicated Charge Time	25 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	260
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

No pics of this one - gas station with a grocery store, McDonald's across the street.

No issues here!

 

[DerekS]

Day 2: Stop 2 - Najah's Hi Sahara Oasis, Essex CA (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 9:37 AM
Time Out	6/19/22 10:10 AM
Mileage	19480
Miles This Leg	101
SoC Incoming	36%
Soc Outgoing	92%
Indicated Charge Time	27 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	151
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

I was excited about this station opening up - it's kind of infamous for price gouging and it's in the middle of the mojave.

Gas users really feel the burn here:

The 350kW pump was stuck, thinking it was still plugged in and accruing idle fees for someone erroneously. Kind of a shame as this system just came online a few weeks ago and is practically new.

I could only charge at 150kW so I was there for a while. The charger also cut off solidly at 92% with a charging error, but that was plenty to get me to my next stop so I moved on.

 

[DerekS]

Day 2: Stop 3 - Walmart, Barstow CA (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 11:36 AM
Time Out	6/19/22 12:06 PM
Mileage	19587
Miles This Leg	107
SoC Incoming	39%
Soc Outgoing	95%
Indicated Charge Time	28 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	151
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

This was a lengthy stop and quite a busy charger...my first taste of how congested CA chargers are, compared to my neck of the woods. All stalls were occupied when I got in, but someone pulled out just as I pulled up.

I will say I am getting sick of visiting Wal-marts.

 

[DerekS]

Day 2: Stop 4 - Lost Hills CA (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 2:39 PM
Time Out	6/19/22 3:03 PM
Mileage	19765
Miles This Leg	178
SoC Incoming	15%
Soc Outgoing	53%
Indicated Charge Time	13 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	150
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

More charger congestion. 4 stalls here, all 3 working stalls occupied.
This marks the first time I've had to wait for a turn on the charger.

When I finally got in I got stuck with a 150kW pump while I got to watch an E-Tron (which maxes out at 150kW) charge on the 350.

This was a frustrating stop so I just got enough juice to get to a better charger and moved on.

 

[DerekS]

Day 2: Stop 5 - Harris Ranch, Coalinga CA (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 4:00 PM
Time Out	6/19/22 4:16 PM
Mileage	19821
Miles This Leg	56
SoC Incoming	26%
Soc Outgoing	66%
Indicated Charge Time	14 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	250
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

This was another very busy area with 18 Tesla superchargers and a handful of EA.
Once again I was fortunate and rolled up just as spot on the 350kW was opening.

These two were 150kW. Notice the Tesla charging line sign - waiting is apparently the norm:

The Tesla side of the house was pretty packed with 18 stalls:

But look what they are doing to alleviate congestion! Wow, what a buildout!

Probably the only time I've had Tesla envy.

 

[submatrix]

After making the drive down the California coast last Sunday, I have a feeling that the congestion is largely due to it being Sunday. In all my other trips between LA and SF, the stations have been pretty much empty, at most 1 other vehicle at any given station. Last Sunday, multiple stops along my route were full of other EVs. Luckily I had enough juice in each case to continue on to the next station.

 

[DerekS]

Day 2: Stop 6 - Panoche Shell, Firebaugh CA (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 5:06 PM
Time Out	6/19/22 5:22 PM
Mileage	19857
Miles This Leg	36
SoC Incoming	49%
Soc Outgoing	75%
Indicated Charge Time	13 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	150
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

Initially I was going to wait my turn for the 350kW station occupied by the Rivian, particularly because I couldn't reach the cable with my car.

The Rivian owner was friendly and suggested I come in diagonally which just barely made it.

Once again banished to the 150kW pump, but I amused myself by peeking into the abandoned and vandalized Tastee Freeze next to the chargers.

Also of interest, a Rivian Amazon van prototype showed up!

 

[DerekS]

Day 2: Los Gatos - Trip Complete: Epilogue

I had plenty of time to think on the road and reflect on my experience. A few thoughts:

Driving the Taycan

• This is the best road trip car I've ever had. The smooth quiet and always-available power are just great.
• The driving aids (I have ACC and ALK only) worked quite well on the highway. I really enjoyed and appreciated them.
• I did not hold back on this drive - I drove it exactly as I would have driven my ICE vehicles of the past. I used normal mode only and drove at whatever speed I wanted. I never needed to "call an audible" and go to an extra charger due to consumption.
• The Michelin PS4S tires I added just before this trip are phenomenal. I am so glad I upgraded. The car runs quiet and smooth, steering is sharp and responsive. I got into a pretty bad downpour and was very pleased with the traction in the wet...especially compared to the Continentials which hydroplaned the first rainstorm I drove them in.

Porsche Charging Planner

I tried PIRM and didn't care for it so I just use the default planner. Thoughts on that experience:

• Porsche Charging Planner does a pretty good job of finding chargers along the route and reacting to dynamic conditions. I was mostly quite pleased with its suggestions which matched ABRP almost perfectly.
• On occasion the planner would throw in a couple of slower chargers I deem unacceptable, which bloated up the ETA. When this would happen I'd generally stop the route guidance, then restart it. Usually that was enough to get the 50kW riff raff chargers out and restore a full EA route.

Electrify America

Positives:

• EA has the best charging network for non-Tesla EVs, period.
• When you get to a 350kW charger in your sweet spot for SoC, it's so fast and effective I sometimes felt like I was scrambling to finish other business and get back to the car!
• Plug-and-charge worked literally 100% of the time. Every single charge stop. I never had to initiate the charge with the app, I just plugged in.
• I didn't have to pay a dime as I never went over 30 minutes on a charge, even on the slower pumps.

Negatives:

• Signage for 350kW chargers is difficult to read until you get right on it. This could be improved.
• Similarly, it's often difficult to detect a broken charger until you plug in. This causes more wasted time as you unplug, move, and try again. This could be improved with some kind of obvious indicator when a charger is offline - perhaps glow red instead of green?
• 350kW pumps are in high demand and sometimes blocked by cars that can't even benefit from them (E-Tron.) Why not make all the pumps 350kW and be done with it?
• The cables are frequently too short, making it difficult to reach the car and putting a forward pull strain on the charging port, visibly making the port flex a bit. Some of the newer chargers did have longer cables so this is improving.
• Similarly, the parking curbs are inconsistent and sometimes too far back.
• Reliability has got to get better. Many times I had to do the dead pump shuffle and I didn't appreciate it.
• The number of sites and chargers on each site are far lower than Teslas. This also needs to improve a lot. California (being leaders in EV adoption) is showing us our future if the chargers don't multiply a lot, and soon.

So there you have it. ~1800 miles in 2 days, and I only paid $17.30 for one non-EA charge stop.

If you hung in this far, thanks for accompanying me on this adventure!

 

[Teufel Hund]

Thanks for taking the time to detail your experience. All great information to take in especially for newbie EV folks like myself.

 

[XLR82XS]

• The Michelin PS4S tires I added just before this trip are phenomenal. I am so glad I upgraded. The car runs quiet and smooth, steering is sharp and responsive. I got into a pretty bad downpour and was very pleased with the traction in the wet...especially compared to the Continentials which hydroplaned the first rainstorm I drove them in.

YES! Love Michelins and hate the all-seasons. Driving a loaner 4S with Conti's compared to my car with Pilot Sport - night & day. So glad I live in a warm climate.

 

[X88]

Thanks for taking the time to detail your experience. All great information to take in especially for newbie EV folks like myself.

I strongly echo Teufel Hund sentiments. Thanks DerekS!

 

[TXAG]

Day 2: Stop 1 - Smith's Fuel Center, Kingman AZ (Electrify America)

Time In	6/19/22 7:51 AM
Time Out	6/19/22 8:21 AM
Mileage	19379
Miles This Leg	149
SoC Incoming	11%
Soc Outgoing	86%
Indicated Charge Time	25 mins
Maximum Charge Rate	260
Network	Electrify America
Plug and Charge?	Successful
Cost	$0

No pics of this one - gas station with a grocery store, McDonald's across the street.

No issues here!

Good to know, thanks - this is the EV stop for Phoenix-area residents to and from Las Vegas. There are several anti-nutritional eating establishments nearby (Five Guys is next to McDonalds, and a Culver's is 1/2 block north of the charging station). Thanks for taking the time to document your experiences. Pleasant and safe travels!

 

[B61]

Thanks for taking the time to detail your experience. All great information to take in especially for newbie EV folks like myself.

+1
Even if i’ll never come back to California, i’m looking forward on your posts/photos

 

[submatrix]

Day 2: Los Gatos - Trip Complete: Epilogue

I had plenty of time to think on the road and reflect on my experience. A few thoughts:

Driving the Taycan

• This is the best road trip car I've ever had. The smooth quiet and always-available power are just great.
• The driving aids (I have ACC and ALK only) worked quite well on the highway. I really enjoyed and appreciated them.
• I did not hold back on this drive - I drove it exactly as I would have driven my ICE vehicles of the past. I used normal mode only and drove at whatever speed I wanted. I never needed to "call an audible" and go to an extra charger due to consumption.
• The Michelin PS4S tires I added just before this trip are phenomenal. I am so glad I upgraded. The car runs quiet and smooth, steering is sharp and responsive. I got into a pretty bad downpour and was very pleased with the traction in the wet...especially compared to the Continentials which hydroplaned the first rainstorm I drove them in.

Porsche Charging Planner

I tried PIRM and didn't care for it so I just use the default planner. Thoughts on that experience:

• Porsche Charging Planner does a pretty good job of finding chargers along the route and reacting to dynamic conditions. I was mostly quite pleased with its suggestions which matched ABRP almost perfectly.
• On occasion the planner would throw in a couple of slower chargers I deem unacceptable, which bloated up the ETA. When this would happen I'd generally stop the route guidance, then restart it. Usually that was enough to get the 50kW riff raff chargers out and restore a full EA route.

Electrify America

Positives:

• EA has the best charging network for non-Tesla EVs, period.
• When you get to a 350kW charger in your sweet spot for SoC, it's so fast and effective I sometimes felt like I was scrambling to finish other business and get back to the car!
• Plug-and-charge worked literally 100% of the time. Every single charge stop. I never had to initiate the charge with the app, I just plugged in.
• I didn't have to pay a dime as I never went over 30 minutes on a charge, even on the slower pumps.

Negatives:

• Signage for 350kW chargers is difficult to read until you get right on it. This could be improved.
• Similarly, it's often difficult to detect a broken charger until you plug in. This causes more wasted time as you unplug, move, and try again. This could be improved with some kind of obvious indicator when a charger is offline - perhaps glow red instead of green?
• 350kW pumps are in high demand and sometimes blocked by cars that can't even benefit from them (E-Tron.) Why not make all the pumps 350kW and be done with it?
• The cables are frequently too short, making it difficult to reach the car and putting a forward pull strain on the charging port, visibly making the port flex a bit. Some of the newer chargers did have longer cables so this is improving.
• Similarly, the parking curbs are inconsistent and sometimes too far back.
• Reliability has got to get better. Many times I had to do the dead pump shuffle and I didn't appreciate it.
• The number of sites and chargers on each site are far lower than Teslas. This also needs to improve a lot. California (being leaders in EV adoption) is showing us our future if the chargers don't multiply a lot, and soon.

So there you have it. ~1800 miles in 2 days, and I only paid $17.30 for one non-EA charge stop.

If you hung in this far, thanks for accompanying me on this adventure!

Thanks for your write up, glad you made it to Los Gatos safely! I'll repeat myself from my earlier post -- if you have time, I highly suggest you drive the 17, Bear Creek Rd, 9 loop. The 9 especially is beautiful, well paved, banked, and twisty. I just did this drive a week ago, my first experience driving on backroads like this. A lot of fun! I'll be posting a video soon, once I can get it uploaded to YouTube.

I agree with all of your negatives. The one thing I would suggest is that if you use PlugShare to find out the status of an upcoming station/stop, consider posting your status once you are able/unable to charge, and on which stalls. It helps the community out.

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